JasperPOV
I slipped my cell back into my pocket and leaned back in my chair, I'd just finished a call with Edward and Bella, they were running, I needed to call Emmett, the plan to exfil from Lacrosse was scrapped, they were going black on us. I scrubbed my face, and shook my head, I knew this was the only way they could make it, but I didn't have to like it, we're a team, a family and we never leave a man behind. Edward insisted it was the only way, less chance of them being found by their pursuers he said.
I lifted my cell and called Emmett, I needed to get this call out of the way, he would not be happy.
"Wassup J-dawg?" he practically yelled down the line.
"Seriously dude, you've got to quit watching MTV," I ground out.
"Ha! You my brother are a funny man, so what can I do for you?" he asked.
"The plan's changed bro, they've had to go black," I said somewhat cryptically.
"Shit," was his eloquent response.
"Yeah, look come in and we'll talk, I can't trust the security of the lines," I said.
"I'll be there in ten," Emmett replied before hanging up.
I slipped the phone back onto my desk, I needed to come up with a plan, things were going from bad to worse, not to mention we still had to fill in Garret and the D/O before we could do anything about Labour day. I glanced at the data that streamed across the screen of the laptop beside me; Bella had set up a backdoor on our mission laptop when Ali and I were in Kalispell all those weeks ago, when we left I took it with me and kept following the intel on the quiet. I don't know how she does it, it made little sense to me, but somehow she fitted the pieces together I collated everything she sent and prepared a file, we'd need it now if we were going to stop events unfolding on the 6th.
I was broken from my musings by Emmett dropping into the chair opposite my desk, it groaned under the tension of his weight hitting it so hard. I cocked an eyebrow at him as if to say 'what the hell?' he shrugged and grinned at me. I shook my head, a small smile dancing across my features.
"Let's take a walk," I said standing and moving towards the door.
"A walk?"
"Yeah, get a little fresh air," I said nodding towards the door.
"Okay," he said loping behind me.
We ambled from the building and walked at a steady pace and soon found ourselves on the track towards the kill house.
"Okay Jazz, what's going on?" Emmett asked, the frustration starting to show.
"I had a call from Edward, the safe house in Kalispell is gone, they were attacked two nights ago, an organised assault, they got out and took the route we'd arranged to lacrosse, but changed course when they realised they were being tracked. They were ambushed at a truck stop in Billings, Bella took out an assailant there and they made it to Colorado before they were attacked again," I said giving him the bullet points.
"Damn, so what's the plan now?"
"They're going black, no contact they can't risk someone using cell signals to locate them, they'll contact us when they get here, until then they're on their own, Edward wants us to tell Garrett and the D/O, we need to plan for the 6th," I said calmly.
"Well that's all kinds of fucked up," Emmett muttered.
"Tell me about it," I agreed.
We slowed as the kill house came into view, thoughts of the time we'd spent here with the team filled my mind and a slight rush of adrenalin pulsed through me, we needed to get back on track, the team had been stood down since the events at NNMC, but we needed to get ourselves back up to form. I turned to Emmett and he had a similar look flashing across his face, a determination filled his eyes as he nodded at me. It's time.
"We'll call the guys and get some training in, ASAP, we need to be prepared for everything, Bella and Edward seem to think they're going to use multiple devices, there's a good chance they have a nuke too." I said.
"I'll speak to Elisabeth to page the guys when we get back to your office, you need to call Garrett and the D/O if we're going to do this," Emmett responded
I nodded in response as we turned and headed back down the track. We'd not walked far when Emmett stopped me with a hand to the shoulder.
"Not that I don't like walking, but how come we didn't discuss this in your office?"
"I have a bad feeling, I need to do a sweep, and since the mole was found I guess I've been a little paranoid as to who else could be listening in to our conversations."
"Fair enough," Emmett replied with a shrug and continued walking. "We should check the crew room too if that's the case," he added.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The guys sat around the various chairs and couches in the crew room, pizza boxes adorned most surfaces and coffee cups dotted the numerous coffee tables. General Garrett and the D/O were sat off to the side, seemingly in discussion after Emmett and I had filled in what we knew.
"So Lieutenant, you're telling me that you faked the death of not only a fellow enlisted man, but also a CIA analyst and hid them out in order to flush out a traitor and gain intel on the Volturi," General Garrett said bruskly.
"Yes sir, that's about it," I responded sipping my coffee.
"And now you inform me that not only is the President in danger, but also most of the Senate and that there is a huge chance that they have a nuke that will take out most of the DC area should it be detonated, am I with you so far?" he continued.
"Yes sir," I replied.
"Then you say that both Cullen and Swan are on the run and you have absolutely no idea where they are and no means to contact them either, for all you know they could actually be dead in a ditch somewhere in the middle of nowhere," he stated.
"Yes sir, they were ambushed multiple times during an attempt at exfil and so Edward has decided it's safer for them to go black sir," I replied.
"What shocks me Lieutenant is that you and your team have managed to keep this whole thing from both myself and D/O Dwyer here, you do realise I could have your commission for this?" Garrett said forcefully.
"I would say you're welcome to have it sir," I responded. "It was for their safety, we couldn't chance the mole finding them before we could find out what the Volturi were up to and we didn't trust anyone outside of the team enough to help," I continued.
"Okay, I understand the motive, the traitor is being dealt with, she came clean under routine questioning and continues to assist in our investigation, but right now we need to flesh out what to do about what you've told us, if Swan is correct about the 6th, we're going to have a battle on our hands," Garrett said grimly.
"I have no reason not to trust her on this sir, she's good at what she does," I responded.
"I have to agree, she's the best analyst to pass through our doors in a long time," Phil Dwyer added.
"Fine, fine, Lieutenant, have your team assemble at the ready room in Mclean at 0900 hours tomorrow, I'll have Elisabeth call in the other teams, if we're going to hit the Smithsonian on the 6th, we're going to need to go all out, Phil, we need to get the other agency's on board, but keep this on the down low, no need to call attention to ourselves, I'll leave them to you," Garrett stated before standing to leave.
"Thank you for listening sir," I said standing to shake his hand.
"Hmm, we'll see Lieutenant," he responded before turning and striding from the room, followed by Phil Dwyer.
I slumped back in my chair relieved that was over.
"Well that's fucked up," Seth said from across the room.
The tension in the room broke and it was soon filled with chuckles.
*~*~*~*
"Okay Em, we're going to need your knowledge on this, it's more than likely that as well as a nuke they'll fill the Smithsonian with chemical bombs, like the one from the ship, you're our demolitions man, so tell us how we stop them," I asked with a sigh.
"It's a toughy Jaz, if they use binary liquids it'll make things very difficult for us to shut down, one wrong move and those bad boys will blow and take us with them," he responded.
"Okay, I need you to draw up a training plan that covers both standard chemical bombs, fertiliser bombs and these new fangled binary jobs, we need to have an idea what we're facing, even if it means abandoning the bombs and moving the targets,"
"I can do that bro, no problem,"
"Good, right next thing, we have sessions in the kill house booked for the rest of the week, it'll be different from the usual, I've got some guys constructing a floor plan for the Smithsonian for us, we need to know our way around with our eyes closed, there's no telling what we're up against," I stated.
"What of the other agencies and the other teams?" Seth interjected.
"The CIA Counter Terrorism unit will be working alongside Seal Team 8, we'll be meeting with them on Wednesday. Our primary objective will be seeking out and disarming any bombs at the location, Seal teams 8 and 7 will be working alongside CIA Ops to evacuate civilians and back up Secret Service operatives in ensuring the President is safe. FBI Tactical teams and Seal team 10 will serve to give us backup and contain any offensive contact from the Volturi, although given the fact that the intent is to blow the place to smithereens, I can't see why they would be hanging around,"
"Dude this is some hokey shit, it's more fucked up than Stanley-gate," Seth murmured.
