CHAPTER TWO
The rest of the day went by, and everyone noticed that Alex had been avoiding Jack. Jack attempted numerous times to talk to her, but she kept ignoring him. Later that night, Jack was in Nicholas' room while they finished reading 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'.
"We'll read 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' when I get back." he promised the little boy. He kissed him on he forehead and was about to leave.
"Is Mama mad at you?" Nicholas asked him.
"Cows get mad, Nicholas...people get angry." Jack reminded him.
"Why is Mama angry at you?" the little boy pressed.
"She's not angry...just disappointed. I kept a secret from her." Jack answered.
"You wanna make her laugh? Do what I do and tell her a panda bear joke. She loves those!" Nicholas suggested.
"I'm afraid that only works for you, my dear boy." Jack told him. "But I will try." he added.
Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, and Alex came into her son's room. "Are you ready for bed?" she asked Nicholas.
"Yes, Mama." the little boy replied.
"Did you brush your teeth?" Alex asked. Nicholas nodded. "Alright. Where's my goodnight kiss?" she asked again. Her son reached up to her and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Good night, Mama. I love you." Nicholas told her.
"Good night, Moonbeam. I love you more." Alex replied.
"Good night, Jack. Remember what I told you." Nicholas reminded him.
"Good night, kiddo." Jack answered.
Alex and Jack watch Nicholas as he snuggled in bed with the stuffed panda bear that Neal gave him. Moments later, the boy was sound asleep. Together, they quietly slipped out of the room. Jack was about to say something, when Alex turned away and headed back to her room.
Jack followed her inside, and saw that Alex was packing a small backpack. Things that she will need for their trip. She kept avoiding his eyes, and just remained silent. After a few minutes of watching her, Jack cleared his throat to catch her attention.
"A panda walked into a bar. and went up to the bartender and said: 'I want a sandwich and a Coke please.' The bartender took his order and the Panda went to sit down at a table. Soon, a waiter took over the meal, the Panda gobbled it up, tipped the waiter and paid his bill." Jack began.
Alex looked at him as if he had lost his mind, but at least, she was now looking at him.
Jack smiled. "All seemed normal until the Panda pulled out a gun from the depths of his fur, pulled the trigger and BANG! shot the waiter dead. The barman rushed over and said: 'Argh!You just shot my friend!' The Panda calmly replied: 'Do you know what I am?' he asked. 'Of course, I do. You're a Panda' the barman answered. 'Good,' the Panda replied, 'now go home and look me up in the dictionary.' And with that, the Panda walked out of the bar." he continued.
Jack looked at Alex and saw that he now has her full attention. She stared at him, raised an eyebrow, and was trying very hard not to smile.
"The barman was a little unsure, but he was very eager to be enlightened on the subject of his friend's murder, so he went home to find his dictionary and looked up 'panda' and quickly read the definition...PANDA : 1. Ailuropoda melanoleuca, A black and white bear native to China. Eats shoots and leaves." Jack finished the story.
Alex lowered her head, but Jack noticed the change in her facial expression. "Is that a smile?" he asked. "Yes, I believe that is a smile!" he said triumphantly.
"Nicholas told you about the panda joke strategy?" Alex asked him.
"Yes, and it worked like a charm." Jack answered.
Silence filled the room yet again. Jack moved closer to Alex, and gently lifted up her face towards him. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to keep any secrets from you." he apologized, his thumb caressed her cheek.
"Then don't." Alex replied.
Jack sighed, and sat on the bed. Alex soon followed suit. "It's not THAT simple, given what my job is." Jack told her.
"Then tell me what you're allowed to say. Just please, don't keep me in the dark." Alex implored him.
Jack stared deeply into her eyes. He didn't want to lose her. That was never an option. After a brief moment, he spoke again. "Ask me what you want to know, I'll do my best to answer." he said.
"Why you?" Alex asked. "Out of all the operatives from Section 10, they chose you. What? They couldn't find another agent in Cheltenham who can get the job done?" she pressed.
Jack took a brief moment before he spoke. "I have a history with Donoghue." he answered.
"Which means what, exactly?" she asked.
"I was part of a Royal Marines recon team in Kosovo back in late 1998. He was the leader of our unit. Major Graham Donoghue back then." Jack revealed.
"You were in Kosovo?" Alex asked, her voice full of concern. Jack rarely talked about his life in the British military.
"Yes." Jack replied. "My recon team was like my family. I trusted them with my life and they trusted me with theirs in return." he continued.
"And Donoghue was part of that." Alex said.
Jack nodded. "Right up until he betrayed us. He betrayed his team and his country." he replied.
"What happened?" Alex asked again.
