I'm back at work after my herniated disk and I still feel pain, though it's managable with chemical products -.- Still, it sucks.
Egamer25: Keep reading and reviewing and you will see :D
Belial247: Good to see you back ^^
Painkillers still made me somewhat loopy when writing this, so I apologize if some sentences sound weird.
Still, enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that appeared in the show.
"We need to change." Leonard said and led Penny downstairs, both entering their apartment.
"Any special clothes?" she asked, taking off her shirt and sweatpants.
"Business." he told her, grabbing a blazer, along with some jeans.
She copied his choice, putting on a pair of jeans, a button up shirt and a jacket. Leonard gave her a kiss and led her back out of the room. Before leaving the apartment, he opened a box and took out two necklaces, handing her one and putting on the other. She recognized them as the scramblers and she hid it under her jacket, not turning it on yet. He also grabbed one of the special goggles that allowed him to see the energy emissions of surveillance cameras.
Leonard got behind the wheel of one of the cars, Penny getting into the passenger seat. He drove to the address they got in the message and stopped a block away. He pointed to his chest and reached under his shirt, turning on the scrambler and she did the same thing before both exited the car and walked towards the building. Before getting too close, he put on the glasses to see if any cameras were watching them.
"We can turn the scramblers off for now." he said and she did as he did, turning it off to save power.
"Antoine." Penny said surprised when she saw the man.
"What's going on?" Leonard asked him. "Why were we summoned here?"
"Your services are needed." Antoine told them. "It's an external job, I'm only here to show you that it's legit."
"What's the job?" Penny wanted to know.
"It will be explained inside." Antoine nodded and left, walking towards a car where a man held open the rear passenger door for him.
"Well, we should go inside then." Penny shrugged.
"Wait." Leonard stopped her and turned the scrambler back on as well as putting on the glasses.
He walked into the building and looked around, finding a camera sitting above the door. He grabbed an old stool and used it to reach the camera, pulling out its power cable. He continued towards the voices they heard and entered a larger chamber, finding two familiar people sitting on chairs.
"You got summoned too?" Aaron asked.
Leonard held up his hand to silence them and looked around. He found two more cameras, these two tiny like the buttons on Penny's shirt and used one of the empty chairs in this room to pull both cameras from the wall, turning both off by removing their small batteries. Once that was done, he reached into his shirt again to turn off the scrambler, Penny mirroring his action before both sat down.
"So, Penelope, huh?" Aaron smiled at her. "That your real name?"
"No." Penny shook her head. "It's the name I've chosen."
"Why do you choose a fake name?" Ricardo wondered.
"I think the better question is why you would use your real names." Leonard interjected. "If someone wanted to find you, all they had to do is use your names."
"I'm not in the habit of having people want to find me." Ricardo shrugged.
"Neither am I, but then someone name Robert wanted to kill me, remember?" Leonard looked poignantly at him.
"When you put it that way." Aaron realized but anything else he wanted to say was cut short when they heard footsteps approaching. "Someone's coming."
"A woman." Penny told them.
"How did you know?" Ricardo was surprised when a brunette woman entered the room, looking at all of them.
"The sound of the steps." Penny shrugged. "Women walk differently then men."
"Impressive." the woman said as she joined them. "You four are said to be the best your organization has to offer."
"Pretty sure we're just the only ones that were here in the city on such short notice." Aaron chuckled.
"No comment." the woman rolled her eyes. "My name is Dede."
"No it's not, but that's okay." Leonard said. "John."
"Penelope." Penny introduced herself.
"Simón," Ricardo nodded to the woman.
"Hodor." Aaron said, making Leonard snicker.
"Alright." Dede shrugged. "You're here because my group needs you for an important job."
"Within the country or outside?" Aaron asked.
"Within." Dede nodded. "The mission will be..."
"Can we just stop the pretense?" Leonard asked with a sigh. "You're a federal agent. Either DHS or NSA."
"What gives you that idea?" Dede asked him.
"One, your demeanor. Used to both give an receive orders. That means high up in the agency but not the top." Leonard stated. "Two, there's no other entity out there except the government that can call up a hotel and get every available active assassin in a city to come to a location within an hour."
