5
Good Bye Dublin
Enrica Villablanca sat in a windowless room at a table in front of a one sided glass.
She was tired. She had only slept on the many drives of processing when the FBI would move her from one place to another. She started at the FBI building in New York. Then they received that the FBI building wasn't safe for her. Apparently they needed Enrica's information, enough to move her to a safer location.
They then moved her to a FBI safe house. She got to sleep an hour there then she was pushed into a car that drove her all the way to Maryland. She heard someone say that NSA wanted to take over the interrogation of the JBA operation.
They had reached the NSA headquarters a few hours ago and she was put in that room a little bit over an hour ago she wagered.
She was recollecting from the night of the raid on the JBA headquarters since that's what she suspected to be questioned on. The night had happened so fast. First she was watching everyone prepare for the bombs to be deployed. Then the alarm went off. She got word that Jamie was dead, shot by Sam.
Sam.
He hadn't left her mind since the raid.
She had escaped to the restricted section with Emile. Emile was talking about setting the second bomb off right there with everyone in the base. That scared Enrica. Once Emile went down into the elevator she waited at the elevator with Sam's gear. She didn't want to die. She questioned if she even believed in this cause anymore.
Just as she had suspected, Sam appeared. She didn't see him at first but then he came behind her…
"She's tired." Grimsdóttir said. She was monitoring the interrogation monitors for the interrogation. Williams was running the interrogation. Williams came up to the monitor and said,
"Good, focus a monitor on her eye movement. We'll be able to…"
"Pick up on something on her eye movement. Yeah I know." Grimsdóttir cut in.
"Are you okay Anna?" Williams asked. "You've been a little hostile lately." Grimsdóttir was surprised by the gesture Williams was trying to express toward her. Williams had always been a stiff hard nose by the book kind of guy who never asked about the condition of his workers. That's where he differed from Lambert. Lambert was professional of course but he kept taps on his analysts and made sure they were up to their par.
She almost didn't know how to answer but she said,
"I'm fine. A lot has happened since the FBI raided the JBA headquarters that's all." There was a pause then Williams said.
"Listen Anna. I know you and Fisher were good friends and all but…"
"I know what's at stake here Mr. Williams." Grimsdóttir snapped. "But I can't just put those feeling for my friend away Mr. Williams."
"Well your going to have to Grimsdóttir. Otherwise I might have to replace you." Grimsdóttir looked away. The tension was broken when the doors of the viewing room opened. Both Williams and Grimsdóttir turned and saw Doctor John Baxter walk in. Baxter was a NSA interrogations expert. Grimsdóttir remembered him working with Sam on a few missions.
"Good evening." He acknowledged as he walked through the door.
"Ah Doctor Baxter. I'm sure you won't be needed today but I like to be sure." Williams said walking to Baxter and shaking his hand.
"Shall we begin Anna?" Williams said turning to Grimsdóttir.
The opening of the door of the interrogation room interrupted Enrica's thoughts. A man in suit walked in.
"Hello Enrica." He said. He was carrying a file. Enrica was smart enough to know that file was all about her. He walked to the table and put the files on the desk and a pen next to it. He intended to use it but he didn't touch it yet.
"You and maybe two other JBA members, both in critical condition, were the only ones who survived the raid on the JBA headquarters. Yet you walk out of that place without a scratch on you. How does that happen?" Enrica was silent.
"Listen Enrica. I'm not gonna go any farther if your gonna give me the silent treatment. I've got a buddy in the next room who's very good at getting information out of people. Now what happened that night?" Enrica was hesitant to answer but then she started to explain her experience the night of the raid and she got through the entire story until she got to the part where she grabbed Sam's gear and encountered him in the hallway near the elevator.
"…And then Emile went into the elevator."
"What happened after that?" Williams asked. Enrica paused then said,
"I went and grabbed a pair of night vision goggles and a SC-20K." Williams was surprised by her answer.
"Forgive me if I'm wrong but isn't that Sam Fisher's preferred arming?" Enrica looked away and nodded.
"Why would you grab that?" Williams said.
"I was waiting for Sam to come up. I wanted to help him." Enrica finally said.
"Now why would you do that? He shot a friend of yours, Jamie Washington right? He's killing all the JBA members and you wanna help him kill your boss who you just sent down an elevator to set off a bomb that would prove your point to the government? What's going on here Enrica? Something doesn't add up here."
"I didn't want to die!" Enrica shouted. "Emile was gonna set off a bomb in the basement and it would kill me and a lot of people in New York."
"You're a terrorist Enrica! Sometimes people have to die to get a point across to the government! Isn't that right? You know better than I do!" Williams shouted back. Enrica was shocked by the response but she said,
"Well something changed. I didn't want to die. I didn't want those people to die!"
"Fine. What happened? Did Fisher show up? You two share a good-bye kiss? Thinking you'd run away with him once this was all done?" Enrica didn't respond.
