Heart Pounding... what is actually happening here?


Twenty Five


Tori was aware of every creak of wood, and every scuff of her boots against the tiled floor as she walked down the hallway. The atmosphere was getting creepier and creepier every second, and she had to keep herself from looking around nervously as she walked.

C'mon, Tori. She finally told herself in irritation. Stop acting like a terrorist is going to jump out of every doorway.

As she passed the next one, a shadow shifted, and suddenly engulfed her. Tori reacted by letting out a yell, which was half muffled as a hand clapped itself over her mouth and strong hands grabbed her.

"Hey.. hey… kumquat… relax." James's voice almost made her go completely limp. "Stop that hollerin, will ya?" Cautiously, the retired SEAL released his hold and looked anxiously at her. "You aint' hurt, are you?"

"No." Tori leaned against him in relief. "Sorry – this place is just making me nuts. Where've you been?"

Jim awkwardly patted her back. "Just checking things. Somethin ain't right here. Saturday's quiet, but not like this is."

"So I'm not just imagining things?" Tori said. "Okay, let me go tell Sinjin what Jade said to do, then we can come back here and see if we don't want to just cut this all short." Tori started down the hall, with James ambling along beside her with his loose, powerful stride. "What do you think is going on?"

"Ah do not know." James's head was swiveling back and forth, watching everything. "Haven't found anybody to ask." He glanced at her. "Gigi all right?"

Tori looked behind her. "I think so." She answered. "She seems okay. Tired, though. I think her arm's hurting."

"Aw." James patted her shoulder. "She's a tough kid. Don't you worry."

"That's true." Tori sighed. "I just wish this was over… hey!" She found herself suddenly grabbed, and yanked back into a doorway, with a large, warm hand covering her mouth.

"Hush." James barely whispered. "Don't you move none."

Tori nodded in understanding, and stayed perfectly still. The doorway they were standing in was dark, and she could almost feel the shadows reaching around her, but she couldn't hear anything, and she wondered what, exactly, they were hiding from.

Then she saw the soft, gray, almost indistinguishable reflection on the tile floor, inching towards the gap where the door met the hallway. She strained her ears, but she still couldn't hear anything, though she could see that tiny shadow moving closer and closer. Puzzled, she looked up at James's face, able to see only the utter stillness there, save the faint flaring of his nostrils.

The shadow slipped closer and closer, and Tori felt her breathing increase. She glued her eyes to the edge of the doorway, and almost jumped when the edge of a rifle barrel cut the straight line. Oh, my god. Tori clamped her jaw shut so her teeth wouldn't chatter. She felt Jim's body shift behind her, and sensed the tension that came into the arms he had wrapped loosely about her.

The barrel moved forward, further away from the door than she first thought, and now the hands and body of it's wielder came into view. It was a young man, of medium height, dressed in fatigues, his eyes flicking nervously up and down the hallway.

Surely, Tori's mind screamed, surely he'd look right at her.

But he didn't. He kept going, and before she could relax, another man edged into view, moving with careful silence. This man was taller and thinner. Then more of them moved past, six or seven in all, Tori had lost count before the last one, a huge bear of a man, crept past. They were wearing backpacks, and their clothes had a well used air about them. Tori's nose twitched, as the scent of gun oil came to her.

James waited almost an entire minute before he eased past Tori, and very slowly edged his head around the doorway. Then he relaxed, and scowled. "What in hell's that all about?"

"I don't know, but it was seriously creepy." Tori told him, peering down the now empty hallway. "Hey.. maybe they're real terrorists!"

Jim allowed a tiny snort of laughter to emerge. "Not hardly." He said. "C'mon, kumquat… let's get us back to that there closet. I figger we'll find out what's up soon enough."

Ain't that the truth. Tori shook her head, and they started down the hallway. She'd taken maybe ten paces, before she stopped dead, a fist clenching her heart. "Oh." A sense of panic filled her, and she turned, evading James's outstretched hand as she launched into a headlong run.


There was a moment's frozen silence. Then the lead terrorist pulled the wool mask off his face. "Shit." He panted hoarsely. "It's a civ!"

