VII

When Stone and Robin arrive home after his visit with Foley he notices a minivan with government plates parked across from his house. Figuring it's the guard detail he asked Hudson to assign he sees Robin inside then walks over to greet them. As he approaches the tinted window is rolled down and he's surprised to find Hudson and Sage inside the vehicle.

"Will what are you doing here?"

"Just what you ordered, pulling guard duty." Hudson replies from the passenger seat.

"I didn't mean you specifically or even Shadow team for that matter." Stone replies.

"I know but I figured it would give Sage and I a chance to get to know each other."

"Doesn't Shadow have a survival refresher course to attend at eleven hundred hours?" Stone asks.

"Yes sir, we'll be there." Sage responds.

"Alright suit yourselves, you need anything?"

"Thank you sir, we're all set."

"Hey how did things go with Foley?" Hudson asks before Stone can walk away.

Stone gives him the details of their conversation focusing most especially on the fact that Foley was aware of the sting operation in Istanbul several months ago.

"How did he know about that?" Hudson asks realizing his friend's suspicions about Foley may be more accurate than he originally gave him credit for.

"That's what I'd like to know. The CIA wasn't in on that one as far as I'm aware but we'll get into that tomorrow." Stone replies. "Feel free to assign a replacement detail if you get too tired, see you tomorrow."

"Have a good night sir." Sage replies as Stone walks back up to the house. She rolls up the window as Hudson breaks out the cooler in the back seat.

"Would you like a soda?" he asks.

"No thank you sir."

"You remember what I said about that sir business right?"

"Sorry sir it's a force of habit." She says grinning as they make eye contact for a few moments. "Do you mind if I turn on the radio, William?"

"No problem, just not too loud we need to stay sharp."

"Do you really think they will try to hit the Deputy Director again?" she asks as she switches on the radio and adjusts the volume.

"They'd be stupid to try again that's for sure. Hell they were stupid to try in the first place but you never know." Hudson says opening his soda. "And I must apologize for the other day, I don't usually make such a poor first impression. I'm not really sure what came over me."

"Apology accepted." Sage replies with a smile.

The next morning Stone receives the plans he requested via email from Watts.

"That's everything Hudson said you asked for sir; blueprints, defensive capabilities the works. Except I don't have their patrol patterns down just yet." Watts explains over the phone.

"Thanks Kyle, good work. I'll be in my office in an hour."

"Okay, oh by the way have you heard from Hudson this morning? He said he'd be in by oh-eight-thirty this morning but he's still not here." Watts says.

Stone looks at his watch reading nine forty-five and assuming the guard shift must have completely wrecked him. "He and Sage pulled guard duty at my house last night, I bet he slept through his alarm. Did you try his cell yet?"

"Cell and his home number, three times each and no answer." Watts replies.

"Well I'll drive by his place on the way in and make sure he's up and running, see you in an hour."

An hour later Stone pulls up to Hudson's apartment complex and knocks on his door several times in an attempt to wake his friend. After receiving no answer he tries again louder and longer this time. After still getting no answer he pulls his keys from his pocket intending to use Hudson's spare to enter the apartment. Just as he's about to insert the key into the lock the door opens and a bare legged and sleepy eyed Sara Sage stands in the doorway wearing one of Hudson's dress shirts!

For a moment Stone doesn't grasp what he is seeing, then finally it hits him. He blinks repeatedly to make sure he isn't imagining things then says. "Agent Sage, would you like to go put some clothes on."

"This isn't my apartment is it?" Sage says realizing in her daze she mistakenly answered Hudson's door.

Suddenly Stone hears Hudson's voice from inside the apartment, obviously having just realized he overslept.

"Sage we're late as hell, we gotta get . . . ." He stops behind her as he spots Stone standing at the front door. "Oh . . . . . shit. Hey Michael, I know this looks bad but."

Stone sharply interrupts him before he can finish whatever lame excuse he intends to conjure up. "Both of you in my office, half hour!" The moment the last syllable hit Stone lips he turns abruptly and walks back to his Blazer.

"We're in trouble aren't we?" Sage asks knowing it's a dumb question.

