Author's Note: Phew! This is the last pre-takedown chapter, and if you've noticed any horrible plot holes, I apologise in advance! I really don't like writing casefic stuff like this, because the amount of planning and knowledge it takes is more than I like to give in terms of plotting and research. But since I set myself up for this, I'm doing my best. Hopefully the next chapter will be the last really hard one, but I'm not sure how long it will take me to write, especially since I burned myself out by writing so much earlier in the month.
But I almost have Jeller back in the same place! That's very exciting for me, as a writer. :)
Her stomach full of nervous butterflies, Jane checked the magazine of her HK416 one last time. It was finally time to get going, and she was both excited and terrified—excited, because she'd be able to leave Shepherd behind, one way or the other, and terrified that her friends and co-workers would die.
The week had been interminably long, and being in command of the drills at the warehouse, teaching Aurora's people how to more effectively gain the upper hand over the people she cared about, had taken a heavy toll on her mental state. Her dark mood had helped to sell her credibility as Remi, however—she'd channelled her helplessness and impatience into irritability, chewing out any one of Shepherd's chosen team who put a foot wrong during the drills.
She'd had no choice. Shepherd had been observing her for the first few runs, and she'd been unable to modify the strategy she'd told her mother she was going to use. As much as she hated it, she'd drilled the enemy into confidence and precision, and that was going to make the FBI's counter-attack so much harder. Jane could only hope that the early warning Roman had given Kurt would balance against the advantage she'd given Aurora's people.
Armed and restless, she headed into Shepherd's office. "All set."
Shepherd gave her a fierce smile. "It's good to see you looking so eager to go. We've all been waiting for this moment for so long."
Yeah, I'm eager to go. Just not for the reasons you think. I'll be happy to never come back to this damn compound.
"I think our people are as ready as I could make them," she said. "But I still don't see why I have to be sidelined like this. If I go in with Parker's squad, the agents who recognise me will hesitate before shooting. It'll give us an extra advantage."
"I need you with me. Weller can't be in the building when it comes down. By the time the shooting starts, I want him unable to get back into the vicinity to help his people. That's where you come in. After that, I'll need someone watching my back, and there's no one I trust more than my own daughter."
Jane chafed at the idea of the fighting going on without her. "What if something goes wrong? We won't be able to get in there to help, and Roman's gonna be in there."
"Roman's part of the sub-basement team. He'll be in the least amount of danger. I don't want to take any chances with either of you today. Tomorrow is too important."
"Haven't you remembered by now that getting Shepherd to change her mind is a pointless exercise?" Roman asked, from the doorway. "I wanted to be in the thick of it, too, but she told me no, as well."
"At least you get to go in at all," Jane grumbled, turning to look at him. "I wanted to see if I could get Nigel out, but I've been overruled."
"Nigel Thornton earned his fate. He almost put our mission in jeopardy. I won't reward him for that." Shepherd's tone carried an edge that warned Jane that the discussion was over.
Now that she was done bitching about the things Remi was certain to have hated about the mission, Jane went quiet.
Roman came further into the room, to gaze out of the window at the teams assembling by the front of the building. He was outfitted in a bulletproof vest like her own—plain khaki, with no insignia—and he was just as heavily armed as she and Shepherd were.
"Think that's the last of them," he said. "You got your motivational speech all ready to go?"
Shepherd smiled. "Yes. But first, I have one for you two."
Jane and Roman exchanged a quick glance, as Roman came to stand by his sister's side. It was hard to tell, but she thought she detected a little amusement in his expression.
"Remi and Roman," Shepherd said, looking from one of her children to the other, "I'm so proud of both of you. We're standing on the edge of a defining moment in our country's history, and I couldn't ask for a better family to share it with. We've had some setbacks along the way, and some arguments, but we've come through stronger, and it means the world to me to have your assistance today—both of you."
"We couldn't have done any of it without you, Shepherd," Jane said, putting as much sincerity as she could into the words. "Thank you for everything."
Shepherd hugged her as tightly as their body armour would allow, then did the same to Roman, her eyes a little misty. "Come on. Let's get everything underway."
Jane tried not to grind her teeth as she followed their mother outside, Roman trailing behind her. She wondered if he was similarly irritated, or whether he was so used to Shepherd's more grandiose moments that he just rolled his eyes and moved on.
Maybe when this was all over, she could ask him.
