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LEGACY |
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9:00AM-10:00AM 10:00AM-11:00AM 11:00AM-12:00PM 12:00PM-1:00PM 1:00PM-2:00PM
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 9:00AM AND 10:00AM "Eddie and Alison? What the hell
is going on Sean?”
10:00AM THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 10:00AM AND 11:00AM Debris ripped
into the air all around the office as the bullets kick started a
hurricane of destruction. But when the smoke cleared, Hatcher found the
office empty. Outside the office, armed agents had begun to gather. Cross’s
elevator reached the 17th floor and slowly opened. Cross raced out of
the elevator with his gun raised ready to fire. Hatcher took one look
behind him and knew there was no chance he was getting out the way he
came. But of course, he had never planned to. Hatcher swiftly removed
his suit jacket, revealing himself to be wearing a pack containing a
parachute. Hatcher raced forward and lept out the shattered office
window. He ripped open his parachute and glided down to street level as
agents gathered at the window and watched his daring escape. Sleeth
turned to one of the guards that had entered the office. “Get our people
after him now. That son of a bitch just tried to kill me and I want to
find out why.” Cross made his
way through the crowd. “Well old
buddy, I think I can answer that one for you. Is there some place we can
talk?” “Follow me.” Sleeth led Cross
to the conference room and they each took a seat. Cross cleared his
throat. “Well I’m
glad to see you made it. With all that shit we went through back in
Cuba, would have been a shame to see you go down now.” “Well I knew
who was trying to kill me in Cuba, who is trying to kill me now?” “I trust your
aware there was a planned attack on Roman’s prison convoy today?” “Yeah it was
hit. Were trying to locate Roman now, so far with no success. Hopefully
Bridger will have some answers for me when he gets here.” “Well despite
Roman’s escape, I guess I’m also glad to hear Bridger at least
survived it. But you wanted to know who was after you right? The answer
is an assassin who calls himself Hatcher. Heard of him? “Yeah, he’s a
man we have been pursuing over the years.” “He’s one
dangerous son of a bitch. Rosenthal hired him to kill you, me and
Bridger. He missed you, but you can be sure he’ll be back.” There was a knock
on the conference room door and Bridger entered with one of the security
guards. “Agent Bridger
is here to see you Director, and I was told to inform you our agents
have lost the trail of your attacker. He appears to have gotten away.” “Terrific,
thank you.” The guard nodded
and left. Bridger turned to Sleeth. “So what’s
this about an attacker?” Sleeth brought
Bridger up to speed on Hatcher. Bridger then filled Sleeth and Cross in
on the convoy attack and Alison’s kidnapping. “Both Alison
and Eddie are at the hospital being treated now. Eddie was hit pretty
bad, they are worried the bullet may have hit his spine. They are going
to contact us when they know more. Alison is just shook up though, she
should be alright.” Sleeth spoke up. “Well keep us
updated if you hear anything about Eddie. In the meantime, we have to
locate Roman. Now he couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air.
It’s been over an hour and no road block in any direction has picked
him up. So he can’t be traveling by car. So far our helicopters
haven’t picked up any other helicopters or planes in the vicinity. So
what does that leave us with?” Cross chimed in. “Unless he’s
walking, which I highly doubt, the only option left is a train. Are
there tracks in the area?” “I’ll have my
people check it out. In the meantime, we should get a strike team
prepared. You in on this Sean?” “Of course.
Wouldn’t have it any other way.” “What about you
Cross? Ready to head back into the fray?” “On one
condition, no one kills Roman but me.” 10:15AM Hatcher removed
his cell phone and dialed the number of his Washington contact, Kris
Gorak. Gorak was connected into every major American intelligence
database, and was a priceless asset to Hatcher. “This is Gorak.” “It’s Hatcher,
I need your help.” “I’ll bet you
do. I’ve been watching, your already a breaking news bulletin. I hope
you at least got whoever you were after.” “Not yet. And
my window of opportunity is rapidly closing. I have three targets to
take down before 1pm. I’ll need your help to accomplish this.” “Why does it
have to be before 1pm?” “That’s
another reason we have to meet. Where are you now?” “Meet me at the
Lincoln Memorial, ten minutes.” 10:22AM As Roman tossed
back his third glass of scotch, Ramsey approached with a troubled look
on his face. Both Roman and Rosenthal looked at each other with
anticipated anger. “Our tracking system has picked up helicopters headed our way. It’s possible they have figured out where we are. Would you like me to activate our contingency plan?” “Not yet. Get
men in position on top of the train. They are to take down any
helicopter that approaches.” Roman look
confused. “Do you think
that’s wise Jeremy? If they haven’t figured out we are on the train
that will most definitely give us away.” “It’s only a
matter of time now before they verify that we are on this train. I need
to stall them as long as possible. We are still 40 minutes away from our
backup transportation. We must keep the authorities at bay until
then.” On the roof of
the train, Ramsey had a pair of men positioned with rocket launchers.
Minutes later, a pair of helicopters began to close in on the train. A
pair of rockets were fired and each helicopter dropped from the sky into
smoldering debris. 10:30AM Michael Sleeth
had his strike team assembled in the conference room. The team would be
split into two helicopters with Cross leading one team and Bridger the
other. As Sleeth laid out the plan of attack, there was a knock on the
door and a receptionist entered. “Director
Sleeth, the two helicopters you deployed to inspect the train have gone
off radar. Our people believe they have been shot down. It looks like we
have our confirmation.” “Alright thank
you.” Cross spoke up. “It looks like
they will be ready for us. It may not be our best option to go in from
the air. We know they are on the train, just follow the tracks and take
them from the ground. If we take our the first car we can derail the
whole train.” Sleeth shook his
head. “That train
belongs to a logging company. We have to assume it’s possible that
there are innocent civilians on board. We can’t afford any collateral
damage.” Bridger chimed
in. “I want to avoid collateral damage as much as you Mike, but this is Marcus Roman were dealing with. If we have a chance to take him down we have to use it. If it means running the risk of suffering innocent casualties, then that’s a risk we are going to have to take. We can’t run the far greater risk of letting him escape again. We all know what this man is capable of.” Sleeth took a
moment to consider. “Fine, we do it
your way. Cross, you lead the team in on the ground. Fly in by
helicopter ahead of the train and get explosives in place to derail it.
