Black Cloud- Chapter Three
Milo snatched up the phone, cursing as he did so. "CTU, Pressman," he snapped, one eye warily on the screen in front of him. "Come on, come on, refresh faster," he muttered. Chloe shot him a sideways glance. "You want me to...?" He glared and turned his back to her. "Hello, is anyone there? I don't have time for this... oh, hey, Mike. Whoa, slow down... you what?" He paused, muttered something unintelligible. "Okay, stay there. I'll notify Buchanan; we'll send a team out. Keep this line open." Ending the call, he started to punch in Buchanan's extension, thought better of it, and hung up. "We need to send a team to LAX," he told Chloe, his face pale. "Adamson just called in; he saw the Boston agents getting into a car with some random guy he didn't recognise."
"Start pulling satellite," Chloe ordered. "How many units have we got in the area?"
"One."
"I'll call field ops."
xxx
As the car picked up speed, Amanda did her best to keep her expression neutral. With limited field training, she was relying perhaps more than she should have been on the woman sat beside her to keep her safe. Maria was no field agent, yet unfortunately had had the experience of using the weapon she now grasped in her hand. It would be down to sheer luck, plus the accuracy of her aim, if they were to make it out of the vehicle alive.
In the front seat, Adamson paid no attention to his hostages, focussing instead on weaving in and out of the afternoon traffic without attracting attention to himself. Occasionally he swore, as someone veered into his line of traffic, but the women used his ignorance to their advantage. Mindful of provoking him, Maria tilted her head slightly in Amanda's direction. Once certain that the movement hadn't been noticed, she mouthed, "Have you got your cell phone?" Amos nodded briefly. "Try and flip it open," Maria went on. "Call Hal, he'll notify Burton."
Deciding that now wasn't the time to correct Maria on the LA Director's name, the analyst nodded again and tightened her grip on the cell phone in her pocket. As best as she could, she turned it face up, trying to control her breathing as her shaking fingers slipped before finally hitting the speed dial for Boston. She'd called it so many times; never would she have thought it would turn out to be a blessing in disguise to have programmed the office number into her personal cell. Under any other circumstances, Silver would probably have laughed at her for it. She dipped her head to alert Maria that the call was going through, praying that their captor would not be able to distinguish the tinny sound of Hal's voice over the din of the vehicles around them.
"Lovely weather," Maria piped up suddenly. "Such a shame to be stuck in a car with the windows shut."
Immediately, Amanda understood what she was trying to do, however her words failed to elicit a response from Adamson.
"I don't suppose you could slow it down a notch, could you?" Maria went on. She caught Amanda's eye. "Anything?"
"I don't know."
Surprisingly, the vehicle did slow then. Looking out of the window Maria saw that they were leaving the freeway for more open terrain. "Shit," she muttered, and the tremor in her voice did not go unnoticed. At least on the freeway there were road markers; out here there was nothing to distinguish one stretch of road from another.
They travelled a few minutes in silence, the wheels of the car kicking up dirt and spraying it in all directions. One car passed them, and then another, until they were alone. Indicating left, Adamson pulled the vehicle sharply across to the other side of the road and brought it to a halt. Hardly daring to breathe, the agents watched as he climbed out of the car and began making his way to the back. Amanda was closest; Maria could see the panic in her eyes. "Just do what he asks," she muttered in what she hoped was a reassuring tone. The blonde closed her eyes. "You're the one with the gun," she managed to bite out, just as the door was wrenched open and she was pulled out into the afternoon heat.
xxx
"You'll meet up with Adamsonat this location; he's already tailing the car using the co-ordinates I pulled off the satellite," Milo explained breathlessly, matching Jack's strides as he left the arms room. "This will link you up to us here; Chloe andTony are running point," he went on, handing the field agent the customary ear piece. Jack took it. "Thanks, Milo," he said quietly, glancing around to ensure that the rest of his team were ready. He spotted Chloe walking towards him, couldn't help the lump in his throat. "I'll make contact as soon as I'm onsite," he informed Milo, who nodded and moved away, back to the main floor.
