Gone is the Illusion of Order

**Gone is the Illusion of Order** is the eighth and final episode of the first season of the Paramount+ espionage thriller *Special Ops: Lioness*. It aired on September 3, 2023.

## Synopsis

Unforeseen circumstances leaves the mission in jeopardy. A suspicious Eshan confronts Cruz before his wedding day. Joe and the team prepare for the worst.

## Plot

Joe and her team arrive at the El-Prat International Airport in Barcelona, Spain. As they land, Joe gives Cruz two beacons disguised as a necklace and bracelet. They will almost certainly scramble the cell signal, so that is the only way to contact them if she has Geronimo and/or needs a hot extraction. Kyle will be her closest contact whilst they'll be offshore. If anything goes south, her extraction point is the water. Joe reminds Cruz of what's at stake and asks where her head is at. After Bobby assures her they'll come running once she hits the button, Cruz and Kyle exit the jet and enter a separate vehicle. They make their way to the airport, where they slip through the backdoor separately, though Kyle and a fellow agent maintains eyes on Cruz from a safe distance as the three of them board the plane.

Westfield enters the Situation Room at the White House, where Secretary Mullins confronts Westfield for failing to arrive with both Joe and Cruz. As for their next move, Westfield can send in the QRF and pull the agent, but that doesn't guarantee they'll avoid an incident, if anything, it may create one. The Lioness is going to work it out how she works it out. Either this is a success mission or she fails, but if they choose not to intervene, she will look like a lone wolf. Westfield adds that the Lioness program has been extremely successful, but Chief of Staff Mason argues otherwise. NSA Advisor Hollar informs Westfield that the President is in Paris. As they speak, there's not a European city with more terrorist elements in place. What he has to decide is: Does he put the President on Air Force One and haul him back to DC, which likely puts him in international airspace when this sets off. Westfield explains that the wedding is tomorrow night, and if Amrohi is present, and if the decision is to launch a strike from the Roosevelt, then yes, Westfield would advise him to bring the President home immediately. But if their asset is able to neutralize the target herself, he doesn't see how this links back to them in any way. While Amrohi is a major target, Hollar claims he's also been useful. Killing him would be therapeutic for the region, but he isn't a billionaire from blowing up open air markets and mosques. He's a billionaire because he moves 8 million barrels a day into Russia and China. Hollar fears what will happen to oil prices when 10% of production returns to the open market, it's a calamity for their strategic partners. He also fears how Russia and China will react. In other words, Hollar doesn't think Amrohi, the Devil they know, should be killed, because the world doesn't have the leaders to navigate the Devil they don't know. With so much undecided, Hollar decides to bring the President home.

Cruz arrives at the airport in Palma De Mallorca, Spain, where she is greeted and escorted to the wedding by Asif.

Joe and the rest of the team arrive at a dock, where they board a boat that's about four hours from Mallorca. While Joe and Kaitlyn set up, Bobby is taken to their gear, and Tucker is given the lay of the bridge.

Westfield calls Kaitlyn and reveals that they're leaning towards pulling Cruz, but Kaitlyn reveals that she's already in route to the location and tells Westfield to reason with them. They can't pull Cruz now because they don't have the means and are unable to communicate the order. They've been trying to get Amrohi for 22 years, and Kaitlyn refuses to let him get away. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew prepare for departure.

Cruz is taken to the Fortaleza Estate, where security is tight, so much so that she is forced to go through a metal detector and undergo a search whilst they run her ID. Meanwhile, Westfield and Secretary Mullins watch from satellite. Mason questions how they're planning to get her out, while Mullins tells Westfield that they can't order a missile strike on this location n matter who the target is, to which Westfield agreed. Hollar is now questioning how the Lioness intends to neutralize the target. Westfield explains that she has limited options. Assuming she is successful, she will enact a beacon and move to an extraction point, where the QRF will intercept. She could also mark the target with a tracker, draw him out to where they can get visual confirmation through a satellite. At this point, the QRF can strike if they end up tracking him to a location that is better suited for that response. And if the opportunity presents itself, she can neutralize the target herself.