Once the train is derailed, Bridger will lead the second team in by
helicopter. Remember people, our primary objective is the apprehension
of Marcus Roman by any means possible. We can’t let him slip through
our fingers again. Helicopters are in place on the roof now with your
gear ready to go. Good luck gentlemen.” 10:40AM Gorak stood
waiting at the memorial as Hatcher approached. Gorak reached out his
hand and Hatcher shook it. “It’s been
too long Hatcher. Your taking too many jobs overseas.” “The money’s
good in Europe Kris. You should really look into it.” “I’m quite
happy where I am. But from what you said on the phone, I may not be safe
where I am. What exactly is going on?” “My employers
have something planned for 2pm this afternoon. I’m guessing some sort
of bombing. They said to be out of Washington by then. But I believe in
being properly prepared, I intend to be gone by 1pm.” “Then so shall
I. Who are the targets your after?” “Two of them
are government agents and the other is a contract mercenary. All were
involved in bringing down Marcus Roman eight months ago. I need more
information from you in order to track them down.” “Well you know
where the one target is, the one you just went after right?” “Yes. But I
wasted my only opportunity to get him from the inside. I’ll need
something to draw him out to me. I need leverage. I want you to access
his private files, find out if he has any family or close relatives in
the area. Can you do that?” “It will cost
you the usual fee, but yeah I can handle that. Let’s head back to my
office.” 10:46AM Michael Sleeth
was still in the conference room going over files on Roman when his
receptionist returned. Alison Voight was with her. “Come in
Alison, I’m grateful to see that your alright.” “Thank you
Michael. Has Sean returned back yet?” “Yes he did,
but he’s left again. We picked up Marcus Roman’s location. Sean is
part of the team going to try and apprehend him.” “Well that’s
good news I suppose. I was hoping to catch Sean though, I wanted to
thank him again for all he did. If it wasn’t for him and Eddie, I’d
be dead right now. And poor Eddie, a bullet struck his spinal cord. The
doctors say he’s going to be paralyzed, he may never walk again. And
it was all because he was trying to help me.” “You can’t
blame yourself for the actions of others Alison. It’s tragic what
happened to Eddie, but there is nothing you could have done to prevent
it.” “I suppose, but
that doesn’t make me feel any better. Has Paul’s body been recovered
yet?” “Yes, it’s
already been sent to the morgue. Would you like to see it?” “No, that’s
not how I want to remember him. If I saw him like that, I’m worried
that image would become instilled in my memory and I would have no way
of blocking it out.” “Paul was a
good man Alison, he was a true patriot and he did his duty. We are all
going to miss him. You aren’t alone in your loss, and you have no
shortage of people to come to if you need anything at all.” “Thank you
Michael, I appreciate that. Is it alright if I wait here for Sean to
come back? I really would like to thank him again.” “Of course,
take a seat and I’ll have my receptionist bring you some coffee.” 10:54AM Cross ordered his
pilot to bring the helicopter down as they reached their target point.
The train would be about 5 minutes out. Cross and his team setup C-4
explosive along the track and planted a detonator in with the explosive.
They then returned to the helicopter and flew away from view. Cross
withdrew a pair of binoculars and took a look at the horizon. The train
was coming right on schedule. “Alright boys,
let’s get ready to rock and roll.” 10:59AM Onboard the
train, Roman began to grow uneasy. “This is taking too long. How far away are we from our backup transport?” “Just another
ten minutes sir. You can relax, Ramsey’s men on the roof will keep up
informed if they spot anything.” Just then, Ramsey
approached and he wasn’t bearing good news. “We just
confirmed a helicopter is coming this way, and my men inform me they may
have spotted a second en route. However, they are ready to take them
down if they approach too close.” “Something’s
not right here, the helicopters are waiting for something. Otherwise
they would just attack directly.” As Roman finished
speaking, a large explosion was heard and soon felt as the train cars
derailed and flipped on to their sides. From the skies
above, Cross watched with a smile. “This is Cross,
the package has been wrapped. All teams move in.” 11:00AM
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 11:00AM AND
12:00PM was made to Cross and Bridger. They turned the helicopter around and headed toward the broken road block. They quickly spotted the runaway truck speeding forward. Bridger looked to each side of the helicopter and saw each was equipped with a missile. “Those missiles work?” “Yeah” replied the pilot. “Use them.” The pilot nodded and activated the targeting system. Once the truck was targeted, he fired the missiles. Down in the truck, Rosenthal threw open the back doors and spotted the pursuing helicopter. He reached back and grabbed Roman’s arm and jumped out the back. Seconds later the missiles hit the truck and completely destroyed it, killing Ramsey and Walter. Rosenthal and Roman quickly got up and tried to get away from the burning debris as fast as possible, but they had nowhere to go. The helicopter was brought down and Cross and Bridger quickly exited and tracked them down. Within seconds, the area was completely surrounded. Roman and Rosenthal simply rose their hands in surrender. Bridger reached for his radio. “This is Bridger, you can call off the search. All suspects are in custody.”
