Scene Twenty-Three
(D-day) Cars pull up. Jarod is at the door, gun at side.
"Let's move." Jarod gets in his car. They follow him out to the Centre. He is wearing a jacket with a two-way radio on the shoulder. He stops about a half-mile form the Centre and looks at his watch. 9:50. "Stay back until my signal" he says into the radio.
"Copy that" says Foster. Jarod carefully sneaks up to the Centre's wall on the north side. He creeps along the wall looking for sweepers. He turns to the corner to the east wall and slides to the doors. He looks at his watch. 10:00. He opens the door slowly and sees Angelo with the baby. He smiles. He opens the door enough to let them out. "Where's the rest?"
"SL-20."
"Where's Alex?"
"SL-27."
"Okay. Go to my car over there and wait." He points and sends him away. Jarod sneaks into the building and sets the door to stay open. "I'm in. Proceed with caution."
"Copy" says Johnson. Jarod quietly runs to the stairs and runs down to SL-26 and pulls out his gun. He opens the manhole into SL-27 and immediately Alex lunges out of the hole. Jarod notices a homemade vest Alex is wearing with wires sticking out and a timer on it as they wrestle around, fighting. Alex had built a bomb.
"Oh no!" says Jarod was he sees the timer says 1 minute, 20 seconds. Jarod is able to hit Alex hard enough to get free. He tries to run but Alex lunges at him. Jarod has no choice but to shoot Alex in the leg to get free. Alex screams in pain, he has his voice back. He looks at the bomb before he runs, 1 minute. Jarod runs up the stairs.
"Abort! Abort! There's a bomb!" he yells into the radio.
"Copy. Get out of there Jarod!" yells Malone. Zoom to the bomb, 20 seconds. Jarod makes it to the door and is almost to his car when...BOMB! The whole ground shakes and Jarod falls to the ground to see glass shattering everywhere, bricks falling like leaves. Fire bursting out of the Centre in any space that is available. Zane runs to Jarod and tries to help him up but Jarod just lays there and sighs.
"Get the fire department here!" yells Tolkan.
A few hours later...
Jarod is walking through the still smothering debris.
"We don't have to do this now if you don't want to," says Tracer.
"Yes...we do" says Jarod.
"You know that if someone else could ID the bodies we would get him or her," says Zane.
"I know."
"Here's one!" yells Fox. Jarod sighs and walks over.
"That's Parker." He walks to another one. "And that's Lyle."
"Over here" says Johnson. Jarod walks over. "There appears to be three here." Jarod studies them."
"The triumvirate." He notices another. "Willy." He walks forward to see pieces of a body and closes his eyes for a little while, so as not to get sick. "That's what's left of Raines. He oxygen tank didn't help him this time." Jarod ID's the tower next.
"Last one over here." Jarod walks over, almost sick to his stomach. He looks at the remains of the last body.
"I'm assuming that Alex." He says looking at bomb remains next to it. Jarod walks to his car, taking deep breaths. "That wasn't how it was supposed to end." He walks to Angelo who is holding the baby who is starting to cry which is making him cry. Jarod picks up the baby and hold it. "It's okay. It's all going to be okay now." He looks at the baby and smiles, which causes the baby to stop crying. Jarod laughs and holds the baby close. The agents walk up to him.
"You'll make him a good father," says Malone. Jarod turns to face them. He smiles. He hadn't thought about that.
"Thanks."
"Do you want to tell the rest of should one of us?" Asks Foster.
"I better do it."
"Okay. Jarod, we decided that it would be best if the Centre and what it did didn't go public. We can cover what happened here."
"What about the money they made?"
"We'll give it to you and you can do what you want with it," says Johnson.
"All right." They are silent for a while. Zane walks forward.
"Well, I guess we'll get going." Jarod smiles and gives her a hug. He shakes hands with the rest.
"Thanks guys." Some smile, others nod.
"Bye Jarod," says Malone.
"Bye." They walk away to the wreckage to clean up. Jarod sets the baby, who has fallen asleep in his arms, in the car seat he had placed in the back earlier. He shuts the door and walks to the driver's side. Angelo gets in the passenger side and Jarod sits and starts the car.
"Are we going to see Sydney now?"
"Not just yet. I have to take care of a few things." He smiles. They drive off.
