Blindspot - Zapata and Reade

Forever

Tasha was walking towards the bar on a Friday night to meet Reade for drinks when a man approached her.
"Agent Zapata?" inquired Jones.
"Yes. How can I help you?" she replied.
"My name is Special Agent Jeremiah Jones. I'm with Homeland. I was wondering if you'd be interested in an op in Kandahar" he explained
"Erm... I'm grateful for the opportunity but I'm part of a special team here and I can't leave all that. I'm sure you understand?... and anyway you'll find agents much more qualified for the op" she said in attempt to politely decline his offer.
"I know... but its just that this case is the search and rescue of a decorated marine and his wife, the marine has access to some very sensitive information that could be very dangerous if placed into the wrong hands. But the reason I wanted to involve you in this is because of his wife, her name is Sofía Lozano, previously Sofía Zapata... your mother" answered Jones.
In that moment Tasha's heart dropped to her stomach, her mother was not very involved in her life. After her dad left her mother relapsed to drugs and neglected her and her brothers. She was raised by her grandmother who tried her best but Tasha had a difficult childhood. Her first feeling was shock, the woman who had left her to fend for herself had been kidnapped. Then she felt denial.
"So you're telling me my drug-abusing mother who neglected her children moved on to marry a decorated marine and has now been kidnapped?!" she exclaimed.
"I understand that this is upsetting but I'm afraid I have to rush you. This is a time sensitive issue and I need an answer now" he said.
She was torn, trying to make that decision. One side of her argued that she shouldn't have to help the woman who chose her heroine over her children. But the other part of her knew that she never wanted to be anything like her mother, and by refusing to help someone in their time of need she would become just like her.
"Okay. I'll do it" she agreed "but I have to tell my team and my boss first".
"I'm afraid there's a catch" he disclosed, causing Tasha to shoot him a curious look.
"This op is confidential. You can't tell anyone... there's a mole in the FBI" he confessed.
"What?!" Tasha exclaimed, earning herself strange looks from people walking by.
"You need to go home, pack a bag and meet me at this address" he said giving her a note.
"How long will this op be?" she asked.
"Two weeks, if everything goes well, now go home and pack a bag, we have to leave tonight" he replied before walking away.
As soon as he was no longer in her line of sight she pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted Reade:
Can't make it tonight. Sorry. Going out of town for a while.
Then she texted Mayfair and notified her she would be taking approximately two weeks leave to deal with a family emergency.

—————————1 week later—————————
"Ok Patterson. It's officially been a week with complete radio silence. I'm worried" stated Reade.
"Me too. I'm running a trace on her cell" she said just as her computer beeped notifying her the trace was completed.
"That's weird. Her phone's off" explained Patterson.
"Tasha's phone is like her baby. She would never switch it off" commented Reade.
"I can check the cell's history though... okay the last number she called was... a homeland number, why was she calling them?" asked Reade
"I don't know but I sure as hell am gonna find out" stated Reade as he left to find Mayfair.

"Assistant Director, can you explain to me why the last number Tasha called was one issued by Homeland" asked Reade bluntly.
"What? What are you talking about?" Inquired Mayfair, becoming just as confused as Reade.
"You didn't know..." realised Reade.
"No. I didn't. Find her" ordered Mayfair.
Reade left Mayfair's office feeling worse than he did when he walked in there. Tasha could be lying dead in a ditch for all he knew.  It was safe to say he was worried. He headed straight for Patterson's lab.

————————Kandahar—————————
Tasha inwardly groaned at the sound of the heavy metal door unlocking and the sound of heavy footsteps walking towards her. She flinched when she felt a finger graze the back of her neck.
"So... how was your supper?" He smirked.
It took all of her willpower to stop the urge she had to spit in his face, so she resorted to telling him to fuck off.
"Oh well that's not a nice thing to say" he said as he yanked her hair backwards "is it?"
Her shoulder cried out in pain, the gash she had acquired earlier seemed like it needed immediate medical attention.
"We've been at this for a week, give up already. Look, we're not after you, we want your boss Reade. Just tell us where to find him" he explained.
Tasha smiled and said: "you might as well kill me."
"Ahhhh. I see how it is, he's your partner and boss, but you're in love with him" he grinned.
Tasha's jaw clenched at his words, was it really that obvious?
"Just so you know, the second I see him I'm gonna put a bullet between his eyes" he said before walking out of the room.
Shit, she thought. Shit. Shit. Shit. She swore she would kill Reade herself if he came to find her.