Chloe stepped closer, yet maintained her distance. "I love you," she murmured.
"I love you."
It had become their ritual before he went out into the field, as though a declaration of their feelings would prevent any harm from coming to him, would protect him from whatever lay beyond the closed doors of CTU.He started to say something, but was interrupted as the door behind him crashed open and field agents began jogging down the hallway and out into the rear parking lot.
"Tell me when you get back," she said, noticing as always the tell-tale signs; the way his eyes were searching hers, how he was absentmindedly clenching and unclenching his fists. "This is more important now."
And she was right, of course. Breaking the unspoken rule they had set between them, he pulled her towards him and kissed her hard on the mouth. It was brief; she responded but only just before he let her go, and turned to follow his team out of them building.
Returning to the floor, Chloe took a seat between Milo and Tony. Curtis was across at his station, still helping to trawl through the exhausting amount of hourlies that were now filtering through the system. Michelle was nowhere to be seen; most likely holed up in the tech room, making sure that the computers did not fail them during this mission. Buchanan was poised behind the analysts, headset in place.
"CTU, this is Bauer, we're en-route." Jack's voice crackled across the radio minutes later and the team breathed a collective sigh of relief. They'd been working better, and more closely, in the last two years. The job was still the job, but they'd how learned to matter more to each other, and when to let it show.
"I've got you on satellite," Chloe told him, her eyes focussed and her voice authoritative. They watched as Jack guided the SUV onto the freeway, weaving effortlessly through their neighbouring vehicles.
Beside her, Tony was yelling instructions at Adamson. "I don't care if you know what the car looks like; stand down until Bauer gets there, do you understand me?" He swivelled to face Buchanan. "Mike says he can see the car parked off under some trees, and he wants the go ahead to move in."
Bill grabbed the receiver out of Tony's hand. "Mike, this is Bill. Wait for Jack. He's almost with you. We've got another team on the way also; you are not going in without back up." Muttering a curse under his breath, Buchanan passed the phone back to Tony and peered in at Chloe's screen. "What's that there?" he asked, pointing.
Chloe frowned, enlarged the image. "Looks like another vehicle parked just up from Adamson's... I mean, the bad guy's," she corrected. "Damn it. He's got reinforcements."
"Precisely why Mike needs to wait," Tony muttered.
Bill stepped back and spoke into his mouthpiece. "Jack, this is Bill. Looks like our guy brought company. Proceed with caution."
"Copy that."
"He's parked at our guy's one o clock, slightly up the road and out of sight," Chloe went on, refreshing the images as she spoke.
"We got any idea who this guy is?" asked Milo, still smarting from having been shunted to the station adjoining the comm. unit. "I've run his description through an all-agency filter and- wait, hold on." He frowned. "I think this could be it. Mike, this is Milo, I'm sending you a picture to your PDA... can you confirm?"
"Send it to Jack and the other back up team," Bill instructed.
"On it... just need confirmation... thank you, Mike. That's our guy!" Milo shouted, relaying the intel to the incoming teams.
"Name?"
"Goes by Paul Winter, you can bet it's an alias."
"Alias or not, start checking him with everything we've got so far."
"Well, that will take all of five minutes."
"Just do it, please, Milo?"
xxx
Jack spotted Mike Adamson's black SUV parked in a lay by only metres from the intersection where Winter had left the freeway. The agent was apoplectic with anger and impatience by the time the back up teams assembled themselves around the vehicles. "What the hell took you guys so long? I would have gone in myself, only Almeida and Buchanan told me to wait." He spat on the floor, a clear indication of what he thought about the situation. Ignoring this, Jack glanced up at the turning. He could see the road turn quickly into dirt, and sure enough a conspicuous dark green saloon was barely visible from their position. "If he hasn't seen us yet, he will soon, so we need to move fast."
"We could have moved a lot faster if it hadn't taken you an age to get your butts down here," Adamson went on.
Jack raised his eye brows. "Mike. If you do not like my way of doing things, please, feel free to drive back to CTU and explain to Buchanan why you are back before the mission is completed."
