Chapter 14: Jeopardy
Somewhere on The Old Road, Monterey, CA
Carlos Banderas worriedly checked his mirror again. His passenger in the back of his getaway van was in bad shape. He cursed the doctor. He should have killed the physician on principle. The man had royally screwed him.
From his rear view mirror, he saw that Carmichael was having another seizure. He pulled his van to the side of the road. Frustration coursed through him. He needed to get to the extraction point, but Carmichael kept on having seizures.
Initially, the Fulcrum agent had ignored the seizures. But then, he realized that Carmichael's airways could get obstructed. He knew it would not be good, if The Intersect died while in his possession.
In his line of work, agents were known to be terminated for such mistakes. Banderas grimaced. He was going to make sure, that he delivered Carmichael alive to the Berkeley Marina.
The intense man pulled the van to the side of the road and walked quickly to the passenger side. Opening up the side door, he looked at the injured man in horror. Carmichael's eyes were rolled back in his head, and his mouth was foaming. His body thrashed violently as the seizure took control of his body.
Banderas didn't know quite what to do. He reached for his wallet and emptied the contents into his pant pockets. He shoved the leather wallet in between the injured man's teeth. He hoped that it would keep Carmichael from choking or swallowing his tongue.
The Fulcrum agent watched Carmichael worriedly for several minutes, until his seizure stopped. Banderas sighed in relief. He patted Carmichael on the cheeks until he showed signs of consciousness.
"What happened?" uttered Chuck, weakly.
Banderas shrugged. "You are having seizures. Let's me get you into the passenger seat, where I can keep a better eye on you. I don't want you to choke."
Chuck didn't understand what Banderas said. It was like someone was talking to him from far off. His eyesight wasn't working and he could only make out shapes. He felt like he was floating in space and he did not mind when Banderas grabbed him and move him forcibly into the passenger seat. The physical connection seemed to draw him back somehow.
Banderas heaved Chuck into the passenger seat. It was difficult because of Banderas' injured shoulder. He cursed the blond woman who stabbed him earlier.
After a considerable struggle, the Fulcrum agent finally maneuvered Carmichael into the passenger seat. He reclined the seat and strapped the seatbelt over the injured man. Banderas retrieved his wallet from the back of the van and shoved it into Carmichael's mouth again. Chuck struggled against the wallet in his mouth, but relented after Banderas slapped him.
Chuck continued to float aimlessly. He felt disconnected to his senses and he couldn't understand what had happened to him. Everything was a blur of lights and sounds. He tried to think of something calming. He had a fleeting memory of blonde hair, before another violent seizure overtook him.
Pacific Quest Behavioral Institute, Monterey, CA
Ellie checked Casey's vitals. They were getting steadily weaker. Sarah's words rang in her ears. The agent was going to die, if she didn't attempt a surgery. He was so large. She worried that he would wake up during the surgery, and she wouldn't be able to control him.
She checked the monitors that showed the entrance to the panic room and various rooms inside the Institute. All the rooms looked deserted. She chided herself for letting Sarah scare her. What was the real likelihood that the Institute would be invaded?
She remembered the stash of medicine that was located on the observation deck of the treatment room. She suspected that the doctor's medical supplies included several medicines, which could assure that Casey would stay unconscious during the surgery. She just had to get them. She calculated how long it would take her to reach the treatment room.
She checked the monitors again. The Institute was deserted. How dangerous could it really be? She had convinced herself, that Sarah was trying to scare her into staying in the panic room. She really couldn't be in that much danger.
Besides, she had taken the Hippocratic Oath. She had to try to get the medicine for Casey. It was her duty, regardless of what she thought of him.
With a pounding heart, she took a deep breath. Satisfied that she had sufficiently calmed her riotous nerves, Ellie unlocked the panic room door.
The Pentagon, Arlington Virginia
It was late evening, but the Pentagon offices were still relatively full. The Army Contracting Group was about to award a billion dollar contract, and there was a lot of activity on the floor. However, the combination of the late hour and the scintillating news reports of a terrorist attack, had workers piled into a conference room watching CNN.
Bryce, along with several co-workers from the floor, was camped out in front of the television monitor watching the news reports. The TV reporter cited numerous reasons for the attack. However, Bryce knew they were all rubbish. He knew the attack was really a trap to capture Chuck. He was dismayed, that he had unknowingly unleashed this fury on his friend.
