It was done.

The first strike in the glorious plan of the Left Hand of Allah netted the desired attention. The cell celebrated down in the living space. He allowed it, but he would not join them. As a trusted lieutenant of the Left Hand, he will not celebrate until returning home after the great plan was complete.

19 days

"Do you believe this shit?"

"Who did it?"

"Anyone claim responsibility yet?"

Hick stood in the back of the media center with his eyes glued to the screen. Dark smoke curled over a scene containing rubble, screaming and crying people and emergency workers. When he had awoken this morning for PT, the news of the bombing in Cannes was plastered on every outlet possible. Now he waited for official word of the event with his fellow SEAL teams.

The screen went dark as the briefing began.

"At oh-ten-hundred Zulu time, four vehicles carrying explosives targeted four buildings in Cannes including Palais des Festivals et des Congres. Details are sketchy at this time, but we're gathering intel." The Commander turned slightly and pressed a button. The screen flared to life once again. A woman's voice could be heard laughing then speaking in a mixture of English and French. The screen showed a beautiful avenue under a clear blue day. The area was filled with tourists going about their business. As the camera slowly panned around, a white van appeared on the screen, driving recklessly. The camera followed the progress with the operator commenting on the stupidity of people driving wildly in a busy area. The camera panned back to the avenue when there was an explosion. Smoke drifted upwards from a large building down the avenue. Three more explosions echoed in the air as people began to scream and run. The screen tilted crazily as the owner ran from the area before cutting to a different scene. In it, thick dark smoke filled the air and people were coughing. The camera panned around the area showing people walking in a daze, some with bloody places on their bodies. The scene stopped.

"This video was taken by a tourist during the attack. As you can see, there were four distinct explosions, all tourist areas. The Palais des Festivals was filled with people at the time attending a lesser filmmaker's festival. The body count at the moment is at 104 with hundreds more injured or missing. This message was sent to news agencies around the world."

The screen flickered on again, and a man wearing black robes with a ski mask stared blankly ahead. Behind him, the plastered wall was a dingy grey with many cracks like spider webs on the surface. He began to speak, and the translation flashed across the bottom.

Western culture is an abomination to Allah. No longer will we allow this corruption to influence the world.

"Same bullshit different day," Railroad mumbled from beside Hick.

"It sure seems that way."

"Shhh." Bruiser glared at them.

Hick turned his attention back to the screen. The terrorist continued to spew his hatred calling upon others to join in the jihad and bring down the West and America in particular. He continued to harp on how American values had corrupted the minds of the young and how American movies were violating the innocence of the world with sex and violence. His spiel went on for another ten minutes before he ended his tirade and the screen went blank.

"Because the terrorists mentioned American culture specifically, we have been put on alert. This is the same type of rhetoric Haafiz al-Bashir, code name 'Fedora,' has been spouting for the last three years. Although it hasn't been confirmed, it's believed he and his radical subgroup of ISIS are responsible." He clasped his hands behind his back and glared out of the gathered SEALs. "As you know, we have been actively searching for him. He is currently number three on the terrorist's most wanted list." The Commander stopped and wiped his face with his hand. Looking over the assembled, he continued. "This one bit us in the seat. There was no chatter on any of the usual outlets. With there being four bombs at once, we know there had to be some coordination. The question is how and where? The CIA, NSA, Homeland Security and a bevy of other acronyms is working to answer those questions. When those questions are answered, you can bet your ass we will be going after him. Therefore, all nonessential leave is canceled. Questions? Alright then, you're dismissed. I'd like to see the leads for each team for a few minutes."

One by one, the men filed out of the room. Bruiser, stayed along with the leaders of the other teams to speak with the Commander. The others left the building.

"How about lunch?" Railroad asked.

"Okay, sounds good. Hey, you think they'll call Cowboy and Finch back from leave?"

"I dunno, Toad. They said nonessential leave. I guess it depends on why Finch is gone and if they think cancer surgery on Cowboy's father is essential." Railroad glanced over at Hick. "How about you? Get some chow?"

"Nah, you go ahead. I've got something to do."

Toad snorted. "Tell Bethy hi from us."

A growl erupted from Hick. "Her name is Annabeth. Don't call her Bethy."

"Says the man who calls her 'Georgia.' At least my nickname is close to her normal one." Toad smacked Railroad on the shoulder. "I told you he was serious about her. You owe me a twenty."

"Bite me. I'll buy your lunch, that's the best you get. See you later, Hick."

The two walked off toward the parking lot leaving Hick alone. He pulled out his cell and punched Georgia's number.

"Hey, you."

He couldn't help the grin that split his face. "Hey, Georgia, how are you?"

"Better now. I took today off and went to Chattanooga to visit my sister. It was time for a little nephew therapy."

"Is that the mysterious man that has you all flustered?"

Hick laughed as Annabeth hissed at her sister. "Would you hush? He can hear you."

Annabeth's sister, Grace, called out, "Hey Hick! When are you going to visit? Elliot can't wait to meet you. He calls you Uncle Hick."

