Author's Note: Thank-you, dear readers, for your patience and encouragement. I had a difficult time with this chapter. I had it done and ready to post two weeks ago, but when I went back to read it, it just wasn't what I wanted. So I scrapped it and started over.

Thanks for all your lovely reviews, comments, messages and follows. Every single one is precious to me. If I haven't replied, it isn't because I didn't appreciate your effort, but rather be because I was too distractible and didn't want to lose my focus.

This chapter's title, which most of you will recognize, is, of course, borrowed from Milton.

Enjoy!

Chapter 20 - They Also Serve

Auggie's blood turned to ice. "How many unfriendlies? And where?"

"Five... no, six of them," Tommy answered. "Coming up through the trees. They're in the shadows and hard to see."

"You're telling me," Auggie quipped, minus the customary grin. "I'm guessing they're armed?"

Graham Cooper leaned in closer to the screen. "Hard to tell from this angle. But they sure as hell don't look like Girl Scouts."

"Where's the rest of your team?"

"Davis has the staff holed up in the lounge. Doc, Scott and Curtis are checking the upper floors and roof."

"Yeah, you might want to tell them to get their asses down here," Auggie suggested.

Annie cast Cooper a look of alarm. "We can't, Auggie," she said. "They're in stealth mode. They went silent as soon as we split up."

The man they called "al-Amriki" pulled his hood close around his face and adjusted his pack. He threw a quick glance around, then, with a low, quiet whistle, he signaled to his team, to keep moving up the mountainside. As silently as they could they crept upwards over the frozen ground, through the dry vegetation to the very edge of the clearing. Bright spotlights shone down from the roof, bathing the grounds in near daylight, but casting everything else in inky darkness.

He held up a hand, ordering his team to halt, and almost immediately they stopped moving. They were raw and green, but this troubled him only slightly. They were eager and would learn, and if they didn't, then they would receive their reward in paradise as martyrs in the great struggle.

He had taught them all they needed to know for this their first mission. Ideally, he'd have brought them to one of the camps, in Somalia, Yemen, or Pakistan, but the risk was too great. With his fair skin and all-American features, he was too valuable an asset to squander on simple escort missions. After this was over, if the kids proved themselves worthy, he'd send them in pairs to the training camps. After tonight, they wouldn't need an escort.

In the meantime, they could prove their worth by completing this mission. The man who'd hired them had given few details, telling him only that they would strike a blow against the same military that had killed countless innocents in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was an infidel but a sympathizer. Besides, the money and protection he'd offered went a long way in helping one overlook religious differences.

As for the mission? Americans loved their veterans, welcomed their returning heroes with ceremonies and parades, never once noticing the blood dripping from their hands. This action would change all that. They had called this a war on terror? Adam Mitchell, aka Azzam al-Amriki would show them what happened when the war came to their doorstep.

It took all of Auggie's will to keep from charging out of the room to warn the team himself. But he couldn't do that. Not anymore. Clenching and unclenching his fists, he focused on what he could do. "Tell me what we have. Trackers?"

Cooper shook his head. "No," Annie translated.

"Weapons?"

"Handguns, pocket knives," Annie continued. "We were trying to pass as Health Department inspectors. We could hardly show up in tactical gear."

"Okay, so let's think this through."

"There's no time," Annie said. "We've got to warn them. That roof is no place for a firefight."

"I'm not sending you in blind." He held up a hand. "I promise I'll insert a suitable blind joke later. Any cameras, can we get visuals?"

Cooper took over the computer. "Nothing, damn it!"

"Anything I can help with, Boss?"

Auggie smiled in relief. The phone line to Langley was still open. "Great timing, Barber! Do we have any satellites in range? I need a visual of the roof."

Barber was perplexed. "You need visuals?"

"There's only one blind guy here."

"Oh, right."

"I can find them," Annie insisted. "I'll warn them."

"Wait," Auggie said, stopping her. "Barber, anything?"

"None of our birds are in range, but I can open a channel on a French telecom satellite."

"Do it, just don't break into their evening broadcast of Des Chiffres et des lettres. We don't need to provoke an international incident with France."

Barber chuckled. A moment later the satellite imagery was on its way to Auggie's phone."

"They're up, Auggie," Annie said.

"What do you see?"

"The guys are up there, Auggie, but there's no cover except one satellite dish. They'll be sitting ducks if they don't come back inside."

"Cooper, can they see into the trees?"

"No, the spotlights surrounding the building are too bright."

Auggie closed his eyes, and rested his forehead on his clasped hands.

Annie touched his shoulder "You okay?"

"Yeah." Without opening his eyes, he turned his face towards the team. "My guess is that whoever's out there is getting his team organized," he said. "That buys us a little time. Annie, Coop?"

"Yeah?" They answered in unison.

"Get to the roof, a.s.a.p. Warn the guys. Do not pass go. Do not collect-

"We get it," Annie said, already at the door. "Let's go."

"Keep your phone close," he called after them.

Auggie listened as Annie and Cooper left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, he turned to Tommy. "How's our friend?"

Tommy checked the young woman in the corner. "Still out. Pulse is strong, breathing regular."

