As promised, here is the J/J encounter. Although it is not long, it is the turning point to this story. Hope you enjoy it. Again, a hard chapter to write. If I am missing anything, let me know. Thanks! See you next week!
Harry101: Well…you'll get your answer here, won't you? ;)
TJ12398: Girl, I'm hoping you aren't taking any pills like Jessie was? That would be horrible! Man, I can't believe I watched that show. It was one of those—It's so bad, it's good. Kind of like Full House. Actually, that show was pretty bad, I only watched it because of John Stamos. He was, and still is, HOT! :))
Guest: Collision delivered! Have fun reading!
Jdcocoagirl: Well, let's see if you are right, my friend…
Playlist:
Running that Hill: Placebo
Daft Punk: The Game Has Changed
Daft Punk: Fall
Chapter 13
The Doctor left the Master's office as casually as he could before making his way to his office. Once there, he picked up the phone and dialed his assigned assassin. He kept calling the number three, four times, but the agent would not answer the cellphone. Frustrated, the doctor slammed the phone. Then, he tried to control himself. He told the agent that he would not contact him, but he didn't think the kid wouldn't pick up the phone. He picked up the phone again. Maybe he was at a point where he couldn't answer the phone? The doctor sighed with frustration, "Damn it!" he whispered as he put the phone down once again. "Where the hell are you kid?"
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It was a beautiful ballroom. That was what Claire thought as she walked in. She saw elegantly decorated room with crystal chandeliers. The windows around the rectangular room draped in luxurious fabric. Each of the round tables held huge centerpieces filled with natural flowers and candles. The stage was breathtaking. A long rectangular table decorated with smaller versions of the center pieces sat across the stage. The podium was decorated as well with flowers and the seal of the UN nations. There was a balcony on the second floor of the ballroom. It was closed, but Claire imagine how much more beautiful the room would look if the light and the second floor was as fully decorated as the first floor. A band played lovely instrumental songs from across the room.
Women were dressed in the most gorgeous gowns she had ever seen and the men all dressed in very classy tuxedos, but no one looked better than the man standing next to her, "This is beautiful!" she said looking at Hadji, "Thank you for tonight."
He smiled shyly, "Thank you for being my date. Please do not leave my side tonight. I am afraid these people will expect me to be as social as my father."
"You'll do fine Hadji," he suddenly heard Jessie walk behind them. "What table are we in?"
"Table five," Claire said as turned to Jessie. "How about we find the table?"
"How about if you guys find the table," Jessie answered with a small smile, "I'm going to go mingle a bit."
"Who are you going to mingle with?" Hadji asked. "We do notknow anyone here."
"That's why we should mingle," Jessie smiled back, "I'll see you guys in a bit. Oh, Claire, you should mingle too. We should treat this as a networking event. You never know who we might work with in the future."
After Jessie excused herself, Hadji turned to her Claire, "What is going on?"
"What do you mean?" she asked as naturally as she could.
Hadji looked at his date with question, "You actually believe that I can be that naïve?
"You are not naïve," she gently shook her head. "Jessie's just…networking."
"Aha," he answered slowly and obviously not believing a word, "Whatever it is you too are up to, please make sure you do not cause any‒"
"Don't worry Hadji," she gently touched his chest, "We would never embarrass you or ourselves. Truthfully, Jessie is just networking to find…answers."
"Answers to what?" he countered before he suddenly stopped himself, "Let me guess. She wants to find anything that she can about Jonny."
He wasn't completely wrong and she wouldn't be lying answering his question, "Actually, yes…something like that."
"We need to speak to her Claire," he sighed, "I do not want Jessie to getting obsessed again over trying to find him."
"Obsessed?"
"She physically exhausted herself last time trying to find him," he replied with concern. "I just do not want any more false hopes."
Claire thought hard about telling him what she knew so far, what she and Jessie planned and who might show up tonight. Instead, she offered a small smile, "No false hopes. Let her be, she needs this tonight. We can talk to her tomorrow. How about we find we find that table?"
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Master thought for a moment of what he would do. He had heard that Quest was now looking for someone specific, someone who was now on his payroll. He had no doubt that Quest would connect the dots at some point. Picking up the phone, he dialed the one person who could help him.
