1 week earlier - Medford, Oregon

Olivia was waiting impatiently in a large hangar with her new "friends". Earlier this day, Jeff had summoned all of them for a briefing about what he called "the big final". Olivia had spent enough time with Jeff and his gunmen to know that they were setting a big operation but she didn't know exactly what yet. Ever since she joined the group, they never had settled more than 4 days in a row. Jeff made them follow an itinerary that started in Milwaukee and she figured Medford was the last stop because they had spent already 2 weeks in Medford, which was unusual for them.

"Attention please!" Jeff ordered. When the silence fell in the room, he resumed "So this is it. The big final. Most of you don't know what this is about but tonight, all of you are gonna get an assignment for this one last operation." At this statement, the crowd began to stir and whispers grew louder and louder.

"Yes, yes it's gonna be the last operation. I know you all want to do more for the cause, but after the big final, we will have to disappear for a while. If everything goes right, the whole country will hear about us. Which means that the cops will track us down. We are more than forty now so we obviously won't be able to stick together and move out like we did until then. But don't worry, my friends. This is not the end of our action. This is a temporary break, just the time that the situation chills out, and until it's safe for us to reunite again. But let's not talk about that right now. Right now, we need to focus on our big final. Me and my most trustful men have been preparing this for months now. For more security, I'm gonna split you on little units. You'll get the details you need by your commander and you're not allowed to communicate those details with anyone but your team and myself, is that clear?" Nods. "The big final will take place on November the 3, which gives us exactly 18 days to prepare. We need equipment, we need a flawless action plan, and you all need to find a place to settle right after it's over… Okay, so now everybody listen to their assignment. Team A…"

As Jeff started to call everybody one by one, Olivia looked around to try to memorize who was assigned to which team. She was relieved when she noticed most of her friends were reunited in the same team, but became nervous as time passed and she still hadn't heard her name. Had Jeff decided to exclude her from the operation?

"… And finally, I'll lead the team E. And I'll have Dereck, Angela, Persephone and Chen by my side. That's it. Remember that from now, everything you hear about the operation must not be communicated outside your team. Let's work!" As teams started to gather, Olivia met Hope's eyes and smiled at her. Hope smiled back and joined her team. "My team, follow me please". With those words, Jeff disappeared into his office, Dereck and Chen already on his heels. Olivia quickly joined them and took a seat next to the others, waiting for Angela to join in. She gave a look at her watch. 9pm! Damn it, she was supposed to meet Porter at 9:30.

As Olivia scanned the room, she wondered what those people could possibly have in common that would explain why Jeff mixed them together. From what she knew by the rumors and by the record Porter gave her about her comrades, Olivia knew that the members of the team C were all good with explosives. Surely, she should be with them since Persephone James was known for the actions she led in New York. She turned her head to Dereck. Surely, she had nothing in common with this one. This monkey was only good to follow Jeff like a dog and hang around, his big gun in his hand. Must be compensating for something… But of course Jeff would want his gunman with him for his big final. But Chen? Olivia barely knew Chen and wondered why Jeff seemed to trust him enough to take him in his team. Indeed, Chen joined the group only two weeks ago, when they settled in the city. Maybe Jeff wanted to keep an eye on him? As for Angela, Olivia knew she was a strong headed woman, obsessed with animal's rights. She used to witness horrible things when she worked for a chicken slaughterhouse years ago. The rumor said that one night, she had had enough so she opened all the cages and disappeared. From what Olivia knew about Angela, she could tell the rumor was true. Plus, she heard that story on the news 2 years ago. What help could she provide here?

"Nervous?" Dereck spout at her as he noticed Olivia zoning out.

"Speak for yourself" Olivia shot back, eyes narrowing.

"Enough!" Jeff ordered as Angela finally took place. Jeff closed the door behind her, cleared his throat and started to speak.

"Congratulations guys! You're part of the elite squad." Olivia smiled at that. She knew what an elite squad looked like and right now, the five of them looked nothing like an elite squad. Dereck met her gaze and she quickly swiped that smile off her face and turned her attention back to Jeff. "Our last target is nothing but the one and only Medtex pharmaceutical industry".

"You mean that building 3 blocks away?" Angela asked.

"This one" Jeff confirmed.

"So what is it gonna be?" Dereck asked, a little too enthusiastic. "A sitting? A break-in?"

"Are we gonna free the pigs they keep there for their tests like we did in that laboratory in Nebraska?" Angela asked. "That was awesome".

"Easy guys. We have enough work to deal with to care about that" Jeff said. When he was met by burning eyes from Angela, he added "that's what the other teams are for". As Angela relaxed, Jeff continued. "We, however, have more important business to deal with. We are going to meet the president of Medtex and… teach him life."

"The president?" Olivia asked confused. "How are we gonna do that?". That sounded impossible.

"Every one of you have been selected for this mission for a reason. You all have valuable assets that will be very useful that night". With those words, he licked his bottom lip and gazed at Olivia's breast. She crossed her arms uncomfortably and forced a smile. Then Jeff met Chen's eyes and sat as Chen got up.

"Okay" Chen spoke for the first time. "For those who don't know me yet, I'm Chen. And contrary to what you think, I'm not a newbie. I've been working here for Jeff for 3 months now." Olivia couldn't believe her ears. This operation was planned for longer than what she thought. "Well, officially I've been working for Andrew Harper, the president of Medtex, as a bodyguard. He trusts me now. I give him some piece of advice every once in a while, about who he should or shouldn't deal with. Every Wednesday night, when there is no one left in the office, he takes care of his uh… side activities. He is currently working on a new drug but the CDC didn't give him green light because the results are not good enough. Harper's losing money. He needs to move up a gear and take his experiments to the next level. So I convinced him to meet a guinea pig seller."

"… That would be you Angela." Angela nodded and Jeff continued. "Dereck, you'll watch the door. If necessary, Chen will introduce you as a security agent under his command. And I'll be Angela's bodyguard."

"What about me?" Olivia asked.

"You'll step in later. We can't burst in all in the same time. It would be too suspicious. First, Angela earns Harper's trust. When Chen, Angela, Harper and I will be alone in his office, we will subdue him. Then I'll stay alone with him to take care on him. That's when you make your appearance. You'll have a dozen explosives to make and Angela and Chen will help you place them. Our action will be all over the news." Jeff's evil smile gave Olivia goosebumps. "We're gonna give them the biggest fireworks they ever saw."

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It's not a chapter I really like, it was quite hard for me to write it but I wanted to put Jeff forward and introduce Angela and Chen. Next chapter in a couple days.