"Alright. What's happening on the screen."

"No change."

Auggie nodded. "Good. " He ran his hands over the desk, but came up empty. "There's a key and fob here somewhere. Go let the guys out of their rooms. Tell them whatever you think they need to know to get out of there."

"Where do you want me to take them?"

"Find a room on the ground floor. Whatever is about to go down, we want them out of harm's way."

"And where exactly would that be?"

Auggie shrugged. "Beats me. Barber, you still there?"

"Yep."

"I need you to find blueprints of this place. Do whatever you've got to do, but find them and send them to this phone. We need them now."

"They're already on their way," Barber replied with an audible grin.

Confused, Auggie replied. "How..."

"As soon as we knew where you'd been taken, Stu and I dug up everything we could find on the place, including the blueprints. Annie and your friend Cooper already have a copy."

"Well done. Keep this up, and you just might find yourself head of your own department one day."

"Thought I already was."

"Yeah? Well don't get too comfortable. Tommy?"

"I think I can bring them to the dining room."

"This dump has a dining room?"

"It did in 1958."

"How much longer we gotta stay here?"

"Not long." Sergeant Damien Davis surveyed the room. Warren, and the dozen staff members were growing restless. The sooner they secured Auggie, his asset and their intel, the happier he'd be.

"That's what you said an hour ago," a large woman in a hairnet protested. "I gotta get my team back to work. We need to get the kitchen ready for the breakfast crew. Nobody likes it when breakfast runs late. Well, that's not entirely true. Most folks here might not notice, but still I'm not letting those boys go hungry after everything else they've been through. No, sir. Not me."

"What are you talking about?" Davis asked.

"Nothin'" she replied, suddenly guarded.

"No, tell me."

"It's nothing. It's just that these guys, most of them don't know which way is up. They're not the ones who'll complain if breakfast is running late. The bosses want their food hot and on time, though."

"Do the patients and bosses get the same food?"

"Ha! That'll be the day. No, because of the program, the patients get special food, with special nutrients and additives. It's supposed to help them get better. But I dunno. Good wholesome home cooking, fresh air, sunshine, exercise... seems to me those things would do those boys more good than medicine disguised as food and all those experiments and therapies."

Tommy paused by the door. "You coming?"

Auggie shook his head. "Not this time. I'd only slow you down. You always wanted to take the lead. Here's your chance. You can handle this one on your own."

"I'm not leaving you here alone."

"I'm a big boy. I don't need coddling."

"You can't see."

"I don't need to see to do this. You guys are the ones who'll be doing all the heavy lifting."

"What happens when one of those tangos breaks in? What then?" I watched 'em haul your ass out on a stretcher once. I ain't letting that happen again."

"It won't. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Captain, you are blind. I could be aiming a gun at you right now, and you'd never know!"

"Are you?"

"No, of course not."

"Look. This is what I do, Tommy, every day. It's my job, and I'm very good at it. What I can't do is round up our guys and get them out of here. I need you to do that. Just get them out of those rooms and keep them safe."

"Yes, sir."

"Atta boy," Auggie grinned, and ran his hands over the desk. His fingers closed around a familiar shape. "Here," he said. "It's best if you take this."

Tommy paused for a moment. "You sure about this?"

"You're probably a better shot."

"I always was."

"Third floor clear." Annie cried, and raced up the fire escape to the roof.

"Wait!" Cooper said, grabbing her hand as she pressed on the bar of the door. "You go charging out there, you're likely to get shot."

He eased the door open a crack. "Hold your fire!"

Steps crunched on the gravel rooftop, coming to a halt on the other side of the door. "Cooper? What the hell are you doing here?"

Annie jumped forward. "Get down!"

"What the fuck?!"

"Sir, we have a problem," Annie said from behind the low parapet. "Unfriendlies just behind the northern perimeter fencing, Captain."

"Armed?"

"Unconfirmed," Cooper said, "but that would be my guess."

Cameron peered over the edge. "Where are they? Can't see a damn thing outside of those lights. Scott!"

"Sir!"

"Shoot out one of the lights."

"With all due respect, Captain," Annie interjected, "that might not be such a great idea. We have the advantage right now. You shoot those lights out, they know we're here."

Cameron considered his options. "Doc, come with me. Cooper stay up here with Scott The minute either of you see anyone move out of those woods towards the building, you take 'em out, quietly. Understood?"

Auggie's grin dissolved as the Tommy left the room. He released a long, slow breath, closed his eyes, and scrubbed his hands over his face. Leaning back into the chair, he replayed the events of the last hour. By now Walker and Cooper should be nearing the roof. And he was confident that Tommy could handle -

"You okay?"

Auggie jolted upright. "Yeah, uh... fine, just tired."

"Sorry I startled you."

"No. It's okay. I should have remembered you were there. I should not have been falling asleep on the job." He listened for a sudden movement. "You're not screaming or running away."

"Should I be?"

"I'm not the hardest guy to sneak past."

"I'm Sam... "

"Dr. Allen's assistant."

She must have nodded. "That still doesn't tell me why you're not trying to escape."

"I thought about it. I've been awake a while."

"Okay..."

