L
ATER THAT DAY, AT ONYX HQ IN WASHINGTON DC.
Although it was a situation that was still unfolding, Luke knew things were pretty dire, and as such he didn’t hesitate to convene a meeting for all the team members at the DC office.
As they all sat around the conference table, Luke Simon was the first to speak. He told them, “I know that this one has been brought upon you guys kind of all of a sudden, but I think you can all appreciate the urgent nature of this assignment.”
Raina seated next to Mason spoke up, “So they have the virus? That’s terrible.”
Mason then acknowledged what he had been feeling, “I know, and I feel completely responsible for it.”
Raina immediately tried to reassure him however, telling him, “No—no way! You can’t say that Mason! It’s not your fault!”
She paused before adding, “The only ones whose fault it is are the psychopathic terrorists who unleased the virus! How can you blame yourself?”
Mason shook his head, “No—I dropped the ball. And now the vials that I failed to acquire on the previous mission are coming back to haunt us.”
Luke interrupted the heated discussion by offering, “Well—whatever the case may be, bemoaning the past is certainly not going to do anyone any favors.”
Mason knew exactly what Luke meant. He needed him to shut up, stop beating himself and everyone else up about prior failures, and move on with the current mission. For Mason—someone who increasingly found it difficult to get over the past, this was a task much easier said than done.
Mason was the one that couldn’t get over his past wife and get on with his life. He resented Luke for pointing out his tendency to mope and regress, but he knew it was the truth all the same.
Raina, like usual, seeking to comfort the storm clouds that brewed just under Mason’s hardened surface gently tapped his arm as she asked, “Hey, did you get my message earlier.”
Mason feeling a bit bad for missing her calls and not calling her back, sighed, “No—no I didn’t.”
Raina wasn’t trying to make him feel bad however, and simply told him, “Well if you did, you would have heard what I found out about that Nelson guy.”
Mason interested in tying up this loose end from the last mission perhaps a little more than he would openly like to admit, asked, “Really?”
Raina nodded, “Yeah—turns out he wasn’t so innocent after all.”
Mason watched her as she elaborated, “Yeah, it seems that he was being used as a mule.”
Mason practically roared in triumph, “Now why doesn’t’ that surprise me?”
Raina nodded, “Yeah he’s facing charges here too.”
Raina then quietly added, “But the odds of him ever standing trial are absolute zero.”
Mason feeling the indignation rise up within him at the thought, exclaimed, “What? Why not?”
Without blinking Raina answered, “Because he’s dead.”
Mason was surprised, “Huh? But his injuries weren’t that bad…”
Raina shook her head, “No he didn’t die from his injuries he was murdered. Found shot to death in a bathroom stall in the airport.”
Mason gasped, “Your kidding?”
Raina confirmed, “No—it’s true. And it looks like a hit job courtesy of Amigos dos Amigos.”
Mason exclaimed, “Ain’t that some shit!”
Raina then clarified, “The investigation is still ongoing, But, anyway…Since he himself was an unlawful combatant after all, it would appear that you would be in the clear for any charges of wrongdoing or overreach.”
Mason muttered, “Damn… I guess you are right about that.
Luke meanwhile, interrupted the discussion by flipping on a wall monitor and announcing, “Alright guys listen up—I need your full attention here.”
Upon hitting the power button, the same stock footage, they had been watching at the bar appeared on the mounted wall screen. It was scenes of absolute carnage and agony with people crying, screaming, and moaning at the state that their shattered lives had become.
It was then Marshal that spoke up, “Such death—is there any work on an antidote?”
Luke paused for a second as he mulled it over, “An antidote for Ebola?”
He grimly nodded, “Yes, but it has only been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency situations.”
Luke motioned toward the screen and acknowledged, “And this would indeed seem to fit that criteria.”
Luke continued with the gravity evident in his voice, “But as bad as these things are, from early intelligence that has been gathered, it would seem that this is in fact just the trial run of something that could be potentially—much, much worse.”
Mason raised his eyebrow, “Where? In Italy?”
Luke shook his head, “No probably not. I mean, we don’t know for sure but it seems that other countries might be targeted.”
It was at this point that Chris Bradley who had been quietly sitting at the end of the table asked, “Is this the same bunch of wingnuts and religious whackos that had wanted to cleanse DC just a few months ago?”
Luke flatly answered, “Could be—we just don’t know yet.”
Benton who had been sitting on the other side of Mason suddenly declared, “Whoever they are. We’ve got to stop these guys.”
Mason echoed, “You got that right.”
Luke finalized this sentiment by solemnly directing, “Alright, let’s get to work.”
ABOUT 30 MINUTES LATER.
Each team member was their own unique flurry of activity as fingers typed and eyes scrolled over countless news feeds and other important sources of data. Sifting through the mountains of information, they were desperately trying to connect the dots so that they could figure out just who it was that were deranged enough to carry out these egregious attacks.
Mason asked Kyle who was seated at a desk behind him, “Any luck?”
Kyle shook his head, “No—so far, nothing. Just the same old information repeated on the same news stations every few minutes.”
Kyle sighed, “They just keep talking about a car exploding in downtown Rome from an unknown assailant releasing the virus… but still haven’t connected any dots yet.
It was just then that Mason’s phone began to ring, vibrating on the table. Mason grabbed it as he read off the caller ID, “What—that’s the Pentagon!”
Mason answered, “Hello?”
As he listened in for a moment, a grave look came across his face, “Oh—I see.”
Mason then ended the call with a curt, “Yes sir—will do.”
Shortly thereafter he hung up the phone. He then turned to the group and informed them, “That was General Thomson. He has just confirmed that the group behind the viral attack in Italy was indeed the same group that we’ve dealt with before.”
Raina cursed, “Damn...”
Kyle asked, “How did they find out?”
Mason answered, “I guess this isn’t out in the general media yet—but investigators in Rome found a key piece of evidence at the scene—pulled right from the wreckage of the burned-out car.”
Mason continued, “The detonator from the explosive device that had gone off was retrieved and after further analysis, it was determined to be 99% identical to similar devices made by the Iranian bomb maker Khalif Hatim—who in turn is linked back to a group of Italian based terrorists.”
Raina muttered, “By blood we cleanse…”
Mason confirmed, “Yes—they would be the ones.
Taking a breath, Mason then revealed, “And although the higher ups were not completely pleased with our efforts last time, it has been determined that due to our previous experience we are most likely the best group to have on the case.”
Marshal Oliver cynically remarked, “So they think that we screwed up royally before but they don’t have anyone else capable of taking this job? Or they just don’t have anyone else period?”
Mason Walker was growing more fed up with Marshal by the hour, but stayed silent. Instead it was Raina who sighed, “Well gee-whiz, if that’s not a great consolation…”
Mason had more info to reveal however, as he informed them, “According to Thomson there is still an active terror cell for this group working out of NYC. And it’s now believed that they are plotting additional attacks right here in the United States.”
Benton cursed, “Shit…”
Mason then glanced at all of his associates as he asked, “So do you want to do it or not—everybody in?”
To which they all variously nodded, and offered their personal pledge of support. Mason himself vowed his undying resolve to capture the bozos that had at one time captured him, announcing, “This mission only has three possible outcomes; either they go to prison, get killed, or I get killed—I’m going to get these guys.