A few men sniggered, but Jack kept his gaze locked on Adamson. Finally, the older man sighed in defeat. "Fine, Bauer. You know I'm not going anywhere."
"Thank you." Jack turned his attention to the rest of the team. "Paul Winter. That's who we're looking for. He impersonated Mike and took the two Boston agents hostage. We don't know what condition he or they are in, only that he is most likely armed. There is another vehicle, parked at his one o clock. We can assume that Winter has someone waiting for him, possibly to transfer the agents to another location. Chloe, can you find me another route up into that intersection?"
"On it, Jack... hold on, yes, there is. You can get to the track on foot, it's a bit of a walk though."
"Have the area covered, have air support on standby if we need it."
"Yes."
"Okay, Team A. You're with me. We're going over there..." he pointed to a slight opening in the trees a few metres to their left, "... and we're going to surprise him. Team B, you are to maintain a watch here, and move in to pursue if either vehicle leaves the track," he went on, pointing to his PDA. "If our ambush is successful, and only then, will Team B move in to assist. Is this clear?"
Murmurs in the affirmative met Jack's ears. "Good. If you need to shoot, you shoot to wound only. We want Winter, anyone with him, and the Boston agents, alive." His eyes met Mike's once more. "Mike, you're with me." Adamson nodded. "Then let's move."
xxx
Hal Turner crashed out of his office and flew down the stairs to where Kenny stood with a phone in his hand. "She's gone, sir. There was this muttering, and then the line went dead..." He trailed off, not daring to imagine what could have become of his friends.
"Tell me exactly what you heard," Hal demanded.
"Well, not a lot, sir," Thompson admitted, hanging his head. "I didn't even know who it was first, as they wouldn't respond, but then I heard Maria saying something about it being too hot to be stuck in a car with the windows shut, and then something else about driving too fast..."
"Shit!" Hal stopped pacing and ran a hand across his face. "Okay, here's what we do. Get me the hourlies, I want to know if this has been logged."
"You think they've been taken, sir?"
"Well, Kenny, it sure does look like it, doesn't it?" His tone was harsh, and he knew it, but he couldn't bring himself to apologise. "I'm going to phone Buchanan, find out what they're playing at over there and why they didn't think to inform us."
"Maybe they don't know?"
"Bill assured me one of his agents would be there to pick the girls up. Either his guy is dirty, or someone else picked them up." He started back for his office. "Either way, I want to know. Now. Get me those damn hourlies."
Not waiting for Kenny to respond, Hal continued on his way. Leaving his office door open, he snatched up the phone and dialled LA. Buchanan picked up after the third ring.
"Bill, it's Hal. When exactly were you going to tell me that my agents had been taken hostage?"
"Hal, believe me, we are doing everything we can... Milo, that's a negative, can they confirm that they have both agents in view? Sorry, Hal..." Bill took a breath. "I've got my head of field ops on this; he's the best this agency has. We'll get them back."
Hal closed his eyes briefly. "Are we dealing with a dirty agent?"
"My God, no. Someone was waiting for them outside the airport... Hal, I've got to go, my field teams just moved into position." Buchanan rang off with a promise to call back as soon as the situation was resolved. Hal let the receiver slip out of his hand, not bothering to hide the expression of complete and utter helplessness that crossed his face as Kenny stepped awkwardly into the room.
"Someone was waiting for them..." he muttered. "Some sick son of a bitch has taken them hostage, and now..."
Knowing better than to coddle the older man, Kenny attempted to bring the Director's mind back to the present. "Sir, I'm sorry, but we need you on the floor. Apparently there's something wrong with the server."
Turner got wearily to his feet, wiped a hand across his forehead and swallowed. "Then why are we stood up here talking?" he demanded, leading the way back down to the bullpen.
xxx
"Do you know who I am?"