"I overheard you talking with those other people. What are you, a cop or something?"

"Something. What did you hear?"

"Enough to know you're trying to keep the guys here safe."

" How much do you know about me?"

"Only what was in your file and what the guy, Mr. Wilcox from The Albion Group told me."

"The guy from The Albion group?"

"I spoke to him on the phone. But I think he may have confused you with someone else."

"Why do you think that?"

"What he said about you. If doesn't fit. We see some pretty messed up guys around here, and you don't seem to be anything like them."

"What exactly did he tell you?"

Sam hesitated not knowing how much to reveal or what might set him off. "He said you killed your unit. You set off an explosion that killed your team."

Auggie gave a sour laugh. "Yeah, figures he'd come up some crazy story like that."

"I didn't say I believed it."

"Sam, the agency I work for has reason to believe a large-scale unsanctioned psy-ops program has been targeting veterans and active-duty military."

"Psy-ops... you mean like brain-washing?"

"Sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation, psychotropic drugs. Sound familiar?"

"But why? I thought we were helping you guys."

"In every war, people have to make hard choices. Usually the people making those hard choices are politicians and policy experts, not the ones actually carrying out the action, which makes the hard choices a little easier," Auggie said with a small smirk. Continuing, he explained, "When things get messy, those decision-makers would rather keep the voting public in the dark. The patients here, they ... we had to act on those choices. And things often got messy. Your Mr. Wilcox and The Albion Group, they want to make sure that what we did over there never sees light of day. They want to keep it buried in layers of bureaucracy and wrapped up in red tape. A lot of people have an awful lot to lose and they'll do anything to keep the truth from coming out."

"And that's been going on here?"

Auggie nodded.

"I work here. I'm part of this. I thought I was doing good. Am I in trouble?"

Auggie shrugged, "What do your instincts tell you?"

"I just monitor the video feed. Until today, I never had any direct contact with any of the patients." She paused a moment before continuing. "But I saw what they were doing. I saw what they did to you."

"I'm okay," Auggie said reaching forward and finding her hand. "I've been through worse than this."

"When I interviewed for this job, Dr. Allen told me his methods were unconventional. I never suspected just how unconventional."

Sam fell silent. Auggie could almost hear the wheels turning as she envisioned the most dire outcomes. He'd always loathed involving civilians. He leaned back in the chair, and checked the time on the phone. "One-twenty-eight a. m." He ran through the op in his mind, going over every detail, mentally following his team. What was taking them so long? Listening intently, he hoped to catch the sound of running feet. Instead he heard something else. "Did you hear that?"

Al-Amriki reached into his pack, keeping his eyes riveted on his watch. Timing was everything. No one would expect a late-night attack. It was almost time. He checked his pack and drew out his weapon and a pair of wire cutters. He raised his hand and repeated the signal.

"I didn't hear anything," Sam replied.

"Listen." Auggie strained to hear the sound again. "I thought I heard something from outside. Is there a window in here?"

"Yeah, you want me to open it?"

"Just a crack, but be careful. Don't show yourself."

And there it was again. A thin, sighing whistle. A faintly bird-like call, rising and falling on the very edge of recognition. "Did you hear it this time?"

"I only hear the wind in the tree tops."

He might have dismissed it as such, but he recognized it. It was a sound that had no place in Colorado. He'd last heard it halfway around the world in another life. Lowgar Province, in Afghanistan was where he'd first learned to isolate it from the surrounding night time noises. The sound had led him and his unit to a nest of Taliban fighters. He'd heard it again in the back alleys of Fallujah and Tikrit. It was a signal used by tribal fighters and insurgents, and completely out of place in the mountains of Colorado.

"Come over here, Sam. I need your eyes."

He heard a faint rustle of clothing, but no accompanying footsteps. "I promise, I won't hurt you. I won't even touch you," he said, holding up his hands for emphasis. "I just need to know what's happening on that screen."

Hesitant steps drew close and paused by his left shoulder. He felt her lean forward and guessed that she was peering closely at the monitor. Almost at once, she jumped back slightly. "What is it?"

"Shadows moving. They're darker than the surrounding darkness, if that makes sense."

"It does. They're probably wearing black instead of camo."

"They? Who are they?"

"Sorry, can't help you there."

Sam gasped. "Oh, my God! It's a bunch of guys with hoods. And backpacks! They're moving out of the woods and coming towards the building."

"Stay calm. Tell me if you see any weapons."

She leaned in closer. "I'm not sure. Maybe. One of them has something. It could be a some kind of gun. All I see is something that could be a rifle's barrel."

"Like a hunting rifle?"

"No shorter." She tugged at Auggie's arm. "They're coming. We've got to get away from here."

Auggie reached for her wrists. "Sam. Breathe and stay calm. We need to keep our heads. There are a lot of people counting on us."

"We can't fight them. I don't even have a gun anymore."

"You're right. We can't fight them, but we can make it harder for them to do what they came to do. Those men are ready to do whatever it takes to make sure no one learns about what goes on here. Do you understand?"

She swallowed hard. "I understand. But I'm not sure what to do. I've never..."

