Chapter Twelve

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height


Howard stood rigidly in the control room, watching the screen displayed on the wall. The surveillance footage of Kavala had just blinked out like a light being turned off.

"We need to get another drone in there now." He demanded, addressing the seventeen employees busy at their computers, including Maddie and James.

"Sir, we'll have to pull one out of Athens to get it there in time." A young man sitting at the table closest to him frantically typed a code into his computer.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Howard crossed his arms, his mind racing. He knew Nolan and Toby couldn't handle it. It was a stupid mistake to begin with. He'd hoped Grace could make up for their impurities since she'd been on multiple assassination missions...unfortunately, she'd been among his many failures the past few days.

Now Kavala was blacked out and he had zero intel on the happenings over there. Why hadn't the CIA been prepared for something like this? They wouldn't be able to get ground troops over there for at least two days and who knew how many EMPs could go off by then? Howard had already contacted the President, who was going to issue a state of international emergency.

Everyone was at risk of catastrophe.

The EMPs would affect more than the citizens themselves. It would all but shut down the government completely. It would immediately put a stop to the flow of commerce, especially online banking, and completely isolate the continents from one another. If they didn't protect it, all equipment used by the military would be useless also.

No communications.

No military support.

No way to stop the decimation of the world as they knew it.

Howard rubbed the tiredness away from his face. They needed to end it now before the EMP blasts spread. But how?

"Sir, we got one camera into the city."

Howard looked up to see a flying drone careening over Kavala. "James, I need eyes near the school area."

"Yes sir." James' bald head bent over his keyboard.

The camera soared over the streets, displaying that people had already built fires for both light and warmth. Some people were shooting flares into the sky, hoping someone would see them, others were banding together at the town square, shouting.

The audio itself seemed to vibrate the screen.

Howard licked his dry lips. "I need face identification on Dimyan Egor. He might still be in the area. Scan everyone there."

Out of the twelve screens on the wall, only three were online. Two for the camera, one for gathering data.

"I've got a match." A middle-aged woman said, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

The face of Egor showed up on the third screen with a pinpoint two blocks away from the school, following his movements.

Howard's mind reeled. There was only one option. "Cassie, contact the president and request a telecommunication line with the United Nations. We're need permission to issue a missile strike."

Both Maddie and James swung around in their chairs.

"But sir, we have people in there." James said.

"So is Dimyan Egor. We need him dead and there's only one way to do it."

Maddie got up and walked over to Howard briskly. "We can't do that," she urged in a low tone, "and besides, we can't go in and bomb a city. With a missile strike, at least fifty civilians or more will die. You can't make a call like this so quickly—"

"We are on the verge of a total shutdown. If we could take out Egor, it would cripple their operation seeing as he is its leader. We can't get a team in there, so the only option is this."

"Nolan and Toby are out there." Maddie pressed, her hazel eyes like daggers.

Howard firmed his jaw. "I am aware of that. Fortunately, they're expendable. Unfortunately, I have another agent over there who is less than expendable. I hate to lose her, but I'm sure she's willing to make the sacrifice for her country."

Maddie's lips parted in utter shock. "Expendable? How could you—"

"I'd also like to remind you that you are now an official agent of the CIA and I am the director. Please have a seat."

Maddie took a step backwards, her face the reflection of sheer horror, before sitting down next to her husband.

One of the other agents looked up. "Sir, the president has approval from the Grecian authorities. We're a go for a missile strike."

                                                                                               ~~~~

They waited for over an hour, listening to the growing unrest. At first it was murmured confusion that turned into outright protest. It seemed to happen quickly, but Nolan guessed that was to be expected.

He made sure his gun was loaded and stood up. "Okay kids, let's blow this popsicle stand."

Grace let out a dry laugh. "Did you seriously just say that right now?"

"Just trying to lighten the mood." Nolan carefully helped Toby to his feet. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah." Toby grunted, righting himself with a cringe.

"What about running?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "I guess if it's necessary."

"It will be." Nolan assured him with an apologetic expression. "We need to split up. It'll be easier for us if we're separated...we'll be less of a target."

Toby and Grace seemed uneasy about the idea.

"What if we get attacked?" Toby inquired.

"It's better to avoid getting attacked in the first place." Nolan replied. "We'll be recognized easier if we stay together. There are plenty of people in the street to cover us."

"We can rendezvous at a construction site out of town to the right." Grace suggested. "It's about thirty minutes out by car; probably an hour by foot. Just follow the main road, you can't miss it."

"Sounds good. Be careful."

Nolan headed down the length of the alleyway. He could almost feel the tense energy emanating from the congested street.

