XIII
Stone leads the two Viper bikes to the hospital where Watts and Hayes were taken. Hayes is discharged within a few hours and Stone offers to drive her home. He dismisses Sage and McCabe for the night and orders them to rendezvous back at the bunker the next morning.
"What about the bikes?" Sage asks.
"Ride 'em home and bring them back in the morning." Stone says.
"Sweet thanks." McCabe replies.
"Have fun."
Before leaving he and Hayes check on Watts' condition, the doctor informs them that he's in recovery and that the bullet didn't damage any organs.
"Can we see him?" Stone asks.
"Yes, he's still a bit groggy though so keep it short. He needs to rest." The doctor says.
They walk in and Stone gently places his hand on Watts' shoulder, a moment later Watts opens his eyes.
"Hey buddy, how you feeling?" Stone asks.
"Okay, how'd we do?"
Stone simply looks in Hayes' direction who has taken the chair on the opposite side of the bed.
"Good to see you alive ma'am." Watts says with a half smile.
"You too." Hayes says.
"What happened to Foley?" Watts asks.
"We got him, don't worry about that. You just get healed up and we'll see you in a few days okay." Stone says.
Watts simply nods his head. Stone and Hayes take their leave at that point and Stone drives her home. Twenty minutes later the SSR pulls up in her driveway and Hayes realizes she doesn't have her keys with her.
"My things are . . ."
"Buried under tons of wreckage." Stone says finishing her sentence. "I'd be surprised if this truck wasn't equipped with a few more of Weiss' little toys." Stone says opening the glove compartment. He presses a button inside the glove compartment and the inside panel flips over revealing a Walther and a few extra magazines. He presses the button again and the rotating mechanism displays a new panel with various gadgets. He finds the skeleton key Weiss invented some years ago. "This should do the trick."
He walks her to the front door and using the skeleton key opens the door for her. Hayes walks in and disarms her security system just as she notices an unmarked car arriving in front of her house.
"Guards, really?" she asks.
"Call me overprotective."
"Michael why don't you meet me in my office . . ." her sentence trails off realizing she still hasn't quite grasped the reality that she no longer has an office or a headquarters to work from.
"Kim as acting Director of O.S. you are staying home tomorrow to recuperate." Stone says. "I'll be by around noon to see how you're doing and we can talk then. And I'll be prepared to hand in my resignation."
Still overwhelmed by all that's happened in the last few days Hayes struggles to get out her words. "Michael, I . . ." Before she can continue Stone interrupts.
"Kim, go inside and get some rest. We'll talk tomorrow." Stone says as he turns to walk towards the SSR.
"Thank you." Hayes says.
He stops and turns then says. "You're welcome."
Stone drives the SSR home that night and when he walks in the door Robin is happy to see a positive look on her husband's face for the first time in a several days. He kisses her then tells her about the days' events then suddenly realizes something.
"Wasn't today the due date?" he asks affectionately rubbing her belly.
"Yeah, they say the first born is always late." Robin replies. "So what does this mean for Omega, for your career?"
"Omega Sector will survive, I'm sure of it. As for me, I'm handing in my resignation tomorrow. I don't see a way out of this mess where I'll get to keep my job but . . . . maybe it's my penance." Stone says.
"I'm sorry, so where do you go from here?"
"Back to academy I suppose." Stone says not really sure what his future holds.
The next morning Stone meets Sage and McCabe at the bunker as planned. He informs them that he is prepared to turn in his resignation to Hayes at noon.
"Sara and I discussed it before you got here and we want to go with you."
"We're both prepared to do the same so we thought if we're going down then we're going down together." Sage adds.
"I appreciate that but I intended to negotiate for your jobs." Stone replies.
"You told us in advance that you were acting against orders when we went to rescue Hudson and Anderson. We're responsible for our actions, if we didn't want to go along with you we had our chance to back out." McCabe says with conviction.
Stone thinks over their decision for a moment then replies. "Okay."
