Plans

Jason listens to Aerith thoughtfully, then gives a little nod. “Yeah…I like to fish. Don’t do it as often as I want, just ‘cause I’m busy with other stuff…but I know a few good spots around here.”

He knew his dialogue was just waiting to become and invitation, so he relents. Who knew…this might be the last conversation he ever had with Aerith anyway. He was just being polite. “Maybe I’ll have to show you sometime when you’re not busy coming in to work in your free time.” He offers a slight smile, then catches Mabel’s eye from a distance and waves her over for something light to eat. Sticking around for a little while wouldn’t be that bad, and he knew he needed to eat something.

Before long, the meal is finished, and Jason is preparing to leave. He gives Aerith a brief farewell and thank-you for the chat, then heads on out. The bell on the door dings as he leaves, and a few moments later, his motorcycle’s engine his heard revving up before he pulls out down the street.


Carson gives Misty a smile and turns around, bringing her close to wrap his arms around her. “Thanks for coming over.” He gives her a kiss on the top of her head. “I could use the company for a while. But please…no more singing…”

After supper is finished and cleaned off the table, both settle down in the living room and Carson pops a movie in. Halfway through, they’re snuggled up on the couch when Jason comes home, though he pays them little attention, just giving a short wave and heading for his room.

As the movie credits roll, Carson pries himself up off the couch, even though the thought of just staying there all night is appealing. Giving Misty a kiss goodnight, he walks her out to her car and promises to see her tomorrow at work. He’d be going straight in without his morning run tomorrow…work needed to be done.


The morning dawns foggy and gray. The weather prediction was fair, forecasting sunshine in the afternoon. It felt warm and fresh...a contrast to the tension going on in a small corner of the world...


Scott winces as he leans down from his desk chair to scrounge in one of his drawers. Rick would kill him if he knew he was at his desk instead of in the bed next to the infirmary where he'd been moved earlier. But he'd heard about what was going down today, and he was the one in charge of tech support and he wasn't going to let someone else fool with the equipment. Not to mention, he was bored out of his mind.

It was still early yet...Rick had come in way early to check on things, then had stepped out again. The floor was still relatively quiet, so Scott had gotten himself up and dressed, though was still in his bare feet, and looking as though he really had just rolled out of bed.

Holding his side, he scoots to the other end of his desk to retrieve some wireless mics. Plugging things in, programming devices and typing away on his keyboard, he preps for what he knew was coming.


It was almost noon. Jason had slept late after a rough night and had spoken to no one this morning, though had forced himself up and out to make it here for the meeting Nate had informed him about. He takes long strides across the main floor towards Reese’s office. Upon arriving, he finds Reese, Nