TM: Road trip.
"What kind of lame-ass job does Rudy have us on this time?" I asked after slipping the truck's seat-belt over my chest and securing myself to the passenger seat. Josh, the driver, turned the key and the truck roared to life.
"Ain't your place to know, Jack," he told me, leaving me to look out the windshield after the garage door raised, spilling sunlight into my Rayban covered eyes. "Just do what you usually do; be a good boy, and get your money. Isn't that what we're here for?"
"You're a simple man, Josh," I told him with a dry chuckle, turning a grin toward the man in the seat beside me. "That's what I like about yah."
I'd been on this mission undercover for over two months now, working through the ranks of a localized cell claiming to be part of the "New World Order". It wasn't as simple to get into the ranks as some of my previous jobs, particularly since most of the localized cells have upped their own security after DHS was created, giving organizations like CTU a greater level of enforcement capability, despite the tight belt division tries to keep around us. I was in what's called tier two, the medium level of the cell's infrastructure. Tier one is the highest level where my target was managing from. His name was Alex Hoffman.
In tier two, I was looking for the leader named Rudy Gaime, for whom we were pulling this job. I wasn't briefed on the specifics. All I knew is that we were going to drive from Los Angeles to a little town called Barstow in the Mojave Desert. Once there we'd be receiving a wrapped package and had to deliver that to Rudy's men in San Francisco where it was to be loaded onto a ship. Beyond that, I had no clue what was going to happen, and I wasn't sure if Josh knew any more than he was telling me.
All I knew is we had a lot of road ahead of us.
I secretly kept pressing the button on the PDA attached to my cell phone in my pocket every five miles to keep track of distance. It was about four hours out that a sign detailing the presence of a truck stop upcoming was inviting.
"Let's break up here, man," I requested of my silent companion, motioning toward the upcoming stop with a dismissive point of my finger. "I need to take a leak."
The truck's brakes squealed as up to the gas pumps Josh stopped. I unfastened my seat-belt and climbed out of the truck, taking an immediate look around my surroundings. The ground was flat and dusty despite the pavement that provided little hospitality for the run-down looking quick-stop in front of me. I wondered if this place even sold Tic-Tacs.
"Don't go far, Jack, we're not stayin' long," I heard Josh say, but I ignored him. Or, rather, made him think I was ignoring him while around to the back of the building where the restrooms were presumably located I walked. Upon my arrival I noticed no restrooms, but I banked that Josh wouldn't know that. I watched him from around the corner of the building while I dialed CTU on my cell phone.
"CTU, Dessler," I heard Michelle's voice pick up on the other end of the line.
"Michelle, it's Jack," I said quietly, watching Josh for any sign that he may come looking for me. "I only have a minute. I'm at a truck stop about four hours north of L.A. I can relay the map from my PDA when I get more time. Tell Tony I still don't have enough information to get in deeper."
"Tony's still tied up with Chapelle but I'll get it to him soon as I can," she replied in a quieter tone, almost informing me that, yet again, I was going to be on my own through this. "Try to notify me before you upload your PDA so that I can keep it from getting intercepted. Jack..?"
"Chapelle, I know," I said grimly. That man always got in the way of my field work in the past. There's only questions concerning what he could be up to this time. "Look, just be ready to receive the map and have a chopper on stand-by and --" I was cut off by the click of a pistol's hammer cocking behind my head. Slowly and smoothly, I pulled the cell phone away from my ear and flipped it closed while raising my hands.
"You make one wrong move and your brains'll splatter clear across the --" He wanted to talk and I suddenly wasn't in the mood for conversation. Before he could finish his threat I'd twirled my raised hands to grip the back of the Glock pistol and twist it out of his grasp. "Don't move! Don't move!!" I ordered him, trying not to raise my voice to the point Josh would hear while aiming the barrel of the gun center mass of my assailant. My orders weren't going to be followed, obviously, for he reached for a second weapon in his waistband. I had no other choice and pumped three rounds into his chest. There was no hiding that, I thought to myself and hurriedly pressed my shoulder-blades up against the back of the building. Josh would certainly be around to check out the reason for the gunfire. Too early, I thought to myself. Way too early to blow my cover. I flipped the cell phone back open and pressed the speed dial for CTU, peering around the corner of the building only to see Josh opening the back of the truck to pull out an AK-47.
