Hello. First of all I apologize about the long absence. I was away on holiday and I spent the time to write some things... But i'm back and due to the fact that i'm back at school, I'll be publishing one chapter per month...
Feel free to post and here's chapter 5 of OPERATION: TERROR
Enjoy!
LifeSucks
(8 days until the clock starts ticking again... 24: Inmortal!!!)
5
LONDON, ENGLAND
The morning after, Stephen and Marcia left the hotel early to meet with Forster and finish this job as soon as possible. On the way there they discussed a wide variety of things: from the train station bombing to her relationship. Once they got there, the first thing they saw was that Forster's house was full of police officers. Levine got out of the car and approached one of the officers.
"Excuse me, sir. You can't go in" the officer said.
"My name's Stephen Levine. I work for the CIA" he said as he took out his I.D. " I would like to know what happened"
"Somebody broke into this house and killed a man"
"Do you have an I.D. on the man?"
"What do you care?"
"It's crucial for our country's security to know that man's identity"
"His name is Clive Forster. 57 years old. He worked for the MI-5"
"I'm sorry. Who?"
"Clive Forster. An MI-5 agent"
"That's... that's not possible. My partner and I are here to interrogate him"
"I'm sorry. That's the truth" the officer said. Levine went back to the car where Marcia was waiting.
"What happened?"
"Walk with me" Stephen said and started to walk away from the crowd as a passerby looked at them.
"Can you explain to me what the fuss is all about?" Marcia said angrily.
"Clive Forster was assassinated"
"What?!" Crawford replied in disbelief, because she thought that it was a joke.
"What you heard. Someone broke into his house and shot him. My guess is that they knew we were going to question him and they got ahead of us. And if they got to him..."
"They can get to us"
"And they can get to you" Levine said, finishing the sentence.
"Then what's the case of being here if the informant that was supossed to help us is now dead?"
"You're right. Why don't we call Benson and tell him we're going back home tomorrow night?" Marcia said. They both headed back to the car. The passerby (who was listening music) pushed a button, and all of a sudden their car exploded. People were screaming. Stephen covered Marcia as a ball of flames and smoke rose up.
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LANGLEY, VIRGINIACIA HEADQUATERS
"Holy shit!" Benson exclaimed as he turned on the TV and saw the reports on the car bomb. He was not only concerned for the sake of Forster, but for the sake of his agents as well. He called the Royal Hotel to check on the other agents. Stu Mann picked up.
"Hello?"
"Stuart, it's director Benson. How you doing?"
"We're fine, but worried for Crawford and Levine"
"Why?"
"The car bomb exploded outside Forster's house, and they were the ones who went to interrogate him today, and as I said we don't know anything about them"
"Call me the second, and I mean THE SECOND you hear any thing" Benson demanded as if he was anxious.
"Yes, sir" he said and turned to the other agents.
"There was a car bomb outside Clive Forster's house. We don't know if there are any casualties and whether Forster, Crawford and Levine are okay"
"Was the car bomb directed to someone? I mean, was it for Forster? Or Crawford? Or...?" Joel Sloan asked.
"I don't know yet. We're just gonna have to pray" Stuart said as the TV was on and the press showed a tape of the explosion over and over again.
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Outside Forster's house chaos ruled the place. People ran from one place to the other and screams were the only sound heard. Firefighters had just arrived and were already putting down the fire. Once there was no fire, Stephen got up and looked at Crawford.
"Are you okay?"
"I made it. That's fine by me. You're OK too?"
"Yeah. Got some minor bruises, but I'll live"
"Let's get the hell outta here. Can you get me on my feet?" Marcia askecd. Stephen grabbed her hands and got her on her feet quickly.
"Help me get a cell phone. Everybody must be freaking out at the hotel. And imagine Benson" she said. They searched for people until they found a woman.
"Excuse me. Can you borrow me your cell phone? It's important" Levine said. The woman handled them the phone and Levine called the hotel.
"Yeah?" Sloan said.
"Joel, it's Stephen"
"Levine! How are you? How's Crawford? And Forster?" he asked as all eyes and attaention were on Joel.
"I'm okay. Listen carefully: Clive Forster is dead. When we got here, police were surrounding the house. It looks like somebody broke in and shot him."
"Oh my God. How's Crawford?"
"She's okay too. She just has some cuts and scratches. uh... Can somebody pick us up? The car's destroyed"
"I'm sorry but we can't"
"Why the hell not?"
"Benson wants us to stay here, and I don't want to argue with the man or else I'll lose my job. Just grab a cab. We'll be waiting for you in the lobby"
"Tell Joel to do me favor" Marcia said.
