S5: Chapter 05: Better off FED

“Come on batter hit it out of the park!” Scott yelled at Ryan as he stepped up to the plate preparing for his swing. “You better get a homer or else you’re on desk duty for a week!”

His threat was met with a light chuckle from Sharpe until he turned and noticed his boss wasn’t smiling with him. “Well shit!” Turning his gaze back towards the pitcher, Ryan lifted his bat and prepared himself for the slider he saw the CIA agent using as the first pitch for every hitter that took position. Lowering his cap to blot out the sun from his eyes, he scanned the bases and the positions of the men on the field, he was ready.

A smooth, over handed toss flew perfectly towards home and Ryan counted to three before he swung. The bat cracked loudly against the ball and he watched it soar towards midfield with a spin that sent it sailing towards the gate. “It’s going…going…” the announcer spoke as Ryan took off towards first base and continued pumping his legs making it to second. “And it’s…wait! It fell short of the gate. Bobby Fuller got it in his hands and is barreling it towards second. Look at the cannon on this guy!”

Ryan moved faster, throwing his entire body and every ounce of strength he had into making it towards second before the ball landed. Just as he reached the base, the agent held out his hand and pulled the ball out of the air. Thinking quickly he scouted the perfect place to slide and went for it. Playing a short game of tag with the man on second, Ryan juked him and jumped over his head landing safely on base and got the crowd on their feet. “YES! That’s what I’m talking about! That’s my boy!” Victor cheered and pointed towards Ryan.

He beat a fist over his chest and pointed at Scott. “No paperwork for me!” 

“Thanks Ryan, just what I needed! More reasons to stay inside all day,” Yvette frowned and rubbed a hand over her belly. Brett smirked in her direction watching her caress their baby lovingly. After the end of her first trimester Brett basically ordered her to give up the missions and had Scott change her routine to involve more office work. She didn’t complain much because she knew what was at stake and wanted to do everything necessary to ensure she had a healthy pregnancy this go round.

He moved closer and settled his hand over hers and felt their baby kick before kissing her cheek. She was mere weeks shy of starting her third trimester and at week 22 there was nothing left for her outside of the Unit room that she could really do. Not unless she wanted to hear the five men in her life give her grief and threaten to strap her into a padded cell all day. She had been looking forward to their annual ball game though and hated that she was forced on the sidelines. But she was proving to be an excellent cheerleader and prided herself on the fact that her boys were working their opponents even though they were currently losing.

It was bottom of the seventh and the game had been real back and forth all day. The FBI was trailing the CIA by two runs and they had to get their guys up and lead this thing before the Intelligence crew won bragging rights for a year. There was no way they were letting the desk jockeys get their kicks off of them. Dustin was next at bat and had been on fire all day. After sending a fly ball over the wall and gaining a double home run for their team, he was prepared to get them another and send the CIA packing with the loser’s token; that trophy was as good as theirs!

It was late afternoon and he took into account the change in time and wind before he stepped into the hitter’s box. Dustin set himself on home plate, knocked the dirt from his cleats with the tip of his bat and grinded the wooden handle in his palm as he steadied himself. After calculating the ideal pitch, wind velocity and speed of the CIA’s pitcher, he was sure he had perfected the best stance and swing. Just as the pitch left the mound, a loud explosion sounded just behind them and the ground shook as a large mushroom cloud enveloped much of the buildings and visible skyline of downtown. “What the fuck is that?” the referee exclaimed.

Everyone pulled away from what they were busying themselves with and turned to look. Screams and frantic honking of cars could be heard for blocks as people ran to get away from the falling debris of metal and glass. A building was imploding and falling down around everyone near the financial district. Scott immediately grabbed his phone and ordered emergency services to the area. 

The team exited the dugout and started for the parking lot with the CIA trailing right behind them. “Brett, you and the guys get over there and see what the hell just happened. I have a team on the way for medical emergency. If you have your gear with you put it on; masks would be wise right now. Be careful.” Scott watched as Victor, Dustin, Ryan and Brett took off down the street. He placed a possessive hand at the small of Yvette’s back and guided her towards his car.

“You should get home.”

“Home? Dad do you see what just happened? No. My team needs me!”

“No, your baby needs you. We’ll get everything under control here. There is way too much crap in the air right now that you don’t need to be breathing in.”

