Prologue
6 months ago.
Sam Fisher took out his knife and he stabbed the man in the back before catching the body and slowly putting it down to the ground. He was close. After sneaking through the hallway, he saw the air duct. The air duct that would lead him right to the meeting. He finally climbed in after several attempts. Sam moved quickly and he soon heard the meeting.
"Here is the computer code. It will allow you to gain access to whatever you're hacking."
"Are you sure this works?"
"Absolutely. I tried it on the CIA database and it worked. But if you want this code, you will have to give me 5 million dollars. Otherwise, I will not give it to you. There are many other groups that are bidding for this code and I'm sure they would pay more but I am willing to give you first dibs."
"Do not worry. I have the 5 million dollars right here." There was silence and Sam moved further along, trying to get a better view. In his hands were a tape recorder and every word of this conversation was being taped. The man wrenched a briefcase from one of his bodyguards and he exchanged it for a USB.
"Thank you," said the man who had given the other the USB. He was looking greedy as he opened the case. Sam was not sure who he was but he guessed that the man was some sort of hacker of some kind. The other man was a terrorist by the name of Jake Ghoul. He was involved with several terrorists groups before but now he was the founder of one Third Echelon did not know about. Jake then placed his hand into his pocket and he withdrew a Glock. Before Sam realized what was happening, the hacker was dead shot in the head with a single bullet. Jake's bodyguards then started firing at the other men in the room with silenced MP5s. Every one was executed in cold blooded murder. As they started to leave the room, the squads flanked Jake, protecting him like a Special Forces squad protecting a VIP. It was at that point that Sam's luck had run out and the air duct he was in could no longer support him, forcing it to break and smash onto the ground. The terrorists looked and what they saw was a man in some random costume lying in debris. They fired but they were too late as Sam took out his 5.7x 2.8mm pistol and fired. One went down and the rest took cover as Sam kicked a table and took cover behind it. He equipped his SC-20K and holstered his pistol. The terrorists were still firing at him and the wood splintered and flew everywhere as the bullets smashed the table. They weren't going to let him fire. They were pinning him while one or more other terrorists would slowly approach the table and take him out. He popped out from his cover and he fired, the SC-20K slightly buckling from the recoil. 2 other terrorists quickly fell to the deadly bullets but one bullet smashed him in the chest. He fell down, the wind knocked out of him. It did not kill him. He was wearing a bulletproof suit and it had Kevlar threaded into it. As far as he knew, it could take 10 bullets. There were still 4 terrorists remaining. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and all 4 terrorists were killed, shot in the head with a pistol. Sam stood up and he aimed his SC-20K everywhere, attempting to locate the assassin. Then he heard more gunfire in the distance and he guessed that Jake and his terrorists were trying to escape the facility. Sam heard a footstep and he aimed at the source of the sound. What he found was a man in his 40s. The man put his gun down.
"Who are you?" asked Sam.
"I'm Jack Bauer. I'm working with CTU. CTU and Third Echelon are co-operating on this operation. Haven't they told you?"
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"You don't."
"Sam!" He put his hand to his earpiece and he found Lambert talking on the other side.
"Sam! We arranged a deal with an agency called CTU. One of the agents has already infiltrated the facility. You are not to shoot him but co-operate with him."
"Okay."
"So you're not lying?" Sam said to Jack.
"No. I'm not."
Jack tucked his gun into the back of his trousers and he picked up an MP5 from one of the dead terrorists. He took the silencer off.
"Let's go!"
Sam nodded. As they ran through the hallways to intercept Jake, Sam explained to Jack what was happening.
"Jake just got the computer code. It can hack into anything. He shot the man who created it and they are right now trying to escape. There were other people at the meeting too but I don't know who they are."
"They were the security for the computer code creator. His name was James Hattak and he often had paranoia. He always thought that someone was going to kill him so he hired an army of bodyguards and mercenaries. I assume that the bodyguards and mercenaries are fighting the terrorists. How many terrorists were there?"
"There was about 2 dozen. I believe there were more scattered throughout the facility."
They reached the room where the sound of gunfire was coming from. It was a huge room, with catwalks. It looked like CTUs office with a conference room and other such facilities.
"Get down!" shouted Sam as he saw a mercenary fire at Jack. Jack got down just in time. They took cover.
"I just saw Jake," said Jack. "I'll go get him. You give me covering fire."
"No!" replied Sam. "I have a better plan. You see those pipes. I'll climb them and you give me covering fire. I can get to Jake within minutes."
"Can you climb that?"
"I can."
"Okay, then. I'll go with your plan. Okay, in 4,3,2,1."
Jack popped out and he started firing at both terrorists and mercenaries. Several took cover while some fell to the bullets. Meanwhile, Sam ran to the pipes and he climbed them. He had done this before many times, climbing pipes and ledges to avoid guards. Jack continued firing and he wondered if any people would see Sam. He remembered reading Sam's profile. What was his specialty? Stealth. So Jack fired at the lights, taking them all out and leaving the room in darkness.
