Again with the delay and again my apologies. I hope you enjoy.
Mac and Jack were waiting outside of the hospital when Sarah pulled up in a standard issue black SUV with tinted windows.
"Subtle," Jack commented as the two men got in. Sarah rolled her eyes, but chose to ignore Jack.
"We caught a break," the woman said. "We've been monitoring Nikki's lines of communication and we got lucky. There's going to be a meeting at a small church near Julian."
At the name of the small town, Mac looked up. Jack caught his eye and nodded in understanding. What was Nikki playing at? Jack was sure that the bitch was playing mind games with Mac again, but he did not know why. Jack understood...Julian was the town where Mac and Nikki liked to go to stay in Mac's grandfather's old cabin. Mac returned the questioning glance with a bland, non-committal look.
"Who's she meeting with?" Jack asked.
"No idea," Sarah answered, "All we know is that something big is in the works, and your friend, Nikki," she glanced back at Mac, "is in the middle of it all."
Jack was about to snap at Sarah for the snide remark when he felt Mac's hand on his shoulder. He looked back to acknowledge Mac's slight shake of the head – it was just not worth it.
The meeting location turned out to be a small, rustic church just outside of town. Mac knew this location well, and a fresh spout of pain burned through his heart; he had always thought that someday...just maybe, he and Nikki...Mac shook his head in an effort to clear it of the unwelcome thoughts. He took a deep breath, "So now what?"
"We wait," said Sarah, her voice tight with tension. Eyes hard and professional, Mac, Jack, and Sarah, chose their spots to keep an eye on as many entrances as possible and prepared to wait.
Mac was lost in his own thoughts, when he heard the distinctive sounds of a car driving up the gravel road. He quickly signaled to the other two agents. Quietly, Mac made his way to the entrance of the church to wait for Nikki.
He did not need to wait long. In a few minutes, she walked in. As always, Mac had to remember to breathe – no matter what he had tried, his body and his heart still remembered what they had had. "Hello," Nikki called out, apparently oblivious to the agents.
"Hi, Nikki," Mac said dryly as he came around to face her.
"Hi Mac," Nikki almost managed a conversational tone. She took a step toward the other agent, but was prevented from going further by Jack. He stepped in front of Mac with his weapon drawn and pointed at Nikki. Sarah also stepped toward the other woman with her gun at the ready.
Caught between the two agents, Nikki stopped dead. "Alpha, Bravo, seven, three, Zulu, Gamma, two, niner," she called out.
Confused Mac looked around; his confusion grew when he saw what Sarah and Jack were doing. "What are you doing," he yelled when he saw them lowering their weapons.
"Something is going on here, Mac," Jack answered, his brow furrowed. "It seems that she's...," he took a breath and shook his head as if to clear it, "...that our girl Nikki is...,"
"...is one of ours," Sarah finished.
Confused, Mac looked from Jack to Sarah and back again. "How's that again?," he asked.
"That code is an emergency code for deep cover agents," Sarah explained as she put the safety back on her gun. She walked up to Nikki and grabbing her by the front of her shirt, shook her, "OK, talk," she commanded.
Nikki took a breath and cast an apologetic look at Mac. "Mac...I am so so...," she did not finish.
"You're talking to me," Sarah reminded her with another hard shake.
"Ok, OK," Nikki said raising her hands as if in surrender. Sarah loosed her hold and Nikki walked over and perched on one of the pews. "About sixteen months ago, I was approached by a CIA task force. The lead, Steven Johns, became my handler. He told me that they believed that there was a mole at the highest level of the Phoenix Foundation and he needed my help to find it. He had proof and documentation, but no idea who it could be."
Jack and Mac exchanged looks and Nikki chucked. "No. You two were never suspects. Not high enough and I know both of your proclivities to be Boy Scouts."
Jack's eye brows raised all the way to high hair line...it had been a long time since anybody accused him of being something that wholesome.
Nikki continued, "In any case. The more we dug, the more we figured out that this as not something specific to Phoenix. There was an entire network of high powered people in very influential positions across all the intelligence organizations that operated above and outside the law; we were never sure of their purpose other than profit."
Jack was nodding. "Money is a pretty powerful motive," he said. "Maybe this...this...'Organization' just wants to make money."
"Maybe," Sarah agreed, thoughtfully "but there is something more. There is chatter that makes us suspect, but nothing concrete enough to even give us a clue of what it may be."
"That's what Cory was working on..," Mac said and the others nodded. Mac looked back at Nikki. "And that night...," he did not finish the question.
"Steven ordered me to help steal the virus to prove my loyalty." "Prove your loyalty to whom?" Jack asked, dubiously.
"To 'The Organization'," Nikki responded. Sarah was nodding.
"And when you proved your loyalty, what did you find?"
"Not a whole hell of a lot," Nikki replied. "They are crazy paranoid and I ave just recently got onto the trail of one of them."
"Who?," Mac asked.
"I only know him as Chrysalis."
"This is a great story Jack interrupted. Where is your proof? All this should be sanctioned by your handler. Where is he?"
"Dead," Nikki replied flatly. "He died in a car accident last week." She looked around. "It wasn't an accident."
"Do you really expect us to believe this," Jack pushed. "What evidence do you have?"
Nikki ignored Jack and focused on Mac. "I do have evidence, " she said, eyes flaring angrily. She looked at Mac, "'You know where it is, don't you?"
And suddenly, Mac knew. "The cabin," he said. "My grandfather's cabin is up here," he clarified for Sarah. We...," he did not finish as his cell phone rang.
Mac checked the caller and ID and picked up. "Yes," he said. "What did you find?"
Jack watched his friend's face as it became grim. Mac nodded, "OK. Thank you. Can you keep this quiet for a bit? Thanks. I owe you."
At the inquiring looks Mac took deep breath. "They identified the substance that guy was trying to inject into Cory's IV...it was Botulinum toxin."
"Botu..what?," Jack asked? "Do you mean, Botulism?" When Mac nodded ascent, Jack whistled. "That's pretty serious stuff. Can't it kill like a million people with one drop?"
"Hundreds, " Mac corrected, "but, yeah. That's the stuff."
"That's not something you can just buy at the market," Jack continued. "This is some serious spy craft."
"I agree with Jack," Sarah said. "Only somebody with connections to an intelligence operation would be able to get it." She and Jack locked eyes, sharing one thought, but it was Mac who voiced what they did not want to say.
"Cory does know something," Mac said bleakly. "And whatever it is, somebody wants to make sure it dies with her."
Some elements of the show with a twist. Please let me know what you thought by leaving a review. As always thank you for taking the time.