Hey guys!

Here's a long chapter! This is actually a "filler" with all information being out in the open. The last part in this chapter is though action packed and I think you'll like it as much as I loved writing it!

I am so so thankful for all the love you have shown for this book! I was amazed seeing my cover at the spiritual section, like my book, a amateur writers book, Allhamdullillah. This is the first time I have reached there and In Sha Allah if I manage to write better, and with your help I might reach further. Thanks again for everything my lovelies!

Love
Shona

P.S. This is a work of fiction, so all the theories and information is not true. I am not taking any side, I am just writing my tangled mind out as the story progresses. I am sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings, I would never want to offend anyone.

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America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.

Barack Obama

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So we're still in the car and the rain just started to pour down right after my question was thrown out in the open. "She and her husband are hostages." Shawn says distracted, even though there's no emotion noticeable on him I can sense his grip on the steering tighten as his knuckles turns pale.

Okey, I wasn't expecting that. To be honest, I was holding my breath as I thought maybe Adams parents aka Shawns sister and brother-in-law had passed away. However, his answer made me even more mortified. Expect that the rain is pouring down as if being offended by my question. "I am so sorry Shawn. I didn't know, gosh now it makes sense. That's the reason for you to join the extremist group? As they have your sister?" I whisper not knowing how to act around the subject.

Shawn offers me a sympathetic glance, wait what? Shouldn't I be the one showing sympathy? I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "You're so naive, just like the rest of the world." He exclaim making me raise my eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" My reply comes out a bit snappy as I feel offended, to be honest I am too confused right now.

He gives away a smirk facing the road, as if the situation isn't absurd enough. "You really think that the extremist groups are the problem here?" I open my mouth but he stops me before a word can leave from it.

"Ok, yes they are a big problem but guess who's giving them fuel?" he asks me with his blue intense eyes mocking which leaves me puzzled. "You're not seeing the bigger picture in here, which country is the Big Brother in the world right now?" He divert his gaze to me from the road for a second.

"No guess? Ok, which country is the most influencing country right now? You can see all of their news, which they choose to show, all around the world." His voice laces fury and dissatisfaction.

"USA." I blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind.

"Bingo." He shakes his head with a humorless smile. "You asked me how I can be so heartless and play with the image, as well the life, of 2.2 billion peoples around the world. I asked myself the same question when I came to know about my next mission. It sent a shiver down my spine realizing what we actually were up to. However as the remarkable trained soldier I was, they wouldn't let me get off the hook so easily. The U.S. army with the help of the higher authority made sure to arrange that the abduction of my sister and her husband went smoothly, with no clues left behind." Shawns words lingers on me which forces goose bumps on my body to form.

This new piece of information does not go down well with me. He must be lying? I mean please, what does he think of himself? There must be plenty other well trained soldiers too? Ok, I am being judgmental right now so just stop brain! Shawn doesn't seem to be the one who lies. "What now?" I clear my throat as it came out too raspy. "What's your options?" I reformulate a bit shaky.

Shawn sighs. "They told me to do this last mission, then they'll be released and none of us will have to ever work again." He shrugs tiredly. "I had to sign on a lot of confidential documents for that offer." He adds shaking his head at the memory.

That at least sounds rewarding. "How long is the mission?" My questions comes out as rapid fire.

Shawn spares me a glance. "Total of two years, six months left." He answers surprised at my interest.

That sounds awfully long to be away from home. "Have you heard from your sister ones in these one and a half years?" I keep interrogating with my gaze focused on the road ahead.

"No." He softly answers which makes me mortified. I don't show that to him though as I pray that his sister and brother-in-law are alright.

"What is the ultimate goal of the mission?" I feel numb right now.

"Hate and war." He says with a duh tone.

"Between?"

"There's no between, just hate against the religion Islam and everyone who follows it. When for example ISIS strikes in the Middle East, USA gets a reason to invade those countries. They say to help but what about the oil they get back home, the land they leave in ruins and the deaths they causes?" Shawn questions as he explains.

When it comes to religion and the freedom of speeche, I am a real softy. I always find myself upset when people can't accept other people due to their beliefs or opinions. I mean as long as they won't hurt anyone then what's the problem? Also maybe because I am a Muslim and sometimes feel responsible for all the horrible things going around in the world.