"Jack?!" He called out while locking a round into the rifle. "You alright?! What's goin' on?!"
"CTU, Dessler," I heard Michelle answer on the other end of the phone. I lowered my voice and spoke quickly.
"It's Jack," I replied through my quickened, excited breath. "Get ready to receive my PDA info." I watched as four sedans rolled up on the far side of the gas station and several men climb out of the vehicles, each armed with small rifles and SMG's. Before Josh could turn his rifle upon them, they mowed him down and left him bleeding on the pavement. What was going on?!
"Alright, Jack, go ahead and send it," Michelle said when she was ready and I quickly fished out my PDA, watching the approaching men while connecting the small machine.
"Spread out," one of them, who I assumed to be the group's leader, directed. "Take him alive if you can but if you have to kill him.. oh well."
I pressed 'send' on the PDA and gripped the stock of the Glock firmly, pressing myself back against the wall. I didn't know how long it was going to take the PDA to send the miles that I'd recorded, but I knew how long I was going to have to get myself out of this. I looked around me hurriedly for any sort of cover that would be better than where I was at. Besides the barrel sitting next to me, there was nothing. I wasn't able to collect the PDA off the ground before climbing onto the barrel and then leaping for the overhang of the gas station's roof, pulling myself up onto it and staying on my belly to keep from being seen seconds before I heard one of the men come around the far corner of the building.
"He's around here!" Came the man's voice after noticing the dead man laying next to my PDA and cell phone. I mentally kicked myself for forgetting it there, CTU planted in big, bold letters across the phone's display screen. I slid my hand into my inside pocket and felt for my silencer, sliding it to the barrel of the Glock in my hands and screwing it onto the threaded barrel. Leaving my phone and PDA where it rests, I dragged myself on my belly across the hot, sun baked roof toward the front of the building. There would be men swarming the back looking at the evidence of my presence. That was the last place I wanted to be.
There were only two men left to guard the front of the building, neither of whom was the man I identified as the group's leader. They were too far away for me to get a clear shot with the pistol, but my time was running out to make a decision. I thought quickly and pulled myself off the lip of the roof when I figured I could do it without being seen and, upon landing on my feet, ducked quickly into the store. Once inside my barrel was immediately turned upon the store clerk who was already frightened enough. He threw his hands in the air and stared with wide eyes at me, panting frightfully.
"Easy! Easy," I ordered, holding one palm out disarmingly though keeping my gun trained on him. "My name's Jack Bauer," I continued. "I'm a federal agent with CTU. Listen carefully to what I want you to do.."
--
"I don't care how far you have to look, find his ass," I heard the leader say from the other side of the store while I quickly put on the store clerk's apron and coat followed by the small hat he wore, flipping the tassel out of my face. "Go take care of the store clerk," I heard him continue after a moment. "The last thing we need is a witness or LAPD out here wondering what the hell's going on." I placed as frightened a look on my face as I could, listening to the footsteps returning toward the front of the store. I looked toward the back aisle of the store where the clerk was peeking up. I threw a hand motion at him to make him duck back down.
The bell rang and one of the men stepped in with a stone face and pistol in hand. "Sorry about this, jose," he said to me and turned to raise his gun. My hand was already on the trigger, the Glock aimed sideways underneath the cash register. Three quiet shots dug deep into the man's belly and he stared at me as life faded from his eyes. I leapt over the counter and ducked down, watching the others return to the cars, leaving the original two guards behind that were, presumably, going to be looking for me. I pulled the MP5 from the dead assailant's sling and took his pistol, sliding it into my belt line.
I waited for the cars to speed off before I kicked the front door open and sprayed the MP5 toward one of the men. Having expected his own companion to step out, he wasn't prepared for the barrage of bullets that peppered him and his car. He fell quickly and, while the other regained enough sense to raise his SMG to me, mine was already raised on him. "CTU! Don't move!" I yelled at him. "Drop the gun! Do it now!" I slid forward, inching closer. He must've known I wasn't in the mood for games and he carefully, slowly unslung his gun and set it on the ground. "Hands up!" I hollered and he complied, straightening up. Once I was close enough I slung the MP5 and pulled my silenced Glock, aiming it at the back of his head after I turned him around. I knew the bastards had my cell phone and PDA. I was scared to think of what information they could get from that.