"My team and I, we were the best at what we did. Highly decorated. Did everything by the book. Followed orders to the letter." Jack began. "We had no idea we had a traitor amongst us." he added. He took a deep breath before he continued. "One time during a mission, I got shot in the thigh...a flesh wound. Spent a week in a military hospital till they sent me back to my unit. When I got back, they we're all dead. All except for Donoghue. Donoghue had executed our entire team...then took every single weapon, and got out of there like a bat out of hell." he told her, almost choking on the words.
"I'm so sorry, Jack." Alex consoled him.
"Next we knew, the weapons he stole were found in the hands of the Kosovo Liberation Army. That's how he made his start as an arms dealer." Jack said. "Anyway, there was an inquiry, since I was the only one that survived. They wanted to sack me but they couldn't find anything to charge me with, or anything that would link me to Donoghue. But the damage was done. So I resigned my commission and left the Marines. Months later, Piers Bishop sought me out and offered me a job at Section 10." he concluded.
Alex held him closer. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this." she said.
"I should have died that time. With my team." Jack whispered.
"Don't say that! I am glad that you lived, Jack." she told him. "Besides, I believe that your life was spared for a reason. Now, you can capture Donoghue, and make sure that he pays for everything he's done." she pointed out.
Jack stare into her eyes once again. "I have lost too many losses in this lifetime. I can't lose you too." he told her.
"You won't." she replied. "No matter what happens, I'll be right beside you." she promised. She kissed him softly on the lips. "Now, let's get ready for bed. We have a long day tomorrow." she reminded him.
The next day, the Vadzel crew, along with Jack, were all gathered and ready to leave.
"Oi, Scottish! You and your girl have kissed and made up, I assume?" Aretha asked Jack.
"Yes, English!" Jack answered. "No worries." he assured her.
Zeke looked at the amount of bags that Asher had with him. "Geez, are you moving to North Korea, kid? You do know we're coming back, right?" he joked.
"Ha ha...very funny." he retorted. "We'd be needing all these equipment for the job." he reminded his friend.
Alex smiled at them and shook her head, before turning her attention to Nicholas. "You be good while I'm away, okay." she told her little boy.
"Yes, Mama." Nicholas replied.
"You want me to bring you back something?"she asked.
"Just come back to me." he replied.
"I will." she reassured her son.
"Promise?" Nicholas insisted.
"Promise. Cross my heart and kiss my elbow." she answered.
Nicholas chuckled, as he leaped into her arms and wrapped her in a very tight hug. "I love you, Mama." he said.
"I love you more, Moonbeam." she replied.
"What, I don't get a hug?" Jack asked.
Nicholas turned to him and gave him a big hug as well. "Keep my Mama safe, okay?" he whispered into Jack's ear, before letting go.
Jack put his right hand to his heart. "I promise." he whispered in return.
"Alright, time to go." Aretha announced. She left specific instructions to Jakob and Edina, before heading out the door.
Alex took one last last look to Nicholas and gave him a reassuring smile. Nicholas nodded and blew her a kiss. With a worried feeling in her gut, she left Vadzel with Jack and her crew.
PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA, ABOUT 12 HOURS LATER...
Jack and the Vadzel crew arrived in North Korea without stirring up any noise. A small Section 10 team, headed by Jack's partner Callum MacTaggert, was left behind in Busan, South Korea, awaiting his call in the event that they needed to be extracted. Upon their arrival, the team met discreetly with their contact in Pyongyang, the MI-6 agent that Jack spoke of.
"Park Sang-Yoo." the agent introduced himself.
"Jack Hartnell." Jack showed him his credentials, and proceeded to introduce the rest of the team. He then excused himself and Sang-Yoo as he briefed him about the mission.
From afar, Asher looked at the two while they discussed matters in private. He turned his attention to his crew. "This is NOT good. But I'm alright. I can deal with this." he told them. "You know what? I lied! I hate this place! I'm in a hostile environment. I am completely unprepared. I'm surrounded by people who probably would like to kick my ass! This is like high school all over again!" he panicked.
"Hakuna matata, my friend." Alex told the young hacker. "I got your back, Ash." she assured him.
"And I've got your front." Aretha added. "I guess that makes you the little sausage in our sandwich." she chuckled.
"Little sausage? LITTLE? I resent that!" Asher replied. He turned to seek reassurance from Zeke.
"Oh, don't drag me into this, kid. I'm not into kinky stuff." Zeke joked. His face turned serious when he faced Aretha. "What's the plan?" he asked.
"We go in, we kick ass, we get out." Aretha answered.
"You make it sound so easy, Boss Lady." Asher told her.
"We do what Jack says." Alex chimed in. "For now." she added.
"Alex is right. As much as I hate to admit it, Jack is running this show. We're just his dancing monkeys. What he says, goes...at least for the time being." Aretha told her team. The rest of the crew nodded in agreement.