Ceci, frozen in shock for several long heartbeats, now surged into motion. She ducked between two of the men and shoved a third out of the way. "You stupid pig headed son of a bitch clueless useless excuse for jarhead buttholes." She dropped to her knees beside Jade's very still, slumped figure. "I should pull your damn privates off." Anxiously, she touched her daughter's face, which was pale and relaxed.

"Shit." The lead terrorist said. "What do we do, Sarge?"

The second man who had come in fingered his rifle. "Just stay where you are. We've got our orders."

"What?" The man who'd taken his mask off objected. "Are you crazy? This ain't part of the orders.. this is a fucking civ!"

"You don't know that." The sergeant snapped back. "What if they are? They could be part of the gig, you know that. They said there'd be something unexpected… this is it. So shut up and just go over there." He turned and looked at the rest of the room. "You all just sit your asses still, and keep your mouths shut."

"Jade?" Ceci patted Jade's cheek gently. "Hey, Gigi?" The pet name felt strange on her lips, but she ignored that. "C'mon, kid – open your eyes, hmm?"

For a far too long instant there was no response. Ceci patted Jade's cheek again, and this time her daughter's eyelids fluttered in reaction, sliding half open to expose dazed pale blue orbs. Ceci found herself babbling in near panic, much to her consternation. "Hey, munchkin, c'mon – you okay?" The eyes tracked to her and fastened on her face, then blinked and opened a little further. "Jade?"

"Urmf." It felt like a building had fallen in on top of her. She just wanted to let her eyes close, and go back to sleep. It was quieter there, and it hurt a hell of a lot less. But someone was shaking her, and she had a sneaking suspicion it was her mother, who would just keep on shaking.

Always had.

"Okay." Jade fended off the prodding. "Okay.. okay.. I'm awake… Jesus…" She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them fully, blinking until her mother came fuzzily into focus. Her face was suddenly cupped between Ceci's hands, and she could feel the tremor in them. A faint, but distinct feeling of surprise filtered through her admittedly half conscious mind.

"Here, see if you can sit up." Ceci urged. "I think the brainless wood chip back there just clipped you."

The terrorists were nervously deploying around the room, and had herded the two console operators over in the corner where Jade and Ceci were. They hadn't seen Jade's two techs yet, who were prudently hiding behind the large, twin drive arrays Jade had been transferring data from.

Okay. Jade managed to get upright, and took stock of herself and the situation. Her head hurt like hell. Her arm hurt worse. Her dignity was screaming in mortal agony. Her mother, for God's sake, was petting her like a kitten.

Jesus! What the hell could happen next?

A wild yell punctured the room, and the door was flung open. The terrorists whirled, and brought their guns up, screaming warnings as a disheveled brunette figure stumbled into the room, looking around frantically. The man closest to the door leaped at her, only to be intercepted by a tall, menacing shadow that grabbed him, disarmed him, and tossed him against the wall in one long, sweeping motion.

"Awright." James's voice boomed out. "Ya'll stay still, or figgure yourself swiss cheese." He cocked the big, black automatic rifle the man had been carrying with a solid, scary sound, then lifted it and aimed it at the biggest guy there, a man half again his weight but about the same height as he was.

"Jade!" Tori bolted for her.

Oh. Jade's tired mind sighed. That's what could happen next. Do yourself a favor, Jade. Don't imagine anything else.


"Tell me again what this all is?" Jim stood, with his hands on his hips, glaring at the hapless leader of the 'terrorists.' "Them people out there sent you all in here?"

"Look, sir." The bear-like soldier had both hands empty, and held out in abject defense. "It's the training exercise. They told us to come in here, and take hostages." He looked around. "We came in here and took hostages.. they weren't supposed to fight back."

James's eyes narrowed. "You saying it was my kid's fault she got hurt?" His voice lowered in pitch.

"N...no, sir." The soldier shook his head. "I'm saying we got surprised, and Niles over there got kicked in a place that really needs ice, if you know what I mean."

James threw a glance at the tallest soldier, who grimaced, and crossed his legs gingerly. "What comes next?" He asked, though he had a pretty good idea. "Them youngsters outside come git you?"

