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Chapter 9

Kelly tried to lift her eyelids to escape her bomb induced slumber. To her mild surprise, she found herself in the middle of an abandoned grass field. Unobstructed sunshine illuminated the green hillside. The wind gently brushed against the tall grass and diffused the stifling summer heat. The delicate film of green hill was abruptly broken by a frantically running girl with radiant scarlet hair and an equally driven child with luminescent green eyes and black hair in pursuit.

"Tag, you're it!" the black haired girl yelled as she overtook her friend.

"Aw, Allie. You always run too fast," the other girl complained. Alicia was already running and the redheaded girl quickly gave chase. Both girls shrieked and laughed as they hopped and frolicked. After some deliberation, the redhead opted to dive into a nearby bush and hide. Alicia soon realized the girl's absence and began aimlessly wandering, only to be tackled to the ground by her wily friend.

"Gotcha!" the redhead screamed.

"Argh, Kelly! That's not fair!" Alicia screamed.

"Is too!" Kelly retorted. Alicia attempted a retaliate tackle in response, causing both her and Kelly to roll down to the foothill in a heap of laughter. The scene abruptly melted away and changed into a cramped, musty corridor too poorly lit to properly see. In front of her, a rasping and blood drenched young woman with the same luminescent green eyes cried and huddled in fear of an unseen entity. Kelly's protective instincts kicked in and she lurched in desperation to save the battered girl only to find herself with no temporal body to use. In spite of the downpour of blood and tears, she could still discern a very attractive girl, making her cries of pain and terror all the more heartbreaking. The girl jolted and tossed herself a few times on the floor as the shadow around her began to shift and envelop itself around her emaciated body. The mutilated beauty then creaked her decrepit face directly to Kelly's eyes with a sickeningly pale face and creaked her mouth open.

"Kelly, Kelly, Kelly..." the girl ranted repeatedly. Kelly tried in vain to respond as her vocal chords refused to obey her. The scene suddenly blurred into a boundless void and Kelly felt her body shake with a rush of air before her eyes opened again, this time viewing a hospital ceiling. Eyes still drenched from tears of her own, Kelly raised herself up to see where she was.

"Kelly? Kelly? Hey it's me. You've been unconscious for the past 14 hours straight," Alicia explained to her gently. The sight of her face alone was enough to break her down to full scale crying. "Calm down, I rescued your boyfriend and made sure he was physically intact," Alicia reassured as she put an arm around her friend to hug her. Kelly latched onto her shoulder and continued sobbing. "It's alright, you've been through a lot, I understand."

"I'm sorry," Kelly sobbed out.

"Sorry for what? I'm fine. You're the one that's in a hospital bed for multiple bruises and a concussion."

"You... you got yourself hurt for me..."

"What are you talking about?. I'm not hurt, in fact all I did was pick you up off the ground outside, your boyfriend did all the grunt work," Alicia chuckled.

"Probably shouldn't have knocked him down so viciously..." she muttered inaudibly to herself. Kelly continued resting her head on her friend's shoulder and drenching it in tears. After several minutes, she eventually lulled herself back to sleep and Alicia gently set her back down.

"Bombs really did a number on her, keep an eye on her. I don't want anything or anyone disturbing her. If it does..." Alicia glared coldly with her imposing green eyes at the bodyguards stationed around her. They gave her a nervous nod and straightened their postures. "Very well then, I have other places I need to be." As she left the door she heard a ringing sound and picked up her phone to see who it was. Letting out a soft sigh, she picked up the call and put the phone to her ears. "Speak up," she whispered. She mumbled inaudibly for several minutes and nodded her head slightly on occasion. At some point she ended the call and returned the phone to her guard and beckoned some of her guards to follow.

"Is something wrong ma'am?" her chief bodyguard asked.

"No, I'm just a little annoyed with my subordinate's idiocy."

"I am terribly sorry Director. This was entirely my fault and I will take full responsibility for the fatalities of last night. You'll find my resignation to sign on your desk within the hour..." Laura glumly explained to her boss in his office.

"Now hold on a second. You didn't really think I'd let you off the agency that easy did you?" the director grunted back at her.

"Pardon?"

"Listen. I didn't promote you to Special Agent in Charge just to resign the second things got tough. This is the FBI, this is law enforcement. I'm ordering you to go back out there, pick yourself up off your feet and get this bastard behind bars before he does anything else to endanger the country," the director sternly chided her.

"I... don't know what to say."

"There is nothing to say, now go out there and get going. Taxpayers aren't paying you to wallow in your own guilt." Laura nodded and departed out towards the main briefing center. Much to her surprise, police Captain Fernando Martinez was standing outside, conversing with Nick.

"Uh, what's he doing here?" Laura inquired in confusion.

"Hunting Assad and his cell down will take every resource available to us. As head of Metro PD's SWAT and tactical unit, he will be joining your task force and should be given any and all lead information that you collect," the director explained as he followed directly behind her.