I yanked him around to the driver's side of the car and shoved him against the vehicle. "Get in," I demanded. I needed to follow the rest of the crew and this guy was the only one who'd know where they were going. "We're going on a little road trip."
"Ain't your place to know, Jack," he told me, leaving me to look out the windshield after the garage door raised, spilling sunlight into my Rayban covered eyes. "Just do what you usually do; be a good boy, and get your money. Isn't that what we're here for?"
"You're a simple man, Josh," I told him with a dry chuckle, turning a grin toward the man in the seat beside me. "That's what I like about yah."
I'd been on this mission undercover for over two months now, working through the ranks of a localized cell claiming to be part of the "New World Order". It wasn't as simple to get into the ranks as some of my previous jobs, particularly since most of the localized cells have upped their own security after DHS was created, giving organizations like CTU a greater level of enforcement capability, despite the tight belt division tries to keep around us. I was in what's called tier two, the medium level of the cell's infrastructure. Tier one is the highest level where my target was managing from. His name was Alex Hoffman.
In tier two, I was looking for the leader named Rudy Gaime, for whom we were pulling this job. I wasn't briefed on the specifics. All I knew is that we were going to drive from Los Angeles to a little town called Barstow in the Mojave Desert. Once there we'd be receiving a wrapped package and had to deliver that to Rudy's men in San Francisco where it was to be loaded onto a ship. Beyond that, I had no clue what was going to happen, and I wasn't sure if Josh knew any more than he was telling me.
All I knew is we had a lot of road ahead of us.
I secretly kept pressing the button on the PDA attached to my cell phone in my pocket every five miles to keep track of distance. It was about four hours out that a sign detailing the presence of a truck stop upcoming was inviting.
"Let's break up here, man," I requested of my silent companion, motioning toward the upcoming stop with a dismissive point of my finger. "I need to take a leak."
The truck's brakes squealed as up to the gas pumps Josh stopped. I unfastened my seat-belt and climbed out of the truck, taking an immediate look around my surroundings. The ground was flat and dusty despite the pavement that provided little hospitality for the run-down looking quick-stop in front of me. I wondered if this place even sold Tic-Tacs.
"Don't go far, Jack, we're not stayin' long," I heard Josh say, but I ignored him. Or, rather, made him think I was ignoring him while around to the back of the building where the restrooms were presumably located I walked. Upon my arrival I noticed no restrooms, but I banked that Josh wouldn't know that. I watched him from around the corner of the building while I dialed CTU on my cell phone.
"CTU, Dessler," I heard Michelle's voice pick up on the other end of the line.
"Michelle, it's Jack," I said quietly, watching Josh for any sign that he may come looking for me. "I only have a minute. I'm at a truck stop about four hours north of L.A. I can relay the map from my PDA when I get more time. Tell Tony I still don't have enough information to get in deeper."
"Tony's still tied up with Chapelle but I'll get it to him soon as I can," she replied in a quieter tone, almost informing me that, yet again, I was going to be on my own through this. "Try to notify me before you upload your PDA so that I can keep it from getting intercepted. Jack..?"
"Chapelle, I know," I said grimly. That man always got in the way of my field work in the past. There's only questions concerning what he could be up to this time. "Look, just be ready to receive the map and have a chopper on stand-by and --" I was cut off by the click of a pistol's hammer cocking behind my head. Slowly and smoothly, I pulled the cell phone away from my ear and flipped it closed while raising my hands.
"You make one wrong move and your brains'll splatter clear across the --" He wanted to talk and I suddenly wasn't in the mood for conversation. Before he could finish his threat I'd twirled my raised hands to grip the back of the Glock pistol and twist it out of his grasp. "Don't move! Don't move!!" I ordered him, trying not to raise my voice to the point Josh would hear while aiming the barrel of the gun center mass of my assailant. My orders weren't going to be followed, obviously, for he reached for a second weapon in his waistband. I had no other choice and pumped three rounds into his chest. There was no hiding that, I thought to myself and hurriedly pressed my shoulder-blades up against the back of the building. Josh would certainly be around to check out the reason for the gunfire. Too early, I thought to myself. Way too early to blow my cover. I flipped the cell phone back open and pressed the speed dial for CTU, peering around the corner of the building only to see Josh opening the back of the truck to pull out an AK-47.
"Jack?!" He called out while locking a round into the rifle. "You alright?! What's goin' on?!"
