Let's kick off the last episode of Book II :) ...

EPISODE 10

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Scene 1: Saved

A.D. 2015

So technically the honeymoon was over, but that didn't mean the honeymoon phase had to be. Especially since they'd decided to remain on Santorini. It was Lacey's hope that, while she and her husband lingered here in paradise, this post-marriage phase of oblivious bliss could continue forever. Or at least for a little while longer.

The stars seemed to agree, she mused fondly while smiling at the twilit sky, a vast expanse of indigo sprinkled with silver light. The tranquil surface of the rooftop pool by which she sat served as a mirror to the night, each twinkling star reflected twice as bright. She reclined more deeply in her poolside chaise - a chaise for two, furnished with a pair of fluffed pillows and as wide as a king-sized bed - basking in the warmth of the Mediterranean evening and the glow of ambient candlelight. This luxury hotel spared no expenses for romantic amenities such as these, which were open only to guests staying in one of its honeymoon suites; everything was just right.

Until Ryder's phone started to ring, reminding Lacey that there was a world outside this lovely little slice of paradise.

"Oh, it's Eldor," he told her before answering. "Probably calling to finalize plans for tomorrow. I'll be right back, okay?"

She nodded, though woeful as ever to let him slip away.

Ryder, for his part, was grateful for the call, for the reason that it gave to briefly disengage from Lacey's arms and step inside. He had agreed to her suggestion to remain a while longer on the island, but in the time since then, he'd come to realize that for her, this was much more than just an extended vacation: in Lacey's mind, the honeymoon was never meant to end. And it became harder for him to handle that with every passing second.

In the midst of this never-ending honeymoon, Eldor's voice was a welcome distraction. And seeing him tomorrow would be a much needed break from the monotony of too many days spent with Lacey, only Lacey, and more Lacey.

Eldor suggested that they meet up at a certain bar on Santorini, then mentioned that he planned to bring a friend, someone with whom he'd been hopping the islands, if that was all right with the Campions.

"Yeah, sounds great to me," Ryder replied. "I'll run it by Lacey, but I'm sure she'll be totally fine with it, too."

"Cool. And hey, the other thing I thought I'd mention was, uh - remember when you asked whether I'd been in touch with Simon?"

Ryder swallowed, recalling that he had asked about Simon after running into Eldor back in Athens. "Yeah."

"I still haven't yet, but since you brought it up, I've been thinking about it," Eldor stated. "And since all three of us are on Santorini now, I thought it actually might be good to reach out. Catch up with him, see how he's been doing - if he's up for it, you know? Let him know that we're here for him, if he needs anything, or just needs a friend."

Ryder paused for a second.

Eldor went on. "Of course, no pressure; if you'd rather not reconnect with him just yet, then I can do it on my own. If I even decide to. But I figured I should mention it to you, in case you'd been thinking about it, too."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm glad you did," Ryder responded. "It has been on my mind a bit, but I don't know - hey, maybe we can talk about it tomorrow? Not an easy decision to make, for me at least, so might be good to bounce thoughts off each other in person for a minute. And Lacey and your friend can get to know each other while we're at it."

"Great idea, man. Sounds like a plan."

The call ended soon afterward, and as Ryder headed back out to the poolside, a thousand thoughts swirled through his troubled mind.

A.D. 2012

"Well, fellas, the doc says Simon's somewhat recovered, and I'm sure he'd love to see his life-savers," the commander heartily informed Ryder and Eldor, clapping each of them on the back. "Figures Westin's off drunk somewhere missing this moment, but anyhow, I'm told that in the rescue you two played the biggest roles. So go on, say hello."

Standing by his ailing comrade's bedside, Ryder's heart should've swelled with happiness and pride - he had, after all, saved this man's life.

But instead he sensed a hollow in his soul, for when his eyes met Simon's, he felt as if he were staring straight down a gaping black hole.

The strange sensation didn't last long at all. For within moments after Ryder and Eldor had entered, the aura of peace and recovery surrounding the well-tended patient erupted into something else entirely. All it had taken was one look, one blink of the veteran's vacuous eyes, to recognize and trigger something terrible inside - to recognize that these were the heroes who had saved his life, and to trigger a mad, borderline rabid rage at the sight.

Those rabid shrieks were set to ring in Ryder's ears for nights, and the memory of Simon lunging feverishly toward him, hands outstretched to wring his neck, was permanently etched into his mind. The bedside attendants had hastened to restrain the patient, while the doctor ushered the two visitors back outside. Simon's attack had not done any physical damage, cut short as it'd been; but it had left deep scars beneath the skin, and Ryder knew these would be lasting.

The day of that rescue operation, Ryder had lost a friend, dearer to him than a brother, due to a series of events for which he wholly blamed himself. Events that he'd spent every night ever since trying and failing to forget. And now he had to live with knowing that the man whom they had rescued, on the mission that had cost Grant's life, was so far gone that he wanted to strangle the men who had saved him.

It was not until many weeks later that Ryder and Eldor received word from a psychiatrist that Simon wished to see them. Given reassurances that the patient would be closely tended, and secured at a safe distance from his visitors, they agreed.

Ryder knew better than to hold the outburst against Simon - the man had been a prisoner of war for months and suffered through untold trauma, from the likes of which most people could probably never recover. Whatever had triggered the assault, Ryder did not hold Simon at fault. So he agreed to see him.