12:00PM THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 12:00PM AND 1:00PM Roman and Rosenthal were placed in handcuffs and loaded onto the helicopter. Bridger and Cross were going to personally oversee that they were brought back in without further incident. As they took off, Bridger attempted to contact Sleeth. His receptionist answered. “This is Sean Bridger, please put me through to Director Sleeth.” “I’m sorry Mr. Bridger but we have no idea where Director Sleeth is. He left roughly twenty minutes ago and told no one where he was going. We have been trying to reach him because we detected a security breach. Someone has hacked into his private files. All of his personal information has been compromised.” “Were you able to identify who it was that gained access?” “Whoever it was has an encryption program blocking us from pinpointing their IP address. However, we think we may able to break through it.” “Okay good. We will be arriving in about 15 minutes. Have security personnel waiting to detain two prisoners. Contact me if you hear anything else.” “Yes Mr. Bridger.” Cross turned to Bridger. “What was that about?” “Someone hacked into the NSA database and accessed Michael’s private files. Now he has mysteriously disappeared. I think it’s Hatcher, he’s using Karen as bait to lure Michael to him.” “We have to find some way to help him.” “They are trying to locate the hacker who accessed the files now. It’s a good bet that once we have the hacker, we’ll have Michael and Hatcher.” 12:08PM Roland McGregor sat waiting at a park bench right beside a playground. He watched without emotion as the children played. Unaware, that in less than two hours the ground they stood on would be nothing but debris. Roland was not proud of what he was about to do, but at the same time he lacked the conscience that would prevent him from doing it. Millions die everyday he told himself, it didn’t matter how or why. He looked up as his associate Robert Miller approached. “We picked up the helicopter frequency. Roman and Rosenthal are being brought back to NSA headquarters. And it appears Director Sleeth has vanished without a trace. His private files were accessed by an outside intruder.” “Kris Gorak. He is the only man in the vicinity with the expertise to pull that off. Plus he is a known associate of Mr. Hatcher.” “How do you wish to proceed? Shall I notify the pilot we are on our way?” “No. Roman and Rosenthal can compromise us. We have to deal with them first. Send an anonymous tip to the NSA informing them that it is Kris Gorak who accessed their database and provide his address. I have all the information in my client database. Cross and Bridger will change their destination and head for Gorak instead. This will give us easier access to Roman and Rosenthal and allow us to eliminate all of our problems at once. We should still be able to fly out by 1pm as planned.” “Yes sir.” 12:12PM Sleeth and Hatcher pulled up outside Gorak’s office and exited the car. Gorak’s office was in fact a computer repair shop. Gorak had found it to be an effective cover. Hatcher led Sleeth inside at gunpoint and into the back office where Gorak was waiting. As they entered the back office, Gorak had a current view of a camera visible on his main computer monitor. The monitor showed Karen, tied up, in the back of a van. “My associate Mr. Gorak was kind enough to set me up with the camera and the van. As you can see, Miss Bowman is still alive, for now. Her future lifespan relies on your friends. I want them brought to me.” “I already told you, they are pursuing Roman.” “Not anymore. You will contact them and instruct them to head to the Shady Meadow cemetery. They have until 12:40. If they have not arrived by that time, you and Miss Bowman will be killed. Am I understood?” “You got a phone?” Gorak handed Sleeth a phone and he called Bridger. “This is Bridger.” “Sean, it’s Michael.” “Mike, where did you go? Has something happened to Karen?” “Short answer, yes. Hatcher wants you and Cross to return to Washington and be at the Shady Meadow cemetery by 12:40. Or he is going to kill Karen and I.” “We’ll be there. Hang on buddy.” “Thanks.” Michael hung up and handed the phone back to Gorak. “This is going to end badly for you Hatcher.” “We shall see Mr. Sleeth, we shall see.” 12:20PM As his private jet landed, Frank Roenick quickly made his way off and rushed to the car that was there waiting for him. He got in the back and the car took off. A panel folded down from the roof of the car as it pulled away and the monitor located on the panel came on. Steven Glover, Director of Roenick’s covert unit appeared. “Glad to see you made it to Washington in one piece Frank. Our original lead on McGregor was obviously faulty. We can confirm McGregor is in Washington now and has the hydrogen bomb with him. His employer was Jeremy Rosenthal. The former right hand man of Marcus Roman. According to the latest downloaded reports, the NSA has Rosenthal and Roman in custody. McGregor may be making a play to break them free.” “Can we confirm that’s what McGregor is planning?” “We intercepted his getaway plan. His private jet is under our guard now and we have his pilot. The pilot told us he was just contacted by Robert Miller, and was told McGregor would be slightly delayed but still planned to take off at 1pm. Hang on I’m just receiving a new report. Ok, we just pulled this information off the NSA database. Kris Gorak has just been identified as a hacker responsible for gaining access to the private files of the NSA Director Michael Sleeth. A team is being sent to Gorak’s residence now, they must have located him through his IP Address. The team being sent is the same one that is currently holding Roman and Rosenthal.” “How did the NSA pickup this information?” “Anonymous tip.” “It’s McGregor. He’s going to hit them at Gorak’s. This isn’t a rescue attempt, he wants them all dead.” “I’m sending you Gorak’s location now. Get there as fast as you can. Your cover ID is Bill Rickman, your with Homeland Security.” “Understood, I’ll keep you updated on my progress.” 12:28PM Gordon Pearson raced into the Oval Office and quickly interrupted the meeting President Dryden was having with the Joint Chiefs. Dryden asked them to leave and Pearson approached with his news. “Howard I just heard from Director Glover. The missing hydrogen bomb that he briefed us on yesterday isn’t in Russia like we thought. Apparently, McGregor has brought it here to Washington. He was employed by Rosenthal to detonate it here today.” “My god, do we know when?” “2pm.