There was silence among them for a brief moment, until they were rejoined by Jack and Sang-Yoo. "Agent Park will be taking us to the safe house now." Jack announced.
"Please, call me Sang-Yoo. No need for formalities." the sleeper agent told them. He lead the team towards the van. "Let's go, shall we?" he said.
Once they were at the safe house, the Vadzel crew, along with Jack and Sang-Yoo ate dinner together in silence. It was Asher who spoke first.
"So, Sang-Yoo...MI-6 eh? You get full benefits with that?" the young man asked. Zeke smacked him in the back of the head. "Ouch! I was just making conversation!" he told Zeke.
"It's alright, Zeke." Sang-Yoo replied. "I like SIX." he replied, SIX being a short term for MI-6. "Plus, I get to go to interesting places, meet interesting people...kill them if the situation calls for it." he added, an impish grin briefly flashing on his face.
Asher swallowed his food. "They have a good dental plan?" he asked, which earned him another smack in the back of the head from Zeke. "Ow! Alright! That's it! I'm gonna go sit over there!" he said, as he stood up and sat next to Alex.
"So, what's your story?" Aretha asked Sang-Yoo.
"British mother, South Korean father. Grew up in Seoul, till Dad died. After that, I moved to London with my mum. Joined the Royal Navy after graduating college. Got recruited in SIS after I finished three tours." Sang-Yoo summarized.
"Seoul, huh? Gangnam district, by any chance?" Asher asked him.
"Yes. How did you know?" Sang-Yoo wondered.
"Just a wild guess." Asher answered. He looked over at Alex and flashed her a smile.
"Don't do it, Asher." Alex warn the hacker.
But it was too late. "Oppan, Gangnam style!" Asher shouted.
The young man then stood up and began to do his 'invisible horse dance'. He bounced around in a riding movement, flailing his arms, with hand gestures of alternating holding reigns and lassoing. Alex slapped herself in the forehead in frustration, while the rest of the team looked at Asher as if he had gone mad.
"Is he having a seizure?" Sang-Yoo asked.
"Yeah...we'll go with that." Alex answered.
"Enough horsing around!" Jack said. "We need to discuss the mission." he told them.
"Job." Aretha corrected him. "Military and secret agents have missions. We're neither." she added.
"As I was saying...we need to discuss the JOB." Jack said, glaring at Aretha. "Do you have a location on Donoghue?" he asked Sang-Yoo.
"One of my local sources told me that he's staying at the Koryo Hotel." Sang-Yoo replied. "He paid the entire hotel staff to keep their mouths shut. Keeps moving suites, so I couldn't lock on his exact location. Here's where it gets interesting..." he continued, looking at the team before him.
"I had one of my assets follow him, and guess where he was spotted frequently these past few days?" he asked.
"Where?" Asher asked.
"The Pyongyang Train Station in Chung-guyok." Sang-Yoo answered.
"That's the target." Zeke deducted.
"He's casing the layout." Alex agreed.
"He's studying the area...what time is it the busiest. The more casualties in the explosion, the better." Aretha chimed in.
"Yeah, but Jack said it himself...this nuclear device has enough boom to kill half a million people. Donoghue could plant it behind a dumpster and he could still take out the entire district." Asher pointed out.
"But he doesn't want to plant the device behind a dumpster. That's not how he works." Jack told him.
"He would want to plant the bomb in the heart of the city...hit 'em where it hurts. A train station during rush hour would be a perfect target. Remember what the terrorists did in London back in '05?" Zeke reminded them.
"Zeke's right." Jack agreed. "Rest easy tonight, boys and girls. We make a move at first light." he said, with a determined look on his face.
Early morning the next day, the team was up and ready. They gathered around and awaited for Jack's orders.
"Everybody put on their comm links, make sure it works." Jack told the team, while Asher started handing out earpieces to each team member. "Keep them on at all times. This is how we'll communicate." he instructed. Jack looked at everyone. "I've assigned each of us handles, just in case the comms are being monitored." he added.
"Puh-lease! Like anyone can hack into my system!" Asher scoffed. He saw Jack glaring at him. "I'll shut up now." he told the agent.
"Where was I? Handles, yes." Jack continued. "I will be Alpha; Aretha is Bravo; Asher, you're Charlie; Zeke is Delta; Alex, you're Echo; and Sang-Yoo is Foxtrot." he told them.
"Wait...everyone else got cool code names and I get stuck with 'Charlie'?" Asher complained.
"That's what you get for interrupting." Jack said. He turned his attention back to the team. "Next is team assignments." he told them.
"Team assignments?" Alex asked.
"She interrupted!" Asher pointed out.
"I've divided us up into 3 teams." Jack clarified. "Aretha, you're with Zeke. You guys take the Koryo Hotel. See if you can figure out which room Donoghue is staying. Try to find out if the device is stashed in his room. Be very careful, if you DO find it." Jack warned the two.