Amanda struggled for a Maria-like response but failed, deciding it was probably better not to push her luck. "No." She winced as her captor tightened his grip on her arm, hauling her further up the dirt track. She'd spotted the other vehicle, assumed he was taking her there to deposit her with someone else, or even drive her away himself. Neither prospect filled her with hope. "I'm guessing you're not Mike Adamson," she tried finally, when it was clear he wasn't going to elaborate.
"Very good."
"And I'm guessing you were waiting for us to get off the plane."
"They told me analysts were smart," he mused.
"Yeah, well, that's what we get paid for."
"Not so smart now though, are you? I mean, getting into a car with a stranger? Didn't either of you even think to check the plates?"
"They were Government issue." Amanda's voice faltered; they'd made a mistake and he knew it. "Yes Agent Amos, they were," he said slowly. "Not CTU, though."
She felt her heartbeat quicken its already relentless pace. CTU plates were similar to that of other agencies, but not overly so; could they really have slipped up over something as seemingly insignificant as that?
"Of course, you were both tired, jet-lagged. Understandable."
She had been the one to clock the plates; if anything happened to either of them it would be her fault. "Who the hell are you?" she choked out, blinking back tears of anger and frustration. "Are you telling me you're some kind of rogue Government agent?"
He laughed. "Not 'rogue', exactly, Ms. Amos." He stopped suddenly. "Stay there," he warned, letting go of her arm. "Don't even think about trying anything."
Amanda wasn't doing a lot of thinking about anything. She felt so faint she feared she would pass out, rendering herself an even easier target than she'd already proved to be. She pressed a shaking hand to her forehead and watched as he moved across to the other car, which she now saw was abandoned. He circled it three times, peering in all the windows, testing the doors and tyres. Once satisfied, he stood back. "You're driving," he called, swinging the driver's door open and beckoning to Amanda. "Get over here."
Something in the back of her mind started to click. She realised that Maria was still in the other car, only metres down the track. Sure, he'd locked her in, and Maria had left her cell phone in her suitcase, but she was Maria Silver, and Amanda was more than certain her fellow agent wouldn't just sit back and wait for something to happen to them. She felt a splinter of hope flare in her chest and tried to stall for time.
"I, uh, I don't have a driver's licence," she stammered, remaining where she was.
His eyes widened and she sensed that she'd annoyed him. "What kind of Government agent doesn't have a driver's licence?"
"I don't," Amanda insisted.
"We'll see about that." He reached inside his jacket and pulled out the weapon Amanda knew he'd been concealing. "It's like this, Ms. Amos. I'm starting to lose my patience here. Either you get in the car and drive, or I will shoot you."
He needs me alive. If he was going to shoot me he would have done it already. "Shoot me then, because even if I do get in the car, I won't make it go anywhere."
An angry growl escaped his throat. Lunging forward, he took her in a vicious headlock, wrestling her to the ground. She felt tears burn her eyes and she blinked them back, ashamed. He moved so that he was stood over her, gun pointed at her chest. "Your friend is locked in the car; don't think she's coming for you because she isn't. No one knows you're here, and no one will find either of you for days-" He tailed off as gravel crunched under heavy footsteps.
"I don't think so, you son of a bitch."
xxx
"Shots fired! I repeat, shots fired!"
Chloe felt the colour drain from her cheeks. It was her cue to ascertain just who had fired, but Tony beside her had sensed her unease and already asked the question. "Damn it, Jack, will you answer me?"
"Team A, confirm your status." Appearing behind them once more, Bill barked authoritatively into his headset. Seconds later, muffled breathing came over the line, followed by Mike Adamson's voice interspersed with static. "CTU, this is Team A, shots fired. Suspect dead, hostage injured."
"I gave the order to shoot to wound only!"
"Sir, it was not a CTU hit. Maria Silver shot and killed the hostile, we're confirming his identity now." Even as he spoke, an image materialised on the screen before them. Bill sighed heavily. "Any sign of other hostiles?"
"Negative, sir, but we're sweeping the area and searching both vehicles."
"Mike... how injured is Agent Amos?"
"She's not critical. Bauer's bringing them back in now, sir. I'm heading up the sweep on Bauer's orders."
"Okay. Keep me informed and get back as soon as you have anything."