"Wait, I understood the whole 'get the bastard behind bars' thing but... this guy's some street cop who spends time chasing rowdy kids and crap," Laura whispered to her boss. Martinez cleared his throat loudly to indicate his presence as well as Laura's mediocre whispering skills.

"He'll get along quite handily, now stop complaining and get to work."

"Yes sir..." Laura mumbled back. "Alright, listen cop boy. You may think you're the hot shot where you roam around but this is real business. You have to stay focused, alert, and most of all strong. This isn't the place for the faint of heart."

"Look here chief, I've been a cop for 8 years. I'm not as fresh or naive as you'd like to tell yourself," Martinez replied with an irritated expression.

"And I'm telling you what applies when tackling a band of street urchins doesn't always apply when dealing with big shot terrorists."

"Oh, you mean like how you dealt with that rescue operation last night?"

"Well wise guy, I'd like to see you do a better job cause you know what? I am sick of you wise cracking bimbos from Metro telling me how to do my job!"

"Bring it on Blondie! I bet I could put Assad in a jail cell within 24 hours if I were in charge of things."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Uh... guys? Shouldn't we stay focused on the mission?" Nick interjected awkwardly.

"Oh who made you boss?!" Laura and Fernando yelled simultaneously.

"Um... no one, I was just thinking that we could get to looking over recent eye witness accounts of the concert hall attack," Nick said.

"Very well. Newbie, go with Agent Callahan and begin sorting those files out for details," Laura ordered as she held up her badge. "I am the head of this team."

"Yes... ma'am," Fernando spat out, eager to face away from her.

"Good grief..." Nick sighed in resignation.

"Alright, I went over the announcement video that our Liberation Front friends uploaded online and did a few facial scans and... uh what's going on here?" Jerry rambled on as he rushed over to the team's work area, only to see Laura and Fernando converse with passive aggression to one another.

"Those two aren't really getting along," Nick whispered to his ear. " Just pretend nothing is happening."

"Ooooh... right," Jerry replied while rapidly raising and lowering his eyebrows. "I'll leave you two lovebirds to sort this one out."

"What?!" the quarreling duo yelled simultaneously.

"Oh come on, your body language practically oozes out at least ten different tension types... and not all of them are necessarily hostile," Jerry teased with a wily smile.

"Really Jerry? Of all the people to still be bothering me it had to be you who..." Laura began.

"Agent Mason! Come quick, there's something you need to see..." an agent suddenly interjected as he hurried to greet Laura's team.

"What is it?!" Laura yelled back angrily.

"We've pinned down Omar Assad's hiding spot. A witness just came in and gave us everything, schematics, back up addresses, enforcer manifests. We've got him cornered," the agent explained excitedly.

"Guys, pack up your gear and get the tactical teams ready. This ends now..."

"Uh Laura don't you think this could be a trap?" Nick objected.

"And what if it isn't? How are you going to live with yourself knowing that you just let the most dangerous and evil man in the world slip right out of your fingers?" Laura angrily rebutted. Nick let out a sigh and picked up the phone to relay orders.

"Kelly? Hey! Let me in!" Rick demanded to the bodyguards obstructing Kelly's hospital room.

"I'm sorry sir, we're under strict orders to make sure absolutely nothing bothers Miss Kelly," one of them replied.

"No, I'm her boyfriend. I was with her just last night and..."

"No exceptions." The door suddenly creaked open, prompting both guards to turn around to look inside. "Miss Kelly? You're still quite ill, I..."

"I had a couple bruises okay? I'm fine, now what's all the... Rick! What are you doing here?" Kelly rambled. "Well? What are you two doing? Let him in!" Kelly ordered. The guards obeyed and released Rick, allowing him into the room.

"Judging by your tone I guess you're doing okay?" Rick inquired.

"Me? What about you? How'd you get out of there?" Kelly replied.

"Oh, your friend, Alice? Ellie?"

"Alicia. She got you out."

"Yea, she could have been more polite about it but... I guess she did."

"Trust me it's nothing personal. Alicia's always just been bad at social interaction, especially with boys. Did she call you a worthless maggot brained imbecile or something along the lines?" she asked back eagerly.

"Um no... she just thanked me and disappeared out of sight almost directly after she had taken you out of that burning disaster, even introduced herself and asked for my name."

"Hmm, impressive. She actually must like you quite a bit to treat you so nice on your first meeting... anyway, I'm so happy to see you! I'm glad you got to go home without any major injuries. I'd hate myself if I got you hurt," Kelly said as she hugged him.

"Me? Come on, I'm not exactly a softy if that's what you're worried about. That attack may have been rough but I got through it okay." Kelly just gave Rick an annoyed look.

"Wait... that came out wrong, I meant to... ugh," Rick moaned. Kelly just giggled and kissed him passionately.

"You're funny when you stutter," she whispered into his face.

"You look pretty when you're laughing," Rick replied back with a smile. The two shared one more kiss before being abruptly interrupted by a voice from behind.

"Well, good to see you back in one piece Kelly. I see your boyfriend is as well," Alicia remarked. Her hair was wrapped into a bun held by her signature hairpin and her face was lined in a thin blanket of elegant make up.