"Oh . . . . I think I'm in a lot more trouble than you are." Hudson replies.

When Stone arrives to work he passes Watts in the hallway, he informs him Hudson is en route and advises him to push the briefing back an hour.

"You got it, by the way Georgetown police called this morning. You're not going to believe what they found in the rubble at the restaurant bombing site." Watts says.

Glad for the opportunity, if at least briefly, to get his mind off the Hudson issue Stone asks Watts what they found.

"Bullet hole in the far wall; it looks like someone else was at the party."

"Yeah question is who was their target Hadid or someone else. Did they find a slug?" Stone asks.

"There's one lodged in the wall but Georgetown PD knew we were on this case so they didn't touch it."

"Good, I'll get forensics down there right away. Hopefully we'll luck out and get us a set of prints."

After sending the orders down to forensics Stone walks into his office and shuts the door behind him as his mind drifts back to the situation with Hudson and Sage. He doesn't have long to gather his thoughts though, less than five minutes later he notices Hudson and Sage stepping off the elevator and heading his way. Hudson knocks on the door a moment later.

"Come." Stone says immediately. "Close the door and take a seat!"

They both do as ordered and remain silent until Stone begins to speak, however having never had to deal with such an issue Stone is unsure how to begin.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Sir I guarantee you what happened last night was not my intention; I take my role here very seriously and will take full responsibility for my actions." Sage says before Hudson can offer a response. "I just hope you will still allow me the chance to prove to you that I belong on this team."

"No, there's no way you're gonna take all the blame." Hudson says to her, he then turns to Stone. "I'm just as responsible and while last night wasn't my intention either I'm not sorry it happened. Mich . . . sir," Hudson says realizing due to the situation it is best not to address his by his first name. "You have my word that whatever happens between Sage and I from this point on will not become a problem and the rest of the team doesn't need to know. They won't, it can remain just between the three of us."

"Damn straight, do you have any idea what kind of a situation you've put me in, not to mention your careers?" Stone replies. "Do you know what would happen if Hayes found out? She'd suspend you both and if you're lucky that would be the end of it!"

While Hudson sits back in the chair nodding his understanding of the possible consequences Stone notices Sage's eyes focused on the floor in front of her. He assumes she's contemplating her future with the agency because she appears deep in thought.

Stone sighs heavily then says. "How long has this been going on?"

"Last night was the first time sir." Sage replies. "I'm not even really sure how it happened, we were just talking and one thing led to another and."

Stone interrupts her. "I don't need the details." He runs his fingers through his hair then irritably scratches the back of his skull. "You realize I could suspend you both right now, as Deputy Director the responsibility falls to me not Hayes." He receives a yes sir immediately from Sage but not Hudson.

"Sir, I swear it won't become a problem."

Stone knows Hudson is pleading with him to let the matter slide. "Sage step outside for a few minutes." Stone says.

"Yes sir."

"And face away from the window please." Stone adds not wanting her to be able to read their lips as they speak. Once the door is closed Stone glares at Hudson. "Do you expect me to pretend this didn't happen just because we're friends?"

"I guess I was hoping for that yeah."

"Guess again, you are her superior William, you cannot be involved together. I should suspend you both but I can't afford to do that right now. There's a new development in the restaurant bombing that tells us something else was going on there when Khalid sent in his decoy to meet the Jackhammer." Stone explains. "So we're going to be organizing an operation into Tehran and if we get a green light on this I'll want our best team on the job."

"Michael we'll be ready, I promise this won't affect our performance as a team." Hudson says leaning forward in his chair slightly with his palms pressed together as if he was praying.

"I assume you two plan to continue seeing each other?"

"I don't know about her but I'd like to yes." Hudson says.

"I can't believe I'm even considering giving you any slack on this, in fact I'm just going to have to transfer her to another unit." Stone says instantly coming up with the solution.

"No please don't transfer her out, she's got so much potential and we've barely yet to see her action." Hudson says standing up in front of the desk.

"I just gave you a free pass and now you have the gall to ask for another?" Stone says quickly becoming irritated.

"Yes please, c'mon that's why Grant recruited her in the first place, he wanted her on a team where she could thrive."