That afternoon Stone drives the three of them to Hayes' house in an unmarked vehicle. When he pulls up to the driveway he hesitates a moment before getting out.
"What's wrong?" Sage asks.
"Kim doesn't know you're coming, let me speak with her for a moment then I'll give you the signal if it's okay to come in."
Stone walks up to the door and rings the bell, when Hayes answers he quickly explains the reason for their presence. When she approves Stone turns around and waves them in; when they walk inside he orders them to take a seat on the couch until he returns from her study. Stone then walks into the study closing the door behind him and takes a seat across from her.
"How are you feeling?" Stone asks.
Sensing his concern is genuine and not just an attempt to stall she replies. "Better, I slept almost twelve hours last night."
"That's good, I wasn't sure you'd sleep at all."
"Well a couple of large sleeping pills took care of any nightmares that might have occurred." Hayes adds as she changes the subjects. "I've spent the entire morning on the phone being briefed by the White House and the Pentagon. Needless to say, I was surprised to hear about Khalid's demise."
"Wasn't that a shock?" Stone says.
"You left out that little detail." Hayes says curiously.
"Well there was a lot going on yesterday." Stone says realizing he had forgotten to tell her that piece of information.
Hayes suddenly notices the manila envelope Stone brought in with him. "Is that what I think it is?"
Stone opens the envelope and pulls out four letters of resignation. "Watts, Sage, McCabe and my own." Stone says placing the signed documents in front of her. "I know my actions were insubordinate and that they provoked the recent attacks in the Middle East and possibly a future war."
"Speaking of the recent attacks, I don't know if I was surprised or not to learn that you and Sage were the ones piloting the F-18's that defended the Forrestal. That's another detail that you seemingly forgot to tell me."
"Well . . . like I said . . . . busy day." Stone says never actually intending to tell her about that one.
Hayes hesitates not knowing what to say next. "Michael, you're a friggin' full blown American hero; how the hell am I supposed to fire you?" Hayes pauses again to collect her thoughts, as Stone says nothing in response. "I spoke to the National Security Advisor this morning. He told me that he approved of your taking command of what was left of O.S. after the bombing but we both agree that your actions shouldn't go unpunished."
"So he did know, given the situation at the time I thought it best not to say anything until all this had blown over. I didn't think he knew." Stone explains.
"He didn't, until today." Hayes replies.
"Ah, so does that mean?"
"That means you'd better wipe that blasted grin off your face right this second!" Hayes says sternly.
"Yes ma'am." Stone says shocked more by the realization that he was grinning.
"That means you will be denied three months of rank and pay, a month's for the other three agents." Hayes says.
"Suspension." Stone says not liking the verdict but accepting it gladly in return for keeping his job.
"Yes. However, given you and the others' efforts in the recent days, the suspension will not go on your officials records." Hayes says as she takes the four resignation letters and puts them through her shredder. "Agent Watts' record will show he's been ordered to take a medical leave to recuperate from his injuries. Agents Sage and McCabe will be listed as a sabbatical until plans are made to rebuild Omega's infrastructure. And your record will show it as an extended paternity leave with your new baby. The fourth month of which will be a paid leave." Hayes says basically informing him that he'll be away from his duties for the next four months.
"Actually Robin hasn't given birth yet, she's past her due date though."
"Give her my best wishes then." After an awkward moment of silence passes Hayes continues. "I hope you realize what we did for you, I don't like cover ups Michael. Even when they are to protect our own it blurs the line between right and wrong. We cannot allow our ranks to just disobey orders whenever they please. I don't care who you are or what you've done; the next time I'll have your job. Is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am and you have my word Kim, there won't be a next time. It will never happen again, I promise." Stone says.
"I hope not." Hayes says her tone softening. "Now on to business. There will be a memorial service for Drake and O'Bryan a week from today at ten hundred hours."
"Military burial?" Stone asks confused.
