Hello, hello! Yes, you're seeing things correctly - Hour 10 is now up! Now I'm free from uni for a few months, I should find time to write more of the chapters/hours and hopefully get AT LEAST a third of the way through this story by September time. So here's Part 10 of the story - please continue reviewing, rating or even following the story!
And also, I should reveal my fav 24 season: it's ironically the one I'm watching now as part of my series re-watches, Day 5!
DISCLAIMER: See Chapter 1
10: 1am – 2am (EST)
The following takes place between 1am and 2am, European Standard Time:
–
20:00:01PM
White House
Outside the Oval Office, Baylis was finishing up a phone-call he had taken. "Ok, that's fine, thank you" he said with a grim face. He walked back into the Oval Office, unsure of how he could tell the President. "Everything ok, Brian?" Heller asked, quick to notice his stony face. "Well.. not really. I just got his concerning news" the NSA replied. As both Heller and McKaye looked up at him, curiosity and concern etched on their faces, he gulped inwardly. "I just got reports... that there's been some kind of attack at Moron Air Base" he finally said. Heller froze and McKaye almost did a double-take. "You mean the US-owned base in Spain?" the MI-5 agent asked. Baylis nodded. "Details are sketchy but according to survivors inside, it happened at the same time someone had hijacked control of a drone to try and shoot something down" he added.
"Jack..." Heller said suddenly, causing both men to look up at him. "The Admiral on the Truman – the message he relayed to me, it said Jack was being chased by a drone!" he said in response to their looks of confusion. "I think these two things are connected – from what I've been told, it seems someone is trying to stop Jack getting to America". On further thought, the theory didn't sound so strange; of course, both men only had the word of a President whose mental state was deteriorating but it did make sense. By account of the fact someone or something shot down the helicopter that was transporting Jack to Russia. And the fact he'd been chased through the Ukraine by Russian soldiers and then Ukraine rebels. And now this. "Any word on Bauer?" Baylis inquired. "Yes, there is – while you were gone, we got word from the Truman. They've picked up Jack by helicopter and he should be touching down on the carrier soon" McKaye replied. The NSA nodded in understanding – he then looked towards Heller, expecting some further orders.
"In the meantime.. Brian, the moment Jack lands on the carrier, I need you to contact Flight 681. You know I asked for Ms O'Brian's assistance in dealing with today's events and she needs the full details – and before you ask, the reason why I want you to wait is because I want Jack in on the call so he can explain what he's learnt on his end" Heller ordered and his adviser nodded. "Andrew, I want you to get me the rest of my Cabinet immediately – I need to update them on the situation" he added and the MI-5 agent nodded, quickly getting up and leaving the office. Heller got up from his chair and started to look out of the window; with the news of the explosion at the Air Base in Spain, it was now becoming clear someone did not want Jack getting to America. Which meant this person knew who he was. They may have got some more of the "Who's", but they were still lacking a "Why" and a "What".
–
North Atlantic Ocean
Below the sea level, the Yuri Dolgorukiy continued on it's course. "I'm being serious! We can't find any trace of Bauer at all – if we had, I would have told you!" Benediktov almost yelled into his phone. "I know you would have told me, Andre.." Dimitrijevic said as calmly as she did. "..but it does seem a little farfetched, that's all. Bauer spends years dodging the Russians and the Americans and yet one of our operatives kills him with a flukey shot? Doesn't make sense to me.." she added, now speaking from a dark office. "Well, we're keeping our eyes open in case anything pops up. But at the minute, I think we should take the best from this" the Russian replied, a bit confused by the fact the head-honcho of the whole operation didn't seem too fussed that they had managed to eliminate the biggest threat to their plans. "Ok, that's fine. Is there anything else to report?" the Serb asked. Benediktov was unsure if he should really say what he was going to add as it was possible Dimitrijevic would have figured it out. "Yes... Ballester is dead. Her tracking signal went dead around the time Bauer was shot down" he finally said. Of course, he had no clue Dimitrijevic had already been in discreet contact with the Spanish operative. "I see.. well, you know as well as I do, Andre, that Ballester's job was probably the toughest. Marine Cell had the luxury of surprise to their advantage, as did Airborne Cell. Ballester had to infiltrate the US army on top of other things!" the Serb reasoned.
Benediktov knew he was right, but it was still a sad loss for arguably someone who had signed up to the cause well before anyone else. "We will have time to mourn for those we have lost once the mission is complete. Talking of which, how far are you from the East Coast?" she continued. "About nine or so hours. So far, we've not encountered any problems; even when we tested out the Bulava missile on that military plane" the Russian replied. "Excellent. Call me as soon as you're within three hours of reaching land for an update" Dimitrijevic ordered. "Of course, Melina" Benediktov replied before hanging up – the moment he put the phone down, he instinctively looked at the door. He wasn't afraid of anything on this mission but he was a little worried as no-one but him knew of his contacts with Dimitrijevic; if anyone else did, it had the potential to spark a mutiny. He got up from his seat and headed for the closed door; only the moment he opened it, he was taken aback to see Krylenko fall in, like as if she'd been resting on it. "Krylenko..." the General said, a tad suspicious. "I'm sorry, sir! I was going to knock but then the door opened and.. well..." the Ukrainian rambled on, uncharacteristically showing nerves until she met the General's stern face – he was indicating "get to the point". "We have a problem! I was listening in to radio frequencies for any information and according to a few... Flight 681 is no longer under terrorist control!" she finally said.