I sigh tiredly and rest my head back on the seat. "Why hate against Islam? What has Islam done for wrong? Most Muslim people, not the psychopaths and the extremists, believe in peace and harmony. To tell you the truth if Islam actually preached hate and violence, then I guess you and every other non-Muslims would have been dead by now. Isn't faith a personal thing? If someone wants to pray five times a day, fast, perform Hajj and give donations then what is the problem as long as they're not harming anyone?"

"Sana, don't you think I know all of that?" Shawn asks gently. "The problem is that your religion is growing and it is a threat to especially the U.S. government. USA is the country with the most power and influence right now. If the Middle East starts to rebuild, there's a chance that the countries might cooperate with each other. If that happens, USA might lose their political power." he takes a pause as if to ponder how to formulate his next words.

"Which to be honest is also a threat to the world. Because if Middle East gets the power, democracy is going out of the window and soon everyone will have to be a Muslim and follow the Sharia. Therefore to keep the position, USA and the Europe countries wants to eliminate the Muslims from the ground. Both ways are a dead end for humans, especially the Muslims. The problem isn't the religious views, it is the political views mixing the religion." Shawn make clear to me.

I shrug not comprehending all the details and not knowing what exactly to believe in right now. "And what about ISIS? I know that you know more about them."

"Yes well, usually there is people paid to shape up extremist groups. The funny thing is that even Saudi and some Muslim countries invest in them. The extremist groups propagate and recruit easily manipulative youngsters. The youngsters might be having a bad life, frustration or lack of humanity which makes them take the bold step to belong to something bigger and better. They usually don't even know what they're actually fighting for." That actually applies for Shawn at the moment if you ask me, he is just doing what he is being told.

Shawn continues with a grimace. "This is a effective way of spreading hate against a certain group of people without dirtying your own hands. The media is an amazing toll to angle and highlight details for the benefit of your own. The thing is all of this tangled mess, it is much bigger than you can imagine. It is not just USA or this and that country, it is so much more chaotic." He sounds really exhausted now.

We both go quite and his words spins around inside my head. Maybe a World War III is inevitable, and this time Muslims are the new Jews. For me it still remains a fact that people are defined by if they're good or bad and what's in their heart, not by any other factor.

To be honest, a World War III has already begun. The only reason we from the neutral countries don't feel it or see it is because we observe things behind a piece of paper or a screen, safe in our comfy homes. But how safe are we actually? Technically speaking I am sitting beside my kidnapper. Technically speaking the hate war with we and them has already begun. This one thought actually make my hair slowly rise up on my skin, giving form to goosebumps at its finest.

Shawn seem lost in his own deep thought with fine lines adorning his forehead. "Why did you let me stay alive?" The question suddenly leaves my mouth cutting through the comfortable silence.

Shawn doesn't hesitate to answer. "You reminded me of the old me, in another word the naive and stupid me." I glare at him while raising a eyebrow, he continues unaffected. "Nonetheless, you have a kindness in you that the world needs more of. And also because I am not a murderer, I don't kill if it is avoidable." I actually smile upon hearing the simple explanation.

"Well, you still do have a temper problem." This is true, he has been harsh.

"Yeah I know and it doesn't get any better when having a noisy and no-order-taking girl around me." He rolls his eyes while I stare at him shocked, such a ego. He will never apologize for his behavior I guess.

Inhaling a deep breath I relax myself feeling sleepy. Just before slumber hits me I swear I hear someone mumble. "I am sorry."

Splashing my face with cold water I try to bring life to myself. Spending the night in the car have taken a tool on my neck and I feel so tired. The bathroom is actually nice, I always thought that motels are fishy and shady but this one Shawn dragged me into to freshen up is actually decent.

I put on a scarf from the bag Shawn handed me before entering the washroom. He had filled a bag with some clothing and some other necessary possessions of his before we had fled from Osman mansion while I had been staring at a hurt Yousef.

Walking out to a waiting Shawn in the bright white corridor in the motel we start to walk towards the exit. It's a sunny day and I just want to get to a beach and relax, eat an ice-cream, dreamy much? I don't know when such a simple desire became out of question. Suddenly Shawn grabs my hand and turns us around. "Shawn?" Perplexed I run with him and we enter the washroom again. "What's going on?" I question mortified with a hammering heart.