"CTU, Dessler," I heard Michelle answer on the other end of the phone. I lowered my voice and spoke quickly.
"It's Jack," I replied through my quickened, excited breath. "Get ready to receive my PDA info." I watched as four sedans rolled up on the far side of the gas station and several men climb out of the vehicles, each armed with small rifles and SMG's. Before Josh could turn his rifle upon them, they mowed him down and left him bleeding on the pavement. What was going on?!
"Alright, Jack, go ahead and send it," Michelle said when she was ready and I quickly fished out my PDA, watching the approaching men while connecting the small machine.
"Spread out," one of them, who I assumed to be the group's leader, directed. "Take him alive if you can but if you have to kill him.. oh well."
I pressed 'send' on the PDA and gripped the stock of the Glock firmly, pressing myself back against the wall. I didn't know how long it was going to take the PDA to send the miles that I'd recorded, but I knew how long I was going to have to get myself out of this. I looked around me hurriedly for any sort of cover that would be better than where I was at. Besides the barrel sitting next to me, there was nothing. I wasn't able to collect the PDA off the ground before climbing onto the barrel and then leaping for the overhang of the gas station's roof, pulling myself up onto it and staying on my belly to keep from being seen seconds before I heard one of the men come around the far corner of the building.
"He's around here!" Came the man's voice after noticing the dead man laying next to my PDA and cell phone. I mentally kicked myself for forgetting it there, CTU planted in big, bold letters across the phone's display screen. I slid my hand into my inside pocket and felt for my silencer, sliding it to the barrel of the Glock in my hands and screwing it onto the threaded barrel. Leaving my phone and PDA where it rests, I dragged myself on my belly across the hot, sun baked roof toward the front of the building. There would be men swarming the back looking at the evidence of my presence. That was the last place I wanted to be.
There were only two men left to guard the front of the building, neither of whom was the man I identified as the group's leader. They were too far away for me to get a clear shot with the pistol, but my time was running out to make a decision. I thought quickly and pulled myself off the lip of the roof when I figured I could do it without being seen and, upon landing on my feet, ducked quickly into the store. Once inside my barrel was immediately turned upon the store clerk who was already frightened enough. He threw his hands in the air and stared with wide eyes at me, panting frightfully.
"Easy! Easy," I ordered, holding one palm out disarmingly though keeping my gun trained on him. "My name's Jack Bauer," I continued. "I'm a federal agent with CTU. Listen carefully to what I want you to do.."
--
"I don't care how far you have to look, find his ass," I heard the leader say from the other side of the store while I quickly put on the store clerk's apron and coat followed by the small hat he wore, flipping the tassel out of my face. "Go take care of the store clerk," I heard him continue after a moment. "The last thing we need is a witness or LAPD out here wondering what the hell's going on." I placed as frightened a look on my face as I could, listening to the footsteps returning toward the front of the store. I looked toward the back aisle of the store where the clerk was peeking up. I threw a hand motion at him to make him duck back down.
The bell rang and one of the men stepped in with a stone face and pistol in hand. "Sorry about this, jose," he said to me and turned to raise his gun. My hand was already on the trigger, the Glock aimed sideways underneath the cash register. Three quiet shots dug deep into the man's belly and he stared at me as life faded from his eyes. I leapt over the counter and ducked down, watching the others return to the cars, leaving the original two guards behind that were, presumably, going to be looking for me. I pulled the MP5 from the dead assailant's sling and took his pistol, sliding it into my belt line.
I waited for the cars to speed off before I kicked the front door open and sprayed the MP5 toward one of the men. Having expected his own companion to step out, he wasn't prepared for the barrage of bullets that peppered him and his car. He fell quickly and, while the other regained enough sense to raise his SMG to me, mine was already raised on him. "CTU! Don't move!" I yelled at him. "Drop the gun! Do it now!" I slid forward, inching closer. He must've known I wasn't in the mood for games and he carefully, slowly unslung his gun and set it on the ground. "Hands up!" I hollered and he complied, straightening up. Once I was close enough I slung the MP5 and pulled my silenced Glock, aiming it at the back of his head after I turned him around. I knew the bastards had my cell phone and PDA. I was scared to think of what information they could get from that.
I yanked him around to the driver's side of the car and shoved him against the vehicle. "Get in," I demanded. I needed to follow the rest of the crew and this guy was the only one who'd know where they were going. "We're going on a little road trip."