"Crawford says if you can do a fave for her"
"Go ahead" Joel said. Levine handled the phone to her.
"I need you to call my boyfriend. His name is Gavin Seaborn. Find his number in my scrapbook and tell him I'm fine and that I love him"
"Will do. Now get your asses here before something else happens" he said. The two agents started to walk through the debris as rescue workers helped injured people and searched for bodies under the wreckage.
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NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
O'Shea had a big smile on his face as he watched the news reports, just as everybody else in the planet did.
"The americans are so stupid. They're gonna be so busy figuring out what happened that they're not paying attention to the big picture" he said to himself. That meant the first part of his plan was done. As he poured himself a glass of wine, his phone rang. It was the stalker.
"Yes?"
"It's done, sir"
"She's dead?"
"That's the thing: she survived the blast. I juat saw her walking with a man"
"How could this happen?... I guess you have a back-up plan"
"Yeah. Just wait until she gets to the U.S."
"She's got to die" O'Shea said and hung up. His eyes turned to the screen as he felt proud and disappointed at the same time of what he had accomplished. He sat on a chair and enjoyed his wine.
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THE ROYAL HOTELLONDON, ENGLAND
Crawford and Levine git out of the elevator and headed to one of the rooms, as the people in the floor looked at them. They reached room 1034 (Joel's room) and knocked on thr door.
"Who is this?"
"Us. Open the door" Marcia said. Joel opened it and took a good look at them before letting them in.
"Thank God you're okay"
"Yeah. You got anything?"
"Yup. Will prepared a report. The car was in fact work from the ELA"
"How do you know that?" Marcia interrupted.
"They've done this before. We cross- referenced it and it matched their Modus Operandi.To whom it was addressed? If Forster was dead before you guys got there, and since Crawford has death threats over her shoulders, my guess is that it was addressed to her" Joel said.
"So, in theory, everything that has happened so far, my threats included is related?" Marcia asked. Confussion was clear in her face.
"It seems like that. I spoke to Benson and your boyfriend"
"What did they say?"
"Benson said he wants our asses in the U.S. by day after tomorrow. We're returning tomorrow morning and you two tomorrow night"
"Why?"
"Because he wants that you two investigate on- site everything that happened today...'cause you're the two highest-ranking agents here. And he also said: 'In case Crawford was bitching about her protection issue, Levine has enough balls to do that by himself'... Nah, I made that up" Joel said. Everybody, especially Crawford started to laugh. After all, they all needed a happy moment. Levine looked at his partner with angry eyes.
"And what did Gavin say?"
"Not much. He was relieved, but if I were you, I would call him right away"
"Thanks for the advice. Is there anything else we should know, like... inmediately?"
"Nope. Get something to eat and rest. You need it. We'll keep you informed" Joel advised them. Marcia retired to her room and Levine went downstairs to the bar.
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THE NEXT DAY...THE ROYAL HOTELLONDON, ENGLAND
The alarm clock sounded at 9:00 AM. Marcia's hands tried to find it, but unfortunately she broke it. Her mind thought that things with Gavin weren't okay and that probably she would dump him to avoid hurting him. She went him and take a good look at her face. She had some cuts and scratches but nothing serious. Suddenly, someone knocked on her door. She put on a robe and went to the door.
"Who is this?"
"Us. Will, Joel and Stu"
"Come on in" she said and opened the door. She looked blushed as they looked at her.
"We're sorry if we woke you up"
"Nah. That's okay. What are you doing here, guys?"
"We have to go. Although the flight leaves in a few hours, we hazve to be there at least 4 hours before" Stu said.
"I know... that sucks... thank you... for everything you've done for me these past few days. I really appreciate it" she said and wrapped her arms around each one of the men.
"Before I forget. Marcia?"
"What?"
"Apparently, Benson made a mistake. Your flight leaves at 5:20 PM, so you should start packing up. Tell Levine"
"Will do. You should get going, or you'll be late"
"Yeah. Call us the second you get to the U.S., understood?"
"Got it. Have a good flight, boys" she said and closed the door. As she was taking out her suitcase, someone knocked on her door... again. This time it was Levine who also brought her some "room service".
"Good morning, you"
"Hi. What's all this?"
"A sweet treat for a sweet lady. I saw you very disappointed yesterday, so I decided to cheer you up today"
"It wasn't necessary, but thanks anyway. I have something to say to you"
"Tell me" Levine said and sat on the bed while eating a waffle.
"I spoke to the boys. Apparently Benson made a mistake and out flight leaves at 5:20 this afternoon. Not tonight"
"Oh crap!" he said. She didn't pay attention to his comment.
"You look sad. What's going on?"