“Whatever that was went off downtown, we’re nowhere close to it!” As she spoke another explosion rocked beneath them and Scott held on to her to keep her grounded.

“It’s close enough to feel the tremors in the ground and the heat of the flames on our faces Yve. Whatever is in there could be toxic and there’s no telling how far those flames will reach before firefighters get it under control.”

“He’s right Vette,” David Peterson turned in agreement. “I know how much you hate giving it up but you have a baby to worry about now.”

“I’m not asking you to do this Yvie, I’m telling you.” He reached into the window and started the engine.  Placing a quick kiss on her cheek he reinforced his next words. “Get home now!” He stood in the parking lot with Director Peterson and together they coordinated their next moves. 

With a dejected sigh she backed out of the lot and started out of downtown towards the beach home she and Brett had just recently purchased. It was a huge place and full of emptiness as they hadn’t the time to really get things decorated. Slowly they had been building their home though starting with the kitchen, living room and dining room. Their latest project was the bedroom; a place they spent most of their time lately stretched out in the bed together watching television and making plans for their baby. In a few more weeks they were going to tackle the baby’s room though they wanted to hold off on that for as long as possible. They still hadn’t told anyone what they were expecting; mostly because they didn’t know themselves and didn’t want to know. Still they also didn’t want any unexpected visitors seeing pink or blue in the room and guessing. They’d have to stick to neutral colors for now. She pulled into the garage and her phone rang.

She sighed seeing the ID knowing he was calling to check on her location. “I’m home Daddy, I’m closing the garage door as I speak and walking into the kitchen. I’ve decided to hold your car as prisoner too so don’t expect to get it back anytime soon.”

“That’s ok Angel, I’ll pick it up when your husband drives me over there. Get some rest ok? I’ll let you know what happens if Brett doesn’t get to you first.”

“Goodnight Daddy.” She hung up the phone and poured herself a glass of water. As the rim reached her lips she heard a noise coming from one of the back bedrooms. It sounded as though something had fallen over or was dropped. Knowing the back rooms were filled with boxes they had yet to sort through she knew nothing could have toppled from a shelf or something. Tempted to call out for whomever it was, Yvette bit her lip and slowly opened the top cabinet to retrieve her side arm. Quickly punching in the code to the lockbox she loaded the weapon and silently made her way down the hall.

As she neared the doorway she heard another sound coming from the same direction. This time it was clearer and sounded as though something was scraping a wooden surface. Taking in a breath Yvette turned the knob on the door and poked her head around the corner first. In an instant the lights came on and she searched the empty room high and low checking in the closets and behind the doors. 

Finding nothing out of place she started across the floor towards the door to leave when something caught her eye near the opened window. “I didn’t leave that opened.” She spoke aloud and cautiously moved towards it. As she stood just a few feet away from her target, the door behind her flew open wider and she turned quickly and raised her gun towards the intruder.

“Whoa Vette!” Brett raised his arms in caution and ducked a small degree to hide from the aim of his wife. “It’s just me!” She lowered her weapon and rushed forward crashing into his arms. “What the hell?”

“Someone was in here,” she pointed towards the window and Brett pulled away from her retrieving his gun from his holster. He peered out of the window noticing fresh track marks in the paint dust on the windowsill and realized he might have just missed whoever it was.

“Wait here.” He hurried from the room and out the front door hastily entering the backyard. Checking just below the window he found a set of bootprints and a tattered piece of denim stuck to the fencepost. “Fuck!”

“Brett?”

“Stay inside Yvette and keep away from the windows!” Brett did a full perimeter check and ensured the gate was in place as well as all the locks on the other doors and windows. Whoever it was, they were long gone now. He headed back inside, shut and locked the door and punched in the code to the alarm. 

Yvette joined him in the dining room and he pulled the gun from her hand to lock back into its case. “Find anything?” He clenched his eyes shut briefly as he decided on whether or not to disclose his discoveries. On one hand she’d be a panicked nutcase if she thought someone was this close to her and begin thinking over what could have happened. And on the other if he lied she would not be prepared to protect herself from possible threats if this person made a return visit.

