I
Istanbul, Turkey – It is just after sunset near the Bosporus Strait. Just west of the Galata Bridge at the Turyol boat docks a group of men are awaiting the arrival of a delivery truck. The leader of the group, a man of Persian decent, is smoking a cigar as the last glimmer of sunlight fades away in the west. He impatiently looks at his watch wondering what could be causing the delay just as he hears the sound of a nearby engine. He turns around to see the eighteen-wheeler truck pull into the dockside warehouse. As the doors to the warehouse are closed behind the truck the passenger side door opens and a black man with dreadlocks appears.
"Hey mon, how ya doin?" says the man with a Jamaican accent.
"Who are you and where is Jacque?" replies the Persian.
"Oh they didn't tell you? Jacque got sick mon. Ya he got some nasty virus, he been pukin' up de nasty slimy stuff all day mon."
The Persian instinctively covers his mouth with a handkerchief he produces from his coat pocket. "That's disgusting and I don't care to hear about that."
"Oh sorry bout tat, so we gonna do buziness though? You Ali Krapheed then ya?"
"It's Khalid, Ali Khalid you idiot."
"Oh my mistake mon, sorry." The Jamaican says bowing apologetically.
Khalid hesitates for a moment studying the Jamaican carefully before nodding subtly. "Yes let's get on with it, show me the weapons."
"Good, good. Theo's my name." He says without enunciating the H. "C'mon mon, lemme show you what we got."
Theo opens the trailer door and crawls inside pointing to the ten large wooden crates. Khalid's men along with Theo and the driver unload the crates one by one with the aid of the lift gate on the trailer. Once unloaded Theo proceeds to open a crate so that Khalid can examine the contents.
"Stingers mon, man portable surface to air missiles. Five launchers per crate with two extra missiles each." Theo explains. "You guys will have fun shootin' some aircraft wit tese. What'cha using them for, commercial or military?"
After examining the weapons Khalid slams down a metal case on top of one of the crates. "That's none of your concern."
"Sorry mon, just curious is all." Theo replies as he looks over the money. He closes the case and picks it up holding in front of him with his other hand clasped on his wrist. He stands there a moment and gives Khalid a plain smile. "Well mon, time to punch in!" says Agent William Hudson blowing his cover as he slyly depresses a switch on his watch.
Just then the lids pop off four of the crates at random. Agent Michael Stone and seven other agents stand out of the crates with weapons drawn! Hudson and the driver, Agent Kyle Watts, each pull out a sidearm as Hudson drops the case. Stone, holding a Mac-10 Uzi in each hand, just smiles and says. "Hey guys, do you mind if we crash the party?"
Just then from somewhere in the rafters a shot rings out hitting an Omega agent!
"Scramble!" Stone yells as bullets begin to fly.
Hudson pulls off his dreadlock wig and shoots two of Khalid's men nearest to him. He runs around the side of the truck hoping he can spot the sniper. Stone dives over the side of the crate as he fires both Mac-10s. In less than a few seconds five of Khalid's men are taken out of the fight. The rest of them scatter for cover as the firefight continues.
"Leader to 3." Stone says addressing Agent Anderson through his voice activated tactical radio. "Cover the front entrance, make sure no one gets out!" Stone fires as he moves behind the semi truck for better cover and reloads both guns. Then he sees Hudson near the front of the truck apparently looking for the sniper. "You spot him yet?"
"No it's too dark." Hudson says having already sensed Stone approach his position. "If he'd take another shot at someone then I'd have him."
"Copy that, you ready?" Stone replies.
"What, I wasn't suggesting . . ."
"I know but everyone else has got their hands full."
"No, I'll go. Besides he may not have seen you yet but we know he's seen me from the start." Hudson replies.
"Okay…ready?"
"Yeah…don't miss." Hudson replies then takes off running for more cover
Stone waits to see the report of the rifle. Just as he sees the gunfire, which misses Hudson by an inch, He fires both Mac-10s and the sniper falls dead to the ground. "Leader to all units, the sniper is down. Repeat, sniper is down, advance and contain." Stone says through the radio. "Here take this and let's go." Stone says tossing Hudson one of his Mac-10s and an extra magazine. As they emerge from behind the semi truck Khalid and his entourage notice them and open fire. Stone spins around back behind the cover of the truck but Hudson is not so quick and a bullet grazes his left shoulder.
"You alright?" Stone yells over the sound of the gunfire.
"Yeah, it passed clean through." Hudson replies as he pulls the scarf from around his neck to tie around the wound.
"Leader this is 3, the Iranians are pulling out through the back." Anderson says.
"I copy, Hudson and I will stay on their tail. You take your squad out the front and cut them off."