His phone rang. The distinctive ring indicated that it was Director Graham. He picked up the phone on the second ring. He had specifically stayed at the Pentagon, until he heard from Graham.
"We had to use your intelligence. We've exposed your cover. You need to disappear immediately," ordered Director Graham, without any preamble.
"What about Casey and Sarah…."
Director Graham interjected, "We've lost contact with Agent Walker and Casey. They have likely been killed. We hope to intercept Carmichael at the secondary extraction point. We are trying to identify agents in the area, which have not been compromised by Fulcrum. In doing so, we have exposed your involvement. You need to fall off the grid immediately."
Bryce gulped. He was suddenly a very wanted and exposed man.
Somewhere on The Old Road, Monterey, CA
There were several routes to the Berkeley Marina. However, The Old Road was the only route that was still open after the Fulcrum attacks. As such, Sarah knew that Banderas and Chuck were somewhere along the two lane road.
The traffic clogged the route, but she was fairly confident that Banderas had encountered similar conditions. The Fulcrum agent had about a forty minute jump on her. However, she suspected that the heavy traffic had kept them from traveling more than ten miles during the time period.
Sarah hoped that she had finally caught a break. The traffic was working for her this time. The news reports of a terrorist attack had the general public acting responsibly. Cars dutifully pulled to the side of the road, as Sarah's police car approached with lights flashing and the siren blaring.
The agent was forced to slow down, and quickly scan the occupants of each car that she passed. This was because she didn't know what type of car they were driving. However, even with this delay, she knew that she was making up time. She only hoped that traffic would continue to delay Banderas' getaway.
Pacific Quest Behavioral Institute, Monterey, CA
Ellie entered the pass code into the electronic lock on the panic room door. The door mechanically unlocked with a loud click. Her heart started to beat rapidly in her chest. She was afraid but, knew she needed the medicine for Casey. She scanned the video monitors one more time. Seeing only deserted rooms, she tiptoed out of the panic room.
She quickly made her way down the deserted corridors of the Institute. Her shoes echoed loudly with each footfall. It made her even more spooked.
Cursing Sarah again for frightening her, she took off her shoes and continued down the hall to the treatment room.
Once she reached it, she let out a deep sigh of relief. She closed the door and hurriedly ran up the stairs to the observation deck. She walked to a medicine cabinet. It was unlocked. The doctor must have forgotten to lock it, after he accessed it for Chuck.
Looking through the cabinet, she saw a large quantity of anti-seizure medicine. She wondered why the doctor needed such a large supply. She continued her inspection of the cabinet. She found a vial of ketamine. It was perfect for knocking Casey out during surgery. She grabbed the vial along with some gloves and a rudimentary surgical kit.
Buoyed by her findings, she smiled. She stashed the supplies in her pockets. She was about to walk down the observation decks steps, when she heard men talking outside the treatment room door.
Terrified, she looked around the observation deck wildly. She had to hide. She ran towards the doctor's desk in gut-wrenching fear. She quickly crawled underneath the desk and hid from her possible assailants.
Sarah's warnings rang loudly in Ellie's ears.
The Pentagon, Arlington Virginia
Bryce excused himself from the conference room and walked down the hall to his office. After he shut his door, he ran to his desk and gathered a few personal items that he wanted to keep. Satisfied that he had everything, he walked quickly out of his office and took the elevator down to the lobby.
He forced himself to stay calm, as he went through security. It was agonizingly slow. The Pentagon's security was established to assure that no one absconded with the government's confidential information. As such, every briefcase, purse and oversized pocket was searched for sensitive data.
Because it was so late in the evening, Security made a more concerted effort to check for contraband items. It made for a long wait.
After finally making it through Security, Bryce sighed in relief. He walked to a second bank of elevators, that led to the underground parking garage.
He entered one of the elevators and waited until it delivered him to the correct floor. However, as he exited, he heard a noise behind him. He turned in time to see two men approach him. He felt a sting on his neck. Fleetingly, he realized that he had been hit with a tranquilizer dart.
His world went dark.
Somewhere on The Old Road, Monterey, CA
Sarah nearly choked when she saw the non-descript van parked on the side of the road. It had personalized plates that said 'PAC QST 7'. It was them. Her luck was holding.