"Fine." Dede accepted the inevitable. "Agent Deanna Devens, Homeland."
"Nice to meet you." Leonard gave her a half smile. "Now, what does the agency need from us?"
"We need your for an important job." Deanna repeated.
"What kind of job needs four of us?" Aaron wanted to know and got the picture of a man appearing on one of the walls as the answer.
"This man's name is August Bremer." Deanna began. "He's the head of a militia group that calls itself the Sons of the Second Coming. A group that has on multiple occasions stated that their goal is the overthrow of the governments of the US and even Canada. The exact number of members is unknown, we estimate several hundred, maybe even a few thousand. They are heavily armed and dangerous.
"Their second-in-command is Josh Halsey, a former Navy Seal who got a dishonorable discharge for the killing of civilians while he was deployed in Iraq. Through his tutelage, the group has become a potential danger to society."
"So, you want us to wipe out a large group of heavily armed religious nuts?" Aaron asked. "That's not really a job for just four of us, even with our abilities."
"Believe me, there's nothing religious about those men." Deanna said. "Unfortunately, that's not the case for this woman, August Bremer's wife."
"Let me guess, her name is June or April?" Penny joked.
"Maybe it's May." Leonard added.
"You're right, somewhat." Deanna said to Penny, much to the latter's surprise. "Her name is Juniper, but everyone calls her June. She's the religious one in the group and it was through her that hundreds of people with various extremist religious views joined this group, by promising them a coming apocalypse."
"Second coming." Ricardo repeated the group's name. "Makes sense, in a morbid kind of way."
"We got information that they're planning an attack." Deanna continued.
"What kind of attack?" Leonard interrupted.
"A mass casualty event." Deanna looked at him.
"How?" Penny asked.
"That's the question." Deanna said and continued with the slide show.
"Wait, if you have this info, why not use the legal system?" Aaron interjected. "Get a warrant and then bring hell to them."
"We can't." Deanna said.
"Let me guess, you got this info through means that wouldn't hold up in court." Leonard said.
"We bugged the church that June is doing confession in." Deanna nodded. "Without a court order."
"So, what kind of event are we talking here?" Penny asked.
"Maybe they arm themselves and drive into a bigger city, killing everyone they come across." Aaron guessed.
"While that's possible, I don't think that's it." Leonard shook his head. "Given how armed a lot of people in this country are, if they began killing people, others would go home, secure it and lie in wait with their guns or band together in militias themselves to fight them. Even if they overcome those resistances, it would take time during which the national guard would be mobilized."
"To bring this back to topic, we're not asking you to destroy that group." Deanna interjected. "But we do need you to stop them getting a weapon that could enable them to cause such an event."
"How?"
"This man has been seen making preparations to travel again." Deanna said, showing them another picture of a bald man in a white suit. "He's been in hiding for the past three years."
"Who is he?" Aaron asked.
"His name is José Manuel Diaz." she told them. "Spanish national, wanted for smuggling."
"Smuggling what?" Penny wanted to know.
"Everything he gets paid to move." Deanna shrugged. "He smuggles people, animals, things. Even just food into North Korea, so the elites there can eat things they otherwise wouldn't get."
"If he's coming into the country, why not arrest him upon arrival?" Leonard asked. "You said he is wanted practically everywhere."
"We could if we knew how he will come here." Deanna shrugged. "However, he won't just enter the country with his real name. That picture was taken in Laos, two weeks ago. We believe that the case you see him holding is the smuggled item or items that he is supposed to bring to the sons of the second coming."
"Can you give us a minute?" Leonard said, surprising her.
"What?" Deanna didn't know what to make of that.
"Please." Leonard smiled but Penny could see that it was more threatening than a gesture of being nice. "And leave the pictures."
"Fine." Deanna threw up her hands and left the room, slamming the door shut in frustration.
"Aaron?" Leonard gave the man a look.
"On it." Aaron agreed and began his work by using his phone to take pictures of the pictures and then copying them to his laptop.
"By the way, Hodor?" Leonard looked at Aaron while the man worked.
"Hodor." Aaron nodded.
"Isn't that this big guy from Game of Thrones?" Penny was confused.
