"Can we leave now? Hey!" Frank shouted as an engineer scooted past him, trying to hide behind a large rack of equipment.
"American tax dollars at waste." Hooter said, observing a group of pilots talking next to a coffee shop.
"Damn CIA." Parker muttered.
"What can I say?" Andrew said. "We've been here three hours and we're still not even close to leaving."
"Yeah. And it's not like we can go look around town….maybe at some colleges."
"That'd be a violation of order and protocol." Hooter said.
Frank frowned. "Right. Bradley would kill us if he knew."
"Or Ramsey." Hooter said.
"Cause we're supposed to be good guys and we're the shining example of America's law enforcement."
"We're the good guys." Hooter echoed.
They sat in silence.
"So you wanna do it anyway?"
"Sure, why not?"
***
"What the hell-" Frank said. They were behind some bushes, staring at the commotion that greeted them. The Eldridge campus was practically crawling with agents.
"I've never seen more suits before in my life." Hooter said, shaking his head. "A bit nerve-wracking."
"So how do we get in without the CIA chopping our heads off?" Frank asked, surveying the area.
"Mmm, there's a blind spot over there where the sprinkler system is. According to the blueprints, there's a door on the other side of the room that leads to the interior. There should be agents inside too, though."
Parker nodded. "There's about fifteen out here. I'm seeing four SUVs. Five or six in one car, there should be about ten agents inside."
Hooter shifted in his position crouched on the moist dirt. "They'll want to secure the dorms first. My guess is that they'll come in all big and bad, making a big noise, and they'll flush the operative out. Look at all the students going inside."
"So they're probably putting the students back into their dorms. And whoever isn't accounted for is their guy." Frank said. He nodded. "Come on."
They cast one more glance at the agents pooling on the lawn and started to sneak to the door. Frank was the first to reach it. He turned the knob and pulled the door open. Moments later it shut with a small click.
"All right, now uh…the door should be straight ahead." He said, blinking in the darkness. The only thing that illuminated their view was a small desk lamp sitting on a rickety old fold up table. It looked like it was going to collapse at any second. Another door to their left separated them from the pipes. 'Lead the way, Camp Leader." He muttered.
Charging ahead, Frank squinted in the dark and tried to find the door.
"I said straight ahead, not to the right." Hooter instructed. Parker turned to look at his friend.
"You wanna lead, Boy Scout?" He asked.
"Just get the direction right." He said, pointing forward. Frank saw a sliver of light peeking out from behind a tower of boxes and walked to it.
"See?" Frank said.
"Would you have found it if I hadn't told you it was right in front of you?"
"Let's just go."
***
"What do you mean, there's an engineering problem?" Bradley shouted into the phone.
"You get Parker back here right now!" Ramsey shouted, though not as loud.
"I'm sorry sir, but the mechanics are working their hardest." The voice said, sounding slightly nervous.
"Where's Agent Parker?" Bradley asked.
"He uh-I'll have someone get on it." He said.
"Forget it, I'll find him myself." Bradley punched the speakerphone button and cut the attendant off.
He dialed Frank's cell phone.
"Oh crap." Frank said as he raced to take his phone out and silence it. They were walking about the campus, avoiding agents here and there, led only by Frank's keen sense of direction and Hooter's instructions.
"Hurry up." Hooter whispered as they ducked into a room to avoid a passing man. It almost became a game. See how many people wearing headsets could be avoided.
"Wonderful." Hooter said, seeing what room they were in. "The computer lab."
"Parker." He said into the phone.
"Where the hell are you?" Ramsey yelled before Talmadge could say anything first.
"Frank, don't tell me you're where I think you are." Bradley said.
"Too late." Hooter muttered, overhearing the conversation.
"We're experiencing some technical difficulties." Bradley said. "Get the hell out of there. If they find you, the NSA is going to-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But they're doing it all wrong. You should see this, Bradley. They're rounding up kids like cattle and they've got agents running around with checklists."
"How many of them are there?" Bradley asked, taking a small interest.
"I'm not sure. About fifteen outside, maybe ten inside? There has to be more though. They're probably out in the town getting the students."
"Is Andrew there with you?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"Get him on the phone." Bradley said. Parker handed the phone to Hooter.
"Hooter, I want you to monitor the campus."
"With what? The CIA probably have the security feed locked already, in case the BKs are trying to watch."
"The CIA doesn't believe the group is responsible. They're trying to catch one person. Is there a way for you to monitor through the security cameras?" He asked.
"Well, I suppose…but that would take a lot of time."
"If we shouldn't be there, then we won't. but if we can monitor things from a distance, we will. Get on it."
Hooter handed the phone back to Parker and thought of his laptop sitting in the car.
"Frank, get out of there right now. They're going to get wind that our agent is still down there and they're going to be very mad."
"I hear ya, Bradley." Parker said, sighing.
"Come on, Hooter. Let's go." Parker peeked a head out the door and started to walk back the direction they came from.
He looked back for a second and didn't see Hooter.
"Hooter!" He whispered.
No answer.
Sighing, Parker walked back to their former position and turned the corner to enter the room.
"Aww, geez."
"We're lucky that they turned off the security cameras. If I want to patch into their security without setting off the CIA red alert, then I have to find some way to get inside." Hooter muttered, examining a computer.
"We're inside right now." Frank said. He poked a thumb out the door. "Can we go now?"
"Hold on. I just have to do something small…cause their system to shut down just long enough so I have time to slip in unnoticed."
"Hurry up." Parker said. He ducked inside and the door shut with a click as he heard a few people come down the hall.
"Done." Hooter said. "The wonders of technology. A few broken commands and we're in." Hooter returned the computer to it's former idle state and he and Parker left the room.
***
Sitting in the car, Hooter glanced cautiously out the window once in a while, wondering if the CIA really noticed the two figures in the car, parked in the middle of the parking lot.
"I'm in." He said, nodding. He closed his laptop.
"That's it?" Parker asked.
"That's it." Hooter confirmed. "Now what?"
"Well Bradley says that they're doing their best with repairs, but it'll be a few hours before they even get close to done."
"Let's get back to the air base." Frank said. "We can do more there."
"Yeah, and I don't want to be recognized in this town. There are agents everywhere."
***
"Maybe I should go and help them." Olga said, sitting in Bradley's office.
"They're fine." Bradley said.
"Well if I know Parker, he's either still in there making obscene gestures at the CIA or he's having a beer party with the dorm."
"He's fine. He's got Hooter there."
"That's what I'm afraid of." She said, her voice uncertain. 'Those two are like explosive chemicals. I think they'll be in more mischief than-"
"You think so, Olga? Cause the last thing we need here is another Parker." Ramsey said, shuddering at the thought.
"I'm just saying, Sir." She said.
Bradley nodded. 'I understand, but they're all right for now. If we find something further requiring your scientific expertise, we'll call."
Olga nodded. As she left the room she sighed.