The One Who Lost His Way

AN: As promised, an entire chapter from Jonah's perspective. Obviously, things get a bit dark, but I don't think it's dark enough to warrant a special warning.

Key:

"Titan speak"

"Human speak"

Character's inner thoughts

"Telepathic communication"

Disclaimer: I do not own Godzilla: King of the Monsters or any characters.

Control room, Monarch bunker outside Boston:

The control room was mostly empty since it was nearly midnight. Other than him, only three other men were here manning the computers, a skeleton crew to keep a tab on things. It was quiet save for the occasional click of a mouse or clack of a keyboard. Dark, too, since all the lights were out. The only light left in the room was the ambient light from the various computers. Two of which were playing a pair of videos on repeat.

Things...were not going to plan. After reading through the latest reports that his men snatched from under Monarch's noses, he'd done nothing but scowl at the videos of the two most recent fights. Monster Zero had given them a remarkable display of power when it thoroughly thrashed Amhuluk. Its ability to create storms had been an unknown until then, and he prefer to test it out some more before making any plans to deal with the dragon. For instance, how strong could those storms become? How long did they last? How well could it control them?

Something told him what they saw in Russia was only a taste of Monster Zero's true capabilities. A shame, then, that it was on the wrong side. He could have used a titan of that caliber to fast-track his own plans. Unfortunately, Monarch had gotten to it first.

Godzilla's fight with the sea dragon had gone much differently. The so-called 'King of the Monsters' had nearly died from the look of it. Clearly, he was quite outmatched in the water, and the fact Godzilla survived at all was more luck than anything. If the fight had happened out in the middle of the ocean away from any land, things probably would've been much different. Perhaps they could 'encourage' a second round in a more advantageous area.

Because, as much as he hated to admit it, he was losing this little fight between his group and Monarch. Godzilla alone wouldn't have been a big deal. As long as they kept waking up titans, he would eventually become overwhelmed. Even with the oversized bug's help, the status quo would've been against the two titans.

They'd not seen Rodan fight another titan yet, but he didn't need to. Rodan wasn't the problem. Monster Zero was. Estimates and theories were all they had to go on right now, but those were enough to see that the dragon far outclassed Godzilla in terms of size, weight, and raw power.

That dragon needed to go.

Unfortunately, he had no idea how to go about accomplishing that task...yet.

"Sir? Call coming through." Jonah glanced at the younger man standing next to him. Since Ash was dead, he needed someone to take his place.

This man, Blake, was it. He was in his mid-thirties and did a single tour in Iraq before joining their group. From what he was told, a command came through that would risk his soldier's lives. He disobeyed and achieved the objective another way, though there was a lot more collateral damage involved. He was court-martialed for his insubordination, and his squad was placed under the command of someone else. Half of them were dead within the month.

Jonah grabbed the satellite phone without a word and put it up to his ear. "Status?"

The reply was instantaneous. "On schedule, sir. The package is ready. We'll deliver once you give the word."

The news made him grin, the first time since everything started taking a jog to the left. "Excellent." He checked the clock on the computer screen. It was 12:37 AM on the seventeenth. "Set the delivery for noon today. We'll be in town by then." He received an affirmative and then hung up the phone, handing it back to Blake. "Prepare the vehicles. We leave within the hour."

Blake nodded. "And the girl?"

Jonah remained quiet for a few seconds before answering. "Leave her be for now. Keep an eye on her, though." For a twelve-year-old, she was quite the crafty kid, using the intercom system to eavesdrop on them and then writing down evidence to damn them all in her little notebook. Once his men installed a hidden camera in the radio room and he saw that, he made sure the control room speaker was turned off every time she left. She was clearly against them, but he was reluctant to properly deal with her as long as he needed Dr. Russell. Once he learned more about the ORCA and how it worked, though...they would cease to be of use, especially since he could see the growing doubt in the good doctor's expression lately. She was second-guessing their plan, and that just would not do.

"If she tries to run?"

If she could get out of this bunker without being seen, he would be rather impressed. Still, it was a possibility worth thinking about. "Let me know if she does, of course. In fact, don't even try to stop her."

"Sir?" Blake was clearly confused, but that's why Jonah was the one in charge. His second didn't need to be the one coming up with the plans. He just needed to follow orders.

"She'll try to contact Monarch. They'll come for her, of course. Have some men follow her from a distance, and we might get a shot at capturing a few of their senior personnel." In this case, the only one he wanted, the one he was positive would be on the recovery team, was Dr. Russell's ex-husband. He might not have been the one to fire the shot, but his actions got Ash killed. He'd pay the man back in kind. First, by killing his family in front of him. Once he was broken, he'd put the man out of his misery. Simply put, the Russells were becoming more of a loose end by the day. Soon enough, he'd have to take care of them. Permanently.

"Yes, sir." With that, Blake left to carry out his orders.

The drive to New York wouldn't take too long. They'd be in the city before sunrise certainly. Monarch vehicles would allow them to blend in, but there was no sense in taking unnecessary risks by driving in broad daylight. The less people who saw their little convoy before they reached the city, the better. Civilian vehicles would be better, certainly, but they didn't have any right now. He'd make sure to rectify that oversight soon.