Auggie gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "But I have. I'll tell you what to do, but you need to promise to do exactly what I say. Okay?"

There was no answer.

"Are you nodding?"

"Yes."

"Okay. First I need you to make sure the doors are locked."

"They're always locked."

"From the inside?"

"Inside. Outside. No one gets in our out without an access code."

"Good. What are the doors made of?"

"Steel."

"So, that's another point in our favor. See, we're winning this thing already. Is there another way out of here, through the basement or a service exit?"

"There's a freight elevator in the kitchen, it goes down to a loading dock two floors down, on the north side of the building."

"A friend of mine, a man named Davis, is with the staff a couple of doors down from here. I need you and him to move everyone to the kitchen, into that elevator and out of here before all hell breaks loose. Can you do that?"

"What do I tell them?"

"Whatever you like. Just don't tell them the truth."

Sam closed the door and walked down the hallway, trying to look confident. The lights were bright in the staff break room, and through the door she could hear the din of raised voices.

Peering through the window, she saw most of the night staff seated around a couple of tables, talking and looking none too pleased. Standing just to the side of the door, a tall, well-built man caught her eye, and glared at her suspiciously. Taking a steadying breath, she pushed open the door, and entered the break room.

"Mr. Davis, may I have a word, please?"

"Any word you like, as long as we have it right here."

She turned her back to the staff. "I work here. I have a message from your supervisor."

Davis eyed her narrowly. "My supervisor? Anderson?"

Sam nodded.

Davis looked around and stepped in closer. "Okay... what does he want?"

"He wants us to get everyone down to the kitchen. There's a service elevator there."

"Did he, by any chance, tell you how we are supposed to get these people down there?"

"No. But there's no time to lose. There are six armed men closing in on this facility. We need to get out of here."

"Okay..."

Tommy stood at the foot of the bed. The two men behind him grinned in the darkness. "Let's go, soldier. Out of bed. We're moving out!"

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked groggily.

"Captain Thomas Marcus, U.S. Army Special Forces. On your feet, I said. Let's go."

"What?"

Tommy gestured to the two men behind him. They grabbed the confused man by the arms, and yanked him to his feet.

"Three down, plenty more to go. Let's move it." Making a sharp pivot turn, he left the room, and nearly crashed into Curtis, Doc and Annie.

"Tommy Marcus? What are you doing in this place?"

"Curtis Cameron, holy shit, it is you!" He said, pulling his friend into a bearlike hug. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys!"

"Actually, I think I do. Damn it, Tommy! Last I heard, you were supposed to be in Libya. I had no idea you were holed up in here." Cameron pulled away and looked Tommy over. "You look like hell. You need a shave and a haircut. In all the years I've known you, I've never seen you wearin' a 'fro."

"Yeah, well the barbershop here isn't up to my usual standards." Turning serious, he lowered his voice. "You seen Auggie?"

"No, is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Except, well... you know." And he waved a hand in front of his eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I still can't -"

"Gentlemen," Annie broke in. "Save the reunion for later. We have a job to do. Let's get the doors unlocked, then split up and get the men out of here.

Davis cleared his throat. "Everybody, listen up. I've just received some troubling news from our inspection team. Uh... toxins have been found in the air ducts for the first through third floors. We need to get down to the basement receiving area."

"Toxins?" the lady in the hairnet asked. "What kind of toxins?"

"The bad kind. The kind that can make you really sick."

"What kind exactly?"

Davis scrambled for an answer. "Botulism toxin."

"Botox?" one of the orderlies asked.

"No. Not Botox. Botulism spores in the ducts. You breathe that in and it paralyzes your lungs."

Hairnet lady wasn't buying it. "I ain't never heard of no botulism spores. I work the kitchen crew. I heard of botulism contaminating food, but that ain't something that gets in the air."

Sam jumped in. "This is a new strain, Nell. They explained it to me. It's airborne and it only takes a small amount to get into your lungs, and that's it. You're done. No treatment. No cure."

"And who told your this?" Nell, the hairnet lady asked.

"The lady in charge of the inspection team," Sam replied. "She was wearing a mask and gloves in the shower when she told me."

"Sounds pretty serious," Warren said, getting up and heading for the door. "I'm not sticking around to find out for myself."

Davis moved to the door. "Hold it. We're gonna leave but in an orderly manner. We best avoid the stairs. Is there another way out?

"Downstairs. Through the kitchen," Warren said. "Follow me."

As the last staff member left the room, Sam turned to Davis, shaking her head. "Botulism? Really?"

He shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

Al-Amriki raced to the fence, expecting with every step to feel the impact of a well-aimed bullet. He skidded to a halt, unharmed, where the corner fencepost cast a thin shadow against the closely cropped lawn. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his team crouched in the shadows, waiting for his signal. He took he wire cutters and clipped a three-foot opening in the chain-link, folded it back, crawled through, and signaled to the others.

"We have one coming through the fence," Scott said into the darkness.

Cooper crawled up to his side. "Take him down?"

"No. Too obvious. Don't want to start a firefight. I intend to pick 'em off from the back.

Auggie listened intently. "Anyone else around that I should know about?" he called into the silence.