"William, do not try to use Grant as a bargaining chip." Stone says rising from his chair to meet Hudson at eye level. "Sage will be able to do just that but on another team; this way you two can go on seeing each other and you won't compromise each others careers or me!"

Hudson remains silent for a moment; a part of him knows he shouldn't push any further given that he's likely just escaped a suspension. However he can't stop himself, not wanting to see Sage pay for his mistake he looks at Stone who is staring out at the city.

"How many times have you trusted me with your life?"

"What are you getting at Will?" Stone says without averting his gaze.

"What I'm getting at is that I'm asking you to trust me again, Sage and I can keep our personal lives in check while we're on duty. You won't have to worry about me being compromised."

"Oh really." Stone says finally turning around as he steps right up to Hudson's face. "Pop quiz, your team is in a firefight: You notice two hostiles targeting two of your agents, one of them is Sage." Stone explains. "You have one round left in your weapon, you can only save one of them, which one do you choose?"

"That's not fair." Hudson says trying to avoid answering the question.

"Damn right it's not fair! You know very well it could be a real life situation, which one do you save!?"

Hudson struggles to find a logical answer that will prove Stone wrong.

"BAM!" Stone says, but at the last second he hears Hudson utter Sage's name! "A little late isn't it, now they're both dead. But let's pretend for a moment that you didn't hesitate and you saved her. What do you suggest that I am supposed to tell the families of Watts or Anderson or any of the guys when you bring their body back? That he died because their team leader decided to save the piece of tail he was chasing instead of them?" Although Stone knows the remark is quite harsh he has to get the point across.

Hudson glares at his friend with cold fury, hating him for his remark but realizing why he said it. He says nothing as he calms himself while Stone walks back around behind his desk. "Just give me a chance, please." He finally says softly.

"Sage, get in here." Stone says loudly.

Sage walks back in closing the door behind her and stands more or less at attention next to Hudson.

Stone says nothing as he retakes his seat and exhales deeply, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them. "As I was telling Hudson a moment ago we have a big operation in the works, your unit may be called up to go into Iran to capture Khalid. So until such time as I can't determine suitable disciplinary action for you two . ." Stone hesitates before continuing. ". . . we are going to put this little situation on hold. We have bigger things to worry about for the time being. Consider this meeting strictly classified, we've got work to do! Now both of you get out!" Stone says picking up the phone.

Sage graciously offers her thanks as she turns for the door, however Hudson attempts to smooth things over a bit.

"Michael, I just want to say tha . ."

"I said dismissed Hudson!" Stone says not wanting to hear another word from him.

"Yes sir." Hudson replies solemnly as they leave closing the door behind him.

Stone turns his attention to the phone in his hand forgetting whom he was intending to call. He puts the receiver down as he lets his head fall onto the desk with a thump, frustrated with the morning's events thus far.

After letting his mind clear for a few minutes he finally sits up and tries to remember what he was doing before dealing with Hudson and Sage. Once he gets his thoughts back on course he walks over to Hayes' office to discuss plans for sending Shadow team to Iran.

"That's a very risky idea Michael, are you sure you've thought this through?" Hayes asks once hearing his proposition and data to support his theory.

"I'm still not sure to what extent this Jackhammer is involved but at the very least we know Khalid's faction has made several attempts to buy U.S. weapons through this arms dealer. Two we know of through Hadid were successful which took place before Istanbul." Stone explains. "Khalid may have information on this Jackhammer, he may not but either way we can put down a major threat if we bring him to justice."

Stone goes on to tell her about his visit to Foley's last night and then informs her that he knew of the Istanbul sting operation.

"You think Foley's involved?" Hayes asks.

"I have no proof but my gut tells me he's hip deep in the middle of all this. It's possible he is the Jackhammer. And when I told him that I captured one of my intruders from the other night I thought he would be surprised or shocked but his reaction was totally different."

"Which was?"

"Nothing, it was very weird. Almost as if he expected it?" Stone replies. "Anyway if we can get our hands on Khalid then maybe we'll find out what he knows about the Jackhammer."

"Okay, I'll give you a green light but you realize how dangerous this right? If Hudson and his team fail to capture him it could be hell to pay. Which based on your theory could be exactly what the Jackhammer wants." Hayes explains.