Once in the city, they'd need time to set up in their safe house where they could lay low for a week or so to let the heat die down—literally and figuratively. This particular plan wasn't going to backfire. The pieces were all where they needed to be. Godzilla and Mothra were in Georgia. It'd take them several hours to get to New York. Rodan was hanging around Iceland, away from the other titans. And Monster Zero was over the Atlantic, heading back to Isla de Mara from the look of it.

Likewise, Monarch and the military were spread out, attempting to guard the other outposts to prevent the sleeping titans from rising or reacting to the titans that were already awake.

It was a perfect time, then, to cause some chaos.

New York City, six hours later:

"Well...you certainly seem to have thought of everything," Dr. Russell commented as their vehicle entered the abandoned warehouse through one of the old loading bays. They were in one of the old industrial districts that didn't see much use anymore, so there weren't many people that wandered around this area. More importantly, the cops didn't patrol here.

"It's my job to," he replied absently, stepping out of the vehicle once it stopped. He glanced at her only momentarily as she climbed out of the other door. During the entire ride, the ORCA hadn't left her, and she was still clutching the ORCA close to her like it was her lifeline. Which it was...even if she wasn't fully aware of it yet.

The place was old. The roof leaked in some spots, and the internal support beams were covered in rust. Puddles of water covered the back of the warehouse, where a pile of rotten wood covered a not insignificant portion of that side of the building. All in all, it seemed completely abandoned. Nobody had been in here for ten years, at least.

All of their gear was closer to the front where the loading bays were. All four of their Monarch Humvees were stored off to one side, as were two large, civilian SUVs with tinted windows. One was white, the other grey. Both were fairly dirty.

The command center was in the old office. Several mobile computers were set up with a rudimentary table in the middle. From this distance, he couldn't tell what was on it. The rest of the floor space between the office and loading bays was where all of their weapons and supplies were being stored, including a few rows of bedrolls.

His advance team was milling about, going through final checks of their equipment and plans. With the group he just brought with him, there were twenty-seven of them in total, including himself and Dr. Russell. Even as well-armed as they were—fully automatic, military-grade rifles, explosives, Kevlar vests, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, not to mention the four Humvees with mounted .50 cals—they couldn't take on the entire NYPD and military when they inevitably arrived.

But that's not how they worked, anyway. Small groups were better in their line of work, better to work in plain sight without anyone even knowing they were there and better to get out without much difficulty. With any luck, they'd be in and out before anyone even realized where they were.

One of the men approached him with a respectful nod. "Good to see you here, sir. I trust the drive wasn't too bad?"

"Let's skip the pleasantries, shall we? Are we ready to proceed?" The man nodded, motioning for him to follow. Jonah did so, but only after gesturing for his men to watch Dr. Russell.

They stopped next to a map spread out across a pile of wooden crates and ammo boxes. Upon it, the city of New York was marked in several locations. "We've placed charges in the refueling depots for both LaGuardia and JFK. Once those go off, the blazes will take a long time to burn out. And airport evacuations are always messy." Jonah nodded. Just those two bombs alone would probably keep the emergency services busy. "For safe measure, we put another in Grand Central Station." The simultaneous attack on both airports and the subway system would cripple peoples' ability to navigate the city. Lockdowns and evacuations were sure to ensue with the clear terrorist threat. All that required manpower to oversee. Spread thin by three separate bombs, the police would have no idea what was really going on. "And the final charge is placed here," he pointed to the fourth red circle, which was labeled 'power station'. "Knock out that power station and pretty much all of Queens and Brooklyn goes dark."

The fifth circle was green, and it was on Yankee Stadium. The last circle, which was blue, highlighted their current location. "If our target is here," he began, pointing at the baseball field. "Why are we here, on the other side of the city?" To be specific, they were in Flushing.

"Best we could do on short notice," he explained. "So we should probably be at the field before the bombs go off. We can airlift from there once we're done."

"Call it in," he agreed. Their aircraft were all near Boston, so it'd take time to get them up here. They were Monarch craft, which again, would allow them to blend in, especially once Rodan arrived. No one would bat an eye at seeing one of their ospreys during a titan attack.

The man left to do just that, and he studied the map for a moment longer before moving over to the computers. On them was Monarch's tracking system with all of the titan's current locations. Godzilla and Mothra were actually heading south now. They were currently southeast of Miami about to head into the Gulf. Monster Zero was already at Isla de Mara. Rodan was flying around Iceland. Amhuluk was back near Man-Pupu-Ner. Tiamat's last known location was Georgia's coast. No one had seen the aquatic titan since its fight with Godzilla. It was probably too deep and moving too fast for subs to follow.

As he stood there, watching the computers over his soldiers' shoulders, Dr. Russell entered. The two men who were guarding her stood outside the command center, waiting and watching. After gesturing with his head for them to leave, which they did, he turned his gaze over to her, wondering what she wanted and waiting for her to speak. The ORCA was not in her grasp.