"Well, there's always us."

"Joan..." Auggie picked the phone up off the desk.

"How are you doing?"

"It's been a long day. A long month actually... At least I think it's been a month.

Joan gave a dry chuckle. "I suppose asking for a sit rep would be redundant?"

"You've been listening in. You know as much as I do."

"More. We have the visuals."

"Is Annie on the roof?"

"She's come and gone already with Doc and Cameron. Cooper and Scott are up there waiting for your guests to make their move." Joan paused a moment before continuing.

"What is it?" Auggie asked.

"I've notified Rossabi. He called in an FBI tactical team. ETA ten minutes."

"I thought Cameron and his crew were handling the tactical side."

"Cameron and his crew are there to get you out. That's it. The Special Ops team will get you, your asset and the intel out before the Bureau locks the place down."

Auggie said nothing.

Joan continued. "Auggie, you knew from Day One that this would be the Bureau's case. The Bureau's win."

"I know."

"Let Hoover take the credit for this one. It's time you came home."

"I will, as soon as -" A sharp crack in the distance interrupted his reply. Auggie's head snapped up. "I gotta go."

"Auggie, stay where you are!"

"Auggie!" The color fled from Annie's face. Doc thought she was going to faint. He took a step towards her, but in that same instant, she turned and ran towards the stairwell.

"Walker, wait!" Curtis called and ran after her. He caught her by the arm. "That shot was closer than two floors down. We need to do this as a team."

"You get take care of the patients," Annie called as she broke loose from the captain's grip. She ran down the hallway, calling over her shoulder. "I need to check on Auggie!"

"Walker, get back here! Walker, damn it!"

"Coop, Dude, where's your silencer? You wanna blow this op?"

"That wasn't me, " Cooper replied, meeting the weapons expert's troubled gaze.

"Okay, so if it wasn't you and it wasn't me..."

Everyone froze in front of the service elevator.

"What was that?" Warren asked, holding the gate open. "It sounded like a shot."

"What's going on?"

"It's just a disinfecting device," Sam improvised. "It kills germs and mold spores. Sort of like a bug fogger... but louder."

"Keep calm everybody, and keep moving into the elevator." Davis ordered.

"That didn't sound like no bug bomb," Nell muttered as she yanked on the gate. "That sounded like a gun."

Al-Amriki froze at the sound. His whole team hit the ground. For a moment, he feared the shot had been meant for him, but he quickly realized that it came from farther away and was muffled. Probably just a car backfiring on the road below, or a firecracker in someone's back yard. He urged his men onward.

"You know your parts. Insha'Allah, we will meet at the rendez-vous when this is done. If not there, then in paradise. Alahu Akhbar!"

Auggie stood with his hand on the doorknob, trying to remember the way to the conference room.

"Auggie?" Joan's voice crackled through the phone. "Auggie, are you there?"

Auggie turned around and leaned his head back against the door, resisting the urge to pound his fist into the unyielding metal.

"Auggie?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm here."

"Let the team handle it."

"I don't see that I have much of a choice." He was spared any sorrowful reply by the phone's silent vibration, signaling a second call coming through. "I gotta take this, Joan," he said and switched lines. "Annie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Just peachy. Where did that shot come from?"

"Somewhere below the third floor."

"And above the first..." Auggie swore beneath his breath and considered their options. "Annie, take someone with you. Someone armed. There's a room, about halfway down the second floor hallway. I left my asset, a shrink named Allen, there to watch over a prisoner. Dollars to doughnuts, that's where that gunshot came from."

"Who's the prisoner?"

"One of Henry's secret operatives, a guy by the name of Tomacek. Be careful, Annie. Don't go in there alone. Take Cameron."

"Cameron's busy with the patients."

"Then Tommy or Doc."

"I'm nearly there, Auggie."

"Annie, don't go in there. There's an FBI team on its way. Let them handle it!"

He heard her open the door. He berated himself for not thinking to lock it when he'd left Allen watching Tomacek?

A gasp yanked him back to the present. "Annie!"

"Oh, my God! Auggie, he's dead."

Davis pulled the elevator grille open. "Go! Go! Run to the woods!" he said, herding the staff out of the service bay and down the hill. "Keep clear of the road."

"What's going on? Was that a gunshot" Sam asked, jogging by his side, a little distance behind the rest of the staff.

"Probably. I'll explain all that I can as soon as we're clear."

The assassin reached the side of the building, and there, hidden in the shadow of the porch, he rested his head against the cold brick and caught his breath. With careful, practiced moves, Al-Amriki slowly slipped the pack off his back and set it gently beneath the stairs. C-4 might be stable, but he wasn't taking any chances on having it go off prematurely. He reached into his pocket, feeling the burner phone that was there. A simple three-digit code, and it would be done.

He looked for the others. Some thirty feet away, the kid from Minnesota was fiddling with the straps of his pack. He had his doubts about that one.

Carefully, he moved towards the other side of the building.

Scott watched as the black hooded men spread around the building. As soon as he was certain that they were out of each other's line of sight he adjusted his aim, took a breath, and eased his finger onto the trigger.