"How so?" Stone asks.

"He may have set all this in motion so we would go out there, succeed or fail it could end up escalating the situation."

"Damn why didn't I see that, then maybe we shouldn't go after all."

"Well like you said whatever the Jackhammer's true plans are Khalid is still a threat to the world and not just the U.S." Hayes adds.

"Right, I'll just move forward with planning for now and see where we go from there."

On his way out of Hayes' office Stone spots Drake across the room. "Drake." He says getting his attention just before he steps onto the elevator.

"What can I do for you?" Drake replies walking from the elevator supported by his cane. "Like it, just bought it off Ebay last week. Check it out." Drake twists the handle withdrawing a sword from the inside of the cane.

"Yeah that's nice. Listen, I may need two of your best sharpshooters for an upcoming mission with Shadow team. Do you have anyone that's not on assignment currently?" Stone asks.

"You bet, I've got a two man recon unit that will be back from leave tomorrow." Drake replies.

"Excellent have them report to Hudson first thing tomorrow and he'll brief them on the mission."

"Done deal, where they going?"

"Iran." Stone says coldly.

"No kidding?" Drake replies stunned.

Six hours later Stone musters Shadow team in the main conference room for a mission overview briefing. As he walks in to take his place he's surprised to find Hudson and Sage not sitting next to each other. Having not seen either of them since this morning's unpleasant affair he has been able to focus mostly on the mission ahead. He puts any further thought regarding the situation out of his mind so he can get to work. Except for the two of them no one in the room expects what Stone is about to say.

"We're going after Samon Khalid, Iranian army major and figurehead of this Fear the Wrath faction."

Ignoring a few of the stunned looks on some of the agents' faces Stone loads a disk into the computer terminal under the table pulling up a map on the center screen behind him.

"We know Khalid commands a small outpost west of Tehran here." Stone says using a laser pointer to indicate the base via satellite images they received recently. Stone continues explaining that trying to apprehend the target at the base would be much too risky. "Khalid's own decoy, Abu Hadid, has given us the location of Khalid's home located in Tehran, here." Stone says switching to a new image.

"That's where we'll make our move?" Hudson says assumingly.

"Exactly, it will be less guarded and easier to get in." Stone replies.

"The problem will be getting out undetected." Anderson cuts in. "If his personal guards are alerted there's no telling how many men they'll have on top of us or how soon."

"That's right, not to mention you'll be in an urban area if that happens which makes for a very dangerous battlefield." Stone adds.

"How are we getting in?" McCabe asks.

To answer Stone brings up another picture on the right side screen and a map of Iran on the left one. "Trans-Iranian Railway. It runs from the Caspian Sea through Tehran down south to the Persian Gulf." Stone explains. "You'll board the train on the Caspian undercover and ride it into Tehran. Once there you'll make your way to Khalid's place and make your assault under the cover of night."

"Is that really the best way in?" O'Bryan asks suggesting an air drop right on top of Khalid's estate might be an easier way to go.

"You want to just announce our arrival on our way in, I don't think so." Anderson replies.

As O'Bryan tries to make his case against other comments and rejections of the idea Stone cuts in.

"We wouldn't be able to secure a flight in anyway, if the plane was detected or shot down the mission's over. This is the best way in."

"How are we getting out sir?" Sage asks.

"We're still working on the details but the primary option, if everything goes smoothly, is to board the next train out." Stone says.

"And if it doesn't go smoothly sir?" McCabe asks.

"Like I said we're still working on it, for the time being only mission prep is a go. Any questions?"

"When do we deploy?" Anderson asks.

"Three days, maybe sooner. Intel says that Khalid will be returning to his home on leave within the week. We'll wait for him to settle in and then move in but consider yourselves on standby from here on out." With no further questions Stone turns the floor over to Hudson.

"Okay team we've got work to do. I want everyone to begin studying the layout of the target area. We also need to know how many guards Khalid has on duty at all times, then we can memorize their patrol patterns. Tomorrow morning let's meet in the range at oh-eight-hundred for weapons practice then at ten we'll organize our insertion strategy and assign mission stations." Hudson explains.