"This is just getting better and better," Tony muttered, pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. "No leads, no suspect. I just hope they can find something on the cars. The guy probably wasn't stupid enough to leave prints."
"Probably not," Buchanan admitted. "But we've got to start somewhere. I have to admit, I am more than a little apprehensive about sending the three of you across to Boston."
Amidst the excitement, their predicament had been temporarily forgotten. "Maybe we won't have to go now," Chloe said quietly. Tony and Bill exchanged a glance. "I'm afraid this means the transfer is likely to be accelerated," the Director explained sadly, walking away to carry out his earlier promise to Turner.
Glancing up from his work, Curtis frowned. "Hey, guys, you might want to see this," he called. Grateful for the distraction, Chloe stood and followed Tony across the floor, leaving Milo to keep an eye to the main screens. "Paul Winter was in fact our guy's name," Curtis explained, quickly bringing a file up on the screen. "He's not a Government agent, for starters. But check this out. No previous form, even helped the Boston PD out on a couple of cases, systems analyst. During one of these cases, their entire server crashed and they lost a lot of classified intel. They assumed they had managed to retrieve all stolen data."
"Or not," Tony muttered.
"My thoughts exactly."
Chloe scowled. "How could this guy have gotten access to CTU files via a local Boston police department?"
"Now that's the interesting part," Curtis replied, smiling grimly. "Turns out Winter worked as a freelance analyst. Highly skilled, according to this Boston PD report. They only found out that they hadn't retrieved all their missing intel when a few of their cops wound up dead. No one could pin it on Winter, but let's just say he stopped freelancing pretty soon after that."
Tony shook his head incredulously. "So he could have gained access to CTU, if he knew where to look."
"Which he obviously did," Chloe finished. "Even with the upgrades I put on the server, it's still too exposed to someone who knows what they are doing. And even though Winter is dead, he can't have been working alone."
"Nah, he was small fry," Tony muttered. "He was working with, or for, someone much more skilled." He straightened, rubbing his arms against the persistent chill in the air. As he walked away, Chloe turned back to the comm. unit. "I guess I'd better start collecting this data the field teams are sending in."
Curtis frowned. "Hey, Milo can handle that for a second." He regarded her with concern. "Are you okay?"
Chloe bit her lip, careful even now, despite everything, to keep her emotions in check. "I'm a little worried, but that doesn't matter now."
"He's okay, Chloe," Curtis went on gently.
"I know he is," she said abruptly. She sighed heavily. "Thanks for your concern, Curtis, but I'm fine. I can put myself on hold until this crisis is over; I'm no good to anyone otherwise. Jack will be back in a minute, and Mr. Buchanan will want us all in a briefing so I need to get back to work." Turning on her heel, she marched away from him, her pace unfaltering. Curtis watched her go, a sad smile on his face.
xxx
The medical team met them from the rear entrance to CTU, a stretcher at the ready. Jack indicated that they load Amanda on to it; she held up a hand in protest. "I appreciate this, Agent Bauer, but I'm fine."
"You are not fine, so do as he says," Maria instructed, all but pushing the other woman towards the waiting medics. Amanda tried for a glare, resulting in a grimace as her neck twinged painfully. Rolling her eyes, Maria slammed the car door shut and helped Amanda settle on the stretcher. "I'll be right behind you," she said firmly.
"I never knew you cared," Amanda muttered.
"Ah, there's the Amos I know and love," Maria retorted.
Jack watched the exchange, his eye brow raised. "You saved her life," he reminded Maria once Amanda had disappeared inside. "You really expect us to believe that the two of you can't stand each other?"
"Believe what you want, Agent Bauer."
"You should probably get checked out too. Buchanan's only going to send you to medical later if I don't send you now."
"I'd much rather you sent me." Her tone was low; she took a step closer and placed a hand briefly on his arm. Before Jack could respond, she was walking away, hurrying to catch up with her co-worker.