"Well sorry to burst your bubble but Fisher is a terrorist still even if your not!" The words were like a strike in the face to Enrica.
"Now your gonna help us to find Fisher. Then if it makes you feel better you too can share a cell in prison if you really want to." The insults kept hurting Enrica. She had a sad expression on her face and she didn't look at Williams. She looked off to the side and off into something. Williams saw this and he calmed down a little.
"Enrica listen. If you have really changed like you say you have." Doubt was still in his voice but he was sincere to an extent. "You'll want to help us bring Fisher down. If you do that I can get you a pardon from the president that clears your name completely. Every crime you've committed in your lifetime will be wiped clean with no chance of it ever coming back. No one will know you were once a traitor to this country. You have five minutes to think about this. On one hand you have a second chance to start over and never worry about your past again, or Sam Fisher. That way can only get you killed." Williams bargained. He walked over to the door and entered the monitoring room. He turned to Grimsdóttir and said,
"What have we gotten from her retinal activity?" Grimsdóttir took a minute to respond. He was disgusted with the two faces of Williams. One minute he was beating it out of her then the next minute he was offering deals to her. It didn't make sense to Anna but she finally said,
"It spiked when you mentioned the deal and Sam Fisher for the first time."
"There had to be something going on between them. We could benefit from this." Williams said. He was about to say something else but then his phone rang. He grabbed it quickly and looked at the caller ID. He paused and said,
"I have to take this." He walked to the exit of the monitoring room and into the hallways of Third Echelon.
The voice on the other line of the phone said before Williams could say anything, "Is this a secure line?"
"Yes, but I can't say much. I can't risk the NSA security picking up on my side of this conversation."
"Fine, I'll do the talking. I'm in Dublin and I'm tracking McCray's convoy. They're heading toward a private airstrip nearby to the coast." The voice on the other line of the phone said. It was the Splinter Cell Williams sent after Fisher, Seth Brooks.
"Good. Remember, Fisher is the priority target but if you can get a shot off on McCray or any of his men. Take it. Any casualties with his men will be a bonus. I've already said too much. I must go." Williams said. He hung up the phone quickly and checked the hallways to make sure nobody heard him.
Once it was clear he returned to the viewing room.
"Anything yet?" he said quickly. Grimsdóttir looked and answered quickly,
"Nope, she got up and started walking around a minute ago." Williams smiled.
"She's considering it. We've got her."
"Mr. Williams. Are you sure this is right? Can you really get a pardon for her?" Williams gave a shrug without a care.
"Even if I can it won't make a difference. Once Fisher figures out she's working against him he'll most likely kill her." Grimsdóttir was shocked by the answer,
"Sam would never do that!" She suddenly realized that Williams was becoming blind with the obsession of bringing Fisher in. Williams was about to answer but suddenly they both realized that Enrica was right up next to the door that separated the interrogation room from the monitor room.
"What it she doing?" Williams said rushing to the door. He tried to open it but suddenly there was a beeping sound and he couldn't move the door. Enrica had locked herself in the interrogation room.
"What is she doing?" Grimsdóttir repeated. Enrica walked over to table and grabbed the pen that Williams had set on the table.
"Get security in here now! And get this door open!" Williams shouted. Doctor Baxter ran out of the door quickly.
The next thing that happened shocked both Williams and Grimsdóttir. Enrica plunged the pen tip into her wrist causing blood to spurt out from her wrist. She cried out in pain but kept it stuck in there as blood oozed from the wound. She then started to dig into her skin. Suddenly the pen wedged something out. The minute it was free from her skin she retracted the blood soaked pen from her wrist. She was barely moved by the blood coming from her wrist. She reached down to the floor and picked up the small object that had been in her arm. At first neither Williams or Grimsdóttir didn't know what the object was but suddenly Grimsdóttir gasped,
"She's got a cyanide pill. She's gonna commit suicide."
"Where the hell is security?" Williams yelled to nobody in particular.
Enrica stood in the middle of the interrogation room with the pill in her bloody palm. She didn't feel anything. It might have been the loss of blood affecting her mind but to her it was just her and the pill. Finally she quickly put the pill in her mouth and quickly swallowed. She didn't feel anything at first. The door of the interrogation room burst open and then she started to feel it. She quickly collapsed and lost consciousness.
Sam was exhausted from the standoff but he didn't sleep. As good as his trust level was with Desmond, he didn't trust him.
In the Mercedes was Desmond, Sam, Cooney and the driver, Sam thought his name was Hanson. Desmond was in the front passenger seat and Sam and Cooney were in the back. Every once in a while Cooney would try to make small talk with Sam but Sam just gave him a cold stare and didn't say anything. Cooney must have not been offended by it at all because he continued his attempts.
Suddenly a thought came into Sam's mind. He sat up and looked at Desmond.
"Desmond?" he whispered quietly. Desmond looked at him and said,
"Yeah?"