The man nodded. "We're assigned to hold them off. I've got explosives, and extra ammo in those packs. We're supposed to blockade the room, and maintain a defensive perimeter." He hesitated. "Sir, they told us they were going to throw in some unexpected things. I thought… " He glanced over to where the rest of the 'hostages' were seated. "I thought they were part of it. "

"Uh huh." James gave him a very disapproving glare. "Wall, I'm fixing to end this here exercise right quick. Don't you go nowhere." He shouldered the shotgun and turned towards the door, only pausing when he heard Jade's cell phone ring. "Now what?"

"I"ll get that." Tori slid the phone out of it's pocket and answered it. "Yes?"

I can answer my own phone. Jade protested, but the words never emerged, and she was content merely to listen. It was easier to think that way.

"Sinjin.. Sinjin.. wait… slow down." Tori's voice sharpened, and took on urgency. "Hold on.. ho.. what?"

"Give me that." Jade took the phone from her and listened to the chaotic sounds from the other side. "SINJIN!" She let out a yell. The chaos continued, then subsided.

"Boss.. boss.. this place is going nuts. We gotta get outta here." Sinjin yammered. "Some half ass whackos came into that comm center and trashed it! We hid in the punch down closet." His voice went muffled. "Get down.. Brent, you fucking jerk, get your fucking head down before I kick it off!"

Ah. Jade took a breath. He's learning my management style. "Sinjin, calm down. Were these military guys? They've got some wargame crap going on in here."

"I don't know what the fuck they were." Sinjin sounded unusually panicked. "They had guns, Jade. They fucking shot the Ethernet hub."

Jade frowned, and glanced up at James, who had crossed over to kneel at her side. "Are they supposed to be firing live rounds?"

"Hell no." James removed a shell from the magazine of the rifle he was carrying, and showed it to her. "Dummies."

"Can dummies blow holes in electronic equipment?"

"No way." The terrorist leader had also come over. "We're not supposed to break anything, in fact, my CO told me if I dented any of these machines, he'd take 'em out of my paycheck for the next twenty years."

What the hell was going on. "Sinjin, stay right where you are." Jade ordered into the phone. "Don't take any chances. If those idiots are shooting real bullets, you three stay put until we figure out what the deal is."

"Good idea." James nodded.

"Yeah." The terrorist scratched his jaw, and agreed.

There was a scuffle, then the sound of a slamming door, and it got more or less quiet. "Okay." Sinjin panted. "We're in here, but let me tell you, boss - I'm bucking for a bonus after this."

Jade let her breath out with a soft grunt. "You'll get it." She folded the phone and let it drop onto her thigh, as her eyes lifted to James's. "Dad, what the hell is this?"

"Maybe it's a mistake." The terrorist leader offered. "I don't think they really shot anything up, ma'am."

Tori shook her head. "No, the man on the other end of that phone isn't someone who makes things up or panics for no reason." She disagreed, putting a hand on Jade's forearm. "If he says they were shooting, they were."

Ceci cleared her throat. "Does that mean they're coming here next?"

Everyone exchanged glances. "Well." The burly terrorist hesitated. "We're their target, so yeah, I guess."

"If they're shooting real bullets, that could be a problem."

James scrubbed a hand across his face. "Lord." He sighed. "Ain't this a mess. I think we'd better all just get on out of here, Gigi. Pick up your gear and let's move." He touched Jade's lower leg. "Need to get you back to where Dr. Dodie can take a peek at that skull."

Jade had to admit that was probably a good idea. The spot she'd been hit in felt hot, and swollen, and it ached. Tori had found a large bruise spreading down her neck, and with everything else that had happened, even Jade couldn't argue with being on the safe side. "Okay." She glanced at her redheaded tech. "Is that download done?" Doug, his name was, if she recalled.

"Almost." Doug replied.

"Jade, forget it." Tori urged gently. "Let's just get out of here. It's not worth risking you." She could see the unevenly dilated pupils in Jade's eyes, and guessed she had a concussion. It was all too much, and she found their jobs counting for less and less as each minute went on. "C'mon."

For a moment, she thought Jade was going to refuse. The blue eyes studied her face quietly, searching it intently before Tori saw the surrender, then the faint nod of agreement. Jade handed her the cell phone. "I'll tell Sinjin to sneak out and meet us in the parking lot."

Ceci stood up and let James get around next to Jade, gently helping her up. She had put the sling back on her daughter's arm with surprisingly little resistance, and now Jade accepted Jim's assistance with the same silent gratitude.