Parker was waiting with the alpha and beta point teams, and Roman joined the sub-basement team nearby. A hush fell over the group as Shepherd approached. Jane leaned against one of the vehicles nearby and watched.
Shepherd gave another speech, which Jane did her best to look as though she was absorbing and relating to. It was more of the same—a little less personal, but all about the importance of the day and how Shepherd knew they'd be equal to the tasks that she'd set them.
"Say your goodbyes and get into your assigned vehicles for transport. Let's move out," Shepherd concluded, and beckoned to Parker, Roman and Jane.
"Well, guess this is it," Parker said, as they converged. He gave Jane a chilly smile—she'd always sensed he didn't like her, but wasn't sure if he'd felt the same before she'd taken the ZIP. She hadn't attempted to build any kind of comradeship with him, and he hadn't reached out, either. Maybe he was jealous because her return to the fold had effectively demoted him a rank amongst Shepherd's people.
"Don't let your guard down," she warned him, while mentally wishing for the exact opposite. "You know the battlefield now, but the actual enemy are wildcards."
"We'll cope. Worry about your own mission."
Oh, I intend to. Don't worry about that.
Shepherd took Parker aside for final instructions, while Jane and Roman looked at each other.
"Think we're ready for this?" Jane asked, knowing the question would sound innocent enough to anyone who overheard, but that Roman would understand what she meant.
"If we're not, we never will be." He let his anxiety show, just for a second, then shut it down. "Wish me luck?"
Jane gave him a quick, affectionate hug, trying not to allow her fear for her brother to the surface. "Don't you dare die on me now. Not after everything we've been through."
"Same to you. You're out of the line of fire, but don't let your guard down, just in case." He gave her a small smile. "See you back here in a few hours."
Well, that won't be happening. If Jane had anything to say about it, she'd be spending tonight at home with Kurt, and Roman would be set up in a safehouse nearby.
As Parker headed towards his SUV, calling an order to his teams, Shepherd said a few quiet words to Roman, then gestured to Jane. "Let's go."
Touching her brother's arm one last time on the way past, Jane followed Shepherd to her vehicle and got into the passenger seat. Be careful, Roman.
Before Shepherd got into the SUV, Jane leaned down and activated the tracker tucked into her sock, next to her ankle. Hope you can track this, Kurt. I get the feeling I'm gonna need backup to take down Shepherd.
"Jane's tracker just came online!" Patterson called.
Oh, thank god.
Kurt crossed to Patterson's side, watching the GPS marker moving across the map on the main Zero Division screen. "Looks like she's leaving the compound now. Hopefully Roman will activate his tracker soon, too, so we can get a sense of when they're in position."
"Get Reade and Zapata on the line?" Nas suggested, her whole body tense.
Patterson tapped something into her tablet, and Reade's voice came from it. "What's the word?"
"Shepherd's on the move. Be ready to move in on the ambulance within the next hour," Kurt said.
"Copy that. You guys okay?" Reade asked.
"A little nervous," Patterson confessed. "I wish we'd been able to give our people more of a heads-up, but without knowing whether Shepherd has more moles in SIOC, it's been difficult."
A new marker blipped onto the map, a few yards behind Jane's.
"There's Roman," Nas said. "It's all going to plan so far."
"We'll start getting all of our agents geared up for a fake incident in the city in thirty minutes. Shepherd will be sending in a couple of her people to jam our signals before her main teams move in, so when she does, that's when we tell everyone the truth. By then, it'll be too late for her to abort the mission, if there is another mole in SIOC." I hope, Kurt thought.
"That's smart," Zapata said. "We'll move quick and quiet, as soon as we see Roman's tracker turn off. If we wait for your word but then the comms go out, we could miss your signal, and Shepherd could launch the missile early."
"Is Keaton back in the country?" Reade asked.
"Yeah—he got back this morning. Someone shot his daughter, Erin, in the arm yesterday. Even if we hadn't gotten word to him that he should come back, that would have done the trick." Despite what he'd done to Jane, Kurt couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Keaton—though far more so for his teenage daughter, who was completely innocent and should never have been made a part of this.
"Are the CIA actually gonna help us out, or just stand by and watch?" Zapata asked dryly.
Nas sighed. "They won't be able to get in the building when the attack starts. Shepherd's people will lock it down when they get inside. And having teams mobilised to help at any of the attack sites means the risk of alerting more Sandstorm moles. If they can get to the sites as soon as Patterson's email blast warns each one of the imminent attack, they're welcome to help hunt down the enemy there." She shook her head. "They should count themselves lucky they're out of this one. Of course, Keaton doesn't see it that way."