He advises we have you evacuated immediately. “What about the millions of other people the bomb would kill?” “We still have time to find it and stop it. But right now, you our are nation’s leader and we will need you if the worst case scenario occurs here today.” “Eight months ago this country faced it’s darkest day. It nearly crippled us. But we prevailed. Another dark day is upon us and we will prevail through this one as well. The reason I created SHADOW was to help prevent these things from happening. Glover has put together a superb team and I’m confident they will do their job. Not to mention we have Sleeth, Bridger and Cross on this. These terrorists will be stopped Gordon, there is no need for me to leave. I’m staying right here, and I’m going to lead this nation, the way I see fit to do so.” “Yes Mr. President. I admire your stance, and as always, I will remain at your side.” 12:34PM After
receiving the latest update, Cross and Bridger had changed their course
and were now headed to Gorak’s computer repair shop. Cross turned to
Bridger. “We should land the helicopter a ways out and move in on foot. We have to be as covert as possible.” “I agree.” Bridger passed the instructions onto the pilot and he brought the helicopter down. After they landed, Cross made sure that Roman and Rosenthal were still firmly chained up and then informed the pilot to keep an eye on them and that backup was on its way. Cross and Bridger then got loaded up with weaponry and headed for Gorak’s shop. 12:38PM Just
minutes behind them, McGregor spotted the helicopter coming down and he
motioned to Miller to start heading for the landing site. He then
reached inside his jacket and pulled out his gun and a clip. He loaded
the clip into the gun and leaned back in eager anticipation. 12:43PM Hatcher looked to his watch and sighed. He looked over to Gorak who checked the monitors one more time than smiled in agreement. Hatcher then walked over to Sleeth who sat tied up to a chair. “Time’s up. Your friends have not showed up at the cemetery. I guess I will have to come up with another way to instigate their demise. In the meantime, how would you like to watch your fiancée die?” “You harm her, and your death will be slow and painful.” Hatcher just laughed as he turned back to Gorak. “Go and take care of the woman. I’d like a minute or two alone with Mr. Sleeth.” As Hatcher withdrew a knife, the sound of a muffled gunshot could be heard as he was struck in the shoulder. Hatcher was thrown back to the ground. Gorak grabbed the machine gun laying on the nearby table and opened fire as Cross and Bridger stormed in. Knowing he was outgunned, Gorak gave himself cover fire as he made his way out the back. Cross took off after Gorak as Bridger went over to Sleeth and cut him free. Sleeth than ran over to the monitor that featured Karen and tried to get a better look at it. Bridger followed behind him. “Is that Karen? Where is she?” “I don’t know. Just that she’s in the back of a van. We have to get Gorak and get him to tell us.” Neither Sleeth or Bridger noticed Hatcher rise up behind them, gun in hand. “Well, it looks like I will be able to complete my contract. Any last requests before you die?” Sleeth and Bridger turned to face Hatcher. Sleeth spoke. “Yeah I got one, drop dead.” “Sorry, that’s your job.” Hatcher took aim and was about to fire when two shots ripped through his back. He collapsed to the ground, this time dead. Sleeth and Bridger looked over to the shooter. He made his way inside and then identified himself. “Bill Rickman, Homeland Security, looked like you boys could use a hand.” Bridger laughed. “Yeah thanks, how come you came?” “NSA thought you might need some backup. Do you have Gorak?” “We were pursuing him, he headed out back.” Bridger, Sleeth and Roenick headed out the back and found Cross holding down Gorak at gunpoint. Two bullet wounds were visible in Gorak’s left leg. Sleeth kneeled down beside Gorak and looked into his eyes. “Where’s Karen you son of a bitch?” “If I take you to her I want some kind of deal.” “I’ll give you a deal. Either you tell us where she is right now, or I let you bleed to death right here.” Gorak laughed through his pain. “You drive a hard bargain Sleeth, treat my leg and I’ll tell you where she is.” “Fine.” Bridger got out his radio. “This is Bridger, has our backup team arrived at the helicopter yet?” “Sir we were just about to notify you. The helicopter was attacked before the backup team could get there. The pilot is dead and Roman and Rosenthal are gone.” “Shit. Did we pickup any trails?” “No sir, it was a clean getaway. No witnesses saw anything and no surveillance.” “Have the team sent to Gorak’s shop and have medical supplies standing by.” “Yes sir.” Bridger walked back over to the rest of the group. “Roman and Rosenthal are gone. Someone broke them out.” Cross was puzzled. “A backup team?” Roenick spoke up. “It wasn’t a backup team. The man who broke them out was Roland McGregor. An international arms dealer. He sold a hydrogen bomb to Rosenthal and we believe he set it up to detonate here in Washington for 2pm.” Cross spoke up. “Who are you anyway and how do you know all this?” “My name is Bill Rickman, I’m with Homeland Security. We have been monitoring McGregor for the last few weeks.” “And your certain this thing is supposed to go off at 2pm?” Sleeth spoke up. “Yes, Hatcher mentioned Rosenthal planned to bomb Washington at 2pm.” “The good news is I’m pretty certain I know where there going. We have men positioned at McGregor’s jet. I’ll contact my boss and get their location.” As Roenick walked off, Bridger turned to Sleeth and Cross. “I’ll go with Michael and pickup Karen. Dan why don’t you go with Rickman and try and track down their location. We’ll meet up with you once Karen is safe.” “You got it.” Cross went off to join Roenick as medical staff arrived and came over to treat Gorak. 12:57PM Roman and Rosenthal, still handcuffed, were seated in the back of McGregor’s car as they headed to the airstrip where McGregor’s jet sat waiting. Rosenthal spoke up. “Is it necessary for us to still be handcuffed Roland?” “You are my prisoners now Rosenthal, instead of the US Governments.” “Why the hell are we your prisoners?” “I came up with a better use for you than just death. Once we are all onboard my jet you will arrange for an extremely large money transfer into my account. As thanks, for setting you free. Then we will have some champagne and toast as Washington is wiped out.” Rosenthal
smiled. “I’ll
drink to that.” “Yes
I’m sure you will.” McGregor