"How do you propose to do that without any cover?" Hudson asks.
Stone simply points to the eighteen-wheeler and says. "In the truck Will."
Hudson does as instructed and gets in the cab; Stone shuts the door behind him and steps up on the side rails. As Hudson starts the engine he asks where he's supposed to take them.
"Through that wall." Stone says pointing towards the back of the warehouse where the Iranians have just escaped. "Its just sheet metal, just hit it on the right side." Hudson turns on the ignition and shifts into first gear. "Go!" Stone says. Hudson puts the pedal to the floor and drives straight through the thin sheet metal walls. Once the debris clears he is surprised to find his Stone still hanging on to the side of the truck. They both look ahead and find Khalid and his men running for their vehicles. Khalid continues to head for his car as some of his men turn their attention to the source of loud noise they just heard. Several of their faces freeze in shock as they see the long nose truck breaking through the warehouse wall and speeding towards them!
"Fire you idiots!" one of Khalid's subordinates exclaims.
Stone fires with his weapon with his left hand while holding onto the truck with his right; Hudson meanwhile shoots out the already damaged windshield and adds his own gunfire to the fight. They take out a few of the gunman as Stone spots his primary target making for the SUV. He unloads the rest of his magazine into the vehicle and succeeds only in slightly delaying Khalid's escape.
"Ram that SUV!" Stone says.
"With you on the side of the truck, no way!" Hudson replies.
"Who said anything about me!" Stone says as he jumps off the side step.
Hudson looks back to see his friend roll on impact when he hits the ground. He turns his attention back to Khalid just as a few rounds hit the front of the truck. Just as Khalid and his nearest bodyguard reach the SUV they spot the big rig truck heading right for them. The bodyguard grabs Khalid as they both run for safety, clearing the truck's path in a dive just seconds before it hits the SUV! Hudson hits the brakes bringing the truck to a screeching halt after demolishing the vehicle.
One of the Iranians notices the rest of the Americans pouring out the front of the warehouse and heading towards the scene. He runs to Khalid where his bodyguard is helping him to his feet and informs him of the situation and they immediately head for the waterfront.
Hudson climbs out of the truck and reloads the spare magazine into the Mac-10 as he spots Stone getting to his feet. "You alright?"
"Just a scrape or two." Stone says noticing the fresh wounds on his forearm and elbow.
"3 to leader, I've got the target in sight on the waterfront heading for a boat." Anderson says just as he and emerges from the west side of the warehouse.
"I copy 3, we're still in pursuit." Stone says as he and Hudson run around the length of the truck.
"Be advised, we're still engaged with the rest of his men on the waterfront but it looks like they're pulling back to Khalid's position.
As Stone and Hudson round the trailer they spot Khalid and two of his men running down one of the docks towards a speedboat. They head for the docks just as the rest of the enemy force Anderson warned them about blocks their path. Stone and Hudson open fire with the Mac-10's taking several by surprise but are force to hit the deck as more return fire. The rest of the Iranians retreat with their leader towards the docks as they see the Americans attack from two sides. Stone reloads then tosses Hudson another magazine.
As they get to their feet they see Khalid and the other two start up the speedboat and head off. The remaining group reaches the docks as one of them pulls a large tarp off five concealed watercraft. Three of the gunmen get away immediately, as the last two prepare to pull out Stone, Hudson, Anderson and his team reach the dock. Stone fires at one of the gunmen just as he's mounting the wave runner and hits him square in the chest, knocking him off the vehicle. Anderson takes aim at the other one with his MP5 just as the gunmen squeezes the throttle. He expends the last two rounds in his magazine and watches as the rider falls into the water, the watercraft continues on its path for a moment then slows to a stop about thirty feet out.
"I need a volunteer." Stone orders
"I'm your man!" Anderson quickly replies.
"Here you might need this Gage." Hudson says handing him the Mac-10 having noticed that Anderson has used all his spare magazines. "It's got a full mag."
"Thanks." Anderson says tossing him his empty rifle in return.
"Will wrap things up here and try to get us some air support. We may need it." Stone says as he and Anderson board the idle watercraft.
"You realize we're in Turkey and we don't have a lot of connections here right?" Hudson replies.
"I said try didn't I." Stone yells back as Anderson throttles up and heads for the second wave runner. They slow to a stop next to it and Stone hops on, then they both throttle up and head north up the Bosporus Strait after Khalid.
"They've got a good head start on us." Anderson yells holding his throttle down to max speed. Stone does the same and follows right on Anderson's tail.
They work they're way up the strait for eight or nine miles before finally catching up with the Iranian gunmen on the other watercraft.
"There they are!" Stone yells.
