24: Operation Nightfall
Disclaimer: I don't own 24 or any of their characters mentioned in this story.
This story is my version of the events taking place during Operation Nightfall. The are no major plot spoilers in this chapter.
Chapter 2
In London, an MI6 agent was just about to leave his office for the night when his phone rang "This is Agent Saunders." he answered. "Mr. Saunders, this is Agent Ellis, the conference call is set for tomorrow for 2PM London time." Ellis hung up. For MI6 agent Stephen Saunders, the time had come.
*****
Jack arrived in Washington at about 7PM local time to find it snowing. Jack had to admit to himself that it served as somewhat of a silver lining to the whole situation. It was rare for Jack to experience snow living in Los Angeles. It only really happened when he traveled. As jack exited the plane into the terminal, he saw a man holding up a sign reading Jack Bauer and met him. "Welcome to Washington Mr. Bauer, we are here to take you to your hotel, there is a car waiting outside." the man explained. "Thank you", Jack replied. He wanted to ask the man what he was doing in DC but realized he probably didn't know. So he just let it be for now as he left the terminal and got in the car.
It was about a 30 minute trip, and they reached the Watergate hotel. "As far as we know Jack, you aren't here about any political scandal" the driver joked. "Well, I guess I'll just have to see" replied back laughing. The driver handed jack the room key, room 426, and said "Your meeting tomorrow is at the NSA headquarters. Please be ready for 8. Someone will be here to pick you up". The driver left and Jack decided to go grab something quick to eat at a nearby coffee shop before heading up to his room at about 9:30. Jack called the front desk for a 7AM wakeup call and after winding down watching some TV, he turned in at about 10:30 for the night.
"This is your wakeup call sir" Jack heard on the other end of the line as he answered the phone. "Thank you" Jack replied and hung up. 7AM dead on, the wakeup call never fails. Jack got out of bed, showered, got ready and headed downstairs for some breakfast before his driver came to pick him up. The driver arrived at the hotel a few minutes before 8 and they headed out.
The NSA headquarters were located in Fort Meade, Maryland, which was about a 45 minute drive from the Watergate. Fort Meade was named after General George Meade who was a general for the Union Army during the Civil War. Fort Meade also served as a home for the National Cryptologic Museum, although that wasn't on Jack's itinerary for the trip. Jack wanted to go home and be with his family. Unfortunately he had to make this trip and hoped he would be going home soon. Once they arrived, Jack was escorted to a conference room, where he met Agent Robert Ellis.
"Mr. Bauer, I'm Agent Robert Ellis of NSA, thank you for coming on such short notice. I trust that your flight and your accommodations were satisfactory." "Everything was fine Mr. Ellis." Jack replied as they shook hands. "I imagine you must be curious as to why you are here. Please have a seat." Ellis said. Jack was definitely wondering why he was flown over to Washington so quickly. "Jack, during this meeting, we will be on a secure video conference line with MI6 agent Stephen Saunders in London" Ellis explained as he connected the call. Jack's head was starting to spin. This was starting to look more and more like it was going to be a longer trip away from home than he was hoping. After a minute, the call was connected. "Mr. Saunders, you are connected with myself and Agent Jack Bauer of the Los Angeles counter terrorist unit." Ellis explained. After a quick greeting, the meeting was underway.
"Mr. Bauer, over the last few months, we have been monitoring a man named Victor Drazen. He is a warlord and a mercenary. He is the commander of a police organization called The Black Dogs in Belgrade. He has run several ethnic cleansing campaigns and purges in eastern Europe, including a recent incident in Kosovo." Ellis explained. "This war criminal is responsible for the death of thousands of innocents including Americans and British" Saunders added. Jack had heard of Drazen before, but at the time, he didn't have the means to be able to carry out any campaigns of this magnitude and it didn't seem like he would be able to anytime soon. "Due to his history and the likelihood of more purges in the future, we feel it is necessary for him to be taken out to prevent this from happening." Jack, surprised by what he heard replied "Am I understanding this correctly, do you mean you want him killed?" Saunders replied "Yes Jack, that's the idea. Both our governments have sanctioned this action." Ellis quickly added "This option was one of many considered for handling this situation. After careful deliberation, it was decided that Drazen was a man too dangerous to be kept alive. Intelligence shows that he may be plotting to develop an international terrorist organization with funds acquired through The Black Dogs. Both Agent Saunders and I know your reputation for getting results, and that's what we need here." Jack thought about it for few seconds before replying, "I understand."
Jack then asked "How would we go about this mission?" Ellis than explained "Intel shows that Drazen has a compound in Kosovo in a village called Dakovica. We would need you and Agent Saunders to assemble a 6 man team to infiltrate the compound and make visual confirmation on the target. Once your team makes the confirmation, you can call down an F-18 and it will make an air strike on the compound. Afterwards, a chopper will pick your team up. I believe that covers the basics. Here is the more detailed file." Ellis added as he handed the file to Jack. "Are there any questions?" Jack quickly glanced at the file and noticed Victor had family listed. He had a wife named Elena, two sons, Andre and Alexis, as well as a daughter Martina. "Will any of Drazen's family be in the vicinity of the compound during the attack?" Jack quickly asked. Saunders answered "No, his sons are currently serving with the Serbian Army and will not be there. His wife and daughter are currently on vacation and won't be back before the attack. It's imperative that this is taken care of quickly to ensure that Drazen's family members are not casualties." Jack then added "I understand the seriousness of the situation. I will have to look at this in more detail before I agree to this. I need time to look it over. "I understand" Ellis said. "There is an empty office down the hall. I will give you a couple hours to look it over and make a decision." Jack agreed. "I guess that's it for now then." Ellis said. "I will be in touch Agent Saunders." He then disconnected the video feed and escorted Jack to the empty office and left him to consider the file.
*****
Back in Los Angeles, Kim Bauer was just about to head out to school and the phone rang. She answered. "Hello". It was her father. "Dad, are you coming home soon?" she asked. Teri had picked up the phone as well. "Jack, what's going on?" She added. "I'm sorry but it doesn't look like I'll be coming home for at least a few days. Something's come up that I have to deal with. I won't be able to talk to you until this is over either. I just called to tell you that I love the both of you very much." Teri wanted to ask what this was about but knew that Jack probably couldn't talk about it. "Just be careful Jack." She said. Kim quickly added her thoughts and hung up the phone. Both Kim and Teri embraced just before Kim headed out the door.
*****
Back in his office, Robert Ellis quickly called Senator Palmer on a secure line. "Mr. Palmer, its underway." He said "Thank you Mr. Ellis" The Senator added and hung up the phone.