"One last thing Hudson, I don't have issues with those orders but not all of you are going." Stone says.

"What?" Hudson replies surprised.

"Watts and Sage will be staying behind, I have another assignment for them. Two of Drake's best shooters will be filling in. They're on leave right now but will report to you first thing tomorrow for briefing and assignments." Stone explains. "Continue with mission prep; if we get a green light then we will have a final mission briefing Friday night before you leave. Watts, Sage, report to my office first thing in the morning for your assignment. Dismissed everyone."

Stone leaves the conference room first as the team begins to break up and head back to their pod.

"Will, you coming?" Anderson says noticing Hudson has not yet moved from his seat.

"No I'll catch up." He says finally rising from his seat.

A moment later Hudson bursts into Stone's office without warning or permission.

"You had to keep her out of the mission didn't you?" he says thinking Stone kept Sage out of the mission because of their involvement with one another. "I promised you that me and her wouldn't be a problem but you didn't trust me."

"I don't think I like your tone Agent Hudson!" Stone replies reminding his friend whom he is addressing. "I said I have another assignment for her and that was the truth. The police found a fifty-caliber slug in the east wall of the restaurant that was blown up. Someone obviously had other plans for Hadid before that bomb went off, Sage and Watts are going to be looking into that end of it. Besides she's not ready for a mission of this scale."

"I don't buy that for a second." Hudson replies still steaming. "And you're wrong about her. She's not only ready but she knows the risks as well as I do."

"Must I remind where your team is headed or how volatile the situation is? Besides if she and Watts find out that someone setup the Georgetown bombing I'd like to know who before I send you and the others right into a trap." Stone explains. "It has nothing to do with the two of you now drop it!"

Hudson decides to cut his losses and storms out still angry over the situation.

When Stone arrives home that night Robin can see the stress evident on his face.

"I take it you didn't have the greatest of days?" she says.

"Well to start things off I found out Will is sleeping with his newest agent."

A gasp escapes her lips. "You mean Sara?"

"Yeah, they pulled guard duty outside the house last night, when Kyle told me he hadn't reported in this morning I went over to his place figuring he overslept and guess who answered the door half naked."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I was babe, anyway we're planning on sending his team on a mission in a few days and I pulled her out and put her on another assignment. Now Hudson thinks I did it because of what happened." Stone says venting a days worth of frustration.

"Did you?" Robin asks straight out."

"He's her superior Robin he can't be involved with her." He says taking a seat in his favorite armchair.

"You didn't answer the question."

"I don't know maybe partly, he already twisted my arm into not suspending either of them and he has no right to keep pushing me on this. Not to mention the fact that they're headed for friggin' Iran, it's way too big an op for her first time out with the team."

"Did you tell Hudson that?"

"Of course but he doesn't believe me."

Robin walks around the chair and sits down on his lap putting her arms around him. "Well he'll just have to deal with it then, you're the Deputy Director." She says as he tousles his hair.

"I know it's just . . . me and Will have never disagreed on much, serious issues that is. I don't like being at odds with him." Stone replies as he softly massages Robin's belly.

"You know he might really care about this girl, if so when he returns from this mission maybe he'll see that you were right to keep her out of it."

"I hope so." Stone says looking into her eyes.

That night around seven Sage hears a knock at her door; she opens it to find Hudson standing on the other side.

"Hey, can we talk?" he says.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea William, after today I'm lucky to still have my job." Sage replies reluctantly.

"Look I'm not gonna apologize for last night, it was amazing. I just wanna talk, can I take you out to dinner?"

After a second or two she says. "Okay, give me five minutes."

A little while later they find themselves in an Italian restaurant nearby; after they order their food Hudson initiates the conversation.

"Look first off I just want you to know I'm not the one night stand kinda guy."

"I'm glad to hear that but we both knew what we were doing last night," Sage replies. "And it was amazing."

"I really like you Sara, I think that's why my behavior has been so erratic lately. I'd really like to get to know you, regardless of what happens at work."

Sage smiles as she takes his hand in hers. "Do you think that we'll be suspended?"

Hudson can see the concern evident in her expression and realizes her job, her duty is very important to her.