Frankly, that scared the poo out of Ceci. The only time she'd ever seen Jade meekly submitting to this kind of babying was when she'd been really, really hurt. That broken leg, she recalled, was the last time, when the sixteen year old Jade had huddled in Jim's arms, trying very hard not to cry as he carried her into the hospital.

Leaving, she decided, was a very good idea. "All right, let's go." She started to lead the way towards the door, when it was abruptly thrust inward, and Chief Daniel entered, slamming it behind her. "Ah."

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you." Daniel pointed at Jade, so angry she was almost spitting. "Went right to your buddy and told him, didn't you?"

Jade stared at her. "No. We didn't tell anyone here." She glanced over to where the JAG officer had been crouched, then realized he was gone. "Wh…"

"Someone did." The Chief spat. "Cause they're coming through this place and wrecking everything they can get their hands on." She turned and looked at the terrorists. "You better get your asses out of here, because they're on the way. Unless you want to end up looking like hamburger, get lost."

They heard a crunching sound, from not far away.

"Too late fer that." James stated quietly. "Looks like we got us a problem."


"Should we call the cops?" Ceci watched the men in fatigues move cabinets in front of the door. "Jimmy, this is getting out of hand." She was standing behind Jade, who was seated again at the console, laborously pecking at the keyboard with a single index finger.

"Don't got time." Her husband replied, as he hopped up onto a desk, and peered out through the glass panels that topped the wall separating them from the hallway. "Cops gotta come down from off base anyhow, they get a lick of traffic, might as well ferget it."

"So, what are we doing?" Ceci knew she sounded nervous, but the loud noises of destruction were coming closer, and she had a lot of things to worry about in the room. Jim for one, who tended to believe in his own indestructibility.

"'Specting us to hold em off, so that's what were gonna do." James replied. "Give em nough trouble to make em run off somewheres else."

Chief Daniel snorted. "This is where they want to be." She pointed at the mainframes. "They won't leave those standing."

The leader of the terrorist SEALS glanced between Jim and the Chief, obviously confused. "Ma'am, just what the hell's going on here?"

"You don't want to know." The Chief told him point blank. "Because if you did, you'd have to spend the next ten years in some admin's office doing paperwork on it, got me?" She looked around the room, and shook her head. "We can't hold this place."

"Sure we can." Jim disagreed. "Just need us some unconventional ammo, that's all." He looked over to see Tori crouched next to Jade, ostensibly watching the screen, but with her attention obviously focused on her injured friend. "What you got in them guns, paint?"

The lead terrorist nodded, then jumped as they heard the distinct sound of bodies thumping against the wall in the hallway. "Here they come."

"All right." James pointed. "Ceci, get down behind that there cabinet, take the kids with you."

Jade and Tori exchanged glances, then looked at Ceci. "Kids?" Tori objected, but got up to move anyway. "Come on, Jade."

"In a minute." Jade replied absently, typing in a final command. "This is almost done."

"Jade." Tori heard the crackle of a megaphone outside. "Now, please?" She tugged very gently on her lover's uninjured arm.

"You there inside." A voice boomed out. "We know you've got hostages. If you know what's good for you, let them go."

Jade reluctantly got up and joined Tori and her mother behind the big computer consoles, where Doug and his co worker were also crouched. She took out her cell phone and opened it, redialing Sinjin's number.

"You stay where you are, or these guys get it." The terrorist leader recited dutifully. "I got women in here, and I'll waste em."

James gave him a look.

"That's what they told us to say, sir." The man rumbled apologetically. He deployed his men to either side of the doorway, and told them to keep down. "They're going by the plan too, you sure this isn't just part of the exercise?"

At that instant, the lights went off. A thick, dark silence fell over the room, as the air conditioning stopped, and the computers shut down in a sad, dying whirr of fans.

"Note to self." Jade's voice cut through the gloom. "Recommend independent UPS systems."

"Jesus." Tori whispered.

"Doug, disconnect the box, and pull it over towards me." Jade said quietly.

"Yes, ma'am."

James blinked, then blinked again to see if that would help him see anything in the darkened room. No such luck. His mind ran through the possibilities, and didn't much like any of them. "Figure they're gonna toss something through them there winders next." He muttered.