"Hodor." Aaron nodded again, then continued to work.
"He bought the box set and we've been watching it." Ricardo sighed. "Though it aggravates me every time we meet up to watch an episode."
"Why?" Penny wanted to know.
"Because every time I come down to join them, I find him in a position that has his dick inside my sister." Ricardo shuddered. "It wouldn't be that bad if we just heard them do it in the bedroom but I walk in and they're doing it on the couch. Or one of the armchairs. Or the kitchen table. Or on the carpet. How she hasn't gotten rug burns on her knees or back is beyond me. More often than not she's on top of him, milking him dry with her lower parts while breastfeeding him at the same time."
"Ew." Penny commented on that mental image while Leonard just chuckled.
"Oh please, don't act as if you're any better." Aaron scoffed. "Do you know that last Saturday, his sister and her roommate ended their shifts at the same time on a Saturday early afternoon? But only his sister came into the apartment."
"So?" Penny asked.
"Sidney went up to Ricardo's apartment and they proceeded to fuck the entire weekend away." Aaron chuckled.
"How would you know what we did?" Ricardo looked at his friend.
"Come on, when you and her came down on Monday for lunch before they went to work, I saw you both walk." Aaron laughed. "I know that hobble."
"Because you do it as well?" Penny smirked.
"Well... yeah." Aaron confirmed with a shrug. "But in my defense, you should see his sister. When she takes off her clothes and says she wants to be on top, the only thing I can think of is to lie down wherever she wants me to."
"Sweetie?" Penny looked at Leonard for confirmation.
"Yep." Leonard nodded, having seen Carmen in person.
"In my defense, if you think my sister is sexually aggressive, Sidney is even worse." Ricardo chuckled. "One time I was legitimately tired and she saw it as a challenge. Didn't let me sleep for another three hours."
"She must have done or allowed you to do something really special to make you tell her about our business." Aaron huffed.
"You did what?!" Leonard shouted.
"It just came out." Ricardo stammered. "We were lying in bed after... you know, and she was telling me about some difficult patient she had to deal with and in my tired semi-conscious state, I kinda told her about one of my jobs."
"And she stayed with you?" Penny was disbelieving.
"Well, she might not have believed me." Ricardo shrugged.
"But, now it's so clear why you're still in the city." Leonard chuckled.
"Yeah, I live in Portland but I have trouble leaving because of Carmen." Aaron agreed. "I'm even thinking of asking her to marry me."
"Over my dead body!" Ricardo's head snapped up.
"Just out of curiosity, do you guys just have sex or are you actually dating?" Penny asked. "I mean, have you ever gone out for a bite to eat or a movie or whatever?"
"Well, not really." Aaron admitted. "She works in shifts and she's often too tired to do anything that requires leaving the apartment."
"But somehow, she always has enough energy left to bounce on your dick." Ricardo muttered.
"Well, far from me to give relationship advice, but I'd try dating her for a bit before thinking about marriage." Penny said. "While sex is fun, it's not a good sole foundation for marriage."
"Finished." Aaron proclaimed, interrupting that line of conversation.
"What's the verdict?" Leonard asked, going back to business and getting up to look at the screen.
"She's telling the truth." Aaron showed them all the results of his search. "All those guys have backgrounds in domestic terrorism and are members of that group. Except the smuggler of course."
"The Spaniard." Penny said.
"AGENT!" Leonard shouted and Deanna came back.
"You did what you needed to do?" Deanna asked.
"Yes." Leonard nodded. "So, what's the mission?"
"Retrieval of the case is the main focus." Deanna told them.
"A smash and grab?" Aaron wondered. "You know that's not really our expertise, right?"
"What's in the case?" Leonard wanted to know.
"That is classified." Deanna told them.
"Come on." Leonard groaned. "Is it heavy? Is it explosive? Radiating? Is it full of vials filled with biological or chemical agents? Is it handcuffed to the wrist of this Diaz guy and we have to cut it off?"
"Honestly, we don't know." Deanna admitted. "It could be any of that. Do you accept?"
"Before we answer that, why us?" Penny asked. "You could easily put together a clandestine team and intercept the guy yourself, can't you?"
