Brett got home, showered and changed and tossed himself on the couch. He checked his machine for messages before turning on the television to catch the morning news. He smiled thinking about the night he'd spent with Yvette and got lost in the softness of her body. He let his mind wander over having her back and leaned against the cushions of his sofa feeling comfort and a sense of happiness he thought was lost the minute he heard those gunshots.
…“FBI are asking for your help…”
He heard the reporter say and tuned back in. He turned up the volume and noticed a warning flashing across the bottom of the screen.
…“The FBI has issued an All-Points Bulletin for this man who they believe may be involved in a recent rash of homicides. They are warning
all residents in the downtown area to be on alert.
He is considered armed and dangerous and should not
be approached. If you see him,
please call the tip line at 1-800-FBI-Tips or
1-800-324-8477…”
all residents in the downtown area to be on alert.
He is considered armed and dangerous and should not
be approached. If you see him,
please call the tip line at 1-800-FBI-Tips or
1-800-324-8477…”
Brett stood from the couch as Gabriel’s sketch flashed across the screen once more. “Fuck…” he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Yve’s number hoping she had it on her. It rang three times before going to voicemail. “No, don’t do that,” he said redialing the number. “Pick up, Yvette, please, pick up!”
Getting her voicemail again he furiously kicked the leg of his couch. “Babe, I just caught the news; there is an APB out on Tasker. You need to get away from him the Feds have the entire town on the lookout! He is dangerous Yve and he might get you captured or hurt. Please, call me when you get this I need to know you’re safe.”
He pressed the “end” button and hurried for the door. As he reached his truck the phone rang. He grabbed it from his pocket and answered without checking the ID, “Yve?”
…“What…?” Dustin’s confusion emanated from the other end.
“Uh…nothing. Sorry I just…it was another dream,” he quickly lied. “What did you need?”
…“I’m assuming you saw the news in which case telling you to get in here as soon as possible is pointless, but just in case, Scott wants a sit down. See you in 10…?”
He sighed. “On the way,” he said hanging up and heading in a little angry as he drove and moved farther away from the place he actually wanted to be.
Gabe ran back towards Yvette who was crouched behind the roof wall. “There are two guys on the first floor and one standing guard at the door. I didn’t see Stanley but Harrison is on site.”
“Harrison? What the hell is he doing here?”
“Apparently the guy they’re sitting on is a major player and he is making sure they are getting the job done.”
“Good. I’d love to see Alex’s face right before I pull the trigger.”
“You sure you want to do this?”
She nodded. “It’s now or never and I have no intentions of hiding for the rest of my life. If I have to live this way might as well make the ones responsible just as miserable right?”
“Right,” he smirked.
She felt the vibration from her cell and pulled it out. She sighed noticing two missed calls from Brett and a voicemail message.
“So what happened to the 'no work relationships' rule?” Gabriel asked as she began dialing the voicemail. “Isn't that why you and I never dated?”
“You and I never dated because we're friends and it just seemed weird,” she said not looking up at him. “And I don't know; I never intended to see Brett socially it just sort of happened.”
“Is it serious?”
“Gabe!”
“Is it? Yvette you and I know this isn't safe for him. You're sure you want him to be involved? He has a family unlike us and it's risky letting him stick around.”
“I know Gabriel, I've told him what's at stake.”
She played with the idea of calling him back and seeing what he needed instead of listening to the message. Gabe placed a hand on hers and pushed her phone out of view.
“Yve? We need to go,” he reminded her.
“Yeah,” she frowned and shoved the phone back in her pocket.
She grabbed the gun case and assembled the M107 Barrett Long Range Sniper Rifle and positioned it on the corner of the building. “Get ready Gabe. Once the first one is out they’ll start scrambling,” she said as she set the sights on the first target.
She watched him pace the room; waited for him to be in the perfect position and slowly she squeezed the trigger. The M20 Armor Piercing Incendiary Tracer cartridge ejected from the muzzle of her rifle and whistled as it cut through the air quickly closing in on its target. The glass in the window shattered and the man fell as the bullet ripped through his chest leaving a gaping wound on his body and blood splatter around his fallen corpse.
Systematically Yvette took out the other men standing guard leaving Harrison, his personal bodyguard Stanley and their target alive. “Ok, that was the last one,” she said turning towards Gabe. “Are you ready?”