"What do ya wanna do just shoot 'em?" Anderson replies not sure what course of action they should take.
"They already shot at us but we want Khalid alive."
Anderson drives along side the last watercraft with his Mac-10 aimed at its rider. The gunman turns to see the American and reaches for a gun but Anderson fires first. The rounds hit the Iranian in the shoulder throwing him off the water bike. The sound of the gunshot alerts the other two riders and they look back to find their adversaries advancing behind them. One of them draws a sidearm but Stone takes him out before he can fire. The third rider signals ahead to Khalid in the speedboat to move on. Just as the speedboat accelerates the last gunman does a 180 on his wave runner stops in between the path of the two approaching American. He draws two pistols and takes aim waiting for the right moment to fire. Stone yells to Anderson to fall behind him as he spots the last rider attempting to make a stand.
"Follow my lead!" Stone yells as he lies down low on the foot rails using the watercraft as cover. Anderson follows suit and they both fire their Mac-10s as they pass the suicidal Iranian. The 9mm shells rip through the hull of the water bike and puncture the gas tank. It explodes behind them as they retake their seats and press on towards Khalid.
Anderson pulls back out to Stone's flank and notices the speedboat is about to exit the strait connecting the Marmara and the Black Sea. Expecting to see the boat turn east or west along the coast, Stone and Anderson give each other a quizzical look when it continues north.
"Where's he think he's going, Russia?" Anderson yells.
"Possibly but not in that thing; he's probably got a larger vessel waiting further out to sea." Stone replies. "Let's punch it!"
Khalid's bodyguard suddenly realizes their backup is gone, he informs his boss as they both begin to open fire at their aggressors. Stone and Anderson duck low as they return fire with the Mac-10s. One of them hits the bodyguard and Khalid fires back with his pistol hitting the front end of Anderson's wave runner. For a moment it appears the bullets didn't inflict any serious damage but then Anderson hears the engine choking and sputtering. Khalid reloads his pistol and fires again, this time flames appear a moment later as the water bike explodes just as Anderson dives over the side! Stone lets off the throttle as he sees the explosion in his peripheral vision. He watches the speedboat continue north then looks back at the remains of the wave runner. He makes a snap decision and presses the throttle again resuming the pursuit. While the decision haunts him already he realizes if Anderson didn't make it then the last thing he would have wanted was for their mark to escape. And if Anderson survived then he can swim for a while until he can come back and pick him up.
Stone pursues the speedboat but stays well out of the range of gunfire. He follows it for another ten minutes when he finally sees the yacht a few miles ahead of the boat. Once closer he makes out a small two-man helicopter resting on an upper deck. When he sees the speedboat slow to dock at the stern of the ship Stone pushes his throttle to the max. Assuming Khalid will make his escape via the chopper he realizes he's going to have to close the distance quickly. Khalid is greeted by more of his entourage as he boards the stern of the ship. He steps onto the yacht and informs the speedboat pilot to dock on the port side launch.
"Take that man out!" Khalid says in Arabic to the group on the yacht.
Four of them ready an assortment of sub machine guns as the fifth escorts Khalid to the flight deck. Stone lies low on the seat and the four Iranians open fire. He empties the rest of the magazine on his Mac-10, hitting at least one of the targets, then jumps off the back of the water bike five feet from the yacht! The wave runner rams into the back of the yacht at full speed launching it over the stern through the main deck and into the living quarters inside. The remaining three gunmen jumped off the ship when they saw the four hundred pound projectile headed their way!
Stone emerges from under the surface of the water a moment later and climbs aboard the yacht. Once aboard he pulls out his 9mm Glock and checks for any threats within sight. He then spots one of them who jumped overboard about to fire at him from the water but he turns and puts two rounds in him. He runs upstairs to the flight deck just as the chopper is lifting off with Khalid inside. He takes out the escort guarding the flight deck and picks up his mini-MP5. Stone aims at the tail rotor of the chopper and empties the magazine into it. Suddenly the rotor blade flies off and punctures the lower hull of the yacht like a throwing star as the aircraft begin to spin wildly. The chopper, only thirty feet in the air, continues to spin as it crashes into the sea.
Stone quickly makes his way down to the main deck just as the speedboat pilot is climbing aboard. He hops aboard the speedboat after putting two in the gunman's chest. Stone fires up the engine and circles around the bow of the ship heading towards the downed chopper noticing that the yacht is already starting to sink due to its punctured hull. He stops the boat near the sinking helicopter and dives in. He reaches the passenger door as the aircraft sinks below the surface of the water. Stone tries to work the door handle open as Khalid recklessly attempts the same from within. Finally he decides to just shoot it out and Khalid moves back when he sees the American draw his gun. Stone fires two rounds and the door comes open, he keeps his gun trained on Khalid as he gestures him to swim for the surface. The pilot follows Khalid out of the sinking aircraft but goes for Stone's weapon and he's forced to pull the trigger. As the pilot's blood begins to cloud the area Stone swims for the surface. He swims for the boat as he spots Khalid attempting to board first. Stone grabs him by the belt and hauls him back into the water.
"I don't think so." He says as he quickly climbs up the ladder into the boat.
After half dragging Khalid aboard Stone retrieves a zip tie from his tact-vest and binds Khalid's hands behind his back. He then looks back at the yacht finding it already halfway underwater. He starts up the boat and heads back towards the coast.
When Stone finally spots the wreckage left from Anderson's watercraft his heart just sinks at the thought of losing one of his best men, as well as a good friend. "You better hope he's alive." He says sternly looking at Khalid. Stone grabs a flashlight from within the boat and flips it on searching the wreckage. For a moment his fears are nearly confirmed but then he briefly spots something through the smoke. He gives the boat a little gas to give him a better line of sight and suddenly he spots Anderson clinging to a floating chunk of fiberglass from the watercraft's hull.
"I was wondering if you were gonna come back for me." Anderson says as he holsters his sidearm unsure at first who was piloting the boat. "I see you got our man."
"You bet." Stone replies as Anderson swims towards the boat.
Once Anderson is aboard Stone pushes the throttle forward and heads back towards the Turyol docks.
When they return to the docks they find Hudson and the others nowhere in sight. However they do find Turkish police have secured the entire area.
"Get him down!" Stone orders.
Anderson immediately pushes Khalid down to the floor of the boat and out of sight. "They had to split, the Turks couldn't know we were here." Anderson suggests as he keeps his sidearm buried firmly in Khalid's back.
"Yep and Hudson knows we're aware of that. So we head for the rendezvous point, it's just a few more miles down the strait at another dock." Stone replies.
A few minutes later Stone brings the boat to rest alongside a dock next to several fishing boats. He cuts the engine and quietly steps onto the dock as Anderson grabs Khalid to follow.
"This place won't be completely empty at this time of night." Anderson says.
"I know, fishing crews will starting prepping their boats soon, we gotta get outta here." Stone says as he brandishes his Glock at Khalid. "Make a sound and I'll crush your kneecap."
"If you use the gun then you'll just give away your position to the whole area." Khalid retorts.
"Who said I needed the gun." Stone simply replies confident in his threat.
They make their way through the docks with Khalid in tow, ducking behind and stack of pallets as a random fisherman arrives for his shift. The reach the fish market and make their way onto the streets of Istanbul. They walk two blocks unnoticed then turn a corner to see the marketplace up ahead, which within a few short hours will be crowded by a few thousand people, luckily in the predawn hours there's only a few people going about their own business. Stone and Anderson lead Khalid across the street and then duck into an alley to find two unmarked black vans awaiting them. As they approach the side door of the first van it slides open and Hudson steps out.
"I was starting to worry." He says.
"Sorry dear." Anderson replies jokingly as two agents emerge from the rear van and relieve him of Khalid.
"Bag and gag him." Stone orders.
The two agents put a clean rag in Khalid's mouth, cover it with duct tape then put a black hood over his head and shove him in the rear van.
"I guess air support was a no go?" Stone asks wringing out his sleeves.
"Yeah sorry. So what happened?" Hudson asks realizing by their wet clothes that they obviously went for a swim.
"Let's get back to Izmir and I'll tell you on the way." Stone replies.
Mediterranean Sea – Three hundred miles south of Italy the U.S.S. Forrestal, an aircraft carrier less than a year away from being decommissioned, is resting peacefully on a beautiful day. Its primary fighter craft, the F-18 Hornet, are running combat maneuvers in the sky above. At an altitude of ten thousand feet two of the Forrestal's best pilots are honing their dog fighting skills by trying to tag each other with a weapons lock. The lower ranking pilot, Lieutenant Sage, is hot on the tail of her commander; however her superior is much more experienced than she is.
"Whoa, you almost had me that time Sage but you banked too hard and overshot my flight path." Commander Hughes says.
"You can't run forever Commander, I got you before and I will again!" Sage replies enthusiastically.
Lieutenant Sage, one of the few female pilots in the Navy, is also nearing the end of her tour of duty. Although Sage has never seen nor been allowed in combat she flew several reconnaissance missions into the Middle East. All of which took place after the events of 9/11 and during the recent war with Iraq.
Currently Sage has a record of fifty-nine simulated kills against Hughes to her eighty-two losses, all during actual flight maneuvers. With tomorrow being her last day on the ship before heading stateside she's trying to accomplish an even sixty kills.