Benediktov's jaw dropped very slightly. "You're sure of this?" he demanded. "YES! I tried to listen in for more information but the details I heard were very vague each and every time – long story short, I'm pretty sure that Airborne Cell are no longer in control..." she insisted. Benediktov looked down and for a moment, Krylenko was sure he could see concern in his eyes. "This is not good. I wouldn't be surprised if the President has found out about the VX gas as well..." he said quietly, before looking back up at the young woman. "Continue monitoring the frequencies; if anything, we may need a Plan B" he ordered. "Yes, General" Krylenko nodded before leaving. As he watched the young woman leave, his face fell. Dimitrijevic needed to be told and she was not going to like it.
–
01:08:12AM
American Airspace
In the belly of the plane, Kurt was kneeling in front of the landing gear, staring at the tube of VX gas he had seen earlier as Belcheck tried to force it off without damaging the gear. They'd been able to remove all nine of the other tubes rather easily and they were sitting on a large white towel, but now they had just this one left and they had no idea on how to remove it as it seemed wedged onto the landing gear itself. "Come on... almost there" the Serb said through gritted teeth, hoping the tube would come off. To his relief, it did and without any damage to the landing gear – the loose end almost went flying but Kurt was there to catch it; thankfully, the lid didn't come off. "We got them all.." Kurt sighed in relief as he set the tube down on the towel. He made his way to the open panel back into the cabin as Belcheck lifted up all the corners of the towel and gently handed it to the American as soon as he was back in the cabin – Kurt carefully walked towards the stairs with the bundle as Belcheck made his way into the cabin and closed up the open floor panel.
Standing at the top of the stairs was Chloe who quickly rushed down and helped Kurt with the bundle of tubes. She gave a sigh of relief as she saw the contents of the bundle and then as Belcheck come into view. "Is that all of them?" she asked. "Yeah, it's all of them. We're safe now" the Serb spoke up. Chloe helped Kurt bring the bundle up the stairs and then placed them gently onto a pair of empty seats. "How long until we land?" Kurt asked suddenly. "About 30 minutes or thereabouts – we'll be on the ground before you know it" Chloe assured him but then noticed what looked like concern in his eyes. She had a good idea of what the concern was. "Listen.. you did brilliant here – look at how many lives you singlehandedly saved, not once but twice!" she insisted, throwing her arms on his shoulders and referring to not just his saving of the plane but by him and Belcheck managing to then stop the flight being shot down. "I know – it's just, I keep feeling like something doesn't add up. We retook the flight, but it just seemed too easy.." he replied.
Chloe slowly turned her back for a moment, debating whether she ought to tell him about what the President had said. Finally.. "I've been in contact with President Heller. I can't say much but he's asked for my help as soon as I land.." she said. "..because he's found something that suggests the hijacking was part of a bigger plan" Kurt guessed and Chloe's lack of response suggested he was right. "I'm going with you. When we land" he suddenly declared. Chloe tried to reply but he wasn't listening. "Listen, if there is actually a danger to the country, I don't want to just sit by and do nothing. I want to help!" he said and the analyst started to wonder if whether he did want to help or if he still had the rush of adrenaline from retaking the plane. "Kurt, listen! You've been brilliant the last few hours – but I seriously, your job's done. I know you want to help but there's literally nothing you can do" she said, sympathy in her voice. As she spotted Belcheck coming up the stairs, she gave a sorry glance to the American and walked to the left of the stairs. The Serb followed her and the two shared a look. "Well done" she said, giving a sad smile and referring to his actions in removing the tubes. The Serb nodded, once again not showing any signs of emotion. "Heard anything from the President?" he asked. Chloe simply shook her head.
"Got any real idea on WHY he wants our help?" the Serb asked. "No... though I can't help but think it's to do with Jack. The last few hours on top of everything else.. it smells of a further attack" she replied; she knew she couldn't avoid to rule out any possibilities, especially considering that every time she had helped Jack in fighting off terrorists, events that no-one saw coming took place – Stephen Saunders being the mastermind behind the Cordilla virus, the infiltration of CTU during the Sentox conspiracy, even the Chinese in London just over a day ago. "Did the President say WHEN he'd be in contact?" Belcheck pushed further. Chloe sensed his growing anger. "Why are you being so hostile? In fact, to be honest, I don't know why Heller has asked for your help – from what I've been told, you HATE America!" she said, perhaps a bit too loudly and harshly. In response, Belcheck grabbed a hold of her and slammed her into a corner. "Listen very carefully – I am only here because Jack asked me to ensure you returned to America safely. My personal opinions, they are frankly nothing to do with you!" he hissed and Chloe recoiled in shock. But the Serb was not finished. "I may have anti-America beliefs but I am putting them aside for now, just to make sure you get back safely! Now, I don't know why Heller wants me but if he's asking for my help, I see no reason why I shouldn't – if there is a direct threat to your country because of the hijacking, then it will actively involve members of my own country that are engaged in terrorist activities! I can not sit by and let such... VENOM potentially plunge the world into war!" he finally finished, his anger evident.