smiled as he reached for his phone and called his pilot. “Have the jet ready to go, we are on our way.” 1:00PM THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 1:00PM AND 2:00PM As the medical staff began wrapping a bandage around Gorak’s leg, Sleeth approached and began his demand once again for answers. “Your leg’s being treated, where’s Karen?” “Not far away, she’s safe, at least for the next few minutes.” “What do you mean?” “Hatcher may not be much for bombs but I find them to be quite effective. Your girlfriend’s has a timer attached to it, set to detonate in fifteen minutes.” Sleeth ripped out his gun and charged at Gorak. He grabbed him by his shirt and pushed his gun barrel into the side of his head. “You better pray your lying to me.” “Afraid not Mikey. Now, are you ready to make a real deal?” “Your going to tell me where she is, or I’m going to kill you.” “Go ahead, pull the trigger. But when you kill me, your killing her.” Bridger walked forward and grabbed Sleeth’s shoulder and pulled him aside. “I don’t like the idea of giving anything to this guy, but if it’s the only way your going to find Karen, at the very least play along. If he’s not lying, and we really do have less than fifteen minutes, then we have to move now.” Sleeth nodded and turned back to Gorak. “What do you want?” “Two million, transferred into an offshore account of my choosing. And a private jet ready to go in twenty minutes to fly me out of the country.” “Fine, you’ll have it. Now, where is she?” “Not so fast, I go with you. Then we go to the airport.” “Have it your way, Sean grab the car, were going on a little trip.” 1:08PM Alison remained in position two blocks away from Michael’s house. It had been over an hour and Michael still hadn’t called. She was beginning to grow anxious. A sigh of relief crossed her face as the cell phone sitting next to her suddenly came to life.” “Alison are you alright?” “Yes Michael, I was getting so worried, what happened?” “It’s a long story but it’s almost over. Karen is still being held hostage. I need you to do me a favor, I need you to drive around the vicinity and look for a large black van. Karen may be inside, can you do that for me?” “Of course Michael.” ”Thank you, you can call me now if you find anything.” Sleeth hung up the phone and placed it back in his jacket pocket. He then looked to the rearview mirror and saw Gorak smiling in the backseat. “What’s the matter Mikey, you don’t trust me?” “If what your saying is true, we have five minutes to find her.” “Relax, I know exactly where she is, I put her there remember?” Sleeth ignored Gorak and just sat patiently as they continued forward. As they begin to close in on Sleeth’s house, Gorak spoke up in the backseat. “Take the next left, then go up two blocks to Griffin.” Bridger turned as instructed and headed towards Griffin. As he turned on to Griffin, he spotted the van. “There it is Mike.” Bridger nailed down the gas pedal and screeched to a halt as they pulled up alongside the van. Bridger jumped out and Sleeth exited and grabbed Gorak out of the backseat. Bridger opened the sidedoor of the van and found Karen bound and gagged. A small electronic device was attached to her left ankle. Sleeth pulled Gorak up to the van. “Alright Gorak disarm it.” Gorak reached down and entered the deactivation code as the timer ceased with less than five seconds to go before detonation. Bridger then grabbed a hold of Gorak as Sleeth jumped in the van and untied Karen. They quickly embraced as soon as she was free. Alison pulled up behind the van and got out. She smiled as she saw Michael and Karen climbing out of the van. “Wonderful you found her.” “Yeah thanks Alison, sorry I wasn’t able to get back to you sooner.” “It’s no problem.” As Bridger watched the conversation, Gorak slid his hand inside his jacket and quickly withdrew a knife. He then sliced it into Bridger’s back, causing him to collapse in agony. Gorak then collected Bridger’s gun and raced over to Alison and grabbed her. Sleeth raised his gun to fire but it was too late, Gorak already had Alison as his hostage. “Here’s how it works now Mikey. You drive me and Alison to the airport, these two stay here. Do you get me sweetheart?” “Just don’t hurt her.” “She’ll be just fine, now let’s go, we have a plane to catch.” 1:18PM McGregor’s car pulled on to the airstrip and headed towards the jet. The pilot stood waiting outside. Everyone got out of the car and Miller approached the pilot. “Is everything ready to go?” “Yes Mr. Miller.” “Good, then get us in the air.” The pilot nodded and headed back up into the plane as the others followed. As Roman entered through the hatch he heard what he thought was a helicopter approaching in the distance. He turned back around and surveyed the sky. Sure enough, there was indeed a helicopter heading in their direction. Roman turned back to his companions inside the jet. “McGregor your jet has been compromised, there’s a helicopter approaching us now.” From the back of the plane two SWAT members appeared, fully armed, and ordered everyone to place their hands in the air, two more emerged from the cockpit issuing the same order. The helicopter carrying Cross and Roenick landed outside and Cross and Roenick quickly exited and headed inside the jet. Cross laughed. “You boys weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye were you?” Rosenthal sighed. “Relentless
bastards, why couldn’t Hatcher just kill you.” “It’s hard to find good help these days. Now, where is the bomb?” McGregor smiled. “That’s the million dollar question isn’t it?” Cross pulled out his gun. “Enough games, I want a location.” “I don’t really give a damn what you want. We have a bomb set to go off in about 40 minutes that will kill millions and you have nothing. We have the bargaining power right now, not you. Now, get off my jet. Once we are a safe distance away I will contact you with the bomb’s location. Those are the terms and they are non-negotiable.” “How about I put a bullet in your head then?” “Be my guest, good luck finding the bomb afterwards.” Roenick took aim at McGregor. “It’s a good bet your associate Mr. Miller knows where the bomb is as well, that makes you expendable McGregor.” “You won’t get any answers out of either of us.” Roenick smiled. “I’ll be the judge of that. Cross, let’s get these two ready for interrogation.” 1:26PM Karen slowly finished pulling the knife out of Sean’s back as he winced in pain. Karen looked at the wound and gasped. “Sean, you have to get that looked at.” “There’s no time now. There’s a bomb set to go off in 30 minutes and Michael and Alison need my help.” Sean got up and collected his phone and called Cross. “Dan, were you able to intercept them?” “We have them all in custody now. Were getting set to begin the interrogation.” “I know I don’t need to remind you, but move fast. We only have 30 minutes until that bomb goes off.” “Were going as fast as we can, how are things on your end?” “It’s not over yet. We got Karen back but Gorak stabbed me and now he has Michael and Alison as hostages. But I’ll track them down myself, you guys just find that bomb.” “We will, good luck Sean.” “Same to you.” Sean hung up and Karen approached. “So what are you going to do now?” “I’ll call Washington PD, have them put out a search for Michael’s car, and call the airports with a description of Gorak. Hopefully I’ll get lucky. You should head to NSA headquarters and stay put. Michael will contact you when it’s over.” “Alright,