"Ignore her," Annabeth muttered between gritted teeth. He could imagine her cheeks turning red. She was so cute when she got embarrassed. The flush started at the top of her face and rushed down to disappear into her shirt.

"Uncle Hick, huh?"

"He's only six," she said defensively. "He's never even met you. But when he overheard me telling Grace that you were in the Navy he got excited. Now he wants to be a soldier or a bartender. And before you ask, he saw Tom Cruise flipping bottles in Cocktail and thought it was cool."

Hick erupted in laughter. "Well, I don't know if I can compete with Tom Cruise."

"You're better than him any day of the week."

"Well, I do try."

She hesitated a minute. "Hey, would you mind facetiming with me a few minutes? Actually, I was hoping you would talk with him. It would thrill him beyond words."

"Sure. Let me call you back. I'm on the way to the parking lot."

He hung up then jogged to his car. Once he settled in, he called her back using the video application.

"H-h-hello?"

A little boy's face filled the screen. He had the same red hair as Annabeth and a smattering of freckles across his nose. However, his eyes were a clear light blue instead of dark green. No doubt, he took his eyes from his father, who worked in construction.

"Hey, Elliot, I'm Hick. How are you?"

His blue eyes lit up, and a smile erupted on his chubby face. "Hi, Uncle Hick. I'm fine. Are you on a boat?"

He shook his head slowly. "Sorry, buddy. Not today. I'm sitting in my car." He moved the camera of the cell around slowly and showed the boy his surroundings.

"Oh." Elliot's face fell. "I like boats. We got to ride in one at Disney. There were pirates. Do you have pirates?"

Hick's heart stuttered slightly. The innocent questions were so endearing. "No, we don't have pirates here."

"That's ok. One of them said they wanted the redhead, but I wasn't scared. I protected my mom and dad just like a real soldier."

"You did well. I'm proud of you."

Elliot nodded absently. "You can talk to my Aunt now. It's time for Batman on television. Bye, Uncle Hick."

"Bye Elliot."

The scene juggled then his Georgia filled the screen. As expected, a slight flush still stained her face. "Thank you for talking to him."

"Anytime."

He watched as Annabeth made her way out of the house and sat on her sister's porch. In a small voice, she said, "I know you can't talk about it, but is everything okay there? I mean with the explosions this morning."

"Yeah, it's all fine." He could hear how tight his voice was. It wasn't exactly a lie. He was fine, but that could change at the drop of a hat.

"Okay." She chewed her lip. "Are we going to be able to see each other in Phoenix?"

"Hopefully so, but I can't make any promises. You've seen how things are with us. We never know what's going to happen from one day to the next. But, the only way I'm not going to have you in my arms again is if I'm physically out of the country. Nothing else is going to stop me." He hesitated a moment then shoved one hand through his shaggy hair. He didn't want to scare her, but it was time to lay down the foundation. "I know I told you I wanted to have a talk with you when I get there, but I need you to be thinking about something. We've been doing this friends thing now for a while, and I think you know as well as I that there's a lot more than that between us. I want you to be thinking about us and what you desire because I've thought of little else the last few days. Then as soon as I can figure out the logistics, either at the convention in Phoenix or soon after, we are going to sit down and discuss this thoroughly. Okay?"

Her eyes had gotten as big as silver dollars, and she nodded slowly. "Okay," she whispered and bit her bottom lip. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"Good." The relief he felt was palpable. At least she was open to talking their relationship through. He watched her through the screen and wanted to reach out, touch her face and feel her cheek beneath his fingers. He longed to gently tug her lip out from where she was nervously chewing it and nibble on the plump pillow himself. With a groan, he closed his eyes. Lord, what she did to him and she wasn't even in the same part of the country!

"Are you alright?" Worry etched on her face.

He coughed. "Yeah, I'm fine Georgia, but do me a favor. Stop biting your lip. It makes me remember how you taste and I want to take a nibble for myself."

She tittered then blushed again. "You're in a weird mood today."

He frowned. "What do you mean 'weird'?"

"You seem serious like you aren't just teasing me."

"I'm not. That's part of what we're going to talk about, just not here and not now. I need to be face to face with you."

There was a shout from behind her, and she turned to speak with Grace a moment. Turning back, she sighed. "I have to go. Grace needs my help catching a spider, or she won't go back to her kitchen until Kenseth gets home tonight."

"That's my brave Georgia, saving the day."

She rolled her eyes. "Your Georgia was promised fried chicken, black-eyed peas, and peach cobbler. That's not happening as long as a spider holds the kitchen hostage. I have ulterior motives."

"Alright then, go save dinner. Let me know when you get home so I won't worry."

"I'm a big girl. I'll be fine."

"Humor me, Georgia. Please?"

She nodded then stood. "I've got to go. I'll talk to you soon."

"You sure will. Bye."

The screen went blank, and Hick sat back, leaning his head on the headrest. He had to admit it; he had it bad. Georgia was everything that was good in life, and he had to find a way to fix this distance problem between them. If not for any other reason, his sanity demanded it. Annabeth Switcher was killing him, and maybe it made him crazy too, but he wanted more. He laughed. Well, at least they would be crazy together.

He hoped.