"Allie? What are you doing here? I thought you were busy," Kelly replied ecstatically.

"Of course not, I have servants for my meaningless busywork."

"Uh huh, of course you do. What don't you have servants for?" Rick interjected snidely.

"Good question, I'll have to get back to you with an answer for that," Alicia shrugged. She then turned her full focus on Rick. "I suppose I should thank you for your invaluable aid in getting my best friend out of that burning building."

"Oh... hehe, no problem," Rick answered her nervously.

Laura didn't bother waiting for the other agents and officers to disembark from their vehicles before she violently kicked through the front door of the creaky old brick apartment building where Assad purportedly was hiding.

"Laura, are you sure you're alright? You shouldn't be barging through doors like that. What if you got shot?" Nick asked his colleague in concern.

"Then at least I'd get some action, this coward's not hiding from me anymore!" Laura growled back angrily. Fernando was the last of the three person team to catch up to them as a small army of SWAT officers marched past them to swarm the building.

"Hey look here Missy Maverick. I have to report back to the police chief on this investigation and the last thing I need is to have my FBI counterpart get blasted to bits by terrorist gunfire. At least try to be more cautious next time around," Fernando pleaded with Laura.

"Shut up bureaucratic quack, us real law enforcement actually have terrorists to catch!" Laura seethed back before running through the decrepit hallways.

"Um ma'am?" one of the SWAT officers yelled to her.

"What?" Laura demanded.

"The entire building is empty. We've looked through every room, closet, ceiling and utility crevice and not a single person other than us turned up," he reported.

"What?! That's impossible! He has to be somewhere! Search the building again, that's an order!" Laura yelled back. The officer gave a tepid nod before slipping back into a hidden room.

"Look, Laura, that mass slaughter of officers last night was traumatic for me too but don't you think you're overreacting?" a concerned Nick let out as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Overreacting?! You think hunting down a bloodthirsty lunatic responsible for hundreds of innocent lives taken is overreacting?!" Laura lashed out as she forcibly shoved his hand away.

"Look, I'm only saying that maybe we should start with a fresh lead and give up on this dead end. We'll find this bastard and we'll put him to proper justice. Friend's promise okay?"

"Okay..." Laura finally admitted after a prolonged deliberation with a heavy sigh. She motioned with her hands to evacuate the building as she walked out of it with heavy feet. She stepped out of the building and wandered over to a nearby alleyway and sighed in defeat. She turned back towards her car when a series of ropes suddenly darted past and around her legs, tripping her and dragging her away into the alleyway.

"Laura!" Nick yelled as he went after her, only to be forced back behind the corner by a hailstorm of bullets. The millisecond the bullets stopped, Nick and several other police officers peered over into the alleyway only to be greeted by an empty alley. Nick immediately ran into it in hot pursuit of his friend's captors alongside the officers. He turned the corner only to be met by a gruff looking man in a dark, leather outfit.

"Freeze, FBI!" Nick yelled as he and his team of officers pointed guns at the strange man.

"Look here gentlemen, I'm not who you think I am. If you are looking for the men who took your lady friend, I can help you," he pleaded.

"Just shut up and put your hands where I can see them," Nick reasserted himself. The man at first obeyed, approaching the group of officers with his hands raised. When he came close enough to physically reach the officers with his arms, he lashed out in a series of lightening quick strikes, easily avoiding the police's attacks as he mowed them down with his hands. Within seconds, the entire 15 man team that had pursued him lay immobilized on the ground, Nick included. Nick could barely make out the figure turn around to leave when another figure suddenly came onto him. The two men fought viciously in hand to hand combat for several minutes before the second finally overpowered and cuffed the mysterious assailant.

"Hey buddy, you okay?" asked the figure. It was Fernando.

"Yea... I think so," Nick groaned as Fernando helped him up. "How'd you do that? That guy just knocked all of us down in less than a blip of a second."

"Please, that guy was nothing compared to boot camp, Semper Fi," Fernando boasted as he grabbed the man. "Listen here pal, I'm not the patient kind of guy so you better speak up and speak up fast. Where did you and your goonies take my bitchy boss?" The man looked up defiantly at the disgruntled cop and kept his lips sealed. "Forget it!" Fernando motioned for several more police officers to come and hoist the arrested man into a police car for transport.

"Agent Mason!" Fernando yelled as he ran through sewage line after sewage line to track his missing comrade, gun and flashlight in hand. After only a couple searches, he and his team stumbled upon Laura, heavily dazed and fatigued but otherwise physically unharmed. "Agent Mason, are you alright? This is Captain Martinez with Metro PD," Fernando explained as he came and gently slapped her face until they made eye contact.

"Uhh... I think so," Laura muttered weakly.

"Was Assad here? Did you get a look at where he could have escaped to?" Fernando demanded. Laura dejectedly shook her head and sobbed softly to communicate her failure.

"Alright, it's okay. Let's get back to FBI so we can start back on the manhunt ASAP, that was what you wanted right?" Laura shook her head dejectedly before abruptly losing consciousness.