"Gas? Yeah." The terrorist leader agreed softly. "We got masks."

"Not enough of 'em." Jim let his eyes close as he stood up. "Stay here. You hear something, get down."

"Yes, sir."

Doug crept across the tile floor, dragging the big box. "Okay, here it is, ma'am."

Jade felt the equipment, making sure the cover was tightly on, and the back ports were secured. She thought a minute, then felt around her until her hand touched a box of fanfold paper intended for the big line printer nearby.

As is always the case with computer paper, it was nearly empty. Jade inverted it, and slid it down over her black box. Then she sat down comfortably on top of it, and exhaled. "Okay. Whatever happens, keep your heads down, and don't move."

In the darkness, she felt Tori nestle closer to her, pressing their bodies together, and sliding a hand to curl around Jade's thigh.

"You've got one chance to come out." The voice boomed.

Jade heard a slithering sound nearby, and something that sounded like dead fish being slapped on a dock. "Dad?"

"Hush." James's voice echoed softly. "Just you stay down."

"We are." Tori whispered back. "What are you doing?"

"Never you mind, kumquat. Just stay put, and keep yer head low."

"I'm warning you!" Their terrorist called. "You do anything, I start shooting in here, and I won't care what I hit!" A few whispered orders followed, and the shuffling, very faint, of booted feet. "We got gas masks, so don't bother trying anything, not unless you want these hostages gassed!"

"Didn't know they were selecting them for intelligence this year." Ceci muttered, under her breath. "Nice."

"Mom." Jade bit back a smile, invisible as it was.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, they only pick SEALS who are smart enough to save the team's asses."

"Don't none of you be standing fore that door there." James rumbled softly.

The SEAL team leader stepped a pace closer. "You sure this isn't just reg stuff, sir? They're going right by the plan so far."

"Ah don't know." Jim replied. "But I am not taking chances with mah wife, and my kids in here. Them folks had best hope they come in with them little paint balls and a lot of hollerin, and not with anything worse, or it's gonna get messy."

A loud thump was heard. Then there was silence. Everyone waited, now sweating in the motionless air.

Then everything happened at once. The top windows blew in, and hard, round things entered, bouncing off surfaces with wild abandon. That was followed by a very strange noise, like an over shaken soda can being popped.

A acrid smell began to fill the room, then stopped as an indescribable noise started, and the stink was replaced with a second overwhelming scent, this one chemical.

Jade wrapped her good arm around Tori and ducked her head, as popping noises started, and a crash came from the front door. She could sense things happening around her, but the sounds didn't evoke any logic, and the smell of smoke and sweat, and chemical made her queasy.

Now men were yelling. The attacking SEALS poured in the door, and the explosive sound of guns firing filled the room. Tiny red tracers raced everywhere, dotting the walls and floor, then the yells turned to hollering, as the odd noise returned, along with a loud whoop Jade recognized as her father.

"What in the hell is he doing?" Jade hissed to Ceci.

"You're asking ME?" Her mother hissed back. "You're the one who checked out the entire Jane's Weapons series from the library, remember?"

"Son of a bitch!" A yell rose up. "What the fuck!"

Now the noise sounded more like cattle being herded into a pen, one filled with jello. Jade could hear bodies colliding, and the chemical smell became almost overwhelming. Then she heard something behind them.

Boots. Shuffling.

The cocking of a rifle. Instinctively, Jade grabbed hold of Ceci, and Tori and pulled them all down to the floor, ignoring the pain in her arm as the world exploded behind her. She felt the shudder in the equipment they were leaning against, then heard a grunt, another cocking, , and pressed her body against the floor.

Another shot. Pieces of plastic showered over them. The shouting continued on the other side of the room.

A red tracer danced lazily through the blackness.

Jade watched, in stunned disbelief, as it traveled over her chest, and stopped. For a second, all she could hear was her own heartbeat, turned into a thunder as her mind realized what was happening.

The gun cocked.

"Dad!" Jade let out a yell, knowing if she moved, she'd expose Tori and her mother.

She closed her eyes.

Then there was a thud, and a curse, and the sound of something ripping.

Metal hitting flesh. Flesh hitting flesh.

An animal growl.

"All right." A commanding voice rose over the chaos. "Hold it! Everybody stand down!"

And then the lights came on.