thank you Sean.” “Your welcome, I’ll see you soon.” 1:34PM Gordon Pearson made his way back into the Oval Office as President Dryden sat waiting for an update. “Director Glover just called. They have everyone in custody but still no location on the bomb. They are beginning the interrogation now. Now sir, I know your stance on this but I must strongly recommend that we at least move to the bunker.” “I see that as a sign of defeat and fear, and it’s something I don’t want to do.” “I understand your feelings sir, but we have to be realistic at this point. That bomb is going to go off in less than 30 minutes, the odds of it being found and stopped in time are extremely low. If the worst case scenario happens here today, this nation will need you as a leader, not as a casualty.” “What about everyone else? We need to start some sort of evacuation procedure.” “At this point Mr. President, Any evacuation attempt would be pointless. No one could get far enough away in time, and it would just cause panic.” Dryden sighed. His worst fears were coming true all over again. “Alright Gordon, notify everyone I’m moving to the bunker. Have emergency protocol prepared in the event the bomb goes off.” “Yes sir, I’ll get things started immediately.” 1:40PM They were both beaten and bruised, but McGregor and Miller still gave up nothing. Roenick walked away frustrated and pulled out his phone. “This is Roenick, where the hell is my interrogation kit?” “It’s on its way. It should be there in about ten minutes.” “I don’t have ten minutes.” “I’m sorry sir, were coming as fast as we can.” Roenick hung up and walked over to Cross. “The kit is still ten minutes out. Were out of time, what do you want to do?” “Maybe it’s time to make things messy. They might start singing a different tune if we take off an arm.” “It’s risky, but we don’t have any choice.” A few feet away, Darren Jones, an NSA tech who had been going through McGregor’s laptop, spoke up with extremely good news. “Cross, Rickman, get over here I think I got it.” Cross and Roenick raced over and Jones pointed out a series of images of a postal service truck. Beside the images was a list of the truck’s designated stops. It was set to deliver a package to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at 2pm. The White House. Roenick pulled out his phone and called Glover. “Has the President been moved to the bunker?” “Yes, I just confirmed it with his Chief Of Staff.” “Good, we have a location on the bomb. It’s on a postal service truck set to arrive at the White House at 2pm. Get as many people out of the immediate area as you can, and have Washington PD try and intercept the truck. Cross and I are moving in by air now.” “I’ll do what I can, good luck Frank.” “Thank you sir.” Roenick turned to Cross. “Emergency procedures have been put in place. Let’s go get that truck.” 1:45PM Bridger raced through traffic as he spotted the police pursuit up ahead. Washington PD had located Gorak, and they were now in a high speed pursuit. Gorak looked back at the three police cars chasing them and glared. He turned to Michael. “Do they think this is a game or what? Don’t they know I’ll kill both of you.” “Just give it up Gorak, you can kill us but your not going anywhere.” Gorak pointed his gun at Michael’s head. “Then I guess I better just kill you now.” As Gorak went to pull the trigger, Alison reached up from the back seat and pulled his arm back, causing him to fire out the back window. Michael used the opportunity to take control. He ripped the gun from Gorak’s hand and fired a shot into the side of his chest. Gorak limped over and Michael grabbed the wheel and pulled the car off the road and sent it slamming into a barricade. The air bag burst open and consumed him. Moments later, Bridger smashed open the passenger door window and pulled the air bag down off Michael who lay unconscious. Sean then pulled Michael out of the car as police officers helped Alison out of the backseat. She had a cut on her forehead, but other than that appeared to be okay. As soon as she saw Michael, she broke out in worry. “Sean is he alright?” “His pulse is strong, he’s just knocked out. Don’t worry, we’ll get you both to a hospital, you’ll be alright.” As an ambulance pulled up, Sean helped the crew place Michael on a gurney and load him into the ambulance. He then looked to his watch and reality sunk in again. He could only pray Cross and Rickman would find the bomb in the next eight minutes. 1:52PM Cross and Roenick emerged over the White House lawn and spotted the postal truck speeding along Pennsylvania Avenue with a parade of police cruisers in pursuit. Roenick reached down and grabbed the AK-47 that lay sitting next to him. “Get me in position in front of the truck, he won’t be going much further.” “You got it.” Cross brought the helicopter down to street level and moved into position. As the truck approached, Roenick opened fire and took out the driver as the truck suddenly banked to the right and slammed into a parked car. Cross landed the helicopter and they raced over to the truck and threw open the back doors. As they examined the packages, they spotted the only one large enough to be the bomb. Roenick ripped off the wrapping and he and Cross gazed at the bomb in wonder. The timer was visible, six minutes and counting. Outside, the bomb squad pulled up and quickly raced to the back of the truck. Cross turned to them. “There it is boys, work your magic, you have six minutes.” 1:54PM Back at the airstrip, McGregor and company were being loaded into the back of a prisoner transport as two helicopters approached overhead. Automatic gunfire began striking the ground all around as police officers and federal agents were ruthlessly gunned down. The helicopters landed and three men piled out of each helicopter and moved in on the prisoner transport. The remaining guards put up a fight but were quickly taken down. The leader of the six men climbed into the back of the transport and freed everyone and they got out. McGregor turned to their rescuer, the leader of his backup team, Victor Burdett, and smiled. “Well done Victor, I thought you’d be long gone.” “Peters called us when the truck was spotted. The police have the truck now and we have to assume Peters is dead.” “It won’t make any difference. Victory is ours today.” Everyone loaded onto the helicopters and took off into the air. 1:58PM The bomb squad had worked feverishly at the bomb, but so far to no avail. The lead technician looked up to Cross and Roenick with deep regret. “The bomb has been setup so it can’t be defused. There is no way to stop it.” Roenick turned to Cross. “My god, what do we do?” Cross walked away from the truck to clear his head. He looked over to the helicopter and