Ultimately he decided to just tell her the truth and hope she didn’t get too worked up. The notes though would remain his secret, for now. “Someone was definitely here. There are fresh prints outside and a piece of their clothing is stuck in the gate. I called the lab and they are sending one of the techs to collect the trace. I don’t want you to worry about it though. In the morning Dustin will be here to wire this place like Fort Knox with locks, cameras, security and early detection.”

“Great so you’re making me a prisoner in my own home.”

“No I’m making you well guarded when I’m not around. Yve it’s way too dangerous for you to go around drawing your weapon at the first sign of trouble. I don’t want you accidentally discharging that thing or even having to shoot it while you’re pregnant. And I have no intentions of arguing the point either so don’t even think about it.”

“I’m not geez don’t get so bent out of shape.” He smiled at her and started behind her as she turned for the bedroom. “So what happened out there today?”

“A bomb went off in the Metrorail plaza. It did a lot of damage to a small section of the track down there so every line is getting rerouted for the next few weeks while they get the place rebuilt.”

“That was the building that was crumbling down there?”

“No that was the old Wesley Communications tower. Fortunately for us and everyone that works down there the company had long since abandoned the place. All that was torn down was the empty shell of the building but that caused a shit ton of debris to clutter the roadway for a few blocks and backed traffic out of downtown for the next four hours or so. Scott has the emergency team on standby down there and Billings’ Construction is handling the clearing of the streets and such. The team got out of their way so they could get the shit cleared and the Emergency Team (ET) will call with any new developments.”

“You bring Dad home with you?” she asked disappointed that he hadn’t come inside.

“Yeah; I handed him his keys and he took off; I think he had a hot date. He told me to kiss you goodnight and make sure you’re not stressing out and that he’d see you in the morning.”

“God he’s such a worrier.”

“Yeah well can you blame him?” He smiled and pointed at her belly. “He’s very eager of becoming a grandfather.” Yvette rolled her head over her shoulders and rubbed her hands against her neck. Brett pulled his shirt off and moved closer to her pulling her against his chest. He kissed down her neck towards her shoulders and allowed his hands to gently massage over the places he noticed her rubbing. Pulling her hair to the side he peppered kisses over her bare skin and whispered in her ear, “Why don’t you give me five minutes to run a bath for us and I’ll get those kinks worked out?”

“Because your definition of working out the kinks means adding more in order to find pleasure for your body and to be honest I really don’t want to right now.”

“Then we won’t. Come on, I’ll only massage you I promise. Hmm?” He kissed her neck again and wrapped a hand around her waist securing her in place. “Wanna let Daddy take care of those muscle aches for you?” She moaned as he continued caressing his hands down her sides and over the small of her back. His touch was soothing and gentle and just what she needed. It didn’t take much convincing before she was following him towards the bathroom like a puppet on a string.

“So where are we now?” Scott asked looking over the information sitting on the table in front of him. “We haven’t received demands for anything although several terrorist organizations are taking responsibility for the act and our list of suspects is pretty short.”

The room was filled with agents from both the FBI and CIA. David Peterson, Director of the Special Forces unit for the CIA had made his grand appearance as he and several members of his team were on the field when the incident occurred. “Right now I have my men going over any threat or viable leads we may have received that even hinted towards this. So far we’re coming up empty handed. It’s just hard to figure out. There are no benefits in doing this as far as we can see. They destroyed half a city block and turned off the Metrorail running through downtown for the next six weeks!”

“What if that was their goal?” Yvette asked and noticed as everyone’s attention turned to her as she pulled her eyes from the map on the wall.

“What do you mean?” David asked as she stood and moved towards the front of the room.

“Well the bomb was centered in the middle of a building everyone knows has not been used in at least five years. It went off at a time of day there would be less people on the streets or around the plaza to get injured. In fact ET’s report shows less than ten people were injured and nothing serious outside of a heavy cough and minor scrapes and bruises. Hurting innocent people was not their goal otherwise they would have been less methodical about when to set off those charges or not even bothered with an empty building in the first place.”

“So what are you saying Yve? You think someone deliberately destroyed an empty building? For what purpose?”

“No, I don’t think the building was their target. It was merely a distraction. I think their real target was whatever the Metrorail delivered to beneath that building. Think about it, there are only four major locations on the stretch of track that was destroyed. Gosmer Park, Big Tony’s Custom Detailing, Victoria’s Secret and the Archives.”

