The beautiful sunset that could be observed from the bar was breathtaking. Standing at the bar enjoying a local specialty drink Rita was swaying with the music that was being blasted from the speakers. It was a beach club on the sand of one of Sydney’s many beaches. The dress code was bathing suits very casual. She was waiting for the meet to take place. Not minding the wait a bit since she was in Australia in summer and she had never been before. Plotting in her mind what she wanted to se next as she gave the room another once over. Scuba diving and seeing the world’s largest coral reef, going to the Sydney Opera house and taking in some shopping all ran through her head. It was an opportunity she did not intend to waste.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. "May I have this dance?"

Rita was shocked to see him here in beach gear. He was wearing black swimming trunks with a black fitted tank. Well it was a beach club she thought she herself was in a bright red bathing suit with matching sarong. Looking up into those green eyes she smiled. "Of course."

He took her hand and led her out to the dance floor. The sand slipped through her sandals creating a strange sensation. He put his arms around her waist and drew her in close as they moved to the music. "You have caught the sun in your cheeks."

"I know I feel it. By the way I like this outfit." She said as she gave him the once-over again.

"You would." He teased but he continued. "I’ll make a note of it."

"You do that Michael. No one told me you were joining us on this mission." She said asking the question uppermost in her mind."

"I wanted to surprise you. Or would you rather be dancing with Mentz?"

"Did Curlly know?"

In her ear she heard the response. "Of course I did! Now take you eyes off his um bod and look for the target."

Rita began to laugh. "Certainly you just wish you were out here."

"No kidding. "Came the response.

Michael noted the entrance of a tall gaunt looking man in a pair of ill fitting trunks. "There he is." Rita saw the man sit down and order a drink from the bar. Roughly about 5 minutes later a woman came in a dark blue bikini with long red hair. She began to have an earnest conversation with the man.

Michael escorted Rita off the dance floor. Strolling up to the bar next to the target he asked, "What would you like to drink?" While Rita slipped her sunglasses off placed them on the bar and aimed them towards the targets.

"Oh another punch please." She said as she pretended to rummage through her beach bag and turned on the listening device in her purse. While they waited for the drink Michael feigned interest in some of the more interesting shaped bottles held in the back of the bar. Walking away from the targets pointing out the more colorful ones.

Rita whispered, "Curlly are you getting a clear signal?"

"Yeah I got them. It’s a Kodak moment." She said. The man is Allan Dresden arms and explosive dealer. The woman is not in our files.

"We get to pick up Dresden." Curlly stated from the van.

"Under whose orders?" Michael inquired.

"Madeline." The answer came from Curlly.

"Great. What is the plan?" Rita said, thinking it must be important if Madeline was keeping a close eye on the mission.

North and Shimer will take care of it outside. You and Michel will be back up."

"Fine."

After more discussion and the exchange of an envelope, the woman left in a hurry. Dresden waited and finished a second drink. He then walked out. Michael and Rita casually followed him walking out arm in arm.

Rita saw North and Shimer approaching in tourist gear right down to the floppy hats. They bumped into Dresden and packages and maps went flying about. He bent down to assist them in picking up the objects. While he was bent down North injected him in the neck.

Dresden immediately stood up but was unable to maintain his balance. Michael and Rita walked up to pretend to render their assistance. Michael put his arm around his waist to help Dresden walk.

By now the mission van had pulled up and Michael guided him into the van. The rest followed in.

Once they were all settled. "So where are we taking Dresden?" Rita asked

North took off her hat and shook her hair out. "I hate hat head. We are sending him to Sherry at Section for interrogation. She can take out her frustrations on him."

Dragonlady chimed in; "She is still upset about not coming on this mission."

"I hope for his sake he cooperates." Curlly said as she called up more data on the computer.

"So what next?" Shimer asked.

"We wait." Michael informed the group.

*****

Sherry came out of the White Room with a frown marring her face. Madeline met her at the door.

"You did very well. "

"Thank you Madeleine." Sherry said cautiously.

"Your interrogation techniques are coming along quite nicely."

"We have to contact the team."

"Of course that has already been done. Birkoff is in communication with Michael."

"That assignment just got complicated."

"True but they can handle it."

******

In the suite of the Hilton Sydney sat the team. Michael was about to brief them. They had spent the afternoon shopping taking advantage of the fact that they had to wait for more Intel before proceeding. They had all bought different things, Curlly was trying Australian cheesecake, Dragonlady had bought some eucalyptus candles, Shimer bought some new designer outfits, Rita had been busy at the shoe store and North had bought a surprise for Operations that she refused to tell the girls what it was.

During the shopping venture Michael had gotten called away to be briefed and to assist in profiling the next part of the mission. Rita was sure he was more than glad to be called away and leave the craze shopping girls behind.

The girls sat there looking at him expectantly. He began. "The terrorist group El Fuego has targeted the visiting Ambassador from Panama for kidnapping and perhaps assassination. We are to prevent this at all costs.

"North you will be running tactical from the van. Shimer, Dragonlady and curlly will be running exterior protection. Rita you will be assigned to the ambassador posing as his girlfriend." Rita lifted her eyebrows at the assignment. "I will be inside as well."

"Where is this taking place?" Shimer inquired.

The first public visit on the Ambassador’s agenda is to see a play at the Sydney Opera House."

Rita was delighted. "Ooh goody that was one of the places I wanted to visit."

Dragonlady smiled at her friend knowing how much she enjoyed the theater. "What’s playing?"

"Les Miserables." Michael was concerned about the position he was placing Rita.

"How appropriate." North commented.

"All right the details are on your panels. Get ready." Michael said quickly.

*****

Rita had seen the play before so she was not distracted and her favorite part was the second act. Ambassador Alejandro Montes sat to her right. He was a good-looking man she had to concede tall athletic with lovely brown eyes. He was soft-spoken yet there was strength of conviction behind that voice that could not be denied. He refused to kow tow to threats of his own death.

She did not see any trouble yet. The intermission had arrived it was time to mingle with the crowds. They had made it to the lobby to the bar. Rita could see Michael about five feet away dressed in a tuxedo what a distraction.

Suddenly shots rang out. People became frenzied several of them flooded out of the exits. Scurrying out trampling on others in the process of getting out. Meanwhile the people who were lingering in the theater climbed on stage and headed towards back doors in an attempt to escape.

When the crowd suddenly stopped running courtesy of a machine gun blast above their heads. People fell to the floor in a protective gesture. Rita had pushed the ambassador on the floor. "Dammit North, I thought it was supposed to be a lone assassin." She whispered into her COM unit.

"I am working on that. Do you see Michael?"

"No I think the crowd of people pushed him outside. I can take one shooter out now."

"How many gunmen?" North asked quickly knowing that she would be silenced soon.

"Four."

"Don’t do anything yet there are too many innocents that could get hurt." North ordered.

Then a man in a tuxedo rose from the crowd of individuals on the floor. He began to yell, "Would Alejandro Montes please rise." Rita kept the Ambassador down with her arm.

The man was blond with brown eyes with medium build he moved with confidence through the quivering mass of hostages. "Come now Ambassador. Don’t be shy. Don’t make me do something drastic."

Then the man grabbed a child from the arms of her mother. The little girl who could not be more than 8 was sobbing. He held a gun to her head. "Ambassador please, I prefer to keep my clothes clean but if I must." He shrugged it off as if to say the child’s life was no problem to take.

The ambassador pushed Rita aside and stood up. Rita stood up beside him. She was going wherever they were taking him.

The evil man smiled and released the child. He patted her head and pushed her towards her mother. He walked towards the ambassador. Rita had taken a hold of Montes hand and was gripping it tightly. "What do we have here? Quite the touching show of love my dear." He said as his hand touched her cheek. Rita jerked her head away.

"Do you realize what this man has done in my country?"

"I stand by whatever he has done." Rita said causing her voice to shake slightly.

The assassin smiled at her. "Wonderful then you two can die together. Come with me."

******

Meanwhile North had been listening to the events occurring in the theater. She began calculating entry for the team and the best way to complete the end game. They had two problems now. The hostages and saving the ambassador.

Michael came on the com. "Shimer and Curlly climb to the top of the Opera House and repel down through the glass. Dragonlady meet me at the edge of the dock on the eastside of the Opera house. I hear a helicopter coming. North get the van to the edge of the dock.

******

Shimer and Curlly had climbed up the angled and curved opera house and were sitting on the tip. Curlly lowered a thin wire camera to se where the shooters were located. Shimer held the screen. "There are three shooters. Two at one door leading to the theater and one at the other."

"I’ll take the two on the left." Said Curlly.

"That leaves me the ones on the right."

"Ready." They both nodded.

"Girls there will be one shooter with the hostages inside." North warned.

"Don’t worry North. We’ll take care of it."

The girls threw some explosive plastic at the windows before repelling down. They timed their descent with the explosion. As the glass imploded inside they came through shooting their targets efficiently. Curlly reached the floor first detached from the rope and made her way to the theater doors, which she opened slowly, crouched down and through a smoke bomb through the opening. While at the other theater door Shimer opened it and shot at the final terrorist.

"North the hostages have been secured all hostiles have been taken out."

*****

At the edge of the water the ambassador, Rita and the assassin stood. A helicopter was above the water. It had lowered a ladder. The assassin grabbed hold of the rope. "I will go up first. Then your girlfriend and then you Montes. Be assured I will kill her and then you if you do not follow through on my command."

So they each made their way up one step at a time. Rita had been waiting for the signal that the hostages were safe to make her move. North told her it was all clear. Finally but now the helicopter was positioned above the water and they still had about ten steps to climb up.

"Rita jump." She heard Michael say. He did not just say that she thought. Then she realized what he had in mind. She paused in her climb. She released the ladder and pulled as she began to fall the impact of her body caused the ambassador to lose his grip too. They both fell into Sydney harbor. With Rita’s thought being Section was buying her a new outfit.

The impact of the water was hard she plunged several feet before rising to the surface. When she finally broke through the water. She heard an explosion. She saw Dragonlady standing there holding a short range missile launcher. The helicopter went up in an explosion.

Michael was in a boat alongside her the ambassador already in tow. When she got aboard she said, "When I said I wanted to go diving, did not mean in an evening gown."

*****

The End

This story ©copyright Rita, 2000