"What the hell?!" Cooper muttered from a few feet away. "You see that?"

"Looks like he's removing the glass from that window," Scott said and resumed his shooting stance.

"Wait till he sets it down. Don't want the sound of shattering glass waking up the neighbors."

"Whoa! Hold on," Scott said, lowering his rifle again. "He just threw his pack through the window. He's headed for the fence."

"Shit! Check his hands!'

Scott looked through his scope. "Empty." he said. He adjusted his aim once more, and squeezed the trigger. Without making a sound, the man crumbled in the shadow of the stairs. "One tango down. We need to find the others."

"Who's dead, Annie?"

Annie averted her gaze from the gruesome scene before her. "The guy in the lab coat with the injured arm. I'm guessing that's your asset. I'm also guessing Tomacek shot him."

"Are you sure? You sure he's dead?"

"Trust me on this, Auggie, and be glad you can't see this."

"Small blessings. Where's Tomacek?"

She cast her gaze around the room. The space was small and there was nothing in there save a small cabinet, a gurney with a discarded belt and broken shoelaces thrown on the mattress. And the very dead body of Auggie's asset.

Auggie's insistent voice came over the phone. "Annie! Where's Tomacek?"

She looked around. "I don't know, Auggie. I don't see him. He's gone. Ugh!"

"What is it? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just stepped in blood. I got it all over my shoes. It's everywhere." That was it! Annie set aside her revulsion and looked down the hallway. "Bingo! He's leaving bloody footprints."

"Stay where you are, Annie. Don't go after him!"

Tomacek sped up the stairs. Behind him, one floor down, he hear the stairwell door open and close again. He stole a quick glance behind and cursed beneath his breath. As quietly as he could, he pushed open the door, and removed his shoes. He tossed them into the first vacant room found, and, without slowing his pace, ran to the stairs at the opposite end of the hall.

"Damn!" Auggie growled. "Why can't she just follow a simple command."

"She reminds me of a special operative I used to handle."

"That's not the same. I was usually right."

"Unfortunately for you, so is Annie. "

The trail of footprints ended at the top of the stairs. Her own shoes were still leaving faint traces so she had to assume that Tomacek had removed his shoes. As quietly as she could manage, she opened the 3rd floor door, and peered down the hall. It was empty with no one in sight. But the doors to the patients' rooms were all ajar. Tomacek could be hiding in any of those rooms. Waiting for an opportunity to escape. That's what most fugitives would do.

Annie was tempted to go room-to-room, looking for Tomacek. That was her first instinct. Except that Tomacek wasn't the typical fugitive. He was a spy, a pretty good one she was guessing, and one of Henry's secret operatives. He would do the unexpected. Annie's heart gave a lurch. She grabbed her phone and hit "redial".

"Auggie," she said as soon as he answered. "I think Tomacek is headed your way."

"Number Two is at the fence. That makes four of them." Cooper announced.

"So that leaves Number Three. Why's he sticking close to the building?"

"Maybe he's waiting for the guy you took out?"

"Maybe he's checking on the explosives. Wait. He's got something in his hand!" Scott adjusted the sight on his rifle. "It's a phone."

"He's gonna blow the place up."

"Not gonna happen. I can take him out now."

"And risk having him press the key as he goes down? Bad idea. Plan B?"

"Watch and wait."

"We wait. And hope that someone is looking out for us from above."

"God?"

"Langley!"

"Joan, we have a developing situation on the roof."

"What's going on, Eric?"

"Scott discharged his weapon a minute ago."

"What's going on, Joan?" Auggie's voice asked through the speaker.

Joan stepped up to the big screen. Two men crouched on opposites of a roof had their weapons drawn and ready. "Pull back, Eric, and show me the grounds."

The camera zoomed out. "Where are the others?"

"Can't see them. Let me try to get a thermal image, before this bird flies out of range." he said typing in a new command. "And heeeere we go!" he said, striking the last key with flourish.

Joan glared briefly at Barber before shifting her focus back to the oversized monitor behind the desk. Studying the images on the screen, she made a quick tally of the glowing orange silhouettes. Two men on the roof. One skirting the perimeter of the building. Three by the fence. On the far side of the building, a group of a dozen or so people was running into the woods. Two more figures stood by the east door of the building. One last man, his silhouette fading to a lighter tint of orange, lay immobile by the wall. "Zoom in on the lone guy walking around the building." Eric went in for a closer view. "What's that in his hand," Joan asked.

Barber switched to the conventional black and white view. "Looks like a phone."

Joan and Barber exchanged glances as realization hit home. "Auggie!" Joan cried. "You've got to get out of there."

"That's the last of them," Tommy said. "Let's move 'em on out."

Doc and Cameron moved the rag-tag group towards the exit.

Tomacek ran down the stairs. His socks were slippery, and his feet found little purchase on the slick terrazzo treads. His reflexes and senses slowed by the sedatives still working their way through his system, he couldn't quite catch himself when his left foot shot out from under him, and he tumbled down the eight steps to the second floor landing. He heard the bones in his right leg snap as he landed. He looked down and saw his leg bent where no angle should have been. Then the pain hit.