“Wait a second!” David exclaimed following her train of thought. “U.S. Attorney Jack McEnroe recently announced major changes to City Hall and that development was underway to lock pertinent information in the vaults that could only be accessed through a series of biometric locks. That move was scheduled for,” he flipped through the messages on his iPad before finally landing on the document he was looking for. “This Friday.”

“But who would want to have access to the Archives? Working in concert with the CIA there have been teams of men stationed on the site checking IDs of anyone that enters the area. We’d suspected that the bomber would possibly come back to admire his handiwork but nothing has stemmed from that,” Scott added analyzing the information.

“Has everyone checked out so far?” Ryan asked looking through the list of the men and women found on site.

“So far, no one has had an extensive criminal record that would point to terrorism.”

“And what about the victims? ET reported a handful of people went to the emergency room. Did we check their criminal backgrounds as well?” Brett asked reviewing the notes from the agents on scene. “I don’t want to overlook anyone.”

“The worst one had outstanding traffic tickets and a suspended license since high school. Nothing notable as far as their record is concerned.”

“But really what does that mean anyway? Terrorists like the mundane citizens because that means they can get in places criminals can’t because of heavy suspicion,” Dustin noted. “It seems to me those without even so much as a Jay-Walking citation should be reinterviewed.”

“Guys I think we’re overlooking a major suspect here.” Yvette shifted her weight on her feet and sifted through another stack of papers on the table.

“Who? The Cartel?” David asked noticing the profile of the drug gang on the top of the stack near her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous, what could they possibly gain from blowing up a building to get to the archives?”

“No Dave, not the Cartel. Since the explosion happened there have only been three separate groups allowed down on site, the Feds, the Intelligence boys and Billings’ Construction. If someone wanted to blow up a building and ensure no one was hurt in the process, who better than an expert trained in the art of demolition? Who called for Billings’ Construction to get to the site?” Looking around the room no one’s hand raised and Yvette turned her tablet around to view the company information for Billings. “Owned and operated by two brothers Kevin and Adam; the company was founded by their grandfather Owen and has been a monument for success since 1947. They had a hand in building the new coliseum downtown as well as several other major sites here including the new hole in the ground courtesy of our mystery bomber.”

“Wait a minute, they built the Wesley building? Yeah I’d say that puts them at the top of the list. And no one wants to take credit for putting them on to the case?” Scott did a once over of the men and women in the room and shook his head. “Then they just showed up out of nowhere?”

“If that’s the case we know who our bombers are as well as their target. The only thing left at this point is setting them up once they make their move; catch them redhanded.”

“And how do you want to handle it?” Scott and David gave one another a knowing nod and Scott silently agreed to let David’s men take the lead on the case.

“Good job Yvette. We let a few good agents go when you, Kimura and Murphy left the Agency. If you ever want a shot back on the top squad you give me a call huh?”

“I appreciate the offer Dave but I’m very happy where I am now.”

“Well alright but the offer still stands if you ever change your mind. I guess off the field you guys are the apparent victors,” David laughed.

“Oh don’t get so cocky. My boys had you whether or not we were down by two runs! There were two innings still left in the game. Don’t worry; come Saturday we’re taking that trophy for another year.”

He smiled, shook Scott’s hand and led his team from the room. “So now what?” Ryan asked as he dropped into one of the chairs and propped his feet up. “Are we letting them take the arrest?”

“Why not? We’ve already done our part; solved the case only thing left is the paperwork,” Victor looked towards Yvette with a sly smile. “Paperwork I’m sure Yvette would be more than happy to get rid of.”

“It’s like you read my mind Vic!” The guys laughed and exited the room.

“You got this Dustin!” Yvette cheered from her same seat off on the sidelines. “Show them the nerd has jock like tendencies too!”

Dustin smiled inwardly, focused his eyes on the batter and calculated the distance of the plate to the tip of his bat. Then the pitch! But this time the only explosion heard was that of his bat putting a perfect sail on the ball shooting it towards left field. He took off for first plate with the FBI rooting in concert behind him.

“STAY! STAY!” Victor coached as he noticed the ball coming back towards the pitcher’s mound. “Great job Dust!”

“You’re up Rasta,” Yvette handed him a bat and opened the gate for him to exit.

“Thanks Batgirl.”