From the phone he heard, "I'm listening,"
"Did you accomplish your mission in Berlin?"
"Yes. On my way to the pick-up point." The voice said.
"Continue on to pick up point. You will be rerouted to Madrid. There you will be followed by two men. All information about them and what they look like will be provided on flight. I want you to send them on a wild goose chase all over Spain for the next three days. Do you understand?"
"I understand," he heard the voice say.
"After three days, you will return to the pick-up point. Do you understand?"
"I understand," the voice on the other line said without any emotion or any care as to why he was doing what he was ordered to do.
The Master continued giving orders without further explanations to his agent, "Do not get caught. Avoid them at all costs, but make your presence known."
"I won't."
"Do not fail me," the Master firmly stated.
"I will not Master."
The Master hung up. He then dialed his contact in Madrid.
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Jessie made her way around the ballroom. At first trying to find the person she would keep tabs on, but then her goal became trying to see if she'd find Jonny in the crowd. "I'm crazy. Why would Jonny parade around a bunch of people who know his father?" she muttered to herself.
The room filled quickly. Jessie estimated at least three hundred and fifty people walking around. Would it be so hard to find Jonny walking among them? Or, would he hide somewhere around? She thought of the latter. She looked around, but found no place he could basically hide. If he was there, he was in the ballroom.
"Focus, Bannon. Focus," she whispered to herself. She had to find the possible targets. Only then would she find him.
She looked at the stage. Standing by the podium stood a possible target, "Okay, I have one. Claire, I found Astore. He's on stage….Claire, can you hear me?"
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From the prompt corner of the stage, DR128 stood surprised that the red head was a mere few feet away from him. "What is she doing here?" he whispered to himself before retreating farther back to hide. Something was definitely going on and that woman had something to do with it.
Not wanting to be seen, he had to find another way to complete his assignment. He thought about leaving the post, but that would be a bad idea. He was already checking in every ten minutes or so, if he missed check in, he'd raise suspicion. He had to think of something fast. Quickly, he peeked out again to see where the woman was. She was looking at the stage. She was looking at his target.
He had to think really, really fast.
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"Any luck?" Race asked as he walked into Benton's room. He found the doctor hovered over his laptop reading the screen.
Quest shook his head, "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Do you think that Zack is just giving me busy work so that I don't annoy the hell out of all of you?"
"No, Benton," Race reassured him, "If Zack asked you for information, it is because he has a feeling about something that can potentially be a lead."
Benton ran his hand over his face in frustration, "I hope so Race. I hope so."
"What have you found so far?" the man asked as he walked in further in the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Nothing much," Benton began, "At the moment, there are about two hundred so called professionals worldwide who fit Zach's description."
"How many of them are the real deal?"
"Well, this laptop is not going to give me an accurate answer," he further explained. "I wish we were back home. IRIS could definitely decrease this number."
"It might take you longer Benton, but I know you'll be able to find something," Race gave him a little smile.
"Do you believe this theory Zack is talking about?"
"Like I said anything is possible," he answered. "Think about it Benton. Look at the video. Jonny behaved so naturally as if it wasn't him, but rather someone he was programmed to be."
Benton's face suddenly darkened, "He was just a kid when they took him. Why would someone want to do something like that to him? He was just an innocent boy."
"Benton," Race suddenly called out, "Focus. You can't start forming theories of these people yet. Focus on what we can. After we find him, will find the truth. Get back to work, I'm going to call Zack to see if he's found anything else."
Sighing and nodding, Benton returned to his laptop to continue the search.
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Quickly, he looked up to see if the second floor offered a better place to hit his target without a problem. He couldn't tell. He'd have to make it work somehow. For now, he'd have to worry about leaving his post without anyone finding out about it. But how?
"Damn it, someone is going to have to replace me," he muttered to himself. He looked outside again. The red head hadn't moved. She stayed close, looking at the target. "Damn!" he whispered.
Hiding further back, he pressed the button on his earpiece to open communication two-way. "This is Moore. I need someone to relieve me from post."
From his earpiece he heard someone state, "This is Phil Corvin. State the reasons for leaving post."