"I honestly don't know, it's still possible but it may depend on how well we convey that we can keep our personal lives separate when we're on the job." Hudson says.

"Then challenging Stone's orders after the briefing wasn't the best of moves on your part."

Stunned Hudson asks. "How did you . . ."

She answers him before he can finish explaining that she saw him walk in to Stone's office afterwards.

Hudson allows himself to chuckle at himself while amazed at how sharp she is. "Yeah okay it was a dumb move but I was just so pissed at him for cutting you out of the mission."

"I'm not happy about it either Will but he's the Deputy Director and how do you know for sure that's what he really did. He cut Watts too and based off what he said he's got another assignment for us." Sage says.

"Watts is a computer hacker, there's lots of field ops he doesn't get assigned too. Don't take that the wrong way, he's a great agent but sometimes his talents are needed elsewhere."

"Then that's probably what's going on in this case too, maybe Stone just decided he would need some backup on this one." Sage adds. "Lemme ask you something, how long have you known Stone?"

Hudson thinks back for a moment. "Nine years."

"And have you two been friends all that time?"

"Pretty much yeah." Hudson replies.

"And in all of that time have you always served under his command?" Sage asks again approaching her point.

Hudson hesitates a moment. "Yeah but we were apart of the same team so we worked together all the time, watched each others backs day in and day out."

Sage points out the fact that for almost nine years there has been camaraderie between the two of them because they served on the same team.

"However now because Stone is serving as Deputy Director the two of you are no longer playing on the same ball field."

"You're right I never really looked at it that way." Hudson says.

"Well and I'm guessing until now you never had too, in the big picture we're all on the same team but to some degree he's probably had to detach himself from the relationship you have been accustomed too for so long."

Hudson just gazes at her impressed again by her wisdom this time.

"And while you're sitting there looking at me with those . . . dreamy eyes of yours," She says unable to contain a smile. "you might want to remember that we are the ones who screwed up."

"Ouch." Hudson says which garners another smile from her. "Yeah I know you're right. I just wish you were gonna be out there with us."

"Me too but we'll just have to live with it and be glad that we weren't suspended, thus far." She says as she leans inward to kiss him.

When Hudson meets with those of his team assigned to the mission in the firing range the next morning he orders them all to re-familiarize themselves with Iran's primary choice of weaponry.

"AK model weapons only guys, 47's, 74's, AKM's and RPK's." Hudson says selecting an AK-74 from the armory.

As he begins loading 5.65x39mm rounds into a magazine two agents approach Hudson.

"Sniper/Recon agents Jones and McCaffrey reporting as ordered sir." Says Jones. "We were assigned to you by Section Chief Drake."

"Right, good to have you with us. Are you both familiar with the Dragunov?" Hudson asks.

"Fairly." McCaffrey replies.

"Time to get reacquainted then." Hudson replies with a smile.

Meanwhile Watts and Sage report to Stone for their assignment, Stone walks into his office where they are waiting having just received the report from forensics on the slug found in the restaurant site.

"Well unfortunately we didn't find a single print on that slug."

"Can't say I'm not surprised." Watts says.

"What slug?" Sage asks.

Stone quickly brings her up to speed as he orders them to investigate the situation further. "Forensics estimated the bullet's trajectory." Stone says tossing the file to Watts. "Read the forensics report then get out there and find me the shooter, Watts you take the lead on this."

"Yes sir." Watts replies as he turns to Sage. "Let's go."

Shortly after reading the file Watts begins pulling up police and fire reports from the day of the bombing as Sage takes her turn reading the file. Once done she notices Watts has a list of the bodies admitted to the morgue from that day on his computer screen.

"What are you looking for?" she asks.

"We're assuming Hadid was the target right." Watts says without diverting his attention from his task at hand.

"Yeah."

"But Hadid survived the blast, so that tells me either he wasn't the target or there was a secondary target. So I'm checking to see if any of the bodies recovered were found with gunshot wounds. It might be that the explosion could have been a cover for a hit."

"Isn't that a little overkill?"

"Oh of course."

"Couldn't the sniper have just missed the shot?" Sage asks.