She sighed and looked out at the troops for a moment, all of which were beginning to ready up, before turning back to him. "Why New York? I get that you have to crack a few eggs to make an omelet and all. I know this was never going to be painless. But this is the biggest city in America, Jonah."

"Precisely," was his simple response. She sighed and looked over at the map. "Remember, Emma. This is all to restore the natural order, is it not?" She nodded hesitantly. "Massive cities like New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong...they all stand in defiance to that order. People destroy nature to better suit their needs, twist the land into jungles of metal and concrete rather than wood and earth. For thousands of years, mankind has tried to tame and push back nature. With the titans, nature finally has the chance to push back."

"And yet this whole plan of yours is an attempt to get one of them killed," she shot back.

He frowned. "You yourself said that they are smarter than we gave them credit for. Hell, one of them can talk! Therefore, is it not possible that they are smart enough to choose sides?"

She shook her head. "I think you give them too much credit. Monster Zero seems like an exception to all the rules. We can't base assumptions on the other titans based on him alone."

"In war, it's often better to overestimate your enemy rather than underestimate. Of course, it's better to do neither, but that's why we have the ORCA. To learn more about how they behave in certain circumstances." He paused and pinned the doctor with a serious question. "Ask yourself, Doctor...what if it's not me that's overestimating them? What if you are the one underestimating them? They are referred to as the first gods, after all. Humans and titans have coexisted in the past. So what if they're not the mindless beasts Monarch thinks them to be?"

She didn't appear very convinced. "And do you really believe that, Jonah?" He raised a brow, silently asking for clarification. "Do you really believe the titans are as intelligent as you or I?"

Rather than answer. He turned the question back on her. "Don't you? Isn't that why you're here? Why else would you side with them over your own kind?"

She remained silent and deep in thought. Apparently, she'd never thought about it in that way before. Perhaps there was hope for her yet...

Too bad she had to involve her daughter in this. Dr. Russell would never take his side if it meant getting rid of little, nosy Madison. The girl was already expendable, and she was nearly at the point of becoming a liability. When the chips fell, Emma would abandon him and their plan if it meant keeping her daughter safe.

Maybe she'd end up surprising him...but he rather doubted it.

Several hours later, they were driving the civilian vehicles to Yankee Stadium. Dr. Russell was in the back with the advance team leader, a man named Jack. Another soldier was driving the white Suburban they were currently in, and Jonah himself was sitting in the passenger seat, occasionally glancing at the clock on the dash. The bombs were set to detonate within the next ten minutes, and they were just parking now.

Every time they'd passed a cop on the route, their was a moment where everyone held their collective breaths, but no one had suspected a thing. The four Humvees were taking another, longer route. They'd get to the stadium several minutes after the bombs went off and act as an early warning if people started wising up to what they were up to.

They'd broadcast for as long as they could, but Monarch would detect the signal as soon as they started. After that, it was a race against time. Once enemy forces started converging on the city, they'd have to bug out.

The parking garage was empty since there was no game today, but nobody was getting out quite yet. The minutes ticked by in silence until a series of distant booms went off. "Let's go," he gave the command, and the doors all opened, the troops piling out. In the distance, he could see plumes of smoke already rising from the other side of the city. People in the streets were screaming already.

Since the garage was down the street, all of his men were wearing civilian clothes over bulletproof vests, their sidearms hidden from sight. Each also carried a duffle bag with their gear. Once they were in the stadium and out of the streets, they'd gear up.

Police sirens began going off, the number of them echoing through the city. It almost sounded like they were coming from everywhere, which they probably were. The last time the city experienced something like this was the 9/11 attacks nearly twenty years ago.

When they stepped into the street, they saw some people running while others were just staring at the rising smoke with either horror or anger. Many were crying already. No one bothered them as they calmly walked across the street to the stadium. They had more important things to worry about right now.

The gate to the stadium was locked, so one of his men pulled out some bolt cutters and broke it open. The gate swung open with a loud creak. "Hey! What're you doing! You can't go in there!"

Some random citizen tried to intervene, even going so far as to try and take the bolt cutters from the one who cut the lock. In return, those same bolt cutters smacked the meddler across the face. Teeth and blood went everywhere, and the guy collapsed to the ground in an unconscious heap. "Freeze!" Jonah looked over to see another, older guy holding out an NYPD badge and aiming a pistol at them. He must be an off-duty cop.

Jonah just motioned for his group to keep going, and as soon as that pistol was off of him and on his men, he pulled out his revolver and shot the cop in the head. The screaming started anew. "The clock's ticking," he told the rest of his group. They nodded, and the squad rushed up to the press box.

Dr. Russell wasted no time in hooking the ORCA up and turning it up. Soon enough, the haunting cry started broadcasting from the stadium speakers. "Let's hope this works..." she muttered.

AN: You have to wonder which side Emma's on. She's sort of throwing out mixed signals.

The real heat starts picking up next chapter, and since a guest reviewer asked for Rodan to have the spotlight, he'll have his own special part next chapter, too.

As always, feel free to leave any thoughts or comments.

Until Next Time

AdmiralCole22