The Mission

Chapter 5

Waking up the next morning, you stretched your limbs, moaning in appreciation at how good it felt to stretch your muscles. It took you a few seconds to realize where you were as you took a quick look around the room. Reality set in when you saw the spot next to you on the bed was empty. Placing your hand on the spot where Ari had slept, you noticed it was still warm so he must not have left too long ago.

Making your way into the bathroom, you did your morning duties along with brushing your teeth and hair. You were too exhausted last night and knowing you would be getting hot from the sun today, you decided on waiting to shower until later tonight before bed. Splashing some cold water on your face, you dried your hands off and walked out of your room, only to see Ari's bedroom empty as well.

The sun was high in the sky and so you pulled your sunglasses over your sensitive eyes. They were also red and puffy from crying last night and you didn't want anyone to ask what happened. Looking down, you made sure your Star of David tattoo on your right wrist was covered by bracelets as you headed towards the main house of the resort.

"Morning," Rachel greeted you with a smile as you sat down on one of the empty chairs of the dining table. It was truly a beautiful sight as you stared straight out into the sea as the walls had large open doorways.

"Good morning," you returned her smile before looking at the food on the table. "Wow, this smells delicious." Your mouth practically began to salivate at how good it all smelled; your stomach beginning to grumble.

"Chef Aziz is the best chef around," Ari said as he pulled out a chair next to you and sat down. You blushed as his arm brushed up against yours.

The six of you sat around the table enjoying breakfast and making small conversation. As much as you wanted to talk about the mission and hear stories from them, it wasn't a good idea in front of the staff.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" you spoke up, taking a sip of ice cold water.

Ari pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up. He blew out a puff of smoke before turning to you. "We are going to head into the water and find some dive spots."

Shrugging, you gave a subtle nod. "Sounds like a good plan." His blue orbs lingered on your face; you could feel his eyes on you. Turning your head slightly, you met his gaze. Your heart began to flutter as you took in his face; luckily you were wearing sunglasses so he couldn't see you ogling his perfect features. As your eyes scanned his face, you began to pick out smaller details. His bottom lip was a bit more plump than his top whereas his top lip was almost hidden from his beard. His neck was scattered with a few moles and his skin had a sun glowed tan to it. He was utterly remarkable to look at.

Ari's arm left arm was hanging off the back of the chair and you didn't miss the slight movement of it. He lifted his arm somewhat and his fingers brushed against the back of your arm sending tingles throughout your body from his touch.

After breakfast, you all made your way to the beach and, wanting to keep up the show, grabbed the diving gear and wetsuits.

You were wearing a sarong around your waist and a tank top over your bikini. Pulling your top off, you heard Rachel gasp. Looking up, you saw her rush towards you, her eyes glued to the large scar on the side of your abdomen.

"What the fuck happened to you?" she asked as her fingers danced lightly over the scar.

Your eyes scanned around the four men in front of you and you could see the worry etched across his face. "I umm, I brought a gun to a knife show," you joked, not wanting to open the wound of your heart and tell your story just yet. It wasn't technically a lie, it had been a knife that you were stabbed with. "So, are we ready to go?" you asked, trying to break the tension in the group. It seemed to work as everyone scattered around, getting into their wet suits and loading up the diving gear; everyone except for Ari.

He gripped your arm gently, pulling you off to the side. Lifting his sun glasses, he crouched down in front of you to inspect the scar up close. Chewing on your lip nervously, your feet shuffled around causing you to move. Ari placed one hand on your hip, stilling you and you felt your knees grow weak from his hand so close to where you truly wanted it to be.

Ari stood back up, putting his sunglasses back on and crossed his arms over his brute chest. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you?"

You frowned, down casting your gaze as your bare toes dug into the warm sand beneath you. "Umm," you began to say but he cut in.

With the tip of his finger, lifting your gaze to meet his, he smiled. "Hey, I don't want you to feel obligated to tell me. It's just that I'm the leader here and I know all these guys like the back of my hand. But you, I've just heard things from Ethan. I would like to get to know who you really are while we are here. We could be here for years, which is what I'm hoping because then that would mean this mission will be successful. I'd just like to get to know you Y/N. But if you don't ever want to tell me, I won't hold that against you. I promise."

Keeping your chin from quivering at his words, you mustered up the best smile you could for him. "Thank you Ari, I appreciate it. I'm hoping that during our time here I can open up and let you know what happened." It was the truth; you really did want to open up to him. There was something about him that made you felt comforted, secure in his presence and you knew you could trust him.

Out on the water, Jake stopped the motor of the dinghy and you all got down to business on how to prepare for the first smuggle.

"Friday's holy to Muslims, so we'll have less military on the street," Ari spoke with confidence. "We need a dark night, darkest Friday of the month."

"When is that?" Max asked.

"In two weeks," Rachel responded.

Ari nodded, looking around at everyone. "Two weeks. Two weeks it is, then. Kabede's going to get two trucks from the locals, something inconspicuous that we can park out front of the hotel."

"We should do a dry run," Sammy announced. "Familiarize ourselves with the terrain."

"Jake we gotta make sure the Navy's on time," Ari stated, not even listening to Sammy. You looked over to see Sammy shaking his head and you couldn't help but feel there was maybe a little animosity between the two men.

"What if they can't be on time?"

"I don't care. Tell them they don't have a choice," Ari responded, pointing firmly to the ground and that's when you saw his leadership really emerge.

Sammy sighed next to you. "I said, we should do a dry run."

Again, Ari ignored him. "Max, you and Rachel go with Kabede to get the trucks."

Sammy laughed, shaking his head again. "I guess we're not doing a dry run."

"They're dying, Sammy! They're sick and they're starving. And we're not going to sit here and enjoy Aziz's fucking cooking, and working on our suntan while they're out there suffering, not if we can do something about it."

It was quiet in the boat after that, quiet andtense.