came up with the only possible solution. He raced back over to Roenick. “You grab one end, I’ll grab the other, we have to get this bomb on the helicopter.” They each grabbed an end, and as fast as they could loaded the bomb onto the helicopter. Cross turned to Roenick. “Get everyone as far away as you can.” Before Roenick could reply, Cross boarded the helicopter and took off into the air. Roenick ordered everyone away, as Cross took the helicopter higher into the air. As the seconds ticked away, Cross just prayed he had saved as many lives as possible. Roenick looked up just in time to see the bomb detonate and send a blinding glare across the sky. 2:00PM THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 2:00PM AND 3:00PM The shockwave could be felt for miles around, the blazing glare lasting only an instant. The bomb had nearly vaporized the entire helicopter, as only a few small pieces came shattering down on the White House lawn. By bringing the bomb into the air, Cross had prevented massive ground damage and unthinkable casualties. Thankfully, the bomb had not been nuclear, allowing a mid air explosion to be much safer. Roenick had been temporarily knocked out by the blast as it had violently thrown him to the ground. As he came to, he looked around to see mostly survivors, others had been completely knocked out, while a few would remain motionless, victims of the bombing. The one man he knew for sure was dead was Daniel Cross. A man he had grown respect for over the few short hours he’d known him, and the man he would be eternally grateful to for saving his life and millions of others. He pulled himself to his feet and walked over to a police cruiser and tried the radio. “This is Washington PD Dispatch.” “Yes, this is Bill Rickman with Homeland Security, I need to know where cellular service and power is still up in the city.” “Were receiving reports both are still up approximately ten miles from the bomb site. Backup is on its way to the bomb site now, they will be able to take you wherever you need to go.” “Alright thank you.” Frank leaned back and took a moment to rest as he waited for backup. 2:05PM Inside the Presidential bunker, Chief Of Staff Gordon Pearson finished receiving his report from the Pentagon assessment team and then left to brief the President. President Dryden sat waiting impatiently for news. The minutes taking hours to go by. When he spotted Pearson coming into his office he jumped to his feet. “Give me good news Gordon, tell me they were able to stop it.” “Well I’m afraid it’s not that simple sir. The bomb was located and in our possession prior to detonation but our bomb squad technicians were unable to disable it. However, Daniel Cross, in a last ditch effort, personally flew the bomb into the air where it detonated. There are some casualties, but his brave and self less act prevented far greater ones. Given the situation sir, we have to see this as some what of a victory.” “Cross is a great man, a true patriot. This country we’ll miss his services greatly. But as far as a victory is concerned, while massive casualties were avoided, a weapon of mass destruction was still detonated in our country. This is unacceptable. It never should have gotten this far, and I hold myself responsible for allowing it to.” “Sir there is nothing you could have done to prevent this.” “Marcus Roman should have been executed eight months ago. If he had been, none of this would have happened. That’s a mistake I’m not making twice. Have Roman and his associates brought to the bunker, I’m dealing with this now.” “Sir I must advise you -” “I gave you a direct order Gordon and I expect it to be followed!” “Yes Mr. President, I’ll have them brought here immediately.” 2:10PM Sean had seen and felt the blast, but like all the other drivers around him, was shocked when he was still alive afterwards. Eager to know what had happened, he had spent the last ten minutes trying to get through to Cross or Rickman, with no success. He was about to try again when his phone began to ring for him instead. “This is Bridger.” “Agent Bridger I have some bad news. Our prisoner transport at the airstrip appears to have been attacked. There seems to be no survivors, and all the prisoners are gone.” “Get everyone you have out there looking for them now. If you find anything call me.” “Yes sir.” Bridger hung up and took off for NSA headquarters. 2:14PM Victor Burdett had been listening to the radio as reports of the bombing had been coming in. All initial reports indicated minimal damage and casualties due to the mid air explosion. He reported the news to the group sitting behind him. “They were able to detonate the bomb in mid air, all reports indicate minimal damage and casualties. Very minor compared to what we had hoped for.” Rosenthal sighed. “That’s an understatement.” McGregor smiled. “Relax Jeremy, your point got across. A bomb was still detonated over the White House lawn, that is a major achievement on your behalf.” “I suppose. Once were out of the country we’ll need to start re-grouping for our next attack. It will have to be far grander in scale, make this country truly suffer for its ignorance. Speaking of which, how do we plan to get out of the country? I’m sure they have begun to look for us by now. “ Burdett spoke up. “Were going to use your original exit. The cargo ship will still be waiting at Baltimore harbor. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes. You’ll be a free man soon enough.” 2:20PM Roenick was now clear of the blast zone and on the phone with his commander Steven Glover who was updating him on the breakout at the airstrip. “As soon as the breakout was confirmed we scrambled one of our satellites over the area. We picked up two helicopters leaving the airstrip.” “Any idea where they are headed?” “They appear to be headed towards Baltimore harbor. I’m already having units deployed to the harbor but I want you there as well. Head to NSA headquarters, I’ll have transport waiting for you there.” “I’m on my way.” 2:23PM Gordon wasn’t looking forward to the news he was going to have to deliver to the President as he re-entered his office. Dryden could tell it wasn’t good. “I’m sorry to have to report that the prisoners have escaped once again sir. It appears Roland McGregor had hired a backup team for his operation. We identified the driver of the postal truck carrying the bomb as a man named Jeff Peters. Peters is a member of a mercenary unit run by a man named Victor Burdett. We believe its Burdett who is working for McGregor.” “Tell me we at least have a lead.” “Yes we do. Glover is tracking Burdett by satellite and they appear to be headed for Baltimore harbor. He’s already deployed teams there.” “I want this to end now Gordon. I plan to address the nation just before 3pm. I want those prisoners dead, or in our custody by that time.” “I’ll see that it’s done sir.” 2:28PM Roenick arrived at NSA headquarters