The fire blazed warmly in the space they had prepared for the night. The floor of the cave was packed with hard sand. Slightly different to the other places they had stayed on this crazy journey. Sam sat with maps spread across a makeshift table, a small lamp glowing over the papers. Stan had checked the perimeter and was making his way across the massive space as Sam watched Amy going through the contents of their backpacks. The woman sat beside the fire with their bags open, and the contents were strewn over the ground. Surprisingly Amy had prepared dinner, washed up and packed everything away. Leaving Sam and Stan the time to look into their safety for the time they stayed here. Watching Amy frown over something, Sam shook her head. Remembering the difference between the woman the Tenderhooks had tried to pass off as Mrs Bassett and this woman who was pulling her weight.

"She's fascinating," Stan murmured, reaching for a map of the area, "as different as chalk is from cheese."

"Everything okay with the perimeter?" Sam asked.

"Our perimeter is secure," Stan said, crouching next to where Sam sat cross-legged in the dirt.

"Wonder what she is having to concentrate so hard over," Stan mused, frowning as Amy moved things around.

"Glad you have something to watch," Sam said, "Stan, we need to devise a plan."

"Oh, now it's "we". Since when have you decided to work that way?" Stan asked.

"Please can you sit down and listen," Sam said, "let me try to explain ... or try to help you understand."

Stan sat on a log, "You don't need to say anything about anything up to this point. It's as plain as the nose on your face. You have worked alone your entire career. You didn't know or trust me enough to loop me into the plan. You allowed me ... your supposed partner to be strung along in the dark, and hopefully, he didn't get himself killed like a rookie."

Sam sighed, "That's it in a nutshell, but I had always worked alone until my ... partnership with you. I didn't know ... how to work with someone else. The longer we work together, the more you teach me and ..." Sam glanced away, "... I'm sorry if I made you feel less than an equal partner."

"Apology is under advisement," Stan said, meeting Sam's cautious gaze, "it doesn't mean you're off the hook for your brazen treatment of me, but it's a start," he smiled. "Tell me why you want to loop me in now?"

"You're right," Sam nodded, "I was rather .... brazen ... as you put it but working with you makes me want to be part of a team," Sam whispered. "Being part of something cohesive and perhaps watching each other's backs."

Stan stared at Sam. Finally, she sighed and looked away.

"I can understand if you do not wish me to be part of the team after the way I behaved, but please know I wasn't reverting to old ways with those instructions in the field. The moment I got those messages, I looped you in. My handler didn't discuss it with me. The information was given as an order ..." Sam sighed, shaking her head, "that is what my life is like ... cause and effect. There has been no discussion. Only what needs to be done and doing it."

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"Victim and target," Stan murmured, "sounds like Jeff's life as well."

"Yeah," Sam said, nodding, "I'm worried ... where we're heading could be tough even for us. What if Amy cannot make it? Somehow I don't think you'll be able to carry her."

"I take if you've already looked at the map," Stan said, shaking his head, "have you decided which way we're taking?"

"There are a few routes that are options for us," Sam said, nodding, "there are two which will get us to our destination quicker than the other two ...but ..."

Sam looked around, straightening her back and then sighing.

"Care to continue?" Stan asked.

"I'm worried they will be dangerous," Sam said, "even for us."

"Why are you worried if it's dangerous for us?" Stan asked, smirking.

"If we're in danger and Amy is in danger, who will get us out?" Sam asked.

"We'll get each other out of danger," Stan said, "pull out the maps you've been using. Let's see what you have."

Nodding, Sam pulled three maps toward them, "We're here on each," she said, indicating minor marks on each map, "this map I've marked with the easiest route to take, but it is also the longest."

"What is this one?" Stan asked, pulling another map toward them.

"The intermediate one but the end result would be us all being captured," Sam sighed, "so I marked that one not viable."

"Fair enough," Stan said, nodding and pushing the map away, "what about this one?"

"One of the shortest routes," Sam said, "the problem is the rocks ... this stretch is treacherous."

"Noted, and the last one?" Stan asked.

"This one has a cliff face we need to climb and two rivers we need to cross," Sam said.

"We could do that with our eyes closed and a hand tied behind our backs," Stan said," why have you marked it dangerous?"

"Sure, we can but not with gale-force winds blowing," Sam said, pointing to the geographical sign on the paper, "it's known as the most treacherous mountain range in the area."

"Okay, so it's an option, but if you agree not the first choice," Stan said.

"None of these is my first choice," Sam said. "If I could have the first choice, it would be to be airlifted out of here and taken to the rendezvous point, but that will give away our position, so that is definitely out."

"Your first choice would be an excellent one, but you have a valid point," Stan said, "we cannot give our position away."

"What is this one?" Stan asked, pulling a map toward them, "it looks like the tunnels in the caves."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what to make out of this one," Sam said, "I found this in my backpack when we arrived here. I never brought it with me, and I never knew a cave system spanned most of the mountains."

Stan looked over each map he began to smile.

"We may have another option. If we used a route from this map," Stan said, pointing at the map of the cave network. "Along with sections of the other maps making our own route, we could move in a way that would baffle anyone trying to track us."

"It's a possibility if we can pul lit off, and you're sure about that, then let's see what we can come up with," Sam said, pulling all the maps into the light. Stan folded them, displaying only the section needed.

"Let's get to work," Stan said.