The door on the first floor landing flew open, striking his injured leg. He bit his tongue to the blood but he didn't cry out.

"Something's blocking the door," said a voice on the other side.

"Try it again," a second voice replied.

Reaching for the banister, Tomacek pulled himself upright. With his other hand, he raised his gun.

The door flew open, and Cameron and Tommy tumbled in followed by Doc. Cameron looked up, and found himself face-to-face with a Tomacek's weapon.

"Move and you're dead," Tomacek said. His face was grey. Sweat beaded his forehead, but the hand holding the gun was steady.

At that moment, the third floor door flew open and Annie came flying down the stairs.

Instinctively, Tomacek turned towards the sound. That was all the opening Cameron and Doc needed. They tackled him and he hit the ground with a cry of pain. Cameron was on him and had him disarmed in an instant. Tomacek struggled, but the fight left him when he saw he was outnumbered.

"Excellent timing, Walker," Cameron said, as he bound Tomacek's wrists with a zip tie. Tomacek continued to struggle. "You can fight all you like, asshole, but you'll only go to jail tired. Now get up."

Doc pointed at Tomacek's blood-stained trouser leg. Fresh blood was pooling on the floor. "Captain. Look at his leg. He's not going anywhere."

Annie's phone buzzed. Her eyes grew wide and her features, grave as she listened to the call. "Understood," she said. Turning to the men, she explained. "There's a bomb. Maybe more than one. We need to get out!" Speaking into her phone again, she asked, "Eric, we need an exit."

"You've got bad guys with guns just outside that door. Make your way to the basement. The exit by the loading bay is still clear."

"Got it," Annie said, and ended the call, and relayed Barber's direcitons."See you outside, boys," she shoved through the doors and into the first floor hallway.

"Walker!" Curtis grunted as he heaved Tomacek onto his shoulder. "Walker, exit's this way. Where the hell are you going?"

"I'm getting Auggie. We'll meet you outside."

Scott held the man with the phone steady in his sights. "I can take out the phone."

"What if the impact detonates the bomb?"

"Anyone ever tell you you're a buzzkill, Scott? Okay, Plan B I get him in the wrist and he drops the phone."

"And picks it up with his other hand."

He lined up his shot. "He won't have time to pick it up. If he so much as twitches, I take him out. I'm doing this."

Auggie worked his way down the hallway, slowing as he neared what felt like the end, and searching for the tell-tale signs of an exit door.

"Over here, Auggie," Annie called, running towards him.

"Nice of you to stop by, Walker."

"We gotta get out of here, there's a bomb."

"So I've been told," she said, guiding his hand to her elbow.

They ran to the stairwell. Cameron and the others were waiting by the door. Annie called in to Langley. "We're ready to evacuate, Barber. What's the best exit?"

"You've got bad guys with guns on the north and east sides. Head for the basement like the others."

Auggie grabbed the phone. "Barber, where are the Feds?"

"They're three minutes out," Joan answered. "Get out. Now!"

Auggie tightened his grip on Annie's arm as they sped through the deserted hallways, skidded 'round the corner, and flew down the stairs and towards the exit. "We're nearly there, Auggie."

On the lawn below, the target was backing away from the building and moving towards the fence.

"Is that a smile on his face?" Cooper asked incredulously.

Scott replied with a feral grin of his own. "I'll wipe it off." He slowly squeezed the trigger. Down below, the man fell to the ground as the bullet went through his wrist and into his thigh. The phone lay several feet beyond his reach. He swore and began crawling towards the phone. The second shot took him in the back, and he stopped moving.

Cooper sprayed several rounds in front of the rest of the man's team. "You guys want to get that phone, it'll cost ya."

The frigid December air hit Auggie like a slap to the face. He gasped and coughed in surprise.

"You okay?"

"Don't mind me keep going! How far to the woods?"

"Thirty yards or so. You good?"

"I'm good," he said, not slowing. They reached the cover of the trees and stopped.

"What is it?" Auggie asked.

"Your guys are waiting," she said with a smile. "You did it, Auggie."

"We did it, Walker," he countered, as they started moving down the hill. Scott and Cooper came running up.

"Auggie, you bastard," Curtis Cameron pulled him into a fierce hug. "You okay, man?"

"I'm fine. Are we all here?"

"Yeah."

"The civilians?"

"Waiting for the cavalry."

"Bad guys?"

Cameron's reply was cut off by the sound of growling engines. A moment later, the vehicles skidded to a halt on the gravel drive. Doors slammed. Radios crackles, and booted feet rushed into the building. "The cavalry?" Auggie asked.

"Yep," Annie replied.

"What do you say we get out of here, and let Hoover and Langley sort these guys out?"

"Best idea you've had in months, Captain Anderson."

"Oh, so now she respects my authority," Auggie laughed.

"Don't let it go to your head," Annie said, and led him down the wooded hill.

"Senator Feinstein will see you now, Mr. Campbell."

The chief of the Senate Intelligence Committee stood up behind her desk as Arthur walked in. "This is highly unusual, Arthur. Surely this could have waited a couple of hours until the hour you and Joan were scheduled to testify?"

