— warning, military funeral scene—

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Cold air nipped at her nose as a small gust of wind hit her. She hadn't bothered with a jacket, wearing a simple cardigan over her black top that she paired with black jeans for the ominous occasion. She stood in the back of the crowd. She could faintly hear the shots ring in the air, words being said after the salute was over. The crowd dispersed and she could see the casket now. An American flag was draped over the dark shiny wood. A photo of him was framed and a wreath of flowers sat underneath it. She blinked tears away as his smile stared back at her. She watched as a woman walked up to the casket, her mouth clasped tight over her mouth as she held back her sobs. She placed a single slip of paper on the casket, Izzy already knew what was on it. She met the woman a year prior at a different type of ceremony that involved the same blond man both women loved. Izzy gave the woman a tight smile as they caught each other's glances. The woman didn't reciprocate it and turned away. A fresh wave of guilt hit her. She had begged Nobody to let her to be the one to deliver the news, seeing as she was the reason he was dead in the first place. None of them blamed her, they tried to tell her that Cowboy wouldn't have either, but it fell upon deaf ears. Because of her, a child would grow up without a father and a wife became a widow.

"Stop blaming yourself," they'd all tell her. But that's what she did. She didn't blame the man who put the bullet in his head. She was the reason he was in the warehouse, to begin with, he'd gone there to save her. He died on a mission, a mission created to save her.

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From where she sat on the hill, she had a clear view of his gravestone. The casket had already been lowered and covered with dirt. The chairs were gone, and no visitors left but her. She sat with her knees to her chest as she stared at the stone. She picked at the grass with her fingers, plucking it and then letting it blow away in the wind. "It still doesn't feel real." She mumbled. "I watched it happen and I keep thinking it's all a dream." The man who snuck up behind her stayed quiet. He stood there listening as she rambled on. "It shouldn't have been him." She stood to her feet and wiped at her face. When she finally turned to face him, he hadn't expected her to look the way she did. "Why'd you come back?"

"There's a new mission." The woman scoffed and shook her head.

"Do it without me." She sniffled.

"You know that we can't." He tried to reason with her. "The mission-"

"I don't give a shit about the mission." She spoke so calmly and evenly toned it caught the older man by surprise. "Use somebody else." She turned and gave the gravestone one last look before giving the man a tired smile and walking away from him.

"Izzy-"

"I'm finally using those vacation hours you keep reminding me about." She chuckled sadly. "Get somebody else, sir." She was about to leave again before she remembered the phone in her pocket. She fished it out and walked back to him. She extended her hand to him and he accepted the item. "Good luck with your mission." She gave him a quick hug before leaving him.

She put her car in drive and she was gone. Without looking back at her boss, she headed to the one place that made her feel safe.

Nobody watched her with a defeated look on his face. The object in his hand rang and he answered it after seeing Franco's name on the screen. "Agent Potter's inactive until further notice." He hung up the call and shoved the device in his suit pocket. He'd keep it until she was ready to have it back. Which he hoped would be soon.

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The house looked the same as it always had, she noticed. The shutters were the same faded blue color, the white walls a little brighter than usual, telling her they had been painted recently. Despite the minor changes, the feeling she was searching for was the same. She wanted safety, security, and predictability. She found that there. She had that now. With a small timid smile, she approached the open garage and peered inside for the man she was looking for. "Hello?" She called into the space. She heard a thud and mumbled curse words before his head popped up. His body was bent over a tarp-covered car, a wrench and a dirty rag in his hand. Items he dropped as he stared at her in shock.

"Annie?"

"Hey, Grandpa." He beamed at her as he wrapped his arms around her.

"What're you doing here?" He pulled away and guided her towards the door that led into the house. "Are you okay?"

"I've decided to take a little time off." She shrugged. He stopped midstep and turned to face her.

"What happened?" He wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"Our last mission didn't go as smoothly as I wanted it to." She sighed. She followed him into the kitchen, accepting the beer he handed to her. "I was wondering if I could stay here for a little while?"

"Anisa," she looked up at the sound of her first name. "You never need to ask." He approached her with a kind smile on his aging face. "You're always welcome here. This is your home."