Asif escorts Cruz to Ehsan, though Aaliyah is nowhere in sight. He wonders why Cruz left New York in tears, only to come back and leave in tears again. And while Aaliyah was leaving the next morning, she was in tears as well. He questions why that is. Cruz reveals that Aaliyah is scared because her life is about to change, while Cruz is scared her life won't change. Ehsan isn't convinced and accuses Cruz of telling the same lie that Aaliyah told him. He then slaps Cruz and tells her that tomorrow Aaliyah will be his wife, and she'll never see Cruz again. Tonight is their goodbye. And if Cruz tells Aaliyah they spoke, he'll have her thrown into the sea. Cruz tells him to try and encourages him to bring back up if he does. Now standing before Ehsan, she demands to be taken to Aaliyah or the airport, to which Ehsan responds that she should be taken to Aaliyah because otherwise his wife will spend their wedding night with her legs closed, though Cruz remarks that she will likely do so regardless.

Cruz makes her way to the women's side of the compound, where she convenes with Aaliyah, who introduces Cruz to her mother.

Neal awakens to Kate's frightened screams after having a nightmare about the crash. Neal runs downstairs and comforts her. Still upset, Kate calls her mom to reveal that she missed Holly's funeral. Joe attempts to comfort her, but Kate is upset that she didn't even get to say goodbye. Joe offers to take her to the grave when she comes back, but Kate fears it's too late. Joe tells her that she can say goodbye in her heart and that it doesn't matter where she is. She then asks to speak with Neal, who she scolds for ambushing her like this, as she's not in the right place to be dealing with this. Neal understands, but he didn't have much warning either when she woke up screaming. Much like Joe, he's frustrated as well with their predicament. After getting a bit of anger out of his system, Neal apologizes and tells Joe to focus on her job.

Joe and the team arrive at the shore of Mallorca, where the wedding is being held. They scope out the area and look for the best point of contact.

Aaliyah explains that the guests will arrive tomorrow during the day. She and Ehsan will say vows, but that is private, just immediate family. After that, the men go one way, and the women go another, where each group will have their own independent parties and celebration. The parties don't start until 10 at night, but Aaliyah can't show up until midnight, so as not to seem too eager. She'll then walk a long plank to a couch looking out, so that everyone can admire her, but what they actually do is gossip and argue. Then Ehsan and a few men, namely his father and brothers, and Aaliyah's father and brothers will visit them for a few songs. She and Ehsan will dance, and then the men go back to their parties and the women continue theirs. Despite claiming he wouldn't be, Aaliyah confirms that her father is indeed be at the wedding and that Cruz will get the opportunity to meet him at breakfast. Aaliyah only said he would be killed if he was out in public because that's what her mother has always told her. But everywhere is a danger for him. It has been that way her whole life, though she's not exactly sure why. Many say that her father is a terrorist who funds armies and does all these evil things, but Aaliyah says he only sells oil to whoever buys it. Nevertheless, Aaliyah knows they will get him some day, and she suspects that's why he chose Ehsan, because he's a smart investor who is very respected. Aaliyah then reveals that Ehsan knows about them, which Cruz is already aware of, but speaks nothing of her encounter with him. In two days, all that Aaliyah knows of love is what she can imagine and what she can remember of her time with Cruz. Aaliyah doesn't like children, given their disposition to noise and uncleanliness, but she hopes God at least gives her the love of her own children.

The team is nearly in place. Tucker assures them that he can get them about 40-50 ft offshore. Kaitlyn then calls Joe over to see the satellite footage of Amrohi at the wedding. Simultaneously, Westfield and the Situation Room watch his emergence as well. Hollar demands they shut this down, but they intend to move forward as planned.

Aaliyah escorts Cruz to her room, where she stands at the doorway before stepping towards Cruz, as if to kiss her. Howevr, Cruz pulls away, and Aaliyah takes that to mean that she should leave. Cruz then shuts her door and proceeds to cry, unable to contain her emotions any longer. Meanwhile, Ehsan runs her ID and comes up with no match.

Kaitlyn gets another call from Westfield, who reveals that the Situation Room wants to pull Cruz, but there's no way of doing so without a gunfight, which he reports back to them.

Neal calls Joe, but she declines his call. And so, he texts Joe to be safe and that they love her, which only makes the situation worse for Joe, who begins to cry. Kaitlyn follows her into the kitchen and tells her to hand over her phone, because she will never get back to her family if she keeps thinking about them.

During the late hours of the night, Aaliyah enters Cruz's room and tells her that she doesn't want to get married. She told Ehsan, but he isn't concerned with her needs. Aaliyah joins Cruz in bed, stating that she just wants to feel loved one last time. Cruz argues that Aaliyah doesn't want that from her, as she barely knows her, but Aaliyah will not be deterred. They kiss, but Cruz pulls away, exclaiming that she can't do this.