Shaking and almost hyperventilating, Chloe was completely taken aback by the anger shown from the Serb – she'd only known him for about a day but he had never let his emotions boil over like that. Realizing he'd overstepped his mark, Belcheck stepped backwards. "I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to get at you at all. It's just everything that's happened over the last few days; I've not slept at all and..." he apologized but he then stopped as he looked into Chloe's eyes – he saw fear and concern. This was a side of him she had never seen before. Regretting his outburst, he walked off down the cabin, hitting himself mentally for what he said. Chloe simply watched him, now worried for the well-being of the Serb.
01:12:57AM
–
01:17:10AM
North Atlantic Sea
With both fighter jets on either side, the search-and-rescue helicopter flew over the dark ocean. "We're here, Jack.." Wallace said as he started to steer the helicopter to the left. Jack looked down – whilst it was incredibly dark, he could make out the outline of the CVN Harry S. Truman. On the carrier's deck, activity was rife as the helicopter was guided onto its landing platform – finally, the helicopter touched down and the door was instantly opened, allowing Jack to climb out.
"Mr Bauer?" a young Marine asked as Jack set his feet on the ground. "Yeah!" he replied. "SEAMANN QUINN – THE ADMIRAL ASSIGNED ME TO YOU!" Quinn introduced himself, at least he tried to over the noise and the two shook hands. "Where is the Admiral now?" Jack asked. "In his quarters! He wants to see you immediately!" the Seaman explained as he turned around and led Jack towards the inside of the carrier. "WATCH YOUR STEP!" he quickly warned as they made their way across the carrier's runway. The two made it inside and Quinn led Jack down a flight of stairs. "It's just down this hall" the seaman said and before they knew it, they were outside a large door. Quinn knocked. "Come in!" a voice said and the seaman pushed the door open, leading Jack in. "Mr Bauer for you, Admiral!" the seaman said as Woodhouse looked up. "Thank you, seaman. In the meantime, I need you to finish preparing Mr Bauer's quarters" he ordered. "Yes, sir!" Quinn nodded and he left, closing the door. "How you doing, Jack?" the Admiral said as he got up. "Fine, thank you, sir" Jack replied as he moved forward and shook hands with him. "The fighter pilots gave me a rough idea of what they saw when they found you. What happened?" Woodhouse asked. "Well, whoever was firing those missiles, they managed to hit my fuel tank. I had to jettison it before it blew up and then eject – thankfully, the drone was destroyed by the jettisoned tank" Jack said, trying to keep it simple.
The Admiral nodded as he listened. "Out of interest, do you happen to know where the drone came from?" the former CTU agent asked. "As a matter of fact, yes. Approximately around the same time you destroyed the drone, Moron Air Base was destroyed!" Woodhouse explained and Jack gave a look of shock. "The air base in Spain?" he replied. "Correct. Details are sketchy but it's becoming rather clear that someone had infiltrated the base and had hijacked a drone to destroy your jet" the Admiral said. Jack nodded and put his head into his hands. "Any chance I could freshen up? I've been on the move since around I crash-landed in the Ukraine" he asked. "Of course – however, before then, the President needs to talk to you. Something about a debriefing between parties" he explained and Jack gave a look of confusion. "I don't understand – how else needs to be debriefed?" he asked. "I don't quite know but apparently, one of the names said was a... Chloe O'Brian?" Woodhouse replied and Jack's look of confusion turned to disbelief. "Chloe? I don't understand.." he said. "I don't know the full details, sorry; you'll have to find out when you call the President's office.." the Admiral said. Nodding, Jack made his way behind his desk. "Sorry, but you don't mind if I do this privately?" he said as he found the phone.
"Not at all- I'll be outside when you're done" Woodhouse nodded, acknowledging Jack's need for privacy and he headed to the closed door, pulling it open and shutting it behind him. With the room empty, Jack picked up the phone and started dialling.
–
20:22:13PM
White House
McKaye walked back into the Oval Office to see both Heller and Baylis waiting. "Excuse me, sir. The cabinet has been briefed and are waiting for your arrival" he told the President, who looked up. "Right, thank you, Andrew" he said, standing up. "Brian, you know what to do when Jack rings?" he added, looking at his National Security Advisor. "Of course, sir. Good luck with the briefing" Baylis replied as his commander-in-chief started to leave the room, followed by McKaye. As soon as they left, the phone started ringing and Baylis moved in to pick it up. "President's office, Baylis speaking" he said. "Sir, I've got Jack Bauer on the line for you" a female voice said. "Put it through" he replied. A few seconds passed by. "Hello?" Jack said. "Mr Bauer, hello! I'm Brian Baylis, the President's National Security Advisor!" he introduced himself. "Hello, sir! Where's the President?" Jack responded politely, though a little surprised he was not talking with Heller. "The President's currently talking with the remainder of his Cabinet – you'll be dealing with me for the debriefing!" Baylis revealed. "Ok, that's fine though from what I've gathered, I'll be debriefing a third party?" Jack inquired. "Yes.. in fact, it'll be Chloe O'Brian!" came the quick reply.
