Chapter Text
Her castle was crumbling. Her father and fiancé were died and she was the one to find them. She went to find Zara but, she was gone and the only clue Aaliyah could find was Ehan's laptop. On the laptop screen was a picture of Zara in a military uniform.
It hit her then that Zara wasn't who she said she was and tears started to come out. She was not close to her father but, she knew that her lifestyle was forever changed by what happened tonight. She had no clue what was going to happen to her. Any outsider would tell her that she was on her own, kid.
She took the laptop and ran outside. She could not stop screaming until she out of the kitchen. The guards heard her and started chasing what she thought was the person who claimed to be Zara not what was on the laptop stating her name was Cruz Manuelos.
Aaliyah stayed on a bench not knowing what her next move was going to be. For her whole life, she knew that she was going to be married off and it would help her father's business but, now she had no father. She thought back on her memories of Zara she knew even if it was fake for the other woman it was the most real thing she ever had.
She was sitting there wondering what would happen next when a tall man with dark hair beneath his patrol cap and wearing a police uniform came up to her. She thought that he would ask her what she saw or who she thought had done this crime. The officer who came up to her asked, "Are you Aaliyah Amrohi?"
"Yes, officer, I am," she stated respectively.
"There is a phone call for you," he reported as he pulled out a black cell phone to her.
She thought it was strange to receive such a call but, he was an officer and she took the phone and put it up to her ear.
"Hello, this is Aaliyah Amrohi," I said in the most calm voice she could at the moment.
"Who was with you the past month," said a woman's voice.
That was an odd question and she didn't even know who was asking part of Aaliyah wanted to protect her still and part of her wanted to throw her into the ocean and let the sharks eat her.
"Zara Adid," she replied. "Why do you ask me that question," she added.
" Trying to verify that you are, who you say you are," the voice said back to her.
The phone line went quiet.
"My name is Joe I run the lioness program and you are needed to become an informant for your father's dealings with terrorist factions in the Middle East. The United States can offer you protection while collecting the data and citizenship after the mission is completed."
Aaliyah was speechless about what the woman was saying. Joe continued, "I understand what happened today was life-shattering but, if you want the answers to all your questions about what happened today you have to take this offer."
"So, who do you work for," Aaliyah demanded. She added, "Why me?”
"I work for the CIA and your father was a powerful man with associates and connections that we need intelligence to build on what has been gathered before. You are on the inside of this and what I sense about you is that you want to be free of your life. You want real not an arranged life with everything already decided for you."
"So you been watching me, huh? You are the one who sent Zara to make me fall in love with her."
"I was the one who sent Zara to get close to you. Not to fall for you. Take this offer you will get answers to questions that otherwise will left unanswered."
Aaliyah could tell this Joe was great at her job and she did not have a way on her own to pick up the pieces of her life without accepting the offer in front of her.
"Okay," Aaliyah caved.
"Great, check your email it will have a plane ticket where you will start your training," Joe said matter of fact.
The line went dead after that. Aaliyah forgot that the police officer was still there waiting for the phone back. He was on the other side of the deck. She returned the phone to him and told him, "Thank you." She was being polite to him because, in the back of her head, she did not know why she would be thankful for the call. She was wondering how they knew her email address but, that was when she remembered giving it to Zara. She then wondered why they didn't call her cell but it was still in the room. She did not want to return to there still filled with memories of a woman who did not exist.
The email she received said that she was returning home to gather all of the information she could gather about her father but, anyone else ramshackle her family home. She returned home to a silent place. It was eerily and unsettling to be there getting information about her dead father. She knew that this might be her best chance to break free of her restricted life. She checked his office, his room, closet, bathroom, and all of his possessions including his safes.
Yes, she might be pretty but, she knew what her father's codes were he was not the most original man about putting in his lock combination. All she needed to put in was her very own birthday and they all opened. She did not know what the big bad CIA needed so she just stuffed all of the paperwork in a carry-on. She also had his personal cell phone and laptop. Aaliyah was sure that this assignment would be over soon and that she could actually start living an authentic life. Little did she know she was not getting out of this arrangement anytime soon.