"Why'd you email me? Were other people you emailed?" Sam wondered.
"We emailed everyone once Alejandro was arrested. You were the only one who responded but if anyone else does we'll be sure to recruit any help we can get, or any backups we can get." Desmond said with a vicious smile. Sam didn't. Any other members of the JBA that happened to survive or avoid arrest would prove dangerous for Sam. Cooney pulled a bag from the floor of the car and pulled out a laptop.
"Once we retrieve the weapon in Mexico would you still recruit any sleeping JBA members?" Desmond gave Sam a strange look.
"Why?"
"Just looking after my friends in the JBA. I don't want any of them left out there without protection like the kind you could provide." Sam quickly improvised without a stutter.
"Well I suppose we could use some more help and it'd be a way to honor old Emile I guess. Oh here we are." Desmond said.
The Mercedes pulled onto a dirt road and drove through some wooded area until they got to an airstrip with a warehouse, a flight control tower and an airplane storage room. The Mercedes pulled up onto the tarmac and drove toward the tower. The sun was finally setting behind the tree that surrounded the airstrip and concealed it from any public view since it was used only for private use. The car finally stopped near the tower and Sam was about to get out but Cooney stopped him.
"Hold on." Desmond said without looking back. He nodded to Hanson who turned the car off. Desmond manually rolled the windows down and put his hand out which Sam noticed had an object in it. Desmond hovered his hand in the air then he clicked something on the object. There was a quick beam of red light that came from the object then he retracted his hand back into the car. He rolled the window open and they waited in silence.
After a few moments of long silence for Sam, he saw a man come out of the airplane storage warehouse.
"Let's go." They all got out of the Mercedes and started to walk toward the man. Sam looked behind them and realized he didn't see the other cars in the convoy. Cooney saw his look and knew exactly what he was thinking. He said,
"Don't worry. It's a security issue for Desmond. They'll be here in a few minutes." Sam shrugged and followed Desmond toward the man who emerged from the warehouse.
What he didn't know was that Seth Brooks was hidden behind the storage warehouse.
"Desmond." The man said once Desmond, Fisher and Cooney reached him. "Who's the new guy?"
"Dennis this is Sam Fisher. Sam Fisher this is Dennis Washburn. He's the best computer hacker in Europe. He's gonna help us get to the states."
Dennis was a thin man with black wide brimmed glasses. His hair was spiked and he looked like a college student the way he dressed.
"Go any word from the pilot of the plane? Is he coming?" the question gave Dennis a bad look and he shook his head.
"The pilot was arrested two days ago by the ERU. Bloody feds are really cutting down on us lately."
"Well that won't be a problem once we reach Mexico. The police there are as crooked as an Irish fence." The pun wasn't that good but some of the men laughed.
"Alright well Crow can fly this thing." Desmond reassured pointing to the barely visible plane in the storehouse. "So lets get these doors open and get going before the ERU gets wind of this place"
The rest of the men arrived and Crow started the jet. While Sam helped the other men open the doors and let the jet drive out of the hanger, Seth Brooks was crouched in the shadows. There weren't many shadows for him to hide in but he remained invisible. He wore the splinter cell uniform, a balaclava and a pair of goggle similar to Sam's but more advanced. The Splinter Cell watched and waited for an opportunity to complete his mission but as time went on he realized Sam always kept close to the group and it was almost impossible to make the kill without alerting the other terrorists, which was not in Brooks mission objectives. He wanted to kill each one silently and without notice until the very last possible moment.
Finally Brooks saw his opportunity. Not to kill Fisher but to sneak onto the plane and continue his waiting there. No one was near the entrance to the plane and it was anyone's guess on the passengers in the plane but Brooks had to take that chance. He quickly broke for the plane and climbed up into the plane without alert. Inside the tiny compartment he crouched down and observed his surroundings. He made sure nobody else was in the plane then he went to the back of the plane. He entered the cargo hold.
There were a dozen or so boxes of supplies, a perfect hiding spot for Brooks. He got behind the boxes and hunkered down for a while. He waited patiently for the perfect opportunity to complete his mission.
Finally the plane was fuelled and ready to lift off. Desmond got rid of all evidence that they were there, including hiding the vehicles in the woods and scrubbing them of fingerprints.
"Alright men." He said to the gathering of the men in his organization. He stood at the top of the stairs looking down at the group of half a dozen men. "The next time we'll see our beloved country of Ireland. It'll be the time when we clear our green lands of the tyranny of democracy and make the right government, the strong one!" It wasn't the most motivational speech to Sam but the rest of the men thought it was inspirational.
The group boarded the plane. Sam took a spot near the back of the plane where he sat alone. The plane started its engines and started to run down the tarmac. The engine of the plane was a lull to Sam's tired eyes and after long fighting to stay awake, Sam finally was taken by sleep.
He wouldn't have fallen so easily under that curse had he known that a man trying to kill him was on the other side of the wall he was leaning against.