"No, O'Bryan was former FBI bomb squad and there's gonna be a lot of funeral and memorial services held throughout the next several weeks. We thought since they were both part of Shadow team that we would have a dual service for both of them." Hayes explains. "With the cleanup effort finally making progress at ground zero we're having the bunker and all it's contents evacuated. Appropriations committee has secured O.S. a place to live for time being until more permanent plans are made."
"Where?" Stone asks.
"D.C. fire station number 12 just moved to a newer facility last month; no plans have yet to be made for the current building so it has been given to us. It's not much but it will do for now. I've ordered Rawlings to begin moving Station 2 over there as soon as possible. As soon as they get in you can turn in the SSR and the Viper bikes there."
"Understood."
"Now about the second bomb . . ."
"I've actually got a team working on that right now." Stone says.
"Well they will be reporting to me now, your suspension is effective immediately."
"Yes ma'am."
"That's all I have for you, I'll see you at the memorial service next week. You can collect your agents outside and brief them of the situation, dismissed." Hayes explains.
"If I may there is one other matter I need to discuss with you." Stone says.
"Oh?"
Stone exhales a long breath collecting his thoughts. "A few days before I sent Shadow team to Iran I discovered that Agent Sage was seeing another agent within Omega's ranks. Actually to be precise it was their first time together but regardless . ."
"Michael, what any agent does or who they spend their free time with is their business. Provided their not serving on the same team together. But in this case I don't think it will matter much as I'm guessing this person didn't survive the bombing." Hayes says.
"Oh he's very much alive, I know that for a fact. I rescued him." Stone says.
Hayes blinks a few times trying register what he just said. "Hudson?!"
"Yes ma'am. Now believe me I was just as shocked as you are now. I was this close to suspending them both then I dialed it back to simply transferring her out of Shadow. However given the mission that I was prepping them for I deciding to reserve judgement until after that. I did however, as you know, keep her off that mission and reassigned her to Watts to investigate The Jackhammer." Stone explains. "Hudson promised me that they could keep their personal lives separate from their professional lives and to be honest I didn't believe him at the time."
"But you do now?" Hayes asks.
"Yes ma'am, I also think it would be a mistake removing Sage from Shadow team. She's made a few mistakes but after seeing her in action I know she's a good fit for the team, she's got a lot of potential."
"It's unethical to date your superior but given the status of Omega as is there's not many places to reassign her. Do you know if they plan to move forward with a relationship?"
"I'm not sure but if so I think they deserve a chance to prove they can keep that part of their life detached from their work." Stone says.
Hayes thinks about for a moment. "Although there's no valid reason why they should be given that chance; once Sage comes off her suspension if they decide to continue seeing each other we will see if they can prove just that."
"Thank you."
"But the rest of the team and Omega is not to know, not for awhile at least. The rest of Hudson's team needs to see firsthand that he won't put her life ahead of theirs in the field. It's imperative that he remains unbiased if they find themselves in a fight." Hayes explains.
"I understand completely, that was my argument as well. I'll brief them both in private when I get the chance."
"Very well, dismissed.
Stone gets out of the chair and walks towards the door.
"Oh and Michael." Hayes says just as he opens the study door.
"Yes?"
"Thanks again, for coming after me."
Stone smiles and replies: "You're welcome Kim." He walks into the living room and orders Sage and McCabe to follow him out.
"So what happened?" Sage asks as they walk out to the driveway.
"Let's go I'll tell you in the car." Stone says.
The next day Omega Sector is able to pinpoint where the second bomb is hidden. After safely evacuating everyone from CIA headquarters in Langley, FBI bomb squads were able to successfully disarm and dismantle the device.
"Foley was prepared to kill everyone he knew and worked with just to get his revenge." Hayes says to CIA Director Adams.
"I guess somewhere along the way his mind was twisted by hate and his definition of justice was blinded by vengeance." Adams replies.