Arthur handed over the blue-bound folder. "There have been recent developments."

The senator looked at the cover, but didn't open the folder. "How recent?"

"Overnight. The culmination of an deep cover investigation that has lasted several weeks."

She arched her brows. "An investigation? Arthur, you more than anyone should know that the CIA does not have a mandate to investigate anything. You're not a law enforcement agency."

"Poor choice of words, Diane. But we worked closely with the Bureau on this. I'm sure you'll be briefed on their side of the operation shortly."

The senator grunted her reply as she moved towards the couch. She sat and began scanning the contents of the folder. Her eyes grew wide. "You sent in a blind operative?"

"There was none more capable or believable."

The silence in the room grew heavy as the senator read further into the report. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she turned her sharp gaze back to Arthur. "These are very serious allegations. I'm assuming you have evidence to support them?"

"We're not in the evidence gathering field," Arthur said with a cheeky grin, but he turned serious again almost instantly. "Our operative, at great risk to himself, has gathered invaluable intelligence on this operation. Not only on what was going on at the Deer Creek facility, but at two other sites. Plus, we have new background on certain events which took place in Iraq and Afghanistan that led to having members of our elite forces locked up in those snake pits."

"And you say Henry Wilcox was behind all of this? He'll deny every last word of it."

"I fully expect him to." Arthur pulled his chair forward, "but we have the intel. Solid. Damning. And incontrovertible."

"What about Adam ... Azzam Al-Amriki?

"Our home-grown terrorist. The Bureau will be able to fill you in on the details, but it would appear that The Albion Group hired Al-Amriki to blow up the Deer Creek facility. To make it look like an act of domestic terrorism. For now, Al-Amriki's under heavy guard on a navy hospital ship, until he recovers sufficiently to be transferred to a maximum security federal penitentiary."

"It says he'll never walk again. Was that necessary?"

"Lucky shot. I shouldn't have to remind you he was trying to blow up a building with veterans, civilians, and our operatives still inside."

"What about the kids he recruited?"

"It's all in that file. According to our friends at the Bureau, they've been singing like birds. "

The senator checked her watch and closed the file. "I'll share this with the committee. I still expect to see you and Joan testifying here in two hours."

Arthur stood, and held out his hand. "Wouldn't dream of missing it, Diane."

"I'm fine, Joan!" Auggie said, pushing aside the sheets, and swinging his legs over the side of the hospital bed. "I don't need to be in the hospital."

Joan stilled him with a hand against his chest. "Don't make me order restraints.:

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, yes I would."

"I don't need to be here!" Auggie complained. "I'm perfectly fit to get back to work. You need me in Tech Ops."

Joan smiled at her operative, who at that moment looked like an irritated twelve-year old on the verge of a tantrum. "As it happens, Auggie, I have a perfectly adequate Manager of Tech Ops at the DPD who's been doing a fine job these last months. Last I heard, you were working at the Pentagon."

"That's harsh, Joan."

"Rest up, Auggie," she said, handing him a bag. "It's your tablet, screen reader, and headphones."

Auggie's eyes lit up as he reached into the bag.

"Marty loaded some books on it, LeCarré, Ludlum, I think, and...," Joan hesitated briefly, "... and suspended your access to the Agency servers."

"Oh, come on, Joan."

"Let the doctors give you the all-clear, and then I want you to go home. And I don't want to see back at Langley for at least two weeks. Take it easy. Listen to some of that cacophonous racket you call jazz. Go visit your family. Go to Vermont and visit Danny's family. In two weeks, you'll come back to work and we'll talk."

"What about my intel?"

"It's being treated, and analyzed." She stood up, and squeezed Auggie's shoulder. "Now I have to go. I have to on Capitol Hill in thirty minutes."

"Again? What's going on, Joan?"

"They have a lot of questions. There've been some very significant developments over the past couple of days. They want to be sure they have the whole story. Or, at least, the important parts of the whole story." She clasped his hand. "You did good, Auggie. Now try and be a good boy for the doctors and nurses. I'll stop by tomorrow to see how you're doing. Oh, look, here's Annie."

Auggie listened as the two sets of heels converged in the doorway.

"She's grinning like the cat that got the canary," Annie said, entering. "You on the other hand..."

Auggie scowled. "I don't need to be here."

"They want to make sure those drugs are completely out of your system before unleashing you on the world."

"Hmm. What if I promise not to drive?"

"I brought you a present," she said and dropped a bundle on his lap.

Auggie reached down to feel it. "A newspaper? Really, Annie?"

"Washington Post. Maybe your mood will improve if I read the headline.

"Whatever."

Annie grinned as she unfolded the paper. "'Surprise announcement: Henry Wilcox Withdraws Candidacy'"

Auggie sat up straight. He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Shall I go on?" Annie asked innocently?

"Do you really need to ask?"

"'Henry Wilcox, former CIA Director of Covert Services has withdrawn his candidacy for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Citing personal reasons, Wilcox refused to answer reporter questions as he left the State Department Tuesday... '"

To Be Continued...

Note: Only an epilogue and some historical notes left before this epic is done. All will be wrapped up before the Season 4 premiere.

Thanks for reading.