DR128 closed his eyes. Calmly, he answered, "I just identified a possible suspect."
He heard a heightened peak in Corvin's voice, "Tell us the description."
"Listen Corvin, we don't have time for this. I'm going after this prick…"
"Hold position!" Corvin yelled, "I'll be right there!"
Suddenly communication ceased. Quickly, he looked for whatever he could use for the next step of his plan. If it worked well, Corvin wouldn't be an issue.
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Phil Corvin knew there was something wrong from the moment he heard that a new agent had been placed on the assignment at the last minute. The process was not unheard of at times, however, with an event like this one and the events previous to it, he was surprised it had happened.
He should have followed his gut, but with making sure that everything was secured and his partner for the assignment assuring him that Scott Moore was clean, he let it go. But the feeling lingered. When Moore called, he immediately knew something was off.
"Corvin, don't get your panties in a bunch," his partner replied. "I saw the kid myself. He had credentials, he checked out fine. The problem is that we have a rookie who is greener than puke. I'll go check it out."
"No, don't. I already said I'm going," Phil replied. "Just stay here and make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be."
"Got it," he heard the man's voice before leaving.
Making his way downstairs form the security room on the second floor of the ballroom, Corvin headed to where Moore was stationed. He was going to find out what was going on and where did this Scott Moore turn up from.
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Jessie observed the stage with great attention. Various people were already sitting in the long rectangular table that faced the audience. But, from the side of the stage he suddenly watched a shadow of someone, she couldn't tell who. About to take a closer look, she suddenly felt someone bump into her from behind.
"I'm sorry," the man began before he recognized her, "Jessie?"
"Mr. Corvin," the girl replied. "I thought you'd be hiding in the shadows. Is everything okay?"
"Of course," Corvin answered as naturally as he could trying to dismiss himself from the young woman's presence without her suspecting anything. "I'm just running a perimeter check. Listen, you look very nice tonight and I really want to see you, Hadji and Claire later on, but I have to finish up the check. Mind if I meet you three later?"
She smiled and nodded, "Of course Mr. Corvin. We'll see you maybe after the dinner?"
"Sure, kid," he answered before walking away, "See you later."
As Jessie saw Corvin head toward the auditorium, she was startled by someone who had tapped her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Claire standing right by her.
"What the hell are you doing?" the blonde immediately told her.
"What? I'm keeping an eye on my guy up front," she answered. "Why aren't you with Hadji? And more importantly, why aren't you watching over your guy?"
The girl looked around the sighed a bit, "He's talking with some heads of the Department of Commerce. Apparently, they need some help from Doctor Quest. And my guys is just over there, thank you very much." Claire sarcastically answered as she pointed over to the other target sitting on his table speaking to a small group.
"Shouldn't you be closer to the guy? I don't know maybe chatting away with the group?." Jessie turned to look at the side stage again, but this time, she couldn't see what she saw before.
"What were you and Mr. Corvin talking to?" Claire asked ignoring her friend's previous statement.
"He just told me that he's running a perimeter check," Jessie answered as she watched head to the side of the stage.
"What? You don't believe him?"
Continuing to look ahead, Jessie answered, "No."
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From the side of the stage, DR128 watched Phil Corvin speak to the red head before heading towards him. Turning toward the far end of the area, he found a door and unlocked it. It was a small storage closet. This would suffice. He could hide the body in there. Now how to get him in there without a fight was the million dollar question.
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Corvin made his way to the stage and into the area where Agent Moore was stationed. From his ear piece, he heard his partner speak, "Is everything okay there?"
Looking in, he saw a man with blonde hair at the far end of the area by an opened door. His back was turned to him.
"Agent Moore?"
"You have see this, Corvin!" the man answered signaling Corvin with his hand to get over to him.
The man's voice startled him. It sounded too familiar. As if he knew he recognized the voice from a time long ago.
"Corvin, you okay man?" the earpiece spoke again.
"Yeah," he responded without thinking, still surprised by the voice he had just heard. It's impossible. "All clear." Walking closer to him, the blonde mess of hair also sparked interest. No, it couldn't be, he kept repeating to himself.