He took a few moments to gather his thoughts before pushing the doors open and making his way slowly back to the bullpen. His earlier conversation with Chloe flashed into his mind; she knew he wanted to tell her something. She most likely wasn't hurt by his silence, herself unused to voicing her feelings so openly. He wanted to tell her before she left for Boston, but the timing wasn't right. He knew she would worry about it constantly, and he couldn't do that to her.
He found her sitting beside Milo, the pair of them hunched together over the main screen occupying the comm. unit. Images of Paul Winter, as well as the two vehicles he had been using, flashed up before him as the field teams sent in their intel. Soon, he knew, the agents would return, and they would be back to square one. As he approached Chloe, Curtis caught his attention and waved him over. Slightly put out, Jack changed course. "Curtis," he greeted. "You found something?"
"I have," Curtis confirmed, and proceeded to pass on the information he had just revealed to the rest of the team. "Tony's filling Michelle in now; she's still in tech one finishing up."
"Right." Jack nodded absently, processing the details. "But we have no idea who he could have been working for?" he asked.
"None at all, as yet. The sooner we get going on this, the better. I mean," he added hastily, "we could use the Boston agents' help here, seeing as three of us will be heading out soon. Buchanan wants to see you in his office," Curtis went on. "He seems to think we'll be leaving sooner than any of us thought, and I think he's right."
"Damn it," Jack cursed softly. "Why do we never have enough time?"
"The perks of the job, I guess," Curtis quipped, but his expression was serious. "I'm going to start processing the data coming in from the field, see if an extra pair of eyes will throw up anything new. Chloe and Milo are swamped over there, anyway. These damn hourlies are starting to become more like half-hourlies, if you ask me."
Jack managed a tired smile. "I guess I'll leave you to it," he murmured, glancing up at the Director's office. It was empty. Seizing an opportunity to snatch a few minutes they didn't really have, Jack walked quickly across to the comm. unit and dipped his head to whisper in Chloe's ear. She looked up, startled, but followed him up the stairs and into his own office without question.
She shut the door behind them, watching as he slipped off his jacket and threw it across the back of his desk chair. He gripped the edge of his desk, and she could see he was battling with himself. "There's something you need to tell me, isn't there." She didn't phrase it as a question. Stepping behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his back. "But it's okay, I can wait until you're ready."
"I might never be ready," he said quietly.
"Oh."
Silently berating himself, Jack twisted round and held her tightly. "Sweetheart, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry. I just... this isn't the right time, the right day, but the stupid thing is that it could be the best opportunity I have and I just can't work up the courage to tell you."
Chloe blinked up at him, her confusion evident. "Please don't tell me you don't love me any more," she whispered. "I can deal with pretty much anything, just not that."
He shook his head sadly. "Baby, I love you." As if to emphasise his point he kissed her deeply. Chloe tasted salt; frowning, she saw tears spilling down his cheeks. The sight gripped her with fear. "Oh, Jack," she choked, burying her face in his shoulder. "Jack, anything you want, or anything you need me to do, I'll do it."
And there was his chance. Leave with me. Leave CTU, this job, this life, and we'll run away some place safe, where I can protect you... if you'll let me. Taking a shaky breath, he pressed a hand against her cheek, caressing her skin. "Sweetheart, you're going to Boston soon." The words tasted bitter as they left his mouth, and he swallowed. Chloe smiled gently, encouraging him. "W-what would you say if I asked you to... to leave CTU? Leave with me?"
The silence that followed his words was so thick it could have been cut by a knife. Chloe didn't back away, didn't speak, didn't move. Her face was unreadable. Jack felt regret wash over him; he'd finally asked too much of her.
"Jack, I-"
The desk phone started to ring, cutting her off. It took Jack a few seconds to focus, locate the source of the noise and remember where he was. Releasing Chloe, he picked up the receiver, spoke briefly, and hung up. "Bill," he explained.
"You should probably go speak to him."
"Yeah."
"I should go help Curtis."
"Chloe..." He reached out and took her arm as she walked towards the door. "Are we okay?"
"Yes, we're okay," she soothed. "We're okay."
xxx
"Where have you been? We've been looking for you; you're needed in that meeting up in conference room ten."