"He's under strict orders to stay the hell with his daughter, and away from Manhattan entirely. He knows what happened last time Jane saw him. I'm not having a repeat of that." Kurt forced himself to relax—as much as it was possible for anyone to do that, this close to the commencement of a critical operation. "Things look calm over there?"
"No change. Good luck today. Sorry we can't be there to help fend off Sandstorm," Zapata said.
"Taking control of the nuclear threat is way more important, guys. I know we wanted to switch the beacon out for a dummy, but it was way too risky. And hey, at least you got a long weekend in DC, right?" Patterson said.
"Sure, it's been super fun babysitting a nuke for three days. Not tense at all," Reade quipped.
"Good luck to you all, too," Nas said.
"From all of us," Kurt added. "We've got things to prepare, so we'll get in touch when it's all over."
"Copy that." Zapata ended the call.
Kurt, Patterson and Nas looked at each other, tension radiating from them. There wasn't much more to do but wait for Jane's word—Roman had told Kurt she would have to 'lure him' from the building before Shepherd's plan went into action. But Kurt wanted to triple-check everything anyway.
"Patterson, you and Pellington are commanding things here. Nas, you sure you still want to be my backup?"
"And be in on Shepherd's arrest? Wouldn't miss it for the world."
Nas' eyes glinted, and he recognised the same need for revenge as he felt. This was personal for both of them, for different reasons. Nas sought closure for the incident that had led to her losing three team members to a Sandstorm mole. Kurt needed to take down the organisation that had controlled his life and plotted to place him in a position of power he'd never wanted—not to mention get justice for Mayfair, and bring Jane home, where she belonged.
A thought occurred to him, and he frowned at Patterson. "If Sandstorm are about to block all signals in and out of the building, how will Shepherd get access to your system?"
"There are two or three different options," Patterson began, and launched into an explanation so technical that Kurt was lost after the first three words.
"You know what? Just put it in the report," he interrupted wearily, and Patterson halted her tirade with a small smile.
They worked out a couple of last-minute details, Kurt's eyes straying to Jane's map marker every few seconds. He was impatient to get started, needing to bring this chapter of his life to a close as soon as possible.
Then, just as he thought he'd start losing his mind if the waiting stretched out any further, his phone buzzed. An unfamiliar number lit up the screen.
"Think this is it," he said to Patterson, who nodded and started making preparations to trace the call.
Taking deep breath, Kurt answered the call. "Kurt Weller."
"Kurt, it's me."
Even knowing that this was a call Shepherd had asked her to make, his heart still skipped at the sound of Jane's voice after all this time. She sounded stressed, but that was no surprise. Shepherd would want that to be part of her act.
"Jane! Are you okay? Where are you?" He played up his surprise a little for Shepherd's benefit, but the urgency and concern in his voice were unfeigned. Every cell in his body was screaming at him to get to her.
Jane spun her cover story convincingly—if he hadn't known she was faking it, he would have believed every word. "They keep injecting me with muscle relaxants so I can't fight, but I managed to steal one guy's phone. I'm, uh… I know I'm on the sixty-first floor because I saw the marker on the elevator when they first brought me up here." She described what she could see—or more likely, what a Sandstorm operative had earlier been able to see—from the window of the room Shepherd wanted him lured to. "I—oh, god, he must have figured out his phone is missing. Please, come now."
"On my way," Kurt said, but the line was already dead—just before Patterson could trace it, from the expression on her face. Not that it mattered. Jane's tracker already showed her location, and presumably Shepherd's.
"Where does Shepherd want you to go, and what does she have planned for you there?" Nas mused, almost to herself.
Patterson was already narrowing it down from the landmarks Jane had given them. "Here we go." She gave them the address. "Far enough away from here that you won't be able to get back in time, after the attack starts…and the side of the building Shepherd wants you on, from the upper floors, has a great view of our building."
"So I'll be able to see it collapse when it comes down. While staying out of the danger zone." Kurt gritted his teeth.
"Shepherd wants you to appreciate her handiwork," Nas said. "That fits her psychological profile."
"Well, she can keep wanting. Let's go get her." Kurt touched Patterson on the shoulder on his way past. "Good luck."
"You, too," Patterson said, with a forced smile that didn't quite hide her anxiety. "I'll give it five minutes, then start gearing people up."