He was so enthralled by the possibility of who it could be that as he got closer he was surprised by the lightning speed Moore overtook him with. He felt a pressure pinch coming from his neck before he began losing consciousness. Corvin tried fighting, but everything around him began to look blurry and as he dropped to the floor. As he lost consciousness the last vague images of his assailant were blond hair, blue eyes…"Jonny," he finally whispered before the world around him faded to black.
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Looking at the area where Phil Corvin had just walked in. Something was going on and Jessie was itching to know what it was.
"Jess," Claire suddenly told her, "What are you thinking?"
Turning to her friend, her green eyes widened with determination, "I need to get in there."
"Wha—what? Are you crazy? You have federal agents of every branch of the US eyeing this place. They'll stop you‒"
"No," Jessie interrupted, "I have a plan. Just be my eyes okay."
"Red!"
"I know what I'm doing Claire," she gave a friend a little smile. "Just keep me in the loop of everything going on outside." Jessie finished as she pointed to the ear that held her earpiece. "Okay?"
Sighing desperately, the blonde shook her head slightly, "Fine. Just don't get caught!"
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DR128 looked at the man now unconscious on the floor of the small closet. His last words before he lost consciousness were the name Jonny.
He wondered why Corvin called out that name. He never used the name as an alias either. Jonny? He had never met Corvin before tonight either.
"Jonny?" he muttered to himself before closing the door and locking the man in. Turning to the back of the stage, he pulled out his communication unit and said, "This is Agent Moore, Agent Corvin has released me, I'm heading toward the second floor balcony per his instructions."
"All clear," he heard the voice of another man state before ceasing communications. Pulling out a small device that looked like a small calculator from his pocket, he keyed in a code. He programmed the device for five minutes. He didn't have much time, but it would suffice to get the job done.
He quickly disappeared from sight.
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Jessie smiled and smooched as she casually made her way to the side of the stage where Agent Corvin walked in. She never got a chance to think of an excuse if she ran into the agent, but she prayed that something would come to mind If it happened.
When she finally made it in, she was surprised to find…nothing.
The area was empty. No one was there. What…where is Mr. Corvin?
She walked deeper in, "Hello?" she whispered, expecting an answer, but receiving none. Continuing to walk, she found a door. Jessie looked around, making sure she was alone. Feeling a bit safe, she walked closer to it and gently checked to see if it was locked. It wasn't. She turned the knob and opened the door. Gasping when she found Corvin on the floor, Jessie kneeled quickly and checked to find a pulse. She sighed in relief when she found one. "He's out cold."
Standing up, she looked at the fallen man. An assassin would have killed him on the spot, but Corvin was just knocked out. Why? Maybe this person knew Mr. Corvin. There was only one person she could think of who knew Phil Corvin. Realization hit. Jonny!
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He was always very good when it came to attacking his opponents. Three agents guarded the second floor round balcony, two lay on the floor unconscious. He had the third by the neck. Using a neck pick, he subdued the agent, rendering him unconscious.
He had made it to the second floor without any interruptions or challenges. Walking toward the balcony's edge, he saw from below the guests taking their seats. Those on stage did the same as the announcer began his welcoming speech. His target was already in his seat.
Time to go to work.
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"Jessie? Where the hell are you?" Jessie heard Claire speaking to her from her earpiece.
"I heading toward the second floor balcony," she responded as she kept walking.
"Are you crazy? Don't you think there's agents up there?" Claire's voice sounded stress, "Jessie, get back here!"
"No," Jessie was adamant. "I think Jonny is here and I need to find him. Don't worry, I'll be alright, Claire. Just keep your eye on your potential target. If you see Jonny, call me immediately."
"But‒"
"I have to be quiet, now. We'll talk soon," Jessie said as she continued heading toward the stairs that led to the second floor of the hall.
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From another part of the ballroom, Claire took a seat next to Hadji who looked at her curiously, "Claire, are you alright?"
"Yes," she quickly nodded, "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
He continued studying her, "You look…nervous?"
"Me?" she smiled, "I'm not nervous, I'm just…excited, that's all." She settled in her seat and looked ahead as the speaker on stage began to talk
"Where is Jessie?" Hadji whispered into Claire's ear.