He tucked his handgun into his coat pocket before entering the fray.

Groups of people were parading around, shouting, and raising torches. Police had also made their way out, lifting metal batons and firing off warning shots into the air.

Bonfires lined the walkways and Nolan was almost constantly jostled by everyone mulling about.

It was probably pitch black inside their houses, so the only way to make light was by fire.

He paused and watched carefully as a tall man with black hair stood up on an overturned trash can.

"We have to keep calm!" He yelled. "We cannot panic—we have to work together!" He kept repeating his plea until he'd earned a good sized crowd of fifty people or so.

"You can either stay here or evacuate, but if you stay here there's no telling who or when someone will come help us."

"And what if no one does?!" Someone shouted. Nolan located the speaker; an angry-faced man who was holding tightly to the hand of a little girl.

The man on top of the trashcan licked his lips nervously. "I don't know what's going on...none of us do." He held up his cell phone. "All I know is that everything with a battery is dead and if we don't stick together—"

"You don't know anything!" A woman cried. "We're gonna die here! We don't have water or any way to keep food from rotting!"

"Please," the man started, his eyes growing panicky. "If you'll just listen to me—"

Without warning, a gunshot split the air and blood sprayed out from the man's forehead. He toppled down from the trashcan.

The man who'd fired the shot immediately bolted through the throng of people.

Nolan started forward, but the crowd went wild. People began crushing him on either side, wailing and screaming.

He allowed the sea of people to carry him away before dodging towards the sidewalk where it was less crowded.

There wasn't anything he could do.

As he walked, he passed by several people surrounding little fires, bundled up in the warmest clothes they owned.

One group was a family with two children, who were both crying. The parents tried desperately to soothe them, but were simultaneously whispering to one another.

"We can't just leave." The wife said.

"We don't have a choice, Daphne. Just look at this place; it's not safe."

Nolan even saw some people who'd taken the chaotic situation as an opportunity to deal illegal items. He couldn't say he was surprised.

As he was observing a group of four people pulling a body out of a crashed car, he caught a glimpse of a man in Iranian street clothes. He held a pistol in his left hand and he was looking around intently.

Nolan quickened his pace, twisting and turning to avoid the people in his way. He stole a glance behind him, which was a deadly mistake.

The man locked eyes with him and began shoving through the crowd.

Nolan started at a jog, crossing the street to the other side, and decided to head straight into the most crowded areas.

Who knew so many people lived in this part of Kavala?

He didn't dare look behind him again as his heart hammered in his chest.

A strong hand jostled his elbow and Nolan turned, swinging his elbow into the face of...a woman.

She toppled to the ground with a cry of pain.

"Oh my gosh...I am so sorry..." Nolan breathed. He bent down to help her, murmuring hundreds of apologies, but stopped when he saw the other man stalking towards him.

"I...I gotta go...I'm really, really sorry..." he said, almost to himself, and took off at a sprint.

I just punched out a woman. He thought, still horrified at himself. He reached a spot near the edge of town where the crowd began to thin out.

He turned around just as the man had stopped in his tracks and raised his pistol.

Nolan dropped to his knees and grabbed his own weapon. He narrowly managed to shoot the man in the chest. He watched as he fell to the ground, but didn't waste any time to see if the shot was fatal.

He continued on at a run until even the buildings became scarce. He slowed down once he was on a desolate highway.

He took a deep breath and looked up. He had to admit that without all of the lights emanating from the town, the sky was radiantly beautiful.

The stars looked more like galaxies, reaching up into infinity and branching out for eternity. Cool wind caressed his warm face and sent a calming chill through his muscles. He walked until he saw orange reflectors faintly gleaming ahead of him.

Toby was waiting there, slumped against a plastic road barrier, sound asleep.

"You made it." Nolan called.

Toby jumped at his voice and stood up, rubbing his eyes warily. "So did you."

"All in one piece." Nolan sat next to one of the barriers, breathing out slowly. "How long have you been here?"

"Only about ten minutes or so."

Nolan opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short.

A glimmer caught his eye. Against the clear sky, he could make out the dim silhouette of an F-16 aircraft.

Toby saw it too and sat up. "What the..."

Nolan tensed as it hovered for a split second.

A few heartbeats later an explosion shook the ground and a fiery mushroom cloud blossomed over Kavala.

Nolan couldn't move.

Grace...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi  everyone! I hope you enjoyed ^_^ (Just FYI, this chapter is completely unedited, so if you spot anything off in the storyline, feel free to let me know!)

~What are your thoughts on the chapter?

~Do you think bombing Kavala was a smart move?

~What do you think will happen to Grace?

{Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to comment, vote, and share! =D)



You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net