She attacked him with a hug, a dry sob escaping her as she felt his arms tighten around her. She wanted nothing more than to run to her Dad but he was on his honeymoon and besides him, Buddy was the only person she felt safe with. (There was one other person but he was caught up in the world she needed an escape from.)

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𝙰 𝙵𝙴𝚆 𝙼𝙾𝙽𝚃𝙷𝚂 𝙻𝙰𝚃𝙴𝚁

It was time.

She fixed her Grandpa's small business, helped him complete odd jobs around his house, rewired his computer, and after resetting his internet modem for the umpteenth time, she finally ran out of ways to keep her mind distracted. It was time to go back to work, she knew that. Her anxiety just kept screaming at her telling her not to.

"That's the last of it kiddo," Buddy smiled sadly at his granddaughter. The young woman was the closest thing he had to a real daughter or grandchild and it broke his heart a little every time she left home. "I hate to see you go but you need to get back out there. You can't hide forever Annie."

"I was trying really hard to, Grandpa." She smiled tiredly at him. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Call me when you make it." He brought the girl into his arms, holding her tightly before he forced himself to let go. "Drive safely." She waved at him as she climbed in her car, both of them unaware of the man snapping photos of them from down the street. She sped off and the man watching her waited until the older man was back inside before racing down the street after her. He made sure to keep a distance from her, not wanting to get suspicious but as she merged onto a freeway that isolated them from other civilians, a wicked smirk grew on his face.

Izzy clocked the car following her the second she switched routes. She scrambled for her phone, the new one that only had three numbers programmed in it. She dialed the first number and cursed aloud when the call dropped. She tried again, hastily trying the other two and muttering more words as each call failed. "Shit!" She shouted as the car behind her bumped her rear end. She pushed her foot down harder on the gas pedal, praying it would go faster. (It didn't.) She swerved to avoid another hit, hitting the brake as he tried to ram into her from the side. She stepped on the gas again and narrowly avoided colliding with him.

"Fuck!" She screamed as a bullet hit her back windshield. She ducked down and swerved the car. She didn't know what to do. Car chases weren't her expertise, it wasn't something she was trained to know. "Pick up, please.." She begged as she dialed the number again. She breathed out a sigh of relief as it rang and that one second she took her eyes off the road was long enough for the man to ram into her once more. Her phone fell from her hand at the impact. She spotted a curve ahead on the freeway and she knew the next exit was coming up. She was almost free of him. She sped for it, looking through her rearview mirror. Her eyes darted back to the road and she gasped, slamming her foot on the brake at the sight of a helicopter on the road. "What the fuck?" Another shot rang out and she ducked down. She caught sight of her phone on the floorboard and as she reached for it, someone knocked on her window. The barrel of a gun stared back at her, a red-haired man grinning evilly behind it. He used the gun to tap on the window again, beckoning for her to exit the car. With her hands raised in the air, he opened the door and she stood in front of him with a panicked look in her eyes. "Who even are you?" She asked him bluntly.

"No time for chit-chat." He moved behind her, the gun still pointed at her. "Move." He pushed her forward and she glared at him before walking towards the helicopter. Seated in the passenger area was a blonde woman Izzy didn't recognize. The woman smiled at her and the eerie sight was was the last thing Izzy saw before the man behind her rammed the handle of the gun against her temple. Before she could hit the floor, he caught her and hoisted her body onto the seat.

"Time to get to work." Cypher smiled at her lackey.

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Cypher stared down at the gravestone with disinterest. She was only there to antagonize one of the men she needed. She heard the dead grass crunch beneath each step he took. "You can put the gun away." She rolled her eyes as she spun to face him. "I have something you want and if you kill me, you'll never see her again." Genie paled at what she said. She pulled out a phone, a single video on the screen waiting to be played.

"You don't want to do this." he threatened her.

"Yeah, I think I do." She answered simply, offering the phone to him. "I'll be in touch."

Genie pressed play on the video and his muscles tensed up at the sight of his girlfriend tied up and unconscious. His jaw clenched at the sight of a man standing over her, his hand reaching out to touch her just as the video cut off. He rewatched the video, unaware that the woman had shown a similar video to his girl's Dad, only it featured someone else.