Not knowing what to say, she turned to him, and shrugged, "Bathroom, she…you know…her monthly."
Almost blushing, the man nodded and quickly turned his attention back to the speaker.
Sighing in relief, Claire looked ahead as the announcer continued his welcoming speech, all while listening to her earpiece in case Jessie called for her.
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Getting into position DR128 withdrew the gun from his side pocket. His focus was on the person on the stage. Looking ahead, he began calculating aim and point of entry. He would only have a few seconds to escape after the deed was complete.
"One quick hit," he muttered to himself as he began to position himself.
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Quietly, he crept up the stairs. Three agents were down, no doubt by the man he searched for. He was ready. As soon as DR128 accomplished his mission, he'd accomplish his. Disposing of the body would be challenging. But he had a plan for that. It had taken him a while to get back on track, but he had and he would not fail.
He made it to the top of the stairs. DR128 was by the balcony's edge too concentrated on his target to notice the person walking up behind him. He was very close to completing his mission.
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Jessie made her way to the upstairs of the balcony not knowing what to expect, but willing to find out at any cost. When she finally made it to the top floor she held her gasps when she saw the three agents down on the floor. She continued walking, a little quicker this time. She had to stop Jonny from making another mistake.
When she got closer, her eyes widened. There was another person by the balcony, a few feet behind Jonny pointing a gun at his head.
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Jonny pointed his gun at the target. Everything was in place and ready. He was about to push to trigger when he heard a woman scream, "Jonny Look out!"
Whipping around, DR128 saw him! Then, he saw the red head. She slammed against his assassin knocking him to the floor and losing his gun in the process. DR128 got up just as the assassin pushed Jessie off of him so hard, he knocked her to the floor. Jessie hit her head when she landed on the floor falling unconscious.
The assassin stood and like lightning, he kicked DR128's gun from his hand. But, DR128 wasn't going to give up that easily. The assassin was ready to attack, but before he had a chance DR128 slammed against him, knocking him down again. Hitting him with all his strength he was able to temporarily disable him. DR128 took the opportunity to look for his gun. Finding it quickly, he picked it up, about to finish the assassin off when he heard footsteps. Agents!
The assassin, already up, was about to attack again when he heard the same thing DR128 had. They looked at each other. They wouldn't have time to finish the job and get away. They could always finish the job, but no matter what, they could never get caught. The assassin smiled, "See you two later." With that, he took off through the stairs.
DR128 heard shooting. The assassin was finishing off the agents coming for them. More would soon follow. Quickly looking below, he saw the guests looking up, noticing that something happened. Turning around he knew he'd have to find another way out fast. He looked around, searched for his escape and found it on the far side of the balcony. He was about to leave when he turned to see the red head on the floor.
He hadn't dismissed what she had called him, what Corvin had called him. Who the hell was Jonny? He had to find out. Quickly, he ran toward the fallen red head, picked her up and ran toward the elevator with her in his arms.
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When Claire heard the shot from the upstairs balcony she abruptly stood and looked up. Something was wrong, very, very wrong.
"Claire," Hadji grabbed her hand, "We need to get out of here."
"Jessie," she said frantically as she watched guests run out of the room, "Hadji, she's up there."
Looking up for a moment, Hadji turned his attention back to Claire, "What is she doing up there?"
For a moment, she wanted to answer, but he'd never believe her, "We don't have time for this! We need to find her! Look, there's has to be a way up there by the stage."
Instead of running with the crowd, the two ran against them running towards the stage. Hadji, still moving forward asked, "How do you know this?"
"I'm not sure," she answered as she pushed her way from the people around her, "But this is the last place I saw her go into. There has to be a way up there."
Wasting no time, the two went up there.
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The elevator opened within a couple of seconds and he ran inside. Just as he turned and pushed the button to close the doors, two people ran up the stairs to find him holding the red head in his arms.
Dark piercing blue eyes locked with equally dark brown ones. Before either one of the men could say something, the doors to the elevator closed.
Breathing heavily the man standing by the elevator doors didn't move. Claire, who stood next to him whispered, "Hadji? Was that‒"
"Oh my God," Hadji breathed, "That was my brother. That was Jonny."