Here we go! Next chapter! This is where all the Sam-whump begins! Lightly at first, of course.
Toronto
Sam had managed to last about 30 minutes in his apartment after his shower before the quiet got to him; for it was in the quiet, the moments where he had nothing to do, that the thoughts of his nightmare and the memories of the events that caused it hit him full force.
Locking the door behind him, Sam left his apartment, desperate for something-anything- to take his mind off of his nightmare. He didn't even realize he had made it all the way to the SRU until Ben, the night dispatcher called his name.
"Sam?" He asked, confused.
Sam just gave him a small smile and a nod before heading into the locker room to change. He was halfway through with putting on his workout gear when Josh, one of Team Two's officers, entered the locker room. "Hey Josh."
"Hey Sam. You're here early, really early. Is everything –" Josh's question stopped on his lips as he finally noticed the dark, almost bruise-like circles under Sam's eyes. "Whoa Sam, when's the last time you slept? You look exhausted."
Sam pulled his shirt on, closed his locker and turned to look at Josh. "I'm fine Josh, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
Before Josh could say anything else, Troy, Team Two's sergeant entered the room looking for Josh. "Josh! Where are you? Let's go, we have a-" Again, Troy was shocked into silence by the presence of Sam in the locker room. "Sam? What are you doing here?"
"Couldn't sleep. Got bored at home." Sam said, nonchalantly, with a shrug. He could see the questioning look on Troy's face, as if he was gauging the truthfulness behind his answer. Inwardly, Sam sighed in relief when Troy seemed to accept his answer and didn't question him further. Sam was even more relieved when Josh took the attention off of him.
"What were you saying Sarge?" Josh asked, looking at Troy.
Troy gave one last look at Sam before putting his focus back on Josh. "Hot call, time to go!"
Josh nodded at his boss, then quickly said good bye to Sam before running out of the room to go join the rest of his team. Troy brought his attention back to Sam and stared at him questioningly. Sam, seeing his stare, sighed and squared his shoulders to face him. "Please stop staring at me. I'm fine, I promise."
Troy stared at him a little bit longer before giving him a slight nod. "Since you're fine," Troy said as he quirked his eyebrow. "Then maybe you can ride along with us on this hot call? I think you'd be really helpful,if I can get Holleran to approve that is."
"Sure. What's the call?"
"Shots fired, possible hostage situation in the Wexford district of Scarborough."
"That area's got a pretty high military population..."
"It does, that's why I want you to come with us. I think your military experience could really come in handy if we need to negotiate." Seeing Sam's nod, Troy continued. "Go ahead and suit up, I'll clear it with Holleran."
Sam nodded and began to change into his uniform while Troy talked to Holleran. By the time Troy had Holleran's approval to bring Sam along, Sam was dressed, ready to go and down in the garage with the SUVs and the rest of Team Two. When Troy arrived, they all loaded up and headed out to Scarborough.
Three hours later, Team Two still had not returned from their last call and the members of Team One were filing into the gym for their workout. Ed, being the last member to head into the gym, was not the first to notice Sam's absence but he was the first one to acknowledge it. "Anybody seen Samo?"
Seeing the other members of his team shake their heads, Ed reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, ready to call Sam and see where he was when Commander Holleran entered the gym. "Team One." Holleran said in greeting, acknowledging the presence of his top team. "Greg, a word please?"
Greg climbed off the exercise bike he was on and walked over to Holleran, throwing a quick glance at Ed as he did. As the two of them spoke outside, the present, remaining members of Team One watched on, wondering what the two were talking about. Their curiosity sooned turned into something else as they saw Greg run his hand over his head, something they knew he only did when he was stressed or concerned. When Greg came back into the gym, Wordy, Spike and Jules abandoned their workout gear and came to stand next to Ed, eager to hear what Greg had to say even though the look on his face told them that they probably didn't want to hear it.
"What's going on Sarge?" Jules asked as soon as Greg was within hearing distance.
Greg sighed and came to a stop in front of them. "Team Two got a shots fired call in Scarborough a couple hours ago. Sam was here, for some reason, and went along with them—something about a possible hostage situation involving a soldier. Troy thought Sam, if needed, could use his military experience to connect." Seeing the members of his team nod that they were following along, he continued on. "It was a tense few hours, but Sam and Troy together managed to talk the situation down and get everyone unharmed."