and headed to the top floor where he was told Sean Bridger and his team were waiting for him. As he arrived, Sean reached out his hand to shake Frank’s. “It’s good to see you alive Bill.” “Thank you Sean. I’m very sorry about Daniel, I trust you’ve heard?” “I was briefed when I arrived. These guys aren’t getting away again Bill, and I’m not taking any prisoners. These bastards have made it personal, and now they are going to pay.” “I couldn’t agree more.” “Good, then get suited up, and let’s kick a little ass.” 2:35PM As they reached the harbor, Burdett ordered the helicopters down and everyone jumped off and headed towards the cargo ship. Glover’s team had the entire area surrounded and were watching as Burdett led everyone to the ship. As soon as they were fully in the open, Glover’s team opened fire. Everyone scrambled for cover as the assault team moved in. Burdett ordered his team to lay down cover fire as they made a break for the ship. Two of his men went down but everyone else made it on board. Burdett passed out guns to Roman and Rosenthal who were unarmed and extra clips. Roman was furious. “What’s the plan to get out of this one?” McGregor yelled back. “There is no plan Marcus. As of now, it’s every man for himself. If you plan on surviving, I suggest you find a good spot for cover and start shooting.” Everyone split up and went their separate ways except for Roman and Rosenthal who stuck together. Rosenthal refused to let Roman die on his watch. The assault team began to board the ship and Burdett’s men who had waited at the entrance began firing. Very few assault members were successful in penetrating inside. They began to move around to find another way onboard. In the skies above, Bridger and Roenick arrived with their own assault team as their helicopter took position on the main deck of the ship and everyone jumped off. Bridger and Roenick quickly made their way below deck and split up. As Roenick moved around a corner, Burdett quickly appeared and knocked his gun from his hand. Roenick responded by knocking away Burdett’s and tackling him to the ground. Roenick quickly gained the upper hand and grabbed a hold of Burdett’s head and snapped his neck. He then retrieved his gun and continued on. McGregor spotted Bridger moving towards him and smiled with delight. He reloaded his gun and took aim as two assault team members appeared out of nowhere and took him by surprise. McGregor quickly opened fire and gunned them down, but in doing so had lost track of Bridger. Bridger re-appeared behind him, holding a gun to the back of his head. McGregor responded by dropping his gun and laughing. “You really wouldn’t kill an unarmed man would you Mr. Bridger?” “I’d do it gladly.” Bridger pulled the trigger and McGregor collapsed to the ground. Behind Bridger, Miller suddenly appeared but was quickly gunned down as a pair of assault members came to Bridger’s rescue. He gave them a nod in thanks and moved on. Bridger made his way forward into the ship’s control room and found Roman standing there waiting for him. “We meet again Mr. Bridger.” “Except this time, your not walking away, not even crawling.” Bridger didn’t notice Rosenthal move in behind him. “I trust you remember my associate Mr. Rosenthal?” “How could I forget? You never go anywhere without your bitch.” Behind him, Rosenthal’s face turned to a scowl. “I shall enjoy this very much.” Bridger laughed. “I hope so.” Rosenthal opened fire and Bridger instantly dropped to the ground. The bullets ripped over him and struck Roman in the chest. He collapsed to the floor dead. “After all that work to save him, you were the one that killed him.” Rosenthal exploded in fury and turned to Bridger to open fire once again, this time, bullets ripped through his back and he collapsed to the floor dead. Roenick entered and stepped over his corpse. “You know Bridger? That’s the second time I’ve saved your life.” “Well I guess you could say I owe you.” “Yeah I guess you kind of could. Come on, let’s go tell Dryden the happy news.” 2:52PM Dryden was finishing going through his speech one last time as Pearson approached with his report. Dryden looked up to him, desperate for good news. “We just received the full report from Director Glover, Roenick and Bridger’s team was successful in taking down all of them. Every man accounted for.” For the first time all day, Dryden smiled. “It’s over then?” “Yes Mr. President, it’s over.” “Then I should go tell the American public.” Dryden rose to his feet and headed for the White House lawn, where his speech would take place. 2:54PM Alison raced up the hospital stairway and down the hall to Michael Sleeth’s room where he and Karen were now sitting together waiting to watch President Dryden’s speech. Michael smiled as Alison entered. “Alison, come have a seat, your just in time for the speech.” Alison made her way over and sat down and together they watched on. 2:56PM Roenick and Bridger sat side by side in the helicopter, silently going over the day’s events. Bridger had lost two close friends today, and the reality of it was only now sinking in. The pilot quickly diverted his attention as he began to speak. “If you guys each want to grab a headset, President Dryden is about to give his speech.” Roenick and Bridger each grabbed a headset and began to listen closely. 2:58PM President Dryden now stood at the podium ready to begin. He quickly cleared his throat and took a deep breath. Now, with full composure, he began to speak. “My fellow Americans, today, an infamous and horrific act has taken place. A weapon of mass destruction, has been detonated, here in our nation’s capital. As a result of this horrific act, many American lives have been lost. The blood of patriots was spilled today, and this is unacceptable. The men responsible for this infamous act, have already been accounted for, and have been brought to justice. I bear full responsibility, for allowing this event to take place. America should have nothing to fear, that’s what I told you eight months ago, and I intend to stick to that pledge. I failed to live up to it once, I will not do so again. Whatever goal these terrorists were trying to achieve by detonating this bomb here today, I am here to tell you that goal was not achieved. America will not be bullied, threatened, or deterred. We are strong and proud, and declare it for the world to hear. We are the home of the brave, God Bless Us All. Thank you.” The gathering crowd joined together in applause as President Dryden smiled and waved as he left the podium. He took another deep breath. It had been another long, dark day. But once again, America had prevailed. Damage had been done to his nation today, but he had made the promise to heal that damage. He smiled and made his way inside the White House. He had made a promise, and he wasn’t going to waste another minute without delivering on it. 3:00PM
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