Ehsan runs facial recognition on Cruz and discovers her real identity from a Riverside High School article detailing how she won the 800-meter state dash in Oklahoma City. He then proceeds to web search her name and discovers that she's a marine.

Cruz makes her way to the kitchen, where she makes the acquaintance of Aaliyah's father, Asmar Amrohi, who invites her to join him for some Gelato. However, Ehsan enters and attacks Cruz, exposing her as a marine. She counters his attack, and stabs him in the neck with a kitchen knife, killing him. Amrohi grabs an iron skillet and attacks Cruz, though she manages to defend herself, stabbing Amrohi several times in the stomach before slitting his throat and pressing the button on her beacon.

Joe and the rest of the team get the signal from Cruz, at which point, they grab their gear, jump in the water and swim to shore whilst Tucker sets up from the boat. Meanwhile, Cruz ducks and dodges gunfire as she flees the compound.

Back at the Situation Room, Westfield calls Kaitlyn for an assessment, but she is unsure if Cruz made contact or if she was simply compromised.

Cruz continues to outrun gunfire, but she is winded and cornered in the courtyard, where she hides behind a large rock. As Amrohi's men approach, Joe and the rest of the team fortunately arrive to take out the armed guards and extract Cruz. Once they're back on board, Cruz punches Joe, but they are pulled apart and taken inside before things can escalate. There, Kaitlyn asks Cruz if she hit the target, which she assures Kaitlyn she did.

Westfield learns from Kaitlyn that Amrohi is dead, which he reports back to Mullins, Mason, and Hollar, all of whom are disgruntled about the news. Mullins and Mason accuse him of setting Mideast relations back 40 years, but Westfield retorts that they should've taken him off the list if they didn't want him dead.

With everyone on board, Tucker steers the boat away from the scene. Joe calls Cruz outside, where Cruz lands yet another punch. Joe then takes control of the matter and warns Cruz against every laying hands on her again. Cruz accuses Joe of making her into a monster, stating that Amrohi was simply an old man, who Joe forced her to kill. Joe reminds Cruz that she saved lives and that Amrohi was responsible for 20 years of chaos and death. Unlike Joe, Cruz's heart isn't a weapon and her body isn't a tool. Because of this, Cruz is unable to sleep and now she wants out. Even if Amrohi was everything that Joe says he was, Cruz is certain about one thing, and that's her relationship with Aaliyah. Rather than saving future lives, Cruz argues that Aaliyah's kids are going to hear stories about how their grandfather died and become the next generation of terrorists.

Aaliyah sits on the steps in tears, as her father and fiancé's bodies lie just a few feet away.

Kaitlyn returns home, and immediately learns from Errol that Brent crude is down $8 a barrel in pre-trading, to which Kaitlyn replies that she never understood pre-trading and after-hours trading. If the market has a starting bell and a closing bell, who gets to trade around the bells, she wonders. The people who control the bell, Errol answers, though he's certain Kaitlyn is already aware of this. He accuses her of acting naive, but Kaitlyn replies that she's simply curious. If she's truly curious, Errol says she should ask him who rings the bell.

Joe returns home and joins Neal in the kitchen. She admits that this job took a toll on her and embraces Neal.

## Cast

* Laysla De Oliveira as Cruz Manuelos
* Dave Annable as Neal McNamara
* Jill Wagner as Bobby
* LaMonica Garrett as Tucker
* James Jordan as Two Cups
* Austin Hébert as Randy
* Jonah Wharton as Tex
* Stephanie Nur as Aaliyah
* Hannah Love Lanier as Kate McNamara
* Nicole Kidman as Kaitlyn Meade
* Morgan Freeman as Edwin Mullins
* Martin Donovan as Errol Meade
* Bassem Youssef as Asmar Ali Amrohi
* Jennifer Ehle as Chief of Staff Mason
* Bruce McGill as NSA Advisor Hollar
* Thad Luckinbill as Kyle McManus
* Ray Corasani as Ehsan
* Carla Mansour as Malika
* Layla Mohammadi as Nashwa
* Priscilla Doueihy as Nala

Co-starring* Richard Haddad as Asif
* Katya Collazo as Amber Mills
* Brett Bartholomew as Officer O'Malley
* Maggie Parto as Fariha
* Karen Izaguirre as Danika
* Dion Costelloe as Officer Yeagers
* Charley Tucker as Army Joint Chief
* Michelle Foard as Flight Attendant
* Amalina Ace as Tami
* Angelina Boris as Cheerleader #2
* Ellie Kim as Cheerleader #3
* Guy Lemonnier as Colonel