EXCERPT from LEIF

It couldn't be her. It just couldn't be. He stared at the woman across the road seated in the park and shook his head. No way could it be her. She had a wide-brimmed sunhat on, hanging lower over her face. Beneath it was a thick white scarf tied for modesty. But it was her.

"Do you have eyes on the asset?" asked his commander.

"I do, sir." It cannot be her.

"We're still not sure if she's truly on our side or theirs. Be careful with this one, Viking."

"I will be."

He would be because he knew her. He'd grown up with her. They'd played together, gone to school together, shared their first kiss together. Everything about her was familiar. But why in the ever-loving fucking hell was she here in the middle of a city on the brink of utter disaster?

Egypt was a powder keg waiting to explode. Again. Civil unrest and calls for a coup were seeping into the streets. Buildings were being burned, people kidnapped, and she was sitting in a park, allegedly to meet with her contacts. Her fucking contacts.

They hoped that with the shared information from the asset, this woman, they would be able to squelch the dissidents.

Leif stood to his full height, a towering six-feet-seven and walked through the park and across the street. He didn't want her to run, but if she saw him, she just might. As others saw him walking toward them, they turned, staring in awe at this giant among men.

When the woman felt all the eyes of everyone in the park turning, she turned as well. Opening her mouth to speak, no sound came out. Nothing.

"Hello, Ellie. Nice to see you."