" I'm trying to figure out a way to tell Gavin about the threats. I bet you that when he finds out he's going to say that i'm some sort of liability for him and he's gonna walk out on me!" Marcia replied as she ate scrambled eggs.
"You never know how people might react. Don't be so pesimistic"
"I guess you're right... In other news, I still don't understand why Benson wants us to do on-site investigation when we can perfectly do that back at Langley, because there's nothing to investigate here"
"Probably it's just an excuse... or he just screwed up again. After all he's getting old" he said. They laughed.
"I'm going out. You need anything?"
"Nope. Just try to be back by noon, and thanks for the breakfast" she said. Once Levine left, Marcia grabbed the phone and told the operator to connect her.
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSEWASHINGTON D.C.
Gavin Seaborn (a.k.a. Marcia's boyfriend) was in the middle of a meeting with some staffers about a new project. He was a bit lost because he thought Marcia had ommited something the last time they spoke and lying was one of the things he didn't tolerate. A knocking on his door brought him back to reality.
"Excuse me. Your girlfriend on line 4" his assistant said.
"Thanks" he said and grabbed the phone.
"Hello gorgeous"
"Right back at you"
"How you doing?"
"Just packing my bags. I'm coming back tonight. My jub is done here"
"That's great" Gavin said with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.
"What's going on? Is everything all right?"
"Marcia... we're gonna have to talk when you come back. I feel... I feel like you're hiding something from me since the last time we were face to face"
"What are you talking about? I don't know why you would feel that" she said, scared that her little secret would be revealed.
"You are hiding something, so why don't you just tell me?" he said with mistrust.
"No,I'm not. Can we just...?" Before she could finish her sentence, Gavin had hung up on her. She put the phone away and kept on packing as she thought that her relationship was over.
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4:55 OF THAT DAYHEATHROW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTLONDON, ENGLAND
"Once again the weather sucks!" Marcia yelled as she and Levine waited to board their flight. They both drank coffee. Both of them were fed up with the job and the rainy weather and they wanted to be back as soon as possible.
"What's wromg with you?" he asked her.
"It's official: Things between me and Gavin are over. I called him right after you left and he just hung up on me"
"Too bad. But, uh... this couple issues have to be solved between you two, so there's nothing I can do for you"
"Actually you can. Can I crash at your place tonight? I don't want to see him and I don't wanna go home"
"Sure...uh, why don't we head to the gate? I don't want to be lost at some foreign airport" he said. At first they were lost in the terminal, but thanks to some help, they found the gate and boarded the flight on time. Of course, her stalker got on te same flight as them.
"Enjoy it while you can" he said silently as the plane took off.
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4:33 OF THE NEXT DAYSOMEWHERE BETWEEN DULLES AND CAPITOL HILL...
"Finally back home!" Stephen said as he drove a car with Marcia by his side. For their surprise, the flight had taken less than expected, and now they were on the road to his place. Unfortunately, rain had caught them outside the airport, but that didn't matter. As he was driving, Marcia remembered to tell Levine something very important.
"We have a deal. Now you have to honor it"
"What deal?"
"The one we made at Dulles, remember? After this, I'm out of the case"
"Yeah. Yeah, I remember that"
"I just wanted to let you know you're in charge now, Mister"
"Why did you choose me?"
"Because I trust in you. But let me tell you i'm not 100 % off the case. If you need my advice, you know where to find me"
"Thank you, Crawford. It's good to know I have an ally" he said happily. At a discrete distance, the stalker was also drving. He had met with two associates (a.k.a. ELA members) that would help him execute this plan. He saw Stephen and Marcia in the car for one last time before he started to speed up.
"What the hell...?" Levine said as the stalker's car approached them. His car made a U-Turn and put himself in front of the agent's car.
"Watch out!!" Marcia screamed. Levine didn't have time to respond and both cars crashed. The stalker and his associates got out of the car and headed to the wreckage. Levine, who was still conscious could see that three men approached the remains of their car and grabbed Marcia.
"Leave her alone!!" he screamed. On the inside, he was desperate because he could hear her screams and could do nothing to help her.
"Let me go!! No!!!" Crawford screamed as she strugled to get free.
"Shut up, bitch!" one of the men said. While two of them grabbed her, the other man headed for Levine and knocked him out with a punch. Now that there were no witnesses, one of them took out something and put it over Marcia's mouth. All of a sudden her world turned dark...
The men grabbed her and drove off in the opposite direction. It was a perfect plan, they said. There were no witnesses and Levine hadn't seen their faces because they were covered. Now her fate was on these men's hands; but overall no one knew what lay ahead. Meanwhile, the car's wreckage with an unconscious Levine inside laid in the middle of the road in the pouring rain...
TO BE CONTINUED...