Six days later at Arlington National Cemetery, all remaining Omega Sector personnel are gathered among friends and family of Agent Patrick O'Bryan and Section Chief Steven Drake. Even though on suspension Stone attends with Robin at his side as well as Sage, McCabe and Watts who was recently discharged from the hospital. Hudson and Anderson who have also recently escaped the confines of the VA hospital are also in attendance; while Hudson is only hindered by the sling on his arm Anderson is still walking on a pair of crutches.
After the service Stone and the others begin discussing the past few weeks.
"Hey Will, I've been curious." Anderson says. "What exactly did you tell Khalid about the Jackhammer? When they brought you back to the cell you looked like they'd beaten you within an inch of your life."
"They did, but I was just stalling for time. I told him that another team would be coming to look for us and that if we were found dead that it wouldn't be long before the U.S. invaded his country." Hudson explains.
"But that's what the Jackhammer wanted." Anderson says.
"You mean that's what Foley wanted, his sister was the Jackhammer." Stone corrects him.
"Anyway Khalid didn't know that, he didn't buy my claim about the Jackhammer but I guess he did think twice about eliminating us. I guess he figured if he would look weak if he returned me to our cell without another scratch on me."
"That was some chance you took." Anderson replies.
"In the end it worked out, I knew Stone would be coming for us." Hudson says eyeing his friend.
A few moments later Stone walks across the cemetery to visit the grave of James Grant. Robin and Hudson soon realize where he disappeared to and walk over.
"Just came to pay a visit." Stone says sensing them approach behind him. "So much has changed since he died."
"It's funny, we tried to recruit more people to fill your spot and now we're gonna need a lot more new recruits." Hudson says.
"I don't know about you Will but to me, Sara and Andrew don't seem like new recruits anymore." Stone replies.
"I'm starting to feel that way myself."
"Speaking of new, how are you and Sara doing?" Stone asks having briefed them both of Hayes' decision regarding their relationship the same day she suspended them.
"Well since all of this happened we really haven't had much time together. But I'm hopeful, I think she's interested in it for the long haul."
"Good for you." Stone says.
"Yeah, thanks again for smoothing things over with Hayes." Hudson adds.
"Well I didn't really do much, it's gonna be up to you mainly to show her that you can keep that part of your life separate from work." Stone reminds him.
"I know, I can't say it will be easy but we'll make it work."
"I'm happy for ya." Stone says noticing Sage staring at Hudson from a distance.
Stone and the others pay their respects to Drake and O'Bryan's families then prepare to leave.
"So when is that baby gonna pop out Robin?" Hudson asks.
"I'm ready now, I'm a week overdue already. I'm not sure how much longer I can take . . ."
"Hey Robin I think it's about that time!" Sage exclaims noticing the pool of fluid on the ground beneath her.
Robin looks down to see that her water just broke! She looks up at Stone who has the biggest most excited look on his face.
"We're having a baby!" he says.
Suddenly everyone's attention is focused on Robin, even with his arm in a sling Hudson immediately helps Stone get her to the car.
"We'll follow you to the hospital!" Hudson says.
Stone rushes Robin to University Hospital; on the way he dials his cousin's number to inform her of the good news.
"Amberly, Robin's in labor. We're heading to the hospital now, call Jason and have him reserve the Presidential suite!" he says jokingly.
Five hours later Hudson and the others, including Hayes, continue to wait to hear news from Stone. They kill time by discussing the current events and future plans for Omega Sector.
"With the public now aware that the building housed a government agency I don't know how O.S. will continue to operate in secret." Hayes says.
"Are you saying that the government will go public with Omega's identity?" Hudson asks her.
"It looks that way but the good news is I've just heard that appropriations are being arranged to build us a brand new facility." Hayes says.
"That is good news, any idea on where or when it will be completed?"
"Not yet, they're still in the early stages not to mention there is still a lot of work to be done at ground zero. The firehouse will have to be our home for awhile." Hayes replies.
"We'll make it work." Hudson says positively.
"With Drake and O'Bryan gone do you think we should we re-designate the team?" Watts says.
"If we go with the previous method of finding a name all we'll have to work with is H, A, W, S and M." McCabe says.