Sage breaks off her current flight path to re-assess the situation, a moment later she re-engages just as she spots Hughes' F-18 heading towards her at a forty-five degree downwards angle. Her instincts tell her to try and acquire the lock on his aircraft as he passes by but then she hesitates a moment to plot out a better tactic. She banks gently to the right widening the angle to fifty degrees just as the commander approaches within a thousand yards. The second he zips passed her she puts her fighter into a hard inverted dive breaking to the left. She feels the G forces squash her into the seat like the weight of a semi truck sitting on top of her but she executes the maneuver beautifully coming up directly on the Commander's tail. She pushes up the throttle a bit and goes for the missile lock.
Having not seen her execute the maneuver; Hughes is dumbfounded when his control console emits a flashing red indicator light accompanied by an ominous tone informing him that another aircraft has targeted him with a weapons lock. He looks back over his shoulder and sure enough to his surprise finds Sage directly on his tail!
"How the heck did she do that!?"
After successfully reaching her goal they prepare to head back to the carrier when Commander Hughes receives new orders from the ship's control tower.
"Wolf pack this is Wolf Den. Abort your landing we have planes on the deck preparing for launch."
"Wolf Den this is Pack leader, I though we were the last group for today?" Hughes replies.
"New orders from Atlantic Command just in, a civilian airliner headed for Greece has been hijacked. We're prepping four Hornets to intercept and secure the plane. Intel suggests there might be Migs in the area." Responds the tower.
"Commander, it'll take them too long to launch those fighters. By that time the Migs could have already intercepted the plane and who knows what their plans are when they do?" Sage exclaims.
Hughes hesitates for a moment then asks the tower to let him speak to the Captain.
Captain Jameson responds to the request and grabs the radio. "I know what you're thinking Hughes, I don't have the authority to let her go in."
"Technically speaking sir, you mean I don't have the authority. I'm the head of flight ops on this ship."
"And I'm the Captain of the ship Hughes, I'm still your superior officer." Jameson replies.
"I know sir just hear me out. Those planes you're prepping to launch probably just came in right?"
Jameson looks to his Executive Officer for confirmation then informs Hughes he is correct.
"Then it will take them at least twenty minutes to arm, refuel and launch them. That airliner could be anywhere by then and Migs or not it could be used for a terrorist attack. Now Sage and I are still ten miles out from the ship to the north. We can turn around now and be there before those four Hornets even leave the deck!" Hughes explains.
Sage quietly listens to the debate between Hughes and the Captain as she runs the through the options in her head. Wait for the other Hornets to launch and possibly lose the airliner or send in two fighters who are in a position to provide assistance much faster; while breaking protocol by letting a female pilot go into a possible combat situation.
"Alright get going." Jameson says a moment later. "I'll send the other four Hornets in to back you up as soon as they launch."
"Copy that, Sage I'm on point." Hughes says as she follows him in a 180 to the left.
"You won't regret this Captain." Sage says over the radio.
After receiving the coordinates the two F-18's build up speed to Mach 1. Estimating the time to span the two hundred miles between them and the airliner to just over thirty minutes.
Meanwhile aboard the Boeing 777 four Iranian terrorists have kept the passengers in quite a state of panic. More alarming then the hijacking itself is the fact that all three of the hijackers are armed with a 9mm Glock, which should be impossible since the terrorist attack on the U.S. four years ago. Among the passengers are two armed FBI agents based out of Washington D.C. but currently on assignment as special attaché to the Athens office.
"How the hell did they get those weapons aboard!?" says Special Agent Powell.
"I dunno but do you think this has anything to do with our suspect?" Special Agent McCabe replies.
"I doubt it, our target is from Romania. These guys sound like they're speaking Arabic. They could be from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or who knows but I have a bad feeling about this." Powell says.
Powell and McCabe have been tailing the Romanian since he left New York nearly thirty-six hours ago. Having been linked to a number of criminal activities stateside once the FBI learned he was leaving the country the director authorized the two agents already on the case to be assigned as special attaché to U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece. They were immediately flown out by private plane to Madrid where they finally caught up with the target and were booked tickets on the same flight tailing the mark from there to Athens where they hope to follow him to a meeting with his employers.
"You think this is another attack?" McCabe asks.
"Maybe but either way we have to take them out though."
Suddenly everyone on the plane hears the roar of the two fighter jets passing by.
"Flight 467, this is Commander Hughes of the United States Navy, prepare to alter course to heading 175 degrees southeast and state your intentions."
Inside the cockpit of the plane the lead hijacker orders the pilot to respond. "This is 467, we read you Commander but I've been instructed to deny your instructions." Says the pilot.