There was nothing else he could do here, and Jane's 'please, come now' had been a clear signal, even with Shepherd listening. She'd need backup as soon as Shepherd realised the agents in SIOC had been warned of the attack, and Kurt intended to be there as soon as he could.
He and Nas grabbed M4 rifles and tactical vests from the armoury, and were out of the building within five minutes.
"They could be watching," Nas cautioned. "We should drive a couple of minutes towards the location Jane gave us, then head for her actual location."
Kurt hated the idea of driving in the opposite direction to where he knew Jane would be, but he had to admit that Nas was right.
As he pulled out of the parking garage, he thought back over the video message he'd recorded for his agents in SIOC, to inform them about the Sandstorm threat.
I'm sorry I can't be here in person for this. You've all geared up for a threat that isn't actually real, but there's a reason for that, and it's much closer to home.
Most of you will have noticed that my main team have been working partly on a classified project over the past few months, in a restricted area of SIOC. Agent Nas Kamal of the NSA brought us intel about who sent Jane to us in that bag—a terrorist group that we've codenamed Sandstorm. They plan to overthrow the US government, and their leader is an ex-Army Major General. This has all been meticulously planned, and has a very real chance of success.
Jane was meant to be a Trojan horse that Sandstorm could then turn to work against us from the inside. Instead, we sent her to the enemy, to find out more about the attack they've been planning. She was told to fake her own abduction and leave the FBI six weeks ago, and that's where she's been, gathering intel on their plans. The only reason you weren't aware of this earlier is because we couldn't be sure there aren't enemy moles in the building. Dr. Robert Borden turned out to be working for Sandstorm. We'll give you all the details later.
The first part of Sandstorm's main attack starts within the next few minutes, and it's here, in SIOC. The leader of Sandstorm—Ellen Briggs, a.k.a. Shepherd—will be sending teams to infiltrate our building, and they already know SIOC's layout. To maintain her cover, Jane has had no choice but to teach the enemy the most effective way to take us down, in a warehouse set up to look exactly like our SIOC. Borden passed measurements, floorplans and photographs to Sandstorm, and they've built an exact replica of our workspace. Assume that they know the building just as well as we do.
Sandstorm's aim is to access the DHS intranet from Patterson's computer system. They want to override security on every major federal building in the country, send their teams in with explosives, and bring those buildings down. Then they plan to do it to this building, too. Jane's brother, Roman, will have sabotaged the bombs meant for us here, but that doesn't change the fact that Shepherd's forces will be here soon.
I know this is last-minute, but we couldn't risk tipping off Shepherd sooner. She has enough nuclear material in Washington, DC to irradiate the entire Eastern Seaboard, causing up to a hundred million deaths. She plans to detonate it tomorrow, when Congress is meeting in DC to discuss the attacks she's planning to carry out today.
As you watch this, Nas and I are on our way to back up Jane against Shepherd, and Agents Reade and Zapata are working with the NSA to neutralise the nuclear threat. This is a sketch of Roman, the Sandstorm member Jane has turned. He's to be considered an ally. Without him, we'd have very little idea what Sandstorm's plans are. Patterson will be sending agents to the sub-basement to back him up against the rest of the team he's been sent in with.
SIOC staff with little to no field experience, please, don't be heroes. Shelter under your desks when the attack begins. Let the experienced field agents handle the combat.
They have knowledge of the battlefield, but you have advance warning now, and with smoke grenades and the element of surprise, you can keep the upper hand. Good luck, everyone. You can do this.
Kurt hated to leave his people to face the threat on their own, especially with so little time to prepare, or to absorb the information he'd relayed in the video. But he had no choice. Bringing down Shepherd was vital to national security, and they had to do it today.
"We're not being tailed," Nas said, her voice tense. "Let's go end this."
Kurt turned at the next intersection and headed towards the location where Jane's map marker had come to rest. She and Shepherd were in a building that was closed for renovations, only a couple of blocks from the NYO—in the opposite direction from the way the skyscraper would topple, if its support pillars were blown to bits, making it a safe hideout from which to command the operation and access Patterson's systems remotely. Shepherd had planned everything down to the last detail.
Only she hadn't bet on the tracker Jane was carrying, which broadcast their position directly to Kurt. She hadn't bet on Jane's resilience or her love for her team, or the line that Roman and Borden would refuse to cross.
Kurt couldn't help a grim smile as he approached the site of their forthcoming confrontation. I'm almost there, Jane. Hang in there.