She switched off her lights and siren and slowly approached their vehicle. Just then, Banderas looked in the side mirror and realized that he had company. His eyes narrowed when he saw a flash of blond hair in the approaching vehicle. He knew it was the woman who stabbed him.
He quickly started the van, and shot back onto the narrow two lane road. Reacting to his attempt to flee, Sarah switched on the police siren and flashing lights. She then gunned the engine of the squad car, and took off in pursuit of the van.
Pacific Quest Behavioral Institute, Monterey, CA
Ellie listened intently for indications of someone approaching her hiding spot. She trembled when she heard someone enter the treatment room.
"No trace of anyone in here," boomed a man into his radio. Ellie could hear static and beeps, as another man echoed similar sentiments, from another part of the building.
"Wait, hold-on. I need to check something else," replied the man. Ellie heard footsteps on the stairs. She knew the man would see Lindermann's body on the ground. Luckily, she wasn't visible from where the body laid. She held her breath.
She heard him speak into his radio, "I have another body in this room. Standby."
She heard a grunting and a rustling of clothes. He was turning over the body. She was afraid to peek at the stranger, as he inspected Lindermann's body.
"Lindermann is dead. Either the NSA or CIA found out that he was working for us. No trace of The Intersect. Let me check his desk. He might have left something there," stated the man into his radio.
Ellie's eyes widened in horror. When the man reached the desk, he would definitely see her. She looked desperately around for another hiding place. She saw none. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a disposable needle on the ground under the desk.
She grabbed it. Ellie fished out the vial of ketamine in her pocket and plunged the needle into the vial. She knew the medication would incapacitate the man quickly. She readied herself for his approach.
Somewhere on The Old Road, Monterey, CA
Sarah was following the van closely. Her vehicle definitely had the advantage in maneuverability. She had to be careful on how she proceeded.
The van and Sarah's squad car careened along the windy roads. Sarah clipped the back of the van a few times, testing Banderas' driving abilities. He was a good driver.
She tried to assess where Chuck was in the vehicle. Was he in the back unsecured or was he in the passenger seat with his safety belt on?
She inched her vehicle towards the passenger door. Once positioned, she slammed her vehicle into the van forcing it to swerve. A hand came up against the passenger window. It was Chuck! He was in the passenger seat!
She was elated because she had more leeway in how she stopped the van, knowing that Chuck was seat belted.
The van and the police car continued to hit each other, as they raced along the narrow canyon road. Other motorists hurriedly pulled their car out of their path, due to the flashing lights and siren of Sarah's car.
Sarah spied a wide turn in the road. She calculated her odds of running the van off the road.
She silently whispered a prayer for Chuck, and slammed her squad car into the van violently. The van swerved and she hit the vehicle again, forcing it off the road along the wide turn.
The van's tires hit the shoulder of the road and the vehicle lurched sideways. Banderas over corrected, and the vehicle suddenly started to rock unsteadily. Out of control, the van hit the soft shoulder at too high of a rate of speed. The top heavy vehicle careened sideways and overturned. The van disappeared from Sarah's sight as it rolled sideways down the steep embankment.
Sarah screamed. She wanted to run the van off the road, not have it flip uncontrollably down the steep hill. She slammed on the brakes of her squad car, and quickly jumped out of the vehicle.
She looked down the embankment and saw the crumpled wreckage of the van. She realized with horror that the vehicle had flipped numerous times, as it tumbled down the hillside.
Sarah jumped over the railing and raced down the hillside. She catapulted over rocks and several bushes, as she maneuvered quickly down the steep incline, without regard to her own safety.
At the bottom, Sarah slowed her pace. She approached the wreckage cautiously. The tangled heap of a vehicle laid upside down. Her breath hitched in worry. Her mind screamed, 'Please be alright Chuck!'
She peered through the shattered windshield and saw Banderas. He saw her and moved slightly. Not willing to take anymore chances with Chuck's safety, she shot through the windshield killing Banderas instantly.
Relieved that she had terminated the last of the immediate Fulcrum threats, she moved to the passenger door and looked in. Her heart lurched. Chuck hung upside down, secured in his awkward position by his seat belt. He was not moving.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She willed herself, not to think the worst.
Fear gripped her, as she mindlessly began to tear at the passenger door. She desperately fought to reach the man she loved.