"Got it." Aretha replied, while Zeke nodded in understanding.
"Sang-Yoo and I will take the Train station...see if Donoghue makes an appearance today." Jack said. He turned to Asher and Alex. "You two will stay at home base." he told them.
"Home base? You mean we get to guard the van?" Asher asked. "Fine by me." he shrugged.
"Excuse us for a moment." Alex told the rest, while she pulled Jack aside.
"What are you doing?" she asked. "Jack we've discussed this-" she said.
"You shouldn't have interrupted me." Jack replied.
"Bullshit!" Alex exclaimed. "I don't need you to protect me." she reiterated. "Not like you CAN protect me...this device can take out a 15-city block!" she reminded him.
Jack gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Just humor me." he said, before returning to the rest of the team. "Alright, you all know your assignments...now, scatter." he ordered.
Aretha and Zeke headed out first. Alex watched as Jack got into Sang-Yoo's car. He waved her goodbye, before leaving for the train station. After they left, she got inside the van, where Asher was already setting up.
After a brief silence, Alex spoke up. "What exactly do you DO inside the van?" she asked Asher.
"This is the command center." Asher replied. "I don't exactly just stay here and play video games and wait for you guys to call, you know?" he told her. "I have kept all of us alive countless of times from inside the van. So don't you dare act as if you deign to work in here." he said, visibly hurt.
"I'm sorry." Alex apologized. "I'm just frustrated, that's all. Jack's being an ass." she told him.
"Jack's doing what a good man does." Asher replied. "You have to protect the ones that you love." he continued.
"Who's side are you on?" Alex asked him. Then she noticed the sadness in Asher's eyes. She cleared her throat. "You wanna talk about what happened with Claire?" she inquired, referring to Asher's girlfriend from New York.
"I broke up with her...end of story." Asher answered, as he continued to set up his gadgets.
"Why?" Alex pressed.
There was a long pause, before Asher replied. "I can't keep putting her life at risk because of what I do." he answered.
"Shouldn't that be her choice?" Alex asked again.
"No...because I know that she'll choose to be with me. Just like you'll always choose to be with Jack, no matter what." he told his friend.
"So...you were scared of losing her, and yet you lost her anyway." Alex pointed out.
"Yes, but at least I know that she's SAFE." Asher countered. "Claire's not like you, H. She doesn't belong in our world. And I can't always be there to protect her. So, I set her free." he added in a very sad tone.
Alex nodded in understanding. After another uncomfortable silence, she spoke up. "Right...I'll let you set up here. I'm gonna go and get us some coffee." she told her friend.
"Make mine as caffeinated as they'll allow it. I'll take a Settanta, if they have them. I have a feeling we'll be here a while." Asher said.
"Will do." Alex replied before stepping out of the van.
Alex was about to go inside the coffee shop, when a motorcycle pulled up near her. The rider lifted up his helmet's visor and turned to face her. A evil grin formed in the man's face as he looked at her, as if he was taunting her. Then without warning, the bike revved up and sped away.
Alex mind was in panic. He recognized that face from the photo Jack showed the team. It was Donoghue! Without any regard, she stole one of the motorcycles parked outside the coffee shop and quickly went after Donoghue.
The chase ended in the middle of a commercial district. It was an area Alex was not very familiar with. She reached for her comm link to notify the others, and then realized that she left her ear piece inside the van.
"Stupid!" Alex slapped her forehead.
She got off the motorcycle and proceeded on foot. She had no idea where she was or where Donoghue went. She took a turn in an alley and looked around for any payphones. The next thing she knew, someone came up to her from behind, and restrained her. She struggled and tried to fight back, but her captor put pressure in her carotid artery. A few seconds later, she felt herself fading away, as she slowly lost consciousness.
~END OF CHAPTER TWO~
FOOTNOTES :
*Nicholas' beloved stuffed panda bear was from his dad, Neal. [Fic : Trouble]
*Piers Bishop and Callum MacTaggert are characters I created. They work with Jack at Section 10. Piers is his boss, Callum is his partner. You may or may not see them in future stories.
*You recognize Asher's "invisible horse dance", right? Okay, just checking.
*The character Park Sang-Yoo is inspired by Korean-American actor, Daniel Dae Kim (H50. Lost)
*You might remember Asher's (now ex) girlfriend, Claire (Gleason) from my previous fics, "New York" and "One Night in Bangkok".
*Again...not in the intel ops industry, don't fault me for inaccuracies.
*What happened to Alex? Clue is in the first scene of Chapter 1. How does she get out? Well, you just have to keep on reading.
*Again, many thanks for reading this chapter. If you liked it, please feel free to leave comments and kudos.