Without an answer, his fist came down on her right jaw splitting her lip. She spit out a mouthful of blood and looked at him in shock as she got to her feet. “I’m ready,” he said as he hit her again nearly knocking her out.
Brett got to the office and hurried upstairs. He found Vic and Ryan in the unit room. “Where’s Scott?” he asked taking a seat next to Ryan. “Dustin said he had something important to talk about.”
“Something went down so he postponed the meeting and went to see the liaison for the Agency,” Vic answered and stepped closer. “But we need to talk.”
Dustin came in and immediately a disapproving glare fell on him. “We're all set,” he whispered to Victor causing Brett to shift uncomfortably in his seat.
His gaze narrowed towards him and waited to hear what Vic had to say. “Ok, so talk.”
“Yvette,” Murph said and waited on a reaction from Brett.
“What about her? She's gone and I didn't find anything at those safe houses I searched. You were right, whoever was there is gone now, the CIA saw that one coming.” He sat up straight and diverted his gaze to the floor to avoid Murph's hard stare. “I should have listened. I just, I miss her.”
“Look man don’t play games with me, where is she?”
“What? Who?”
“Brett, if you make me ask again you won't like the man I become.”
Brett cleared his throat and looked around at everyone’s face. Both Dustin and Murph’s twisted into a scowl. They knew; he knew they knew but he didn't understand how. He made the mistake of calling Dustin by Yvette's name once before but they just assumed it was grief talking. What made today different? “Vic…”
“If you’re about to lie, don’t bother. I had Dustin run a tracer on you when you didn’t bother to make contact on the hour like I told you. We know which safe house you went to. After you gave us your report Ryan and I went down and checked the place out this morning. You want to know what we found?”
He shook his head no.
“Where is she?”
“She moved to another safe house.”
Murph sighed and stepped back unclenching his fists. A flood of emotions washed over him as he leaned against his weapons cache. Hearing Brett confirm his suspicions made him feel better but didn’t erase the anger. “She's alive, you knew it and you weren’t going to say anything!?”
“She asked me not to,” he said standing. “I tried to convince her to tell you herself but she felt that it would only serve to endanger the three of you and she didn’t want that.”
“This job IS danger Brett regardless of what information we know. She needs our help and you should have tried harder to…where is she?” Murph asked once more trying to get a handle on his rage.
“It’s some place off in the mountains, we got to it from an underground tunnel.”
“Take us there,” he said grabbing a few weapons and getting the guys geared up as well. He looked back at Brett and saw a look of hesitation. “This isn’t up for discussion, take us there now!”
Brett sighed and waited for the guys to get their things before heading down to his truck. “She isn’t going to like this.”
“Yeah well tough; she’ll be lucky if I don’t kick her ass when I see her,” Murph said as they started towards the mountains.
“I GOT HER!” Gabe shouted into the room as he dragged a handcuffed Yvette behind him. “I have the shooter Harrison, it's Yvette Evans; I know you’re in there. Tell your man to drop his weapon I’m not armed!”
Alex grinned and gave instructions for Stanley to disarm. “Gabriel Tasker; I’d never have expected this of you. Come in; let’s get a closer look at the supposed dead girl.”
He walked forward and dropped Yvette to her knees in front of Harrison. “Call off your dogs Alex. I mean really, an APB? You set me up to look like some sort of monster!”
“You ran; you could have been doing anything in that time. How do I know you didn’t kill anyone?” He turned his attention to the cuffed agent and again grinned. “Yvette Evans; you know I was told you were dead,” he said staring at Stanley.
“Sir, I had confirmation on her death from the agent that pulled the trigger.”
“You mean the agent that didn't make it out of the building? The agent that somehow burned up supposedly with the one sitting in front of me?”
“Yes sir.”
“Idiot. Had I known you didn't confirm it yourself I...,” he turned to Yvette with a smile. “Just can't find good help these days. And you just killed 4 of my best agents. That wasn’t very nice. What should I do with you?”
“Uncuff me so I can shove my gun down your throat!” she growled.
He laughed. “Still feisty, I love that. Pick her up,” he ordered his guard. “It’s a long ride back to Langley. I want to make sure you have a comfortable trip.” He threw a hard right to her jaw knocking her out. “Toss her in the trunk and let’s head back. I’m getting antsy for the torture room.”