"No, they can't." Leonard chuckled. "Plausible deniability. And if this goes downhill, the last thing they want is anyone being able to prove that the US government tried to stop them."
"But if these guys want to wage war on the US government anyway, what would it matter?" Penny inquired.
"It's a matter of scope." Deanna threw in. "The group has plenty of sympathizers in the religious community and if the US government can be linked to this operation, then those sympathizers might be convinced to join as well."
"What about gear?" Ricardo spoke up. "Do we have to bring our own or will you provide it?"
"Come in." she spoke into a radio in her hand and another man joined them. "This is Vincent. He'll provide you with anything you need. Do you accept the job?"
"We do." Leonard nodded.
"Good." Deanna nodded. "I will contact my superiors."
"Do you have an idea what you need?" Vincent asked them.
"First, we need to know where the drop off is supposed to be." Leonard started. "Will they pick it up? Does the smuggler bring it to them?"
"The group leaders know that we're watching them so we think that the smuggler will deliver it to them. Most likely in a rental car, with an escort." Vincent told them. "We will know more once Diaz arrives."
"Which means, we'd either have to stop them at the point where he or they come in, or during transit." Ricardo said. "Any indication of where he will enter the country?"
"No." Vincent shook his head. "But every official border crossing on both borders and every harbor and airport is alerted to look out for this man. Or his case."
"So, what you're saying is, you don't think that you will catch him when he enters the country." Penny stated. "Otherwise, why hire us?"
"You're right." Vincent admitted. "We're watching the entire southern and northern borders for any vehicle coming over at non-official crossings but we think that the target can only be apprehended en route and we're also having satellites watch out for cars that seem to be traveling as a group in case he crosses the border by foot and is picked up by someone."
"So we need a car." Ricardo mused.
"Two cars." Leonard clarified. "Fast ones, though no sports cars, and armored. How long for something to get here when you request it."
"If it exists in California, Nevada or Arizona, I'll have it here today or by tomorrow. If it's from Oregon, Washington or the western midwest, then two days, tops. Depending on the size of course."
"So, cars." Ricardo wrote stuff on a paper. "I was thinking Dodge Challenger. Eight hundred horses, massive torque."
"No. As I said, we need armored cars. The escort will very likely shoot at us." Leonard cautioned.
"Right." Ricardo accepted and looked for appropriate models. "SUV or sedans?"
"Sedans." Leonard clarified. "SUVs have a higher center of gravity, tight corners at high speeds could tilt them over. Vincent, can you get us a simulator?"
"What for?" Aaron wondered.
"I am good behind the wheel but my last car chase was almost a decade ago, so I'd like to refresh my skills." Leonard explained.
"I'll have one here in an hour." Vincent nodded and typed stuff on a tablet he produced from somewhere."
"Guns." Ricardo continued. "We need something powerful if our target is in a car and has an escort."
"Agreed." Leonard said. "Either Smith and Wesson Models three five six six with three five six grain ammo or the good old Desert Eagle as handguns, HK MP fives with drum magazines and a LAW rocket launcher."
"Why a rocket launcher?" Aaron asked.
"If we need to get rid of some of the escort cars, then shooting one with a rocket launcher from the sunroof allows for a quick vehicle removal." Leonard explained.
"Maybe a SPAS twelve or two." Penny added.
"Yes, that can help with the cars." Leonard agreed. "Okay, you guys continue here, I have to make a call."
"No calls from now on." Vincent said.
"No offense but I have two pets and I need to tell my friends that I won't be back for a few days." Leonard told him and left the room.
"And we have two people who expect us back." Aaron said and also took his phone, though he only typed a message.
"So, cars." Ricardo turned to Vincent. "Audi eight series, Mercedes S class, BMW S series or Maybach, armored versions. Can you get us two of those?"
"They'll be here by tomorrow morning." Vincent nodded after checking his tablet.
"Guys, can I ask you something?" Penny turned to the other two.
"Sure." Aaron shrugged.
"What level are you?" she wondered. "I mean, on the jobs board."
"Three." Ricardo replied.
"Me too." Aaron added. "We didn't have the luxury of getting a contract like yours that bumped us up to Tier five right away."