Jack sighed in relief – that meant Flight 681 was no longer in danger. "Right, thank you. I'll speak to her when you're ready.." he said. "Right, bear with me" Baylis replied as he typed in the number for Kurt's phone, having been told beforehand of what it was by Heller.
–
American Airspace
Chloe had retreated into the cockpit after Belcheck's unexpected outburst and was talking with Captain Black. "CHLOE!" a voice called and she looked up to see Kurt a few inches from the cockpit door. "White House for you!" he said, holding his phone. Chloe quickly got up from the vacant pilot's chair. "I'll be right back.." she said. "Be quick with your phone-call. I'll be starting landing procedure in the next 10 to 15 minutes" Black ordered. The former analyst nodded and walked outside of the cockpit, picking up the phone from Kurt's hand. "Hello?" she said. "Ms O'Brian, hello! I'm Brian Baylis, President Heller's National Security Advisor" Baylis introduced himself. "Hi..." Chloe said a little uneasily, having expected to be speaking with the President. "At the minute, the President is in conference with his Cabinet. But don't worry, you won't be dealing with me for the most part" he explained. Chloe gave a look of confusion. "I don't understand.." she said.
"I've got someone on the line for you" Baylis said with a smile as he typed in some numbers on the phone. On Flight 681, Chloe heard nothing but dead air until.. "Chloe?" a familiar voice asked and Chloe's eyes rose in surprise. "JACK!" she almost yelled, her voice half-concerned, half-delighted. "Chloe, you have no idea how good it is to hear you.." Jack said, relief flowing through his body. "Same... though, what's been going on, Jack? The President told me you'd escaped from Russia!" Chloe replied. "Russia? No, no, Chloe – I didn't get to Russia..." Jack started before Baylis interjected. "Don't mean to interrupt, but could we get a move on, sorry" he requested. "Yeah, in thinking about it, Jack, the plane's not far from landing so if we could.." Chloe backed up. "Yeah, yeah, of course. Ok, I'll start off – I'll try and keep this simple. First off, you know I was taken by the Russians in London; however, at around 16:40 European Standard Time, the helicopter transporting me was shot down somewhere over the West of the..." Jack agreed and he started to detail out his experience of the last hours, unaware that on the onboard security feed, he was being watched. The Truman had a room that monitored the security footage throughout the ship and one part of the feed was fixated on the Admiral's room. And that was being watched by a young dark-haired woman intently.
–
20:28:23PM
America
Henderson was lying on a prison infirmary bed, one hand handcuffed to the side railing and the other holding an ice pack on his chest. The infirmary nurse on duty had gone off to attend to a phone-call and as such, the American was the only person in the infirmary. Until he heard the lock on the door being opened and he turned to see the prison guard walking in and carrying a large cardboard box which was set down on the spare bed railing. "You got them?" Henderson asked in surprise. "I did.." the guard said, opening up the lid so Henderson could peer inside – for inside was a large amount of explosives. "How in the hell did you manage to get them undetected?" he asked in bewilderment. "I'm a prison guard.. I have my advantages" the guard said smugly before moving to the other side of the bed and un-cuffing him. "The nurse still on the phone?" he asked. Henderson nodded. "Right – if we can get out of here quietly, she won't expect a thing.." he said, placing the box next to the bed and out of immediate sight.
Henderson jumped off the bed and the guard moved to place him back in the handcuffs, though secretly did not lock them and the two left, the nurse still oblivious. As the door closed, the guard looked all around him and pulled a tube-like detonator out of his sleeve. "When the explosion happens, overpower me and run! They'll have to open all the cells in the event of fire and the confusion will be to your advantage" the guard said quietly and Henderson nodded. Finally, the guard opened up the tube and pushed down on the red button. Nothing happened for a few seconds but just as the nurse opened the door of her office and walked into the infirmary... BOOM! A large explosion ripped through the infirmary and demolished anything within 30ft of it – guards went flying, Henderson was knocked to his feet, glass shattered in all locations and from outside, a large fireball ripped through the roof and into the air. Inside, Henderson managed to force the loose handcuffs from his arms as he got back to his feet – he and the guard shared a look before he grabbed the gun that had fallen out of the guard's possession and kicked him in the stomach. He quickly moved to run before stopping and turning around, mouthing a "Thanks".
Elsewhere in the prison, it was mayhem – in the main control room, the guard on duty instinctively opened all the cell doors whilst guards rushed in to gather up all the prisoners. At first, the prisoners across all the blocks were confused at being let out.. at least they were, until they saw a huge fireball and guards frantically trying to escape the blaze. And within all the confusion, Henderson had hidden himself – phase one was done, now onto phase two and escaping the prison.
20:30:19PM
–
01:35:34PM
North Atlantic Ocean
"And I guess that's pretty much the whole of it.." Chloe said, having seemingly finished speaking. "Right, thank you Chloe" Jack said, still speaking from Admiral Woodhouse's office on the Truman. "You've done really well, the last few hours" he added, now heard over the phone as Chloe looked around the cabin. "Well, obviously its not just..." she started before being interrupted. "CHLOE!" she heard a voice and turned around. "Just spoke with Captain Black – we're about five minutes from landing!" Kurt explained. Chloe nodded. "Jack, I'm sorry, the plane's about to land. I've got to go.." she said. "Ok, that's fine – I've got what I need. As it is, I'm en-route to DC. Hoping to reach land within two hours.." Jack replied. "I'll see you at the White House" he said. Chloe's relief at hearing Jack say those words meant she didn't reply – taking her silence as her understanding, he smirked and hung up. Getting up from the Admiral's chair, he walked towards the door and opened it, spotting Woodhouse waiting. "Thank you, sir. I'm finished now" he said, also grateful for the Admiral's privacy. "Got everything sorted?" Woodhouse asked. Jack gave a simple nod. "Very well" he smiled as he noticed Seaman Quinn come into view. "Seaman! Is Mr Bauer's quarters ready?" he barked. Quinn stopped and saluted. "Yes, sir! I'm here to escort Mr Bauer to the quarters" he explained.
"Very well. If you need me at all, Jack, just speak to Mr Quinn" Woodhouse said. "Thank you, sir" Jack replied, shaking hands with the tall man before following Quinn around the corner.
–
American Airspace
Flight 681 was descending through the dark sky – and according to a brief chat Captain Black had had with Air Traffic Control, the plane was now just minutes from landing at the Ronald Reagan National Airport. Normally, United Airlines didn't operate from London to this airport as they instead flew to Washington-Dulles, but apparently the National Airport was having a slow night and owing to the circumstances, ATC controllers had given Captain Black the okay to land. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.." Black spoke into the intercom, addressing the whole plane. "I hope all of you are now buckled down as we are beginning our descent to land. First off, I completely apologize for the experience you have endured today and I would like to give a huge thank you to four passengers in particular for their part in rescuing the plane.." he continued, his words heard throughout the plane. Chloe very slight blushed at the latter part of his words but was thankful the Captain didn't address her, Kurt, Gabrielle or Belcheck by name. She would have heard the rest of what Black was saying too had it not been for the rest of the passengers around her giving a huge round of applause – they knew she had helped in saving the plane.
"...we are now just five minutes from landing – seeing as I'm the only cockpit crew-member alive, I'll try to make this after comfortable as possible.." Black finished, only to be caught off-guard when the chair next to him was sat in. It was Belcheck, who looked at Black silently – the Captain instantly realized he was going to help out. "Thanks" he said quietly as he lent the Serb what was the headset used by Avram and then Hermann.
Outside the plane, the sky around it was still as dark as it could be... but at long last, it broke through the few clouds and the bright lights of Washington DC finally came into view. "You ever been to Washington?" Black asked Belcheck; not in a inquisitive manner but more of a curious manner. The Serb shook his head. "Outside of London, I've only been in countries in the Eastern part of Europe. This is my first time in America.." he said and Black nodded. "...and hopefully my last" he quickly added. The Captain gave a look of surprise but said nothing, instead opting to lower the landing gear into position
–
The Prison
Fire engines, ambulance and police vehicles rushed onto the prison premises, as workers rushed out in a state of panic. Inside, the guards have gotten control of the situation and under the instruction of the warden, who was overseeing what he could from the control room, they were guiding prisoners away from the fire and out of the main building, all in small groups. But that left Henderson, who was trying to find a way out where he wouldn't be spotted on either the security footage or by any of the guards. Eventually, he spied a side cupboard and quickly made his way towards it – discreetly opening the door, he spied a vent near the ceiling. Closing the door to cover his tracks, he jumped up and managed to pull down the opening to the event – from first glance, it looked big enough for him to get through. Throwing his gun up first, Henderson then finally made his way into the vent and started to analyze where to go; the prison infirmary was on the east side of the premises and he hadn't strayed too far so maybe if he just kept going north-bound, he'll find his way out. Crawling forwards, he started to go into what he expected to be a long maze – he had hoped to get a map of the vent system from his guard just in case but that was easier said than done.
–
20:45:21AM
White House
Heller and McKaye walked back into the Oval Office, unsurprised to see Baylis waiting on one of the sofas. "How did the chat with Jack go?" Heller asked. "Fairly well – I've got some more details from both Jack's end and that of Ms O'Brian" the NSA replied, to which Heller nodded. "Ok, what are they?" he inquired. "Most of what I've heard is pretty much what we heard prior to the conversation, but what interested me most was how Jack actually found a detailed plan of this so-called "A.F.E" as you said earlier.." Baylis explained, which set McKaye's eyebrows raising. "...why would someone leave a plan like that out in the open?" he asked in confusion. "I don't know – according to Jack, he found it left hidden in an underground shelter in the middle of nowhere. He wasn't able to take it with him, but he seems convinced that these terrorists are intending to finish with your death, sir..." Baylis replied, who then trailed off as he realized Heller wasn't listening – he was instead looking outside his window, seemingly starring out into space.
"Sir?" McKaye pushed, standing up in worry. "Mr President?" Baylis added. Nothing. "JAMES?" he then almost yelled, which caught Heller by surprise and he turned in shock. "Sorry sir, but you'd zoned out" McKaye reasoned. "Oh, I'm sorry. What were you talking about, Brian?" the President replied. "I was on about what Jack had found in the Ukraine – he seems to think the terrorists intend to try and kill you at the end of their operations" Baylis replied but he was met with a wall of confusion. "I'm sorry, who wants to try and kill me?" Heller replied, giving a face that was asking "what the hell are you on about?". McKaye put his head in his hands; the dementia was flaring up once again. "The terrorists, sir. Apparently the hijackers of Flight 681 are only one cell in a bigger plan" Baylis insisted, trying to keep it as simple as possible. Heller remained still for a moment, before realizing. "Yes, I know what you mean now!" he said though upon looking at the faces of both men, he realized his dementia had struck once again. He outwardly sighed – if his dementia kept flaring up like this, he seriously doubted he would even remember there was a possible threat against him!
"Do you want us to take a break, sir?" McKaye offered. "No... no, it's ok. Just keep going, best you can" Heller insisted, moving towards his desk and pouring himself a glass of water. "That's fine, sir. Though I should also note.. you invited Ms O'Brian and... I think you called him Belcheck, you invited them here as soon as Flight 681 landed" Baylis replied, hoping his President at least remembered that. Heller finished up his drink and nodded. "Yeah.. yeah, I remember inviting them. I sent out some Secret Service agents to bring them here When should they be landing?" he asked, clearly remembering that Flight 681 had been freed from hijacker control. "I think they might already have landed. We'll found out soon enough" McKaye added. Heller nodded and looked outside his window again. "What were you saying, Brian?" he said, which gave Baylis the cue to start talking again.
20:48:53PM
–
20:53:04PM
Ronald Reagan Airport
Flight 681 had been on the ground for about 10 minutes and the passengers and crew were being evacuated from the plane. As police and airport security took them group by group towards the main terminal, luggage handlers were sorting out the various bits of luggage from the cargo area.
As the last group outside the plane were escorted, only Captain Black, Chloe, Belcheck, Kurt and Gabrielle were left as well as the four surviving hijackers. Chloe headed down the passenger stairs, to be met with several police officers and two men who looked like they were from the Secret Service. "Ms O'Brian?" one asked and Chloe nodded. "I'm Agent Yanes of the Secret Service, this is Agent Polston. We're here by order of the President, to take you and a Mr Belcheck into custody?" Yanes explained and then asked, hoping they had the right person. "Yeah, that's right" Chloe confirmed as Belcheck made his way to the bottom of the stairs. "Mr Belcheck?" Polston asked. "No Mister. Just Belcheck.." the Serb said sternly, though he nodded at the agent's question. As this was happening, Kurt, Gabrielle and the Captain had come to the bottom of the stairs and an airport police officer noticed. "Mr Escalona?" she asked, to which a surprised Kurt nodded "I've been ordered to debrief both you and Ms Rebenal on the events of our journey" she continued, recognizing that Gabrielle must be "Ms Rebenal" owing to the fact the couple were side by side.
"Of course, anything to help" Gabrielle said though Kurt was a bit more reserved – he had still hoped to play a part should any further terrorist activity become clear. The officer led the two to the car and as Gabrielle moved forward, Kurt stood still and turned his head to face Chloe. "Sir?" he knew it was the officer's voice and reluctantly, he turned his head back around so he could walk towards the police car. "Kurt!" another voice suddenly said and he turned his body to see Chloe. "Thank you... for everything you've done" she said, giving a smile and holding her hand out. After several seconds, Kurt walked forward and shook the welcome hand. "Good luck; and should we think we need you.. or Gabrielle, the White House will be in touch" Chloe said and Kurt smiled. "Thanks" he said, grateful for the offer before releasing his hand from the former analyst and walking back towards the car. Chloe watched it drive off before turning and walking back towards Belcheck and the two agents. "We should probably go; the President is waiting as we speak.." Polston proposed. "Hold on – sorry, I just want to see." Chloe interjected before indicating to the plane, motioning she wanted to see the four surviving hijackers bought off the plane. The agents shared a look. "Very well then" Yanes agreed as several police officers went up the stairs.
After a few seconds, Chloe was a bit taken aback to see what looked like a plains-clothes man bringing the bundle of VX gas tubes down the stairs. "Hold on! What are you doing with those?" she almost demanded to know. "It's ok, ma'am. I'm with the airport police – I've been asked to take the tubes in for evidence" the man explained calmly before displaying identification from his pocket. Chloe sighed, regretting her frontal approach. The man smiled and left, mouthing a "Don't worry" as he headed towards a police car parked at the back of the plane. At that point, there was a bit of ruckus at the top of the plane steps and Chloe, Belcheck and the two agents looked up to see the four remaining hijackers being escorted out of the plane by police officers – a senior officer, most like a Captain, watched this with a smug smile. "Hermann! Such a pleasant surprise to see you here again" he remarked as the German was led past him but it was safe to say he was a bit surprised by who was being escorted behind Hermann. "Well, well, WELL! Nicholae Avram! You know, the Romanian government are going to be VERY surprised that we had you in our custody before they even announced the world-wide order for your arrest!" the Captain remarked, clear delight in his voice at seeing the Romanian national and then slight sarcasm towards the end; clearly, he'd been after Avram for some time.
"Put them in the back of the truck!" he then ordered his officers. "Yes, Captain" a few of them said as the four hijackers were placed in the back of an armored police truck. The Captain turned to Chloe and Belcheck. "I understand you two played a part in retaking the plane" he said, to which Belcheck gave a very slight nod. "Well, I wanted to thank you personally – you've saved countless lives today. And we finally have Nichaloe Avram in our custody – I don't know if you knew but we have been trying to find him for years and only now, his government issued a warrant for his arrest. So, thank you!" he added before turning around and heading towards the police car in front of the truck. Inside, the last hjiacker was placed firmly on the bench and handcuffed in. Avram looked up at Hermann. "What now? Do you think we bought Statewide Cell enough time?" he asked quietly. "Oh, I should think so. I seriously doubt Heller was able to uncover the truth – he still thinks they're standard criminals" the German said just as quietly, but with confidence in his voice.
Outside, the doors to the truck were locked shut and the officer that had locked them went to the front of the truck, getting in the passengers side. As the police car, then followed by the truck, drove off, Agent Polston spoke up. "I think we should get going" he said. Chloe watched the truck before looking at the agent and nodding. "Of course" she agreed and at that, Agent Yanes directed Chloe and Belcheck towards their car.
Inside the truck, Hermann looked up and had a look around the interior before stopping at a police officer whose hat and head were both tipped downwards for some strange reason. Whilst his face couldn't quite be as well seen as intended, the German thought he looked familiar. "I'm sorry, but have we seen each other somewhere before?" he asked. The officer looked up and pulled his hat back to reveal his face – whilst Hermann didn't realize it, this was the person who had shot down the helicopter of the Vice-President and had seemingly alerted General Benediktov about Air Force One landing in DC. "That depends – where do you think you've seen me before?" he asked. "I think – it was in Belarus about five years ago. You had been the "plus-one" for a top official at a private dinner party" the German replied. At that, the man smiled. "Correct answer. I'm Jokanovic, you see. And I must say, I'm pretty touched that you actually remember me.." he said. Hermann smirked, resisting the urge to say anything. But then Jokanovic's face dropped as he pulled a tube out of his sleeve. "...especially seeing as it's the last thing you're ever going to do!" he said. Hermann eyed the tube in confusion as Jokanovic opened up the tube and pressed downwards.
Outside, Belcheck was already in the car and Chloe slowly made her way inside when it happened...
A huge explosion ripped through the police truck, instantly shattering the windscreen and windows of the police car in front as well as sending the captain flying into an airbag. Yanes instinctively forced Chloe into the car and threw himself over the open door as Polston almost fell backwards, saved only by the wing-view mirror on the passenger side of the car. The explosion was so loud, it was clearly heard inside the Oval Office and Heller almost fell out of his chair at hearing it. "What was THAT?" McKaye yelled in shock and Baylis made his way towards the window, where he could just about make out a large amount of smoke to the right of the White House. "Get on it, McKaye! Find out where that came from!" Heller ordered the MI-5 agent, who nodded and scrambled forward towards the office phone.
Back at the airport, the Captain uneasily made his way out of the damaged police cruiser and tried to walk towards the smoking remains of the police truck. "Get the doors open!" he ordered, as the cruiser driver scrambled out of the slightly wrecked remains in shock. Yanes helped Polston to his feet. "Get on the radio, tell the President that Hermann and Avram have been killed in what looks like a suicide!" he ordered the taller agent, who got the driver door open and reached for the radio. Belcheck had already gotten out of the car to follow Yanes, whilst Chloe sat in shock, listening to Polston talk into the radio. Only, inside, her thoughts were practically racing – in her mind, this did not look like a suicide! Neither one of Avram or Hermann had shown signs they were willing to die for their cause and they certainly did not show signs they were going to kill each other. Then there was the fact they had no way of smuggling any explosives on them before they were put into the back of the truck and there was no way on earth that officers would place explosives on them if they were planning to help them commit suicide. There was only one option that seemed plausible – someone had planted a bomb within the truck to kill them. Or possibly even silence them; since Heller said he'd found evidence that this hijacking was not a single act but only part of a bigger act, what if someone was trying to get rid of them?
What not one single person knew, however, was that the carnage unfolding was being watched discreetly by the man who had collected the tubes of VX gas. He looked over his shoulder at the bundle of tubes on the backseats of his car before picking up a large portable radio. "Confirmation: Avram and Hermann have been eliminated. Jokanovic delivered. And the VX gas has been obtained. Returning to HQ" he said gruffly before starting up the car and driving off.
–
01:57:12AM
North Atlantic Ocean
Jack pulled on the second of his brown shoes and readjusted his outfit – he'd had a shower, the first in a long time and had changed from the Russian soldier outfit he had been in following his escape from Kiev into something a lot simpler. Plain jeans, a United States Navy polo shirt, white socks and brown shoes. He'd been on the carrier about 40 minutes and needed to find out how far they were from the East Coast of America – then he could fly out by helicopter to DC and solve this mystery once and for all. He walked towards the door and walked outside, only he couldn't find Seaman Quinn. He was sure that the Seaman was right outside his door when he left and if he had had to go off, surely he would have left a note or something similar.
He decided to go off and find the Admiral, completely unaware he was being watched. By the same woman monitoring his actions in Woodhouse's office.
–
America
At a radio console in what looked like an underground series of offices, a male radio operator listened in to something – and his eyebrows rose in disbelief. He pulled the headset from his head and ran through the offices, towards multiple flights of stairs which he charged upwards. He arrived in front of a door and knocked repeatedly. "Ms Dimitrijevic?" he asked, his Polish accent clearly showing. No answer. "MS DIMITRIJEVIC?" he asked again, even louder. No answer. He was almost about to leave but then the door slid open – normally, Ms Dimitrijevic did not allow people into her office without permission but he had to check if she was in there. To his surprise, he found the office both dark and empty; part of him was telling him to get out now before he got into trouble but the other part of me kept egging him to have a look around. Lightly closing the door but not all the way so there was a tiny chink of light, the man looked all over the office for anything that indicated where Ms Dimitrijevic was but found nothing. But he did find what looked like a large microphone hooked up to a laptop on the desk. Picking it up, he rose an eyebrow when he found a series of strange options: Polish, Hungarian, Russian... and Serbian. Curious at this latter option, he found himself pressing down on the microphone. "Testing, testing, one, two, thre..." he started but then stopped. Even though he was Polish, the words he had just spoken were heard on the microphone as with a Serbian accent.
Something didn't make sense, the man thought and he put down the microphone, ready to get the hell out of the office... only to bump into a tall woman and fall back-first onto the floor. "Hello, Marek.." the woman said. "Ms... Ms Di... Ms Dimitrijev..." the Polish man, now identified as Marek, stuttered only to stumble back onto his feet and stop as he got a good look at the woman. "You're... you're not Ms Dimitri..." he said but he didn't get a chance to finish as a man around his age got him in a headlock and slammed a tazer into his heart. Marek had no chance of stopping it and within seconds, he fell to the floor, dead. "Good work, Evans" the woman said as she walked towards her desk. "Thank you, Ma'am.." the man identified as Evans responded. The woman sat down at her desk. "Now, as you were saying.." she pushed. "Oh, of course" Evans said as he picked up an iPad from on top of a casket, making sure to avoid Marek's body.
"Infrared satellite has detected a submarine heading towards the East Coast of America – from tracking its course, it's without a doubt the Yuri Dolgorukiy.." he started and the woman nodded. "What of our soldiers in Europe?" she asked. "They are in position and waiting to eliminate the enemy on your command" came the response. "Ok.. and what of Hermann?" she asked. "Hemslow reported in just minutes ago – the bomb exploded as expected; Hermann and any other survivors from the hijacking have all been killed!" Evans reported to which the woman nodded again. "What about Statewide Cell? Have you got positions on them?" she pushed. "Yes – I've been in contact with all 40 operatives. They are on their way to the city, they will be here in time for the first operation" Evans responded. "Excellent to hear. Is Hemslow on his way here?" the woman asked. "Yes, Ma'am. AND with all the tubes of VX gas!" again, there was another quick response from who looked like the second-in-command to the woman. The woman nodded and looked up at Evans, who almost had a bit of a humored look on his face.
"You know, Madame President, it's funny – considering the A.F.E are supposed to be citizens willing to die for their country, they've played right into our hands!" he explained. "Yes and that's what we're hoping for. The A.F.E are going to die, not knowing that they've actually provided a cover story for us! They think they're getting revenge for the countries of Europe and they will.. but in reality, they will have given us with the perfect cover for us to cement our place in the world of military!" the woman, identified as a "President" by Evans, declared as she flicked a switch on her desk and a large panel on the wall lifted up to reveal a large view-through screen, looking down on what looked like a production line.. of weapons. Guns were sorted into suitcases, bullets placed into boxes.. and in the far-left corner of what looked like a warehouse attached to the main building, were scientists working on what looked like some kind of advanced weapons jet. "How is everything coming along?" Evans asked as he joined the woman at the screen. "Very well, according to Hampson – the first batch of weapons are ready for the first assignment. And he thinks that we'll be ready to give final tests to Experiment #Sunderland09 within the next few hours" she replied. She then looked up at her second-in-command. "It's time.. make the call" she said and Evans nodded, activating a blue-tooth attachment on his ear.
"This is Evans calling all operatives on this frequency. Begin the cleanse; remove all active traces of European intelligence on-site.." he ordered. The woman watched him intently before turning back around to face the view-through screen. "It all begins here.." she said to herself.
–
21:00:00PM (02:00:00AM EST)
Hands up if you saw this coming!
But in all, what do you think: do you think the twist of the A.F.E being nothing than pawns in an even bigger plot is a great idea or do you feel they should have been the main antagonists throughout, much like Day 4? Have your say.