He was bombarded the minute he stepped back out into the lobby. The peace and quiet of the basement levels had left him as soon as the elevator doors had slid open, and he missed it. Smiling at his latest interruption, he assured the guy he'd be where he was supposed to be in a few minutes, and could he kindly leave him alone to grab a glass of water before the meeting started? His co-worker scurried away dejectedly, and he felt a brief pang of guilt which he pushed quickly aside. They spoke to him like that; why couldn't he speak to the lower level staffers in the same way?
His office was at the end of the hall; he had to pass a dozen curious stares as he made his way up the stairs, around the corner and past the water cooler. An office with a view had seemed like a good idea at the time; now he simply found it an inconvenience.
There were messages waiting on his desk. Discarding most of them, he flipped through the rest until he found what he was looking for. He smiled. He'd been expecting this one. As soon as he'd cut off the call, he suspected that whoever had been trying to contact him would leave him a message; he wasn't best pleased when his orders were ignored.
He glanced at his watch, saw that he was now late for the meeting. They would probably call him on it, but right now he didn't care. He had a phone call to make. Closing and locking the door, he switched on his cell phone and dialled.
"So you are alive then?" The voice on the other end was angry. "I don't think you have any idea just how important this is, do you?"
"I know," he said quietly, and he did.
"Yeah, you keep telling me that. Look, I haven't got a lot of time here. That damn meeting is already underway, and we're both supposed to be there. Seeing as you won't drag your sorry ass out of your office for it, I've got to go. Sometimes I wonder who is in charge here," he muttered. "As I will be detained, I will need you to implement the next stage of the plan."
"What happened to the first stage?"
A sigh, the sound of cigarette smoke being inhaled. "It was going fine, until Winter got himself shot and killed."
"Damn it."
"Yes, that's what I thought," the voice muttered dryly. "The last I heard was that one of the women shot him, just as the LA team turned up to save the day. So, I've been doing a little thinking. Seeing as they have effectively ruined our plans, we're going to ruin theirs. I was quite happy to go along with this transfer idea, until they helped take one of my men out of play."
"The transfer..." he repeated, familiarising himself with the concept. He took a deep breath, anxious to receive his next orders. "What do you need me to do?"
xxx
"I've got something on the car!" Curtis announced.
Michelle, having returned from the tech room minutes earlier, was the first to reach him. "Which car?"
"The first one," Curtis went on. He looked up as first Tony and then Chloe crowded round. "It's a Government car, Virginia plates. Langley registered."
"Do we know the owner?" Tony demanded, his eyes widening.
"No, not yet. Seems this car was one of many that could be loaned via a permit; anyone in Langley could have had it."
"Maybe it was stolen?" Michelle suggested quietly. "That could make sense. Why else would a car with Virginia plates be in Los Angeles? Whenever Langley visits, they sure as hell make sure everyone knows about it; they wouldn't just show up."
Michelle's words hung in the air, heavy with meaning. The four of them turned as one as Buchanan hurried towards them, followed closely by Jack. Across the floor, they could hear Milo shouting at someone through the phone line; blocking this out, Buchanan addressed his team for the second time that day.
"The transfer is still going ahead," he began, raising his voice to be heard over the din of the floor. "It is now happening ahead of schedule... you will need to be ready to leave within the hour. The plane is on standby, and I have requisitioned a vehicle to take you to LAX as soon as you are ready. I'll need to release the three of you to return home for your belongings, but please, pack minimally." His normally authoritative tone was rendered more so by the underlying sense of urgency. "I really am sorry."
"No need to be," Tony told him. "Curtis just pulled some intel on the car; turns out it's a Langley vehicle. We need to get going on this."
Buchanan stared disbelievingly at the screen as Curtis turned it to face him. Before he could properly digest the information, Milo's voice rang out across the bullpen, effectively bringing it to a halt. "Boston's been hit!"
Jack whirled. "What do you mean, hit?"
Milo glared impatiently. "I mean, their entire system has just crashed."