Any reply she had was swallowed when Leonard returned. They brainstormed a little more about what gear they'd need but in the end, it boiled down to just waiting for more information. As Vincent had promised, a large package was delivered a bit over an hour later, containing a car simulator that a person could climb into, powerful springs and a gyroscope making the simulator lean and turn as if they were really driving a car.
While she sat around and Leonard was in the simulator, she wondered what was in the case they had to recover.
"Uncle Patrick, it's me." Connor called through the cabin door, the lights inside it off and no indication that someone was here.
"Get in." Mark ushered him through after opening the door, closing and locking it once Connor was through. "All clear, boss."
"Wow." Connor commented on Patrick's caution when his uncle came climbing out of the money pit.
"Did Gunther find anything?" Patrick asked his nephew.
"He did." Connor nodded and put the file and the pictures on the table. "Anything happen while I was gone?"
"Kenta took out our Dallas and San Antonio operations." Mark told him while Patrick went through the file. "Vega has shored up our bases in Kansas City and Tulsa while Nancy was away but I'm worried about our Las Vegas branch."
"Too few men?" Connor asked, feeling a surprising amount of apprehension when he heard Kansas City, where Nancy was in charge.
"Too few everything." Mark sighed. "Vegas was already undermanned since the city has cracked down on the drug trade. Reno looks a bit better and we were able to hire a small mercenary company to shore up their defense."
"FUCK!" Patrick suddenly exclaimed.
"What's wrong, uncle?" Connor wondered.
"I remember now where I know Alfred Hofstadter from." Patrick pointed to Alfred's face on the first picture. "I actually worked with him when I was... working for queen and country."
"So, what about him?" Mark took one of the pictures.
"Our job was espionage in the Sovjet Union." Patrick recounted. "We were supposed to get dispositions of certain units stationed in Poland."
"So?"
"Alfred told me to wait in a hotel. He went out one night and six hours later came back with a backpack full of documents and disposition maps." Patrick told them. "When we were on our way back to Berlin, I learned that an entire battalion of soldiers had perished."
"He killed an entire battalion of soldiers?" Mark couldn't believe it. "How?"
"I have no idea, he didn't tell me." Patrick shrugged. "But apparently, the soldiers had killed each other."
"Jesus!" Mark cursed. "So, what now?"
"Well, I need to have a little talk with Alfred about who these two are." Patrick pointed at the two people with their backs to the camera.
"He's in northern Vermont." Mark read from the file. "Want me to pull a few guys from New York and Pennsylvania?"
"No." Patrick shook his head. "We need them to protect the operations if Kenta shows up."
"Then how?" Connor asked. "I doubt he'll come here for a chat."
"Connor, how much money do you have left from your month of fucking Nancy?" Patrick looked at his nephew, who blushed.
"Uh... how do you know?"
"Oh please, I know Nancy and you still have a shit eating grin on your face, even after driving for ten hours." Patrick chuckled. "Not to mention that you still walk somewhat funny."
"We barely spent anything, so over eighteen grand." Connor still blushed, showing the money.
"Go into town and get me a couple of burner phones." Patrick ordered. "A dozen or so if possible."
"A dozen?" Connor hummed. "Don't you think that might be suspicious?"
"Go to Dakota Electronics on Melgaard Road, the guy who owns it will sell you a dozen under the table." Mark told him. "He might charge you extra though."
"Doesn't matter." Patrick interjected. "I'll allow a markup of fifty percent max."
"You do?" Connor was confused, knowing his uncle and his view on his money.
"This is too important and we need those." Patrick told him. "And my presence here is a secret, I don't want anyone to know that I'm hiding out here."
"Got it, uncle." Connor nodded and left the house after Mark had turned off the lights again.
He walked towards his car and got behind the wheel. The drive into town took twenty minutes plus another ten to find the street and the store on it. He walked in, fifteen minutes before closing and saw another customer standing at the checkout, paying for something. Connor pretended to look at some of the merchandise until the other customer had left.
"Can I help you, sir?" the man who he supposed was the owner asked him.
"Yes." Connor nodded and walked towards the checkout, making sure that there wasn't another customer in the store. "I need a few burner phones."