"467 be advised we have been instructed to divert your course out to sea, if you do not comply we may be authorized to shoot you down to prevent a terrorist attack. Repeat we cannot let you enter Greek airspace, do you copy?" Hughes explains. "Captain of 467, please confirm your captors copied last transmission."
"We've got F-18's out there!" McCabe exclaims looking out his window. He turns to see Powell's expression has turned quite grim. "What?"
"They're here to shoot us down."
"What! They won't do that . . . would they?"
"Remember United Airlines flight 93? We were already prepping fighters to intercept it; if it hadn't gone down on its own we would have had to shoot it down to prevent it from hitting the fourth target." Powell explains.
"Yeah but we're not over the U.S."
"Think about it Andrew." Powell lowers his voice as one of the hijackers walks down the aisle. Once they pass by he continues keeping his voice to a whisper. "If the Navy sent fighters to intercept us what are the chances they'll just let us keep on our current flight path. We've gotta take these guys out now before those fighters shoot us down!"
Right, you take this one behind us, I'll get the one across the cabin then we converge towards the cockpit together." McCabe suggests.
"Copy that, remember there's four of them so expect opposition once the first two go down. Only fire at what you can hit and don't get overzealous with your bullets." Powell adds.
"Yeah I figured that one already."
After reporting the situation to the Forrestal, Hughes receives new orders. He curses under his breath before raising the cockpit again. "Flight 467 we have been authorized to fire if you do not comply and alter your course immediately."
"Commander you can't be serious?" Sage says.
"You heard Jameson Lieutenant, Atlantic Command has sent down the order. We're fifteen miles out from Greek airspace, if we don't shoot them down now there's no telling what target they'll take out."
At that moment Powell and McCabe make their move. Powell draws his Beretta and turns back down the aisle just as the hijacker is making his way back towards them on his patrol. He rises from his seat and shoots the hijacker dead center in the throat with one shot! Within a microsecond he hears two shots fired behind him as McCabe takes careful aim taking out the second gunmen.
"FBI everyone down!" Powell says as the passengers scream in fear.
"Was that gunfire? Sage asks.
"I don't know, Flight 467 what's going on in there?" Hughes says.
At the sound of the gunshots the third hijacker comes bolting through the forward cabin; expecting to see a dead passenger after an attempt to overtake the hijackers the gunman is shocked to find two Americans with weapons aimed at him. He receives three rounds in the chest, two fired from Powell and one from McCabe. The two FBI agents move through the forward cabin towards the cockpit as they continue to instruct the passengers to stay down. They head for the cockpit each occupying a separate aisle of the plane. As Powell nears the cockpit he is shot twice in the stomach! McCabe is about to move towards his partner when the lead hijacker emerges from the flight attendants station with a passenger held hostage.
"Drop your gun, or I'll shoot her!" the hijacker demands.
"You do and you're as good as dead." McCabe says trying to keep his cool.
"I'm going to complete my mission." The hijacker says before he adds something in Arabic McCabe can't understand.
Suddenly McCabe spots one of the pilots sneaking up behind the hijacker. Without moving his eyes to alert the gunman he waits for the pilot to make his move. Unfortunately the hijacker hears the soft footsteps behind him and turns to shoot. Unsure of the moment McCabe decides to take his shot. The 9mm round enters the left side of the hijacker's cranium from behind and blows out the other side grazing the ear of the crewman. McCabe rushes forward kicking away the gun from the hijackers dead hand ensuring the scene is clear. At the same moment the hostage collapses in shock but one of the nearby passengers and a flight attendant sees to her as McCabe checks out the crewman. He crabs a linen napkin from the flight attendant's station and holds it to the pilot's right ear.
"I'm so sorry about this sir. I think you'll be okay though, the ear is still attached." McCabe says placing the crewman's own hand to the makeshift bandage. "Just keep pressure on it."
"Thanks." He says putting pressure on his injury. "Hey I'm in pain now but it was gonna be me or him right? Not to mention everyone on board if you hadn't taken them down."
McCabe simply smiles. "Right, just sit tight." McCabe finally turns his attention to the hostage and asks if she's all right.
"She's still pretty shaken up." States one of the flight attendants.
"Stay with her please." McCabe says as he finally realizes Powell has not yet moved! He rushes to his downed partner and checks for a pulse but finds he's already dead. He grabs a blanket from a storage compartment and covers his partner's dead body. He retrieves Powell's weapon and sticks it in his belt at the small of his back. Then he asks one of the Flight attendants to grab four more blankets as he grabs an empty trash bag. The attendant walks with him covering each of the hijackers bodies once he's colleted and disabled their weapons, tossing each one in the bag without adding his own fingerprints to them. As they secure the last body he notices through the windows the F-18's falling back behind the plane. He runs back to the cockpit to inform the Captain that he can respond. "FBI, tell them the plane is secure!"