“Really? I’ve been demoted from cheerleader to batgirl?” 

Stepping up to the plate, he looked at his team all stationed on various plates. Dustin was on 1^st, Ryan on 2^nd and Brett on 3^rd. If he hit this one out of the park, they win hands down for another year. But if he misses then he hands the CIA the trophy and the bragging rights for the first time in three years. No pressure there, he thought and stepped into the square indicating he was ready. He lifted his bat, grinded his gloved hands into the end of the handle and waited for the perfect pitch.

The first he sidestepped and let the catcher take it. “Strike one!” the Umpire called and Victor moved back into position. Watching the pitcher he decided to swing on the 2^nd and send it through home plate. He blew out a breath and squeezed the bat tighter in his hands. The ball left the mound soaring perfectly towards his bat and he swung hard to make contact with the flying missile. Swing and a miss! “Strike two!”

Perspiration formed on Victor’s brow. With two strikes down he needed this one or else his team loses because of him. He stepped out of the strike zone to catch his bearings. “Shake it off Vic! You can do this!” 

Batgirl got promoted again, he smiled to himself. Blowing out another breath he took position once more and concentrated. He knew how the game was played; even taught Chase a thing or two about it. He was more than confident that he could win this for the FBI. Ok Victor, bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded. We have 1 out and I have 2 strikes already. There’s still a chance to pull out the win. Quietly he coached himself and took notice of every position as he scouted out the perfect place to lay his ball. “Let’s do this!” he egged the pitcher on. David located his team around their bases, did a round up and sailed the pitch rapidly toward home plate.

He smiled from his position on the mound, glanced over his shoulder at right field, raised his arm and released the pitch. Victor gritted his teeth, closed his eyes for a split second as time seemed to slow down. Win or lose he was gonna give this swing all he had. Swaying his hip to the left, he put all his weight into the bat and tipped it from the center of the wood. The ball went soaring over the pitcher’s mound and out towards center field.

Instantly he dropped his bat and took off as Brett rushed behind him to home plate scoring a run. Harder and harder his legs pumped and out of the corner of his eye he saw the midfielder rushing towards the ball that had hit the back fence. The ball was in his glove and he rocketed it towards second base. Ryan was now at home celebrating with Brett and cheering him on. “Come on man you got this! GO, GO, GO!”

He passed the shortstop who was yelling at the second baseman to jock it towards home. Seeing Dustin just a few yards in front of him he wondered if he was gonna pass the geek and fuck up their runs. Suddenly Dustin stopped moving on 3^rd.

The ball flew past Victor into the awaiting glove of the third base man who smiled sinisterly at him and tossed the ball towards second to get Victor out. “RUN DUSTIN! RUN!” Scott yelled now on his feet and anxious. “Don’t let him get Victor out!”

Dustin moved, churning the muscles in his legs as hard as he could. He was now mere inches from home plate and freed up the base for Victor to score. He started again towards 3^rd base and the 2^nd baseman quickly zoomed the ball back towards his teammate. “GO VICTOR KEEP GOING!” Brett yelled.

He could hear the ball whizzing towards him as he pumped his body towards home. “SLIDE VICTOR! COME ON SLIDE!” he faintly heard Yvette over the beating of his own heart. “SLIDE!”

Dropping to the ground he took her advice and slid into the base. The ball sped over his head into the catcher’s mitt and you could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed as everyone waited on needles for the Ump to make the call. Holding his arms out towards the side he gave the FBI what they wanted and emphatically called “SAFE!” The Feds cheered and rushed towards their star player as the pain and anguish shone vividly across the faces of their opponents.

“Great job Scotty, your guys proved themselves today.”

“Yeah, better luck next year Dave.”

“You know if I still had my star members this might have been a different story,” he smirked and glanced at Victor and Dustin. 

“Guys it’s always a pleasure working with you. Victor, Dustin, Brett, Ryan it was nice playing against you and Vette…the pregnancy looks good on you. You take care of yourself and this old man alright?”

“Old? You do realize your birthday is just three months shy of my own right Dave?”

He brushed his hand through his hair and shook his head no. “I’ll see ya.”

**Author's note: I realize some of the writing is off with the pictures in the first few scenes -- the parking lot -- but the save file decided it didn't want to cooperate with me and I didn't want to rewrite what was there.**

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