"I'm just glad they're taking it seriously," I replied.
"What about the nuke?" Emmett asked.
"About that, it's only a guess from Bella, she found evidence of a missing nuke scientist, a weapons specialist and put two and two together, still we need to have an idea of how to deal with something on that scale, and definitely how to disarm it," I said cringing.
"That should be easy enough, who's the spec? If I know the name I can determine the type of bomb he would've come up with," Emmett replied.
"Waylon Jennings, he's a lead..."
"Scientist with the DOD, specialising in nuclear weaponry and electro-magnetic fields, I can work with that, my best guess is he's come up with something like an EMP, it's a simple design, but tricky to disarm," Emmett added.
"Is it doable?"
"Sure, it's just tricky, but not impossible."
"Good, then we'll need to be shown how," I suggested.
"No worries bro, I'm all over this," Emmett replied.
"Okay guys that's all for now, we'll meet at the Kill house at 1400 hours, go grab some food or coffee or whatever," I said, standing from my chair and walking to my locker.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking the floor plan of the Smithsonian, had we had time we would've created something with walls, but time is not on our side, so the hastily marked out blueprint on the floor of the arms warehouse had to suffice. By 9pm we had walked every inch of the place, we knew every door, every window, every bathroom; I only hope that it's enough. We couldn't risk going there and practising, I had no doubts that the Volturi had people there scoping the place out, we needed to catch them unaware.
By 9.30pm the pizzas had arrived and we were once again entrenched in the ready room, blueprints and various schematics spread out across the room, not a surface remained clear.
"Okay guys, this is the tentative plan, hopefully Swan and Cullen will be in touch beforehand so that we can tweak it to go with any intel they may have," I started, "Sam and Quil, you'll be entering from the north side, area designated Blue, Jake and Peter, south side, designation red," I stated pointing at the blueprint for the south entrance.
"Okay boss," Jake replied taking a bite of his pizza.
"Seth and Embry, East wing, designated white, Em and I will enter from the west wing, designated black," I finished.
They all nodded in response.
"We'll sweep our immediate locales then call in before moving on, we don't know if we'll be facing any opposition, so not only will we have to follow a standard grid search but also keep lookout for anyone out of place, most likely points of interest will be the basement level and also the upper floors, civilians are expected to be concentrated in the Ocean hall and Rotunda," I said.
"What if we come across anyone? I'm sure we can't just be shooting civilians for wandering off," Jake asked.
"Standard rules of engagement apply, unless fired upon or you suspect foul play, you don't shoot," I responded. "The timeline is set as follows, we will be going in at 1900hours, the President is due at 1930, we can't chance going in earlier without being seen, if they have people on site, then they're likely to get trigger happy, we need to lull them into a false sense of hope."
"But if the civilians are on site, then surely that creates a higher risk!" Sam said.
"Yep it does, but at the same time, Secret Service and local PD will have done a sweep during the day and in the run up, so logic says the devices won't be there until they see the gala in full swing, if we knew how they were getting them in, then that would make things a heck of a lot easier."
*~*~*~*~*
We talked into the night, dawn breaking didn't sway the discussions, it was only the arrival of coffee and General Garrett that slowed us down, he was surprised to see us, no doubt thinking that we would wait for him or D/O Dwyer to tell us how they wanted it to go.
"Gentlemen stand easy, it seems you've all been busy," he said somewhat surprised.
"We have a tentative plan, sir," I replied.
"Good, I need you to take lead on this Lieutenant, you have the best understanding of the intel, so I'm going to trust you have a suitable plan, I will ask you to meet myself and D/O Dwyer at Mclean at 1500hours we need to meet with the other teams and agencies so we're all playing the same tune," he stated before turning and leaving as abruptly as he had arrived.
"Yes sir," I responded before turning back to the table.
Emmett chuckled from across the desk, I cocked an eyebrow at him, and he smirked and went back to typing on the laptop in front of him. I shook my head and concentrated on the blueprints, if we could only work out where the nuke would be, that would help a heck of a lot.
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