"All that spells is . . . .Whams." Watts adds.
"That sounds stupid." Anderson comments.
"Guys I think that to honor our friends that we've lost, Drake and O'Bryan especially, that we should keep that name as is." Hudson suggests.
"I think Michael would like that." Hayes adds.
Suddenly they see Stone come running down the hall to the waiting room.
"It's a girl!" He says excitedly.
Everyone stands up to give Stone hugs and congratulations.
"Well when can we see her?" Hudson asks.
"In a little while, she's kinda messy right now." Stone says unable to control his grin.
"Well get back in there dad!" Sage says.
"Just a sec." Stone says turning to Hudson. "Any word from my cousin yet?" Stone asks having asked Hudson to field any incoming calls to his cell.
"Yeah she's on her way up now." Hudson replies. "Now get back in there!"
Stone runs back to the room to find Robin already holding their daughter. He walks over slowly and sits down next to the bed. He meets Robin's gaze and kisses her then turns his attention to their little girl.
"You wanna hold her?" Robin asks.
Stone gently takes the baby in his arms still amazed that he's a father now. He lightly kisses his daughter on her forehead just as she reaches up and takes his index finger with her whole hand. Robin looks at him and places her hand on the side of his face wiping away the single tear that falls down his cheek.
"I can't believe she's here!" Stone says as he leans over and kisses his wife again.
"So what are we gonna name this little girl?" Robin says.
"I dunno, got any ideas?"
"Not really, you've been so preoccupied with everything going on we haven't had times to sit down and pick out any names." Robin says.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, we don't have to name her right this second." Robin adds.
"That right." One of the nurses says holding her chart. "For now we can just call her baby girl Stone."
"We've got a lot of people waiting outside to see you two." Stone says.
"Bring them in." Robin says as Stone passes the baby back to her.
Stone walks out into the hallway to find a surprise awaiting him.
"Mom!" he says spotting his mother next to Amberly and Jason. "How did . . ."
"She flew in this afternoon, she wanted it to be a surprise." Amberly explains as Stone hugs his mother.
"I knew Robin was overdue so I thought I'd come out for a visit to be here for the birth." Mrs. Stone says. "So can I see my grandchild?"
"Yeah come on, you too guys." Stone says.
"No, no the grandmother gets the first visit. We'll be in shortly." Amberly says.
Robin receives the same surprise when she sees Stone walks in followed by her mother-in-law.
After a half hour of visits from everyone else waiting outside a nurse asks everyone but the father to leave. "The mother needs her rest."
"Give your mom a key to the house and Amberly can take her over." Robin suggests.
"It's okay she said she's gonna stay with her and Jason tonight." Stone replies. "She was adamant that she not come over until after we take the baby home. I'm gonna go say goodbye to everyone, be right back." He says as he kisses Robin.
He walks out into the hallway to find everyone still gathered in the waiting room watching a news bulletin on the TV.
"What's going on?" Stone asks.
"The White House just released a statement that Khalid's attacks weren't sanctioned by the Iranian government." Hudson explains. "They also said that Iranian officials claimed they don't want a war with the U.S. but that they don't consider us an ally either."
"So in the end Foley did fail, there won't be a war." McCabe says.
Stone, Hayes and Hudson all exchange a curious glance with each other.
"Not necessarily Andrew, it could just mean that they have bigger plans in the works and they're not ready for war, yet." Stone says.
"If we do go to war the United States will be ready." Hudson adds.
"Hopefully so will Omega Sector." Hayes says finishing the thought.
"So what now?" McCabe asks.
"We rebuild; and hope for the future." Stone says.
Hope . . . that's it!
The next day after Robin's parents arrive Stone invites Hudson and the rest of Shadow team back to the hospital to join him and Robin with the rest of their family.
As everyone crowds into Robin's hospital room they see her holding their baby girl. Stone stands next to Robin and says. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to our daughter. Hope Lillian Stone!"
THE END