“What about him?” Stanley asked pointing towards Gabe.
“Tasker’s a good friend. Thanks to him we have the person responsible for the Deputy Directors’ murder. He should and will be commended when we get home.” They piled into Harrison’s Chevy and started towards the CIA headquarters.
Brett pulled up to the sewer tunnel and parked behind the row of trees three blocks away like before. They walked the distance towards a large rock and pushed it away from the sewer grate before lowering down inside. Brett waited until Ryan was through and hit a lever to put the rock back in place.
“What the hell is that stench? You let one rip?” Ryan asked looking at Dustin.
“It’s a sewer, genius. The whole town probably let one rip!”
“It’s a bit of a hike and there are a few tunnels in here so forgive me if we get lost but I think I remember the way,” he said as he started back towards the hideout.
For close to thirty minutes the team tread through drain after drain until Brett found a recognizable grate. “That was quicker than last time. When I went for dinner I swear I was lost for an hour.” He pulled open the last door and they walked into the complex and up to Yvette’s room.
“Yve?” he called before opening the door. He looked around and didn’t see anyone. “She must still be with Gabe.”
“Tasker?”
He nodded. “They were making plans to go after one of Harrison’s right hands.” He pointed towards the map on the wall. “That’s the current open missions for the team now.”
Vic stepped towards the map and examined it. “What time did you leave her this morning?”
“A little before 7; I can’t remember exactly but I didn’t get home until 7:30. Why?”
“It’s almost noon. If she were doing a recon she’d be back by now. Do you know where she was going?”
He shook his head no. “All I know is that they seemed in a rush to get it done. After I saw that APB this morning I was going to come back out here and check on her but Dustin called me in.”
“Can you contact her?”
Brett pulled out his cell phone, dialed her number and waited for an answer.
They got back to Langley and Harrison threw Yvette into a room lined with steel and concrete. There was one window on the far wall that allowed a small amount of light to peek through and rinse the room in a pale orange glow.
She could see a small cot in one corner and a bucket she assumed was used for biological waste and the room smelled just as foul. The door was backed by bars and there were no obvious lines of escape.
Harrison’s guard gripped her and pushed her against the wall. He cuffed the shackles tightly around her wrists and chained her to the locks in the ceiling.
“Get comfy Yvette, you’re not going anywhere for a while,” Alex smiled before exiting the room.
“That’s what you think,” Yve hissed under her breath as he slammed the door behind him.
Gabriel made it to the command center and waited for Harrison to join him.
He smirked seeing his old friend standing at the door. “It’s good to have you back Gabe. I swear the Agency would have been lost without you.”
“If you would have shared the plan about Yvette with me sooner we could have avoided this entire mess.” As he spoke Gabe took note of the men standing around him and stepped closer to the control panel. He watched and waited for the men to divert their attention and distracted Harrison with conversation as he pushed a thumb drive into an available slot on the remote system.
“That is a mistake I’ll quickly make up for. But this 'plan' wasn’t something I decided on. Who knew she’d go nuts and kill Newell?”
“Yve didn’t do that; you and I both know that.”
He shrugged. “If not her then who? That’s what the reports say. I have to go with what I read.”
Gabe’s hand slid across the lever he was seeking and he pulled it releasing the locks in the holding cell Yvette was locked in. He then sent a signal to the power room and cut electricity to the security gates.
“What’s that?” Stanley asked looking at the flickering lights.
“Yvette!” Harrison yelled and ran towards the holding room. He grabbed his walkie shouting commands as he moved down the hall. “Shutdown the building and get your men in position NOW!”
He made it to the door and instructed the men to stand by as the battering ram was thrown into the handle. The door burst open and the team rushed inside. “She’s gone!” one of them yelled staring at the empty shackles hanging from the ceiling.
“Davis get the security shutters into place and alert the front desk, NO ONE gets out of this building!” he rushed from the room and down to the command center. “LOCK IT DOWN!”
Yvette made it from the main hall and walked slowly towards the security gate. “Freeze!”
She paused hearing the voice behind her.
“Get on the ground slowly and spread your arms and legs.”
“What’s the problem Agent? I just got a little lost,” she said analyzing the distance between her and the man.