"Based off the path of the bullet forensics suggested, not likely." Watts says pulling up a digital layout of the neighborhood. Having already programmed in the bullet's estimated path he points out how it originates from the apartments right across the street. "Now there's at least a dozen factors that I can think of that might prove the bullet's path was otherwise but we'll come back to those later. However if it is accurate then the shooter would have been positioned in one of these apartments. We'll head that way to check out the tenants but I want to finish going through these reports first."

After adequate target practice Hudson and team head back to Shadow operations room where he briefs Jones and McCaffrey on the mission while the rest of the team continues studying the layout of Khalid's estate. Over the next two hours they go over the insertion plan and the strike on the estate step by step. After running through the plan for the fourth time a call comes in from Stone's office. He orders Hudson and team to report to R&D in ten minutes.

"It's mission relevant." Stone says over the phone.

"Got it." Hudson says hanging up the phone. "Okay we've gotta be in R&D in ten so let's go over insertion once more."

Ten minutes later Hudson followed by his team, heads downstairs to Research & Development. They find Stone also there when they arrive. As the team approaches Stone informs them that Weiss has some equipment for them specifically designed for this mission.

"You may have been wondering how you're going to overcome the language barrier when you get down there. We thought it too risky to go with only one of you being able to speak Arabic." Stone says referring to Anderson "So Weiss here has come up with the answer." He explains turning the floor over to the head of Research & Development.

"Right, you all should be familiar with the standard voice alteration strips. A programmable circuit taped to your larynx that alters the pitch of your voice. Well we've upgraded it to alter the voice into a different language." Weiss explains, as Hudson and several others on the team express looks intrigue on their faces. "So in this case when one of you speaks while wearing a strip your voice will come out in Arabic."

"That sounds great Weiss but how will we know what each other, or even some random Arab is saying to us?" Hudson asks.

"That was the initial question raised when we began the project but one of my best tech's came up with the solution. We had to merge the technology with that of our universal translators. Used in conjunction with your sub vocal comms it will translate whatever is being said and filter in through the earpiece. There's a kit for each of you." Weiss says as he begins passing around each one contained in their individual plastic cases.

"Oh I almost forgot, there is a slight two second delay while incoming chatter is translated so I would strongly suggest testing them out before you get into Iran so you can get used to them."

With no further questions coming from the team about their new equipment Stone turns to Hudson and asks how mission prep is coming.

"Insertion plans have been thoroughly memorized and drilled, just waiting on extraction details."

Stone hands him a file with the extraction plans as well as their cover and details for getting Khalid out. "We're stepping up the timetable, we just received word that Khalid may be heading for his estate within the next forty-eight hours. We're still waiting on confirmation but we'll probably have you on a plane tonight."

Hudson looks at him a little surprised by the news. "Really?"

"Yeah I'd like to at least get you across the Atlantic for starters, you might have some down time until we get an actual mission launch though."

"That's fine by us, that'll give us more time to go over the plan as well as get some rest before we go in. We'll be ready."

"Good, has McCabe gotten anywhere with that recording?"

Hudson turns to McCabe and relays the question. McCabe simply retrieves the digital recorder from his pocket stating that he's been listening to it frequently but thus far it hasn't jogged his memory.

"Alright, dismissed for now. We'll have a final mission briefing today at fourteen hundred." Stone says.

"You heard the man we've got work to do." Hudson says he and the team head back to Shadow ops.

"Thanks again for getting those operational so quickly Jack." Stone says. As he turns to leave something catches his eye towards the back of the room. "Hey Jack, what's under the sheet back there? You working on a new vehicle I don't know about."

"You always wanna peek at the new toys don't you sir." Weiss says smiling. "It's not finished yet; it's something along the lines of the Viper bikes."

"Speaking of which I heard you had to rebuild one of those recently?" Stone says.

"Yeah an agent of Bravo team fell off while chasing a suspect and it got smashed by a garbage truck. Ended up doing a full rebuild and new paint scheme, figured I'd go with yellow this time." Weiss explains.

"Looks good on a bike." Stone replies.

"Yeah, well I wanted this new project in blue and didn't want to stick to uniformity since these are undercover vehicles so I went with yellow."