He breaths deeply. "They're here and have parked beside my car." My eyes widens, crap! Osman clan is already here? Great, one more problem, I lean against the door.

"What now?" I ask mortified with my temples hurting due to the new tension.

"Let us see if we can find a backdoor." He says and he quickly opens the door to take one step out with me behind him but he pushes me back again to close it. "Damn it!" He curses a few seconds more and kicks the heavy door, and I give him a moment. "They saw us." He utters after calming down and I almost stumble.

"Shawn! What should we do now? This is freaking me out!" My breathing comes uneven and I feel a panic attack on its way.

My heart is collapsing anytime soon if beating in the same speed as now. My stupid body is full on cold sweating. Shawn opens his mouth to say something but the door is suddenly knocked on and our attention shifts to the door.

I stand there panic stricken with my heart in my throat. We both turn to each other for confirmation that someone is knocking at the door. The knocking turns to kicks and we can hear voices. "I know you're in there open the door!" "They're in there just break the door."

Shit! My heart is racing as never before, adrenaline rushing through me. Shawn runs to the cupboard beside the door and pushes it in front of the door as a second shield, I try to help him but to be honest he doesn't need the help.

My stupid habit of biting my nails kicks in. "What now?" I whisper to Shawn feeling helpless not knowing how to escape.

Shawn looks around in the bathroom and my eyes follows his. He is looking at a tiny window behind the toilet seat, seriously if he is thinking what I think he is thinking then he is totally mad! "No way, that's impossible!" The banging on the door goes louder as in sync with my heart rate.

Shawn ignores me and strides towards the window. He stands on the seat and grips the metal handle and makes an attempt to open it. "Nothing is impossible, even the word impossible says that I'm possible." Since when is he so optimistic?

Anyway, he tries a bit harder but it's jammed, my heart rate is at top and it feels like the door will break open any second now. He looks at me and I frown seeing his eyes resting on my neck and chest area.

"What?" I question uncomfortable.

"Give me your scarf." He orders and I hand him over my black scarf with colored circles on which I wore this morning.

He twirl it around his right hand and in a second a crash is heard which makes me gasp. No it was not the door, it was Shawn. His fist knocked the glass window. He makes sure that every piece of glass is broken down to not hurt us. "Come here! You first." He claims and I look at him in horror. "Just come! Trust me." He says looking straight into my eyes with his blue eyes soothingly.

He stretches his hand forward and I take it while inhaling a sharp deep breath. Just because he is having a calming effect on me doesn't mean that I can't think logically. I won't fit through it! Not even half of me will! However, I rather trust his instincts than my logic right now.

Walking up beside him I get a bit nervous being so close to him, he is resting his hands on my waist. "Okey, so climb up by the help of me and the seat edge." He tells me nonchalantly and looks into my eyes, yeah because this is so normal I do it almost every day. "Don't worry about anything. The door won't break so easily as it is made of steel." He tries to calm my racing heart.

I nod and try to heave myself up. Letting go of a shriek I get back on my position beside him but hide my face in my hands while at the same time clutching on to him. "Hey what's wrong?" He asks me while soothing me by my back.

My voice trembles while I look up. "It's a spider." I cry and he looks at me as if I have lost it, which I might have as I am crying over a spider in such circumstances. I can't stand spiders even though I know that they're awesome. I mean they did help our prophet to escape once when he was fleeing for his dear life, Allhamdullillah. Having nothing against spiders actual life, it's just their closeness I have a problem with.

He sighs while pressing his temples. "Where?" He asks looking back at me with a 'are you kidding me' expression. I point towards it and he effortlessly strike it away with a annoyed expression. "Now please hurry." He stresses as he can hear the door break open in any minute.

I climb up on the seat edge and heave myself up, my feet going through the window first as it is too small to shift position in. Shawn holds me by my waist while my hands takes support by his neck. My heart has never beaten so fast. When sliding through the window, I am afraid I am going to fall or worse faint, luckily my feet hits the ground but I lose my balance which I get back in a moment with the help of my swinging arms. Shawn is beside me in a matter of seconds. "They broke it." Grabbing my wrist he enlightens and we start to run for our dear life.