The members of Team One smiled, pleased that their once shoot first, talk later sniper was becoming a pretty decent negotiator. However, the smiles didn't last long. Greg's face told them that he wasn't telling them everything and their curiosity and anxiety were starting to get the best of them.
"That's great and all, but...what aren't you telling us?" Wordy asked, eyeing his friend and boss.
Greg looked at the people in front of him, the ones who, over the years, had become his family. He knew this news would upset them, but he knew they needed to know. They deserve to know. Sighing, he started talking again. "After they got everyone out of the house, something happened. I don't know what exactly, neither does Holleran; Troy didn't really go into too much detail as to what exactly happened. All we know is that Sam got shot."
Shocked cries of "WHAT?!" filled the gym along with several questions from each team member. Greg placed his hands up in a placating gesture and waited for the questions to stop before trying to speak again. "Everyone take a deep breath and relax. According to Troy, Sam is fine. He took two to the vest. The paramedics on scene checked him out and said that nothing was broken or cracked. His ribs will be sore for a couple of days and he'll be on light duty for the next few shifts, but he's fine. They're on their way back now, they'll be here in about 10-15 minutes. Until he gets here, back to working out! With Sam on restricted duty for the next few days, we all need to be at the top of our game."
Reluctantly, the members of Team One returned to their different workout posts. Each one kept a close eye on the entrance, waiting and watching for their teammate and the members of Team Two to arrive.
...
Ottawa
General William Braddock, appropriately nicknamed General Badass, was not a man to be messed with; especially when he was on a mission. Stalking down the hallways, he made his way to his office. Barging into the room and startling the other military officers inside, General Braddock immediately got down to business. "Alright, I'm here. Would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on?!"
Colonel Jackson looked at Sergeant Perry, encouraging him to begin. "Very early this morning, I received an alert from Captain Michaels' unit over in Kandahar. His update brought some very concerning information to light. I had my men look into the validity of the information and unfortunately it's true." Sergeant Perry stopped talking and looked at the General, trying to gauge his current state and prepare himself for the explosion that was sure to come.
"And? That does not explain why I'm here or what the serious problem is that you called me about Robert..." General Braddock growled out.
Sergeant Perry looked over to Colonel Jackson, silently begging him to take over the conversation. With a slight nod, Colonel Jackson squared his shoulders and looked at General Braddock. "Saleem Farhad is here. In Canada."
If the General was not such an intimidating, frightening man, the immediate change in his facial expressions would've been almost comical. However, this was not a laughing matter, and no officer in that room would even dare to try and make it one.
"Where?" General Braddock asked, voice hard.
"He and two of his men made it through customs at Jean Lesage under fake passports. Security footage shows them leaving the airport at 2:35am but after that the cameras lost them. We've got several of our men searching all over for him and the second they know anything, you'll know as well."
General Braddock stared at the two men in front of him before giving one sharp, quick nod. "Find him. Now. Sergeant Perry, this is now your main concern. Finding Saleem and his men is your number one priority. Get to it and don't stop until you find him."
Sergeant Perry nodded, gave a salute then quickly left the room. General Braddock looked at his Colonel and one of his oldest friends. Colonel Jackson saw a look in his friend's eyes that he hadn't seen since their last encounter with Saleem and his men. He was bound and determined to make sure that the result this time would not be the same. "What do you want to do, Will?"
"Take some men, go to Toronto and get Sam. Put him in protective custody."
Colonel Jackson gave a quick snort. "You know just as well as I do that there's no way Sam is going to agree to protective custody."
"Then don't give him a choice! Force him into submission or stay there and watch his every waking move. Do whatever it takes! Saleem is NOT going to get to him this time!"
Colonel Jackson put his hands up towards the General in a calming manner. "OK. I'll go to Toronto and get Sam. However, you and I both know how stubborn Sam can be. If I need to, can I brief his SRU team on the situation?"
General Braddock sighed. "In an attempt to get through to Sam, as an absolute last resort, then yes you may brief the SRU."
Nodding, Colonel Jackson gave a salute then turned to leave. As he was about to walk out of the office, General Braddock called his name. He turned to face him. "Keep him safe."
Nodding again, Colonel Jackson left the office to go collect his men. General Braddock sank down in his chair and rubbed a hand across his brow. Seven o'clock in the morning and the day was already a nightmare in the making.
*Jean Lesage is one of the international airports in Quebec.
Hope you guys enjoyed!