"Well let me know when it's done, I want the first test run." Stone says.

"You got it sir."

An hour later Watts and Sage drive to Georgetown to begin their search for the shooter. Both dressed in suits they knock on the first of several doors asking to speak with each tenant to get their recollection of what happened the day of the bombing. First they speak to several tenants, as the building owner doesn't live on the premises. With the police records on hand, as well as their own from that day, Watts and Sage find that most of the statements they receive match the ones given the day of the bombing. Then they proceed to ask each tenant how long they have lived in the building. With no leads evident for the time being they move on to the next building.

When they enter they see the first door has a sign on it that says manager. They knock on the door and are greeted by a woman in her mid sixties. Watts lets Sara take the lead on this one as she introduces themselves as federal officers.

"We're continuing our investigation on the bombing and were hoping we could ask you a few questions." Sage says.

"Well I already gave a statement to the police but you're welcome to come in, can I get you some lemonade?" the lady says.

"That would be nice thank you, I'm Agent Sage this is Agent Watts."

Watts follows her in and they take a seat on the couch as Sage begins by asking the lady if her building was damaged by the blast.

"Oh of course every window facing Adams St was blown out but my nephew just happens to run a door and window business so he was able to get over here the next day and replace them all." She says as she sets down a tray on the coffee table and pours them each of them lemonade.

"How fortunate for you, thank you." Replies Sage.

After collecting her statement Watts asks how long she's owned the building. She tells them that she originally bought it ten years ago but she renovated it from a single-family home into a multiple apartment building.

"I've got five units in the building, not counting my own of course."

"Are all of them currently occupied?" Watts asks.

"Yes."

"Are any of them new tenants?" Sage follows up.

The lady immediately replies yes as an apparent thought seems to suddenly stun her. She begins telling them that a girl, a student, per her claim recently took one of the top apartments.

"How recent?" Watts asks as he swaps a quick glance with Sage.

"Now that I think of it the day before the explosion!"

Sage immediately asks for the tenants name but Watts follows with the more important question. "Is the tenant still here?"

"She hasn't moved out but now that you mention it I don't think I've seen her since the day of the bombing."

Watts looks at Sage. "Let's go, which apartment is she in?" directing the question to the landlady.

"Top one, west side."

"Stay here please." Watts ask as Sage follows him out the door and up the stairs. When they get upstairs Watts raps on the door loudly. "Federal officers, open up please." After three attempts and no answer they assume the tenant is not home. "Great, we need to get in there."

"We need a warrant for that." Sage replies.

"I'm not sure about that, we may have enough for probable cause. Go down and get a description from the landlady on the tenant. I'm gonna check in with Stone."

As Sage goes back into the manager's apartment Watts steps outside and calls headquarters. After getting patched to Stone's office Watts gives him an update on the situation.

"Standby." Stone says after hearing the situation.

After five or six minutes Stone comes back on the line and tells Watts that a warrant is being faxed to the mobile unit. Watts opens the trunk of his car and sees the warrant having just printed off of the wireless fax machine.

"Got it, I'll let you know what we find."

"You be careful Kyle." Stone cautions.

"Will do."

Watts ends the call putting the cell phone back in his pocket. He grabs the warrant and a fiber optics kit and heads back inside.

"Sara, we're a go." He says holding up the warrant.

"Can you let us into the apartment?" Sage says turning to the building manager.

"Since you have a warrant yes, let me get my keys."

"We've gotta check the door first." Watts replies holding up the fiber optics kit.

Sage follows him back upstairs to the apartment as he sets down the small black case and opens it. He slides the fiber optic camera under the door checking for any explosives wired to the door. After finding none as well as seeing no danger apparent within the apartment he extracts the device and puts it back in the case. He stands drawing his weapon just as the landlady comes up the stairs behind them.

"I would advise you to stand back ma'am." Watts says.

She hands Sage the corresponding key and walks back down the stairs a few steps. Sage unlocks the door and draws her own weapon with her free hand and she looks to Watts. He gives her the signal to open it and clear. Sage moves in after Watts and they quickly clear the apartment.

"Looks clean, start searching." He says.