Seated across a long table from Simon, Ryder dared to meet his eyes again and this time saw something completely different - rather than the gaping black holes that had previously hollowed out his soul, it was as if he could see straight into the man's heart, a heart brimming with all of the pain that had ripped him apart. And it was all Ryder could do to hold himself together as Simon effused apologies for what he'd done, expressed his gratitude for Ryder and Eldor's roles in rescuing him, and then proceeded to tell the most tragic tale they'd ever heard.

Madusha. That had been her name. And she'd been beautiful, in every way, with coffee-colored skin and chestnut eyes as warm and gentle as the heart that'd beat inside. Even surrounded all her life by people who had built their lives on cruelty, in a war-torn territory where her countrymen captured and tortured countless prisoners, she was among the precious few who had dared to be kind. And she'd been courageous, and bright - with the aid of only a few others, conspiring behind the backs of her compatriots, she had taken steps toward saving the prisoners of war, by setting in motion events that'd ultimately revealed their well-concealed location. It was thanks in large part to Madusha that the U.S. military had been able to find them.

Simon had been blessed enough to know Madusha, when she'd brought him food and water, during his time as a prisoner. And in light of her kindness, her brilliance, her beauty, he'd fallen hopelessly in love with her - and Madusha had been cursed enough to fall in love with him. Though their love had been mutual and true, it was his greatest sin, Simon knew. For this was what had made her vulnerable. Madusha's countrymen had found out soon enough about her sleeping with the enemy, right around the time that they'd discovered the other more serious measures that she had taken to betray her country.

Her first punishment had been severe facial disfigurement, but what was worse, they had then learned that she was pregnant. And had used this against her by forcing her to commit vile acts on pain of death - of both herself and thus her unborn child. Simon's child. Madusha had been ordered to lure U.S. troops into a trap, pretending to be a young injured civilian, only to hurl hand grenades at them. For if she refused to do so, they would slice a blade straight through her womb.

She had wanted to refuse, but the only thing greater than her courage and compassion proved to be the depth and desperation of her love as a mother. And so, against her soul, she'd done as told.

So this was the monster that the heroic team of Navy SEALs had been instructed to slay.

Simon concluded the story, explaining how scarred he had been by all that had happened; compared to this - witnessing the mutilation and manipulation of the woman he loved, the mother of his yet unborn child - the many other forms of torture inflicted on him by his captors had been nothing. Madusha's mistreatment by her countrymen, and later her death, at the hands of a team led by Eldor and Ryder, was what had psychologically traumatized Simon, truly ruined and unraveled him.

"So when I saw you at my bedside, I saw red, because in my mind in that moment, I was looking at the monster who had killed her. Her and the child, our child, that she carried. I could think of nothing else," Simon expressed. "Since then, I've - I've gotten some help, and I've gotten some rest. And I can't deny that part of me may always hate you for what happened, but now that I've found some clarity, maybe even some shreds of sanity, I understand."

A few more words were shared among them. Then, with hearts heavier than ever, Ryder and Eldor left the room. Simon's psychiatrist spoke with them afterward, advising that Simon had made substantial progress with his mental health and stability in recent weeks.

If anything, she told them, her main cause for concern was that Simon harbored violent hatred not toward others, but rather toward himself - for having impregnated Madusha, thereby putting her in danger - exacerbated by symptoms of survivor's remorse, for remaining alive after the death of his lover and their unborn child. She gave an off-the-record but professional opinion that, if Simon's progress continued steadily in this direction, he was not likely to be a danger to either of them.

Over the course of the next several months, Ryder and Eldor met with Simon on several occasions. He truly seemed to bear no ill will toward them, and in due time he was released from psychiatric custody, by all accounts generally mentally healthy. Simon decided at this point to start a life on Santorini, wishing to live a life of peace, somewhat solitary - and Ryder let him do just that. Figuring that if Simon ever wished to reconnect with the fellow veterans who had saved him, on the mission that had killed the love of his life and his then unborn child, then he should be the one to ask.

A.D. 2015

Ryder settled back into the sumptuous chaise beside his wife and tried to temporarily brush all the dark memories from his mind.

"Honey, I - while you were inside, I just got the last news I was ever expecting," Lacey announced as he sat down. "...I got into Sterling."

Ryder congratulated her, with a kiss on the cheek and a wide smile, although he was half-feigning his surprise. He knew full well that Lacey could not possibly have been accepted based solely on her application, especially now that this year's admissions cycle was long since done. But even more so, he knew that ultimately, whether or not she got in would depend entirely upon connections. And as soon as Ryder had learned that Katherine - the one who so fiercely wished for her daughter to get into Sterling - was shadily involved with his father, he had been surprised, honestly, that Lacey hadn't been accepted sooner, given Parker's connections to the institution.

Well, now she had been. And for Lacey, this was significant for one primary reason: based on her Google stalking, she knew that a certain someone was set to attend this very school in the fall. Which meant that if she enrolled - as Katherine would undoubtedly coerce her to do, if she even tried to refuse - then she and Ryder would be moving to New Haven, and living in the same city as that despicable little brunette for all three years of law school. Which was... not cool.

"Oh, by the way," Ryder uttered, "Eldor said he'd like to bring along a friend of his when we meet up tomorrow, if that's cool with you?"

Lacey smiled, momentarily dismissing her bitter thoughts about the bright-eyed brunette. Eldor bringing along a friend was absolutely fine by her, so the smile was not at all forced. "Of course."

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Next scene, we'll revisit Rider in B.C. as he and his company finally reach Argos...

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