Quickly she knocked the weapon from his hand and sent a spinning heel kick to his face. She gripped the man’s head and slammed it into the wall. He let out a groan as the blow dizzied him on his feet.
She threw a hard right to his jaw knocking him out and grabbed the weapon from the floor. “Thanks!” she said as she rushed down the end of the hall looking for the meeting room.
“Hey you!” two men took positions in front of her and one started shooting as she ducked behind a wall. She crouched low and returned fire watching as they changed locations for a better vantage point.
They fired off four more shots before Yvette noticed the small air vent above her. She maneuvered a desk into the wall and climbed into the cramped space. She crawled through the exhaust and found herself behind the men that had her pinned in. She kicked the cover of that vent out and jumped down behind them.
One of them swung around towards her, weapon at the ready. She sent a right chop into his gun hand and knocked it down the hall before turning her attention to the other armed Agent. She slid towards him and rolled into a high kick connecting her foot to his jaw and causing him to stumble backwards.
She grabbed his gun arm and pointed it towards the unarmed agent as he squeezed off a few rounds, killing his friend.
She sent her elbow into his gut and a knee to the face as he doubled over gripped him tighter around the throat and snapped his neck.
She hurried down the hall and located the meeting room. She opened the small closet door and pulled out the black bag on the shelf. She moved towards the window and broke the glass from the one in the far right corner. After locating a good anchor, she tied off the rope and waited for the call.
“Raven what’s your 20?” Gabe said a little out of breath as he moved silently down the corridor.
…“At the point preparing for extraction, Sparrow. You…?”
“Everything’s in place, heading to you now.”
…“Yeah, you were right; a new plan was what we needed. Now get your ass to me Sparrow I need to make sure you’re safe…
“Almost there,” he rounded the corner and saw the team hunting for Yvette. He ducked back behind the wall and waited until they ran through the adjacent hall before finally reaching the extraction point.
“I was starting to worry,” she smiled as she wrapped the rope around him and started repelling out the window.
“I’m not a field agent but I’m not exactly helpless either,” he replied gripping her tight and hanging on for dear life as they slid from the 4th story window to the ground.
“I know I’m still feeling the pain in my jaw.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” he smirked. “You asked if I was ready, I assumed that meant you were too. Besides I know you Yvette; had you known it was coming you would have blocked it maybe even hit me back and I couldn’t let you ruin my good looks,” he winked.
“Front side, Report,” Harrison yelled into his walkie.
…“Nothing here...”
“Davis? Report!”
…“She’s not in the building sir…”
“FUCK!” Harrison yelled. He rushed back to his office to try and figure out what went wrong.
…“Sir? Tasker’s missing as well…”
He dropped into his seat and rubbed his temples. He knew the shit was about to hit the fan and he knew the head office would be looking for someone to blame; his name was at the top of the list.
The beeping of his phone pulled him from his thoughts and he glanced up at it with one eye. He angrily jumped from his seat and gripped the receiver barking his question into the other end immediately showing his frustrations. “WHAT?!”
…“Is this how you’d normally answer my call…?” a deep voice boomed on the other end. “Straighten your tone now unless you want to see the things that I can do…!”
“I’m sorry sir!” he quickly replied as he began pacing around the room.
…“How’s our prisoner…?”
“She’s uh…”
…“SHE GOT AWAY…?!”
“Yes sir,” Harrison sighed hanging his head.
There was a long silence over the line before the raspy voice spoke again. He listened to his instructions taking special notice of the way the warnings were directed towards him. He knew he’d screwed up and he knew it was his head he’d call for. He had to rectify the situation and soon he’d get the chance to.
“Sir, I’ll get her. She won’t elude me for long!”
…“Alex, if you can’t kill one rogue agent working naked how can I trust you with the rest of the network…?”
“Sir, she’s not naked; she is receiving Intel from somewhere…”
…“So you’re saying you can’t even control information flow in your own house…?”
Harrison sighed. “We need to cancel or postpone the pending operations now until we know what she’s planning! As long as she’s out there we can’t know what she is up to.”
…“Postpone operations? That’s not going to happen, ever. All operations will remain a go. Get a team together and track her down. Listen to me Alex because you’ve had two shots at taking her out now; kill her or I’ll kill you, understand…?”
“Yes sir.”
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