Sam was moving along the pipes in the ceiling when the lights went out. He wondered if Jack did that before he equipped his night vision goggles. Suddenly, several terrorists and mercenaries screamed out in pain. He looked around and several fell to the ground in a pool of blood. Before he knew what was happening, a bullet smashed into him again and he dropped from the pipe in the ceiling. He landed right in front of Jake. Jake looked at him. But Sam thought something was wrong. It was dark and Jake couldn't see him. But then he saw the night vision goggles. Jake opened fire at point-blank range but Sam wrested the gun out of his hand. He threw a punch which Jake blocked before kicking Sam in the legs. Sam was thrown back. Before he could stand up and retaliate, a round black object appeared. A frag grenade. He rolled to the side as the grenade exploded. Sam looked around and there was another squad that appeared. But these weren't mercenaries or terrorists. This was a CTU tactical team. The terrorists and mercenaries didn't stand a chance. Everyone was gunned down quickly. Sam stared at Jake. He was aiming a gun at him. His face was filled with fury.
"You bastard. I'll kill you!" he swore and he opened fire. Sam didn't have time to react. Every bullet from the magazine plunged into him and he was thrown back into a desk. Blood started to spread on his suit. Jake started to reload. The magazine in the Glock fell to the ground as he placed his hand into his belt before withdrawing another magazine and placing it into the Glock. He aimed again. Sam could see his finger curling around the trigger. He closed his eyes and waited for his death, a bullet shattering his skin and cutting through his internal organs.
"Stop! Put your gun down!" shouted someone. He opened his eyes. A CTU agent was aiming an M4 carbine at Jake. Jake didn't comply. Instead, he aimed at the agent who in turn, released a burst of fire at Jake who died instantly.
"Medic! We have the splinter cell down! He has multiple gun wounds!" The agent approached Sam and he crouched.
"Hang in there buddy. We'll get you out of here. Where's that goddamn medic?"
Sam started to see darkness. He knew he was going to die here. There was nothing he could do. Jack started running and within seconds, he was by Sam's side too. That was the last thing Sam saw.
2 months ago.
"Jack, we have some disturbing news. The Jake that was killed 4 months ago wasn't Jake. He was a decoy, a diversion to allow the real Jake to escape. This picture was taken and our agents have confirmed it, it's Jake Ghoul," said Bill Buchanan. He threw the picture onto the table.
"The code taken from the fake Jake wasn't a fake. It was the real thing and our tech computer guys have said that the code cannot be copied. But we know that this operation cannot be fully finished until Jake Ghoul is terminated."
"Can't we send an assassin?" asked Jack.
"No. Ghoul knows how to hide. It also appears that he has been having some inside help. We once sent an agent to infiltrate a building which we suspected was one of his bases. However the agent was killed almost instantly."
"So what now, Bill?"
"We wait until we have found Ghoul. Third Echelon is also helping with the investigation. How is Fisher, by the way?"
"He's fine but the bullets almost did some permanent damage. He's on leave for a couple of months."
"Okay, then."
12 hours ago.
The man glanced at the computer store. It was a very convincing computer store. Third Echelon had disguised it well. His job was simple: retrieve the computer code that Jake had failed to six months ago. The security in the store was very good as far as he knew. He walked up to the doors. The store was closed but there was a man still inside. He opened the door.
"We're closed. I'm sorry."
The man responded by taking out a suppressed pistol and firing at the man. He died quickly. The man walked in, in full view of the CCTV cameras. Meanwhile, the surveillance underground saw a man with a pistol and his hand and smiling at the cameras. In the corner was a body with a red hole in the head.
"What the hell?" said a man. He pressed a button on the wall. Lockdown. The entire underground building would have extra security layers. Suddenly, he gasped and he fell down, his face turning purple and his hands shaking uncontrollably before screaming.
The intruder finished emptying the gas and he pocketed the container. He took out a gas mask and he placed it on his face, before walking into the hidden elevator in the back of the store. For 30 seconds, the elevator descended into the earth before the doors opened. The intruder walked through hallways of the building, passing several dead bodies. The gas had worked. It was a new type of gas, a torture gas. Anyone coming in contact with the gas would start screaming in pain before dying. It affected every part of the body and the pain was unbearable. It was like torture, hence the name torture gas. The intruder had emptied the gas into an air vent which ended in the underground building. He found the USB which contained the computer code. He pocketed it and left the building. He returned to his car and he noticed something. A car was parked several metres away and he thought he had seen him before. He looked at the driver. It was an agent. Remaining calm, he entered his car and he did a U-turn. The agent continued to follow him, remaining several cars away. He drove through some small roads and some major ones but the agent continued to follow, never losing him. He stopped and then he got out of the car. There was one way to end this. He approached the agent's car. He took out his pistol and fired at the agent. They were on a small street so no one was around. The agent was killed instantly. He took the body out and carried it to his car where he put the corpse in his boot before he drove off.