"Flight 467 this is your last warning, divert your course south immediately or we will open fire!" Hughes says.
"We acknowledge, don't fire!" replies the Captain.
McCabe takes the copilots seat and puts on the headset. "This is Special Agent Andrew McCabe, FBI. Don't fire the hijackers have been neutralized, repeat do not fire the plane is secure."
Hughes and Sage both exhale relieved but are curious by the presence of the FBI on board the flight.
"Copy that Agent McCabe, how many casualties have you sustained?" Hughes asks.
"All four hijackers plus one friendly. My partner Special Agent Powell, he was killed retaking the plane."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Hughes replies.
"Oh and we have one injured, the copilot."
"How bad?"
"Not too serious, his right ear got sliced by a bullet." McCabe explains.
"Attend to it as best you can, he'll get medical attention when you land." Hughes replies.
"Commander we've got incoming!" Sage exclaims reading the four blips on her radar. Mig-29's and coming in fast!"
"They must have been sent to escort the plane through to its target." Hughes says and radios the Forrestal to provide an update. "Wolf Den come in. We've got four incoming bogies closing fast on our position, intentions unknown. However the plane is under control; armed FBI agents aboard took out all hostiles and have secured the plane, awaiting instruction."
"Protect the plane at all costs Pack leader, those Migs may not be aware of the situation on board so they might attack."
"Great, what's the status on our backup?" Hughes asks.
"Already en route, should be there in fifteen minutes."
"Copy that. Sage you get all that?"
"Affirmative Commander."
"Looks like you might just yet see combat, make me proud Lieutenant."
"Yes sir!" Sage replies as she closes the visor on her helmet.
"Flight 467 be advised, we have multiple enemy aircraft headed this way. Suggest you descend to twenty thousand feet and push on towards Athens.
Both Hornets drop their exterior tanks and throttle up turning towards the inbound Migs.
"Remember we have authorization to engage if they attempt to lock onto the 777." Hughes says.
They maneuver to pass by the Migs at a forty-five degree angle as two of the Migs peel off on a separate vector. Sage gets a just enough of a look at the tail markings of the first two as they pass by. "They're Iraqi!"
"Attention Iraqi Migs, Flight 467 is no longer under terrorist control. Suggest you evacuate the area back to your own airspace. We are United States Naval aircraft escort and we will defend Flight 467 if you attempt to attack her." Hughes says trying to raise the Migs.
Suddenly Sage notices one of the Migs maneuvering around to her six o'clock. "He's got missile lock on me!" she as she banks to the left.
Hughes breaks off to the right just enough to swerve his fighter back around to get behind the Mig. Sage continues to swerve and bank trying to lose the aggressor.
"Sage he's firing, break right!" Hughes exclaims.
The projectile misses Sage's aircraft by about ten feet; Hughes acquires a lock on the bogie and fires. The Sidewinder lands in the right engine of the fighter, which blows the entire rear section of the plane to bits. Sage then notices one of the lead Migs trailing the 777 on its descent.
"There's one going after the airliner, I'm on it." Sage says. "Flight 467 this is Lieutenant Sage, there's a Mig approaching on your six. Can you pull a hard right?"
"We'll do our best." The Captain replies as he puts on the seatbelt light. McCabe vacates the co-pilot's chair and is directed to the jump seat as the Captain puts the plane into a hard turn to starboard.
Sage acquires missile lock on the lead bandit just as the 777 clears her firing vector and fires. The Mig-29 explodes just as it was about to release an Apex missile.
"Sage there's another bandit behind you!" comes the voice of Hughes over the radio.
Sage breaks left as the Mig fires its guns, although Hughes is unable to assist as he is dealing with the fourth Mig. Sage rolls out as the Mig fires again.
"That was too close." She says to herself. After another minute or so of dodging the enemy fighter she finally maneuvers her fighter behind the Mig. She locks onto the fighter and fires. "Let's see how you like it!" She says as the Mig explodes.
Hughes in the meantime is being chased around the skies by the last Mig, which acquires a lock onto his Hornet.
"No, no, no!" Hughes curses himself knowing it's all over.
Just then the pilot of the Mig hears several more jets nearby and looks to see four more F-18's behind him. At the sound of a missile being locked on to him the Mig pilot breaks hard right and speeds off to the east in retreat. Hughes says a silent prayer as he hears the voice of one of his fellow pilots raise him on the radio.
"Man am I glad you guys showed up." He says then reports the situation to the Forrestal. "Wolf Den do you copy?
"We copy Pack leader."
"Three Migs splashed, the fourth one just bugged out and Flight 467 is in tact and on final approach to Athens, over."
"That's great Pack Leader." Responds the tower.
"Lt. Sage was great, she took out two of the Migs herself." Hughes adds.
Congratulations go out to Sage over the radio on her first and, ironically, last combat engagement.
"Wolf Den be advised, the Lieutenant and I are running low on fuel. Shall we follow Flight 467 into Greece?"
"Negative Commander, an A-6 conversion tanker was launched immediately following your backup, ETA ten minutes." Explains the Forrestal tower.
Athens, Greece – Once on the ground Flight 467 is ordered to shut down before reaching the terminal. Greek police and rescue vehicles encircle the aircraft to board and ensure the plane is secure before anyone is allowed to debark. The copilot is the first one allowed off the plane and is led to a nearby waiting ambulance so he may receive medical attention. FBI officials from the U.S. embassy are also present as Andrew McCabe oversees the removal of Powell's body from the plane. As suspected the other agents inform McCabe that since he and Powell were forced to intervene their original target is being taken into custody now. It's a bittersweet moment for McCabe, he and Powell were hoping their target would lead them to some arrests. While that case has all but gone flat he helped saved a few hundred lives on board the plane today, possibly countless more if the hijackers would have been allowed to carry their plan through to fruition. Although in the end his good friend and partner didn't survive the day; his only slight consolation being that Powell would have been happy to know that they succeeded. As the passengers are finally able to disembark McCabe walks over to the ambulance where the copilot is being treated.
"How are you doing?" he asks.
"Oh I'll live, we all owe you a big one kid. I'm sorry your partner didn't make it."
"Thank you." Just then McCabe spots the woman that was held hostage by the lead hijacker sitting in another ambulance nearby. "Hey listen there's something I need to check on, sorry again about the ear. Take care." He says to the copilot as he walks over to the woman who is taking in some oxygen.
"Are you alright?" he asks her as she removes the oxygen mask from her face.
"Yeah, I'm just still a little shaky."
"That's natural, you've been through one heck of an ordeal." McCabe says noticing she still shaking somewhat.
"I have never hyperventilated like that before though."
"It's just the adrenaline, trust me it'll wear off. Just try and relax. I'm curious, what you were doing in the FA's station during the siege?"
"I was in the lavatory behind the station when I heard the gun shots, when I came out one of the terrorists grabbed me."
"I see." McCabe replies.
"I'm sorry about your friend, did you know him well?" she asks trying to change the subject.
"We worked together almost as long as I've been with the agency, nearly five years." McCabe replies. "He was a good friend."
"Well whom do I have the honor of thanking?"
McCabe smiles realizing he has yet to introduce himself. "Andrew McCabe."
"I'm Rosalind Perry, my friends call me Roz."
"Nice to meet you Roz." McCabe says shaking her hand. "I hope this incident doesn't ruin your trip, was it for business or pleasure?"
"A little of both, I own an art gallery and was coming here in the hopes of acquiring some new pieces."
"Don't you have a curator to do that for you?" McCabe asks interested.
"I did but I soon discovered I enjoyed being the curator better than running the gallery. So I took over the position and hired someone to run my gallery when I'm away."
"Good point, if you own your own business why not do the job you're most happiest with."
"Exactly, well thank you for saving my life Andrew and also for your friends sacrifice."
"You're welcome Roz." He says as one of the other FBI agents calls his name. "Well, duty calls. Take care of yourself okay."
After refueling in mid-air Commander Hughes and Lt. Sage fly back to the Forrestal. Once on deck Sage receives quite a reception of comments and congratulatory remarks from her fellow pilots and other various crewmen aboard the ship. She and Hughes walk to the pilots briefing room together; as Sage enters Hughes stops her before going in.
"You alright Commander?"
"You sure you want to leave the Navy Lieutenant? I mean after what happened today this could change a lot of opinions about women in combat. Besides now that we know you really can kick ass why you don't extend your tour and kick a little more." Hughes says obviously sad that one of his best and brightest pilots is leaving.
"That's . . . well that's sweet sir but I've been in for seven years and there are other things I want to do with this life."
"Like what, you gonna fly big planes like that airliner?" Hughes asks curiously.
"Actually, I thought about applying to the Secret Service but first I'm gonna take a long vacation. Besides if things change for women in the military based on what I did today then I'm content with moving on and letting someone else kick that ass. Now let's go sir, we've got to report in for debriefing." Sage says smiling.
Hughes gives one last sigh admitting defeat and says. "We're gonna miss you around here Sage."