"You know, in case there's another customer in the store, just ask for a prepaid phone so it doesn't sound as if you're trying to do something illegal." the man chuckled. "And define a few, please."
"How many do you have?"
"I have nineteen left." the man pointed to a few boxes behind him, each containing a phone but less than nineteen.
"I'll take them all." Connor said, adding up the price in his head and putting enough money on the table.
"Very well." the man nodded and hit a few buttons on his checkout, surprising Connor with the number.
"Why did you just add one phone on the recipt?" he wondered.
"Because if the police ever checks my records, it's a lot less suspicious for me to sell one or two prepaid phones a day over two weeks than nineteen at once, don't you think?" the man smirked and began putting the phone cases into several bags, adding more that he produced from behind the cabinet the ones he had seen were in.
"Got it." Connor accepted. "Keep the change."
"Thank you, come again." the man smiled and put the excess money into his safe.
Shaking his head, he put the bag with the phone containers onto the backseat before heading to the nearest grocery store. He grabbed a few essentials, canned food, a few gallon jugs of water and hygiene products. He put all of it into the trunk before making the drive back to the cabin. He made sure that nobody was following him when he took the turn that lead to the cabin and after roughly thirty minutes of driving, he parked the car in his original spot, hidden from outside eyes.
"Good, you got the phones." Patrick asked after Connor had entered the cabin, again in the dark, and put the bag with the phones on the table.
"Yes, and some food and other essentials." Connor nodded. "Help me?"
"Sure." Mark nodded and walked out with Connor, both picking up the stuff and Mark seeing the jugs. "I do have running water here, you know?"
"Well, how would I know." Connor chuckled and both returned to the cabin to find Patrick already making a call.
"Yes... good, I will have two of my associates pick you up... Yes, I can give you the first installment in cash, if you like... Fine. I'll see you in two days." Patrick said before ending the call.
"Who did you call?" Connor asked.
"Go get some rest." Patrick told him instead and from his voice, Connor knew that it wasn't a suggestion.
"Yes, uncle." Connor nodded and headed into the hallway that lead to the three small bedrooms the cabin had.
Instead of going into one of the rooms, he headed into the bathroom, using the sink to clean himself up and brush his teeth with one of the brushes he had bought, then headed into the bedroom. He sat down on the bed and listened to the sounds of nature outside before grabbing his cellphone to type a message.
Nancy, you there? he typed.
Hey lover boy. came the reply after two minutes, with some added smiling emojis. Miss me already?
Surprisingly, yes. Connor wrote, adding an emoji as well. You were fun.
Fun in bed. I know exactly that you miss having your dick inside me. Nancy stated, Connor having to admit that she was correct. I hope you're not asking for some delayed praise of your performance.
Nah, you gave me enough of that when we were doing it. Unless you were just agreeing with me a few hundred times. he chuckled to himself, adding a winking emoji.
Funny. Nancy wrote and even though there was no emoji, he could practically hear her eye roll from where he was sitting. Why are you contacting me?
I wanted to warn you. Kenta might be targeting the KC operation. Connor gave her the reason.
He was in the picture with this Alfred Hofstadter. What actually happened? Wasn't he your uncle's main enforcer?
It's a long story. Connor revealed to her. Patrick is in hiding because of him. Kenta already took out every major Texas branch while looking for Patrick.
Shit! So that's the reason for the increased number of men Vega has put here while I was gone. she wrote. What am I supposed to do if he shows up?
Get rid of any document that has addresses of other operations on it. Connor typed. Otherwise, please don't die.
Great. You sound like my mom when I was a kid and went swimming. 'Have fun but don't drown'. Nancy wrote back, adding an eye roll emoji. Thanks though.
You're welcome. he wrote and put the phone away after no reply came for several minutes.
He laid down and closed his eyes. He thought about how he would normally be in one of his clubs by now, watching people dance while one or more young women would be sitting next to him. And yet, whenever he looked at those imaginary women in his head, they always turned into Nancy wearing her night outfit of a thong and a crop top
Shaking his head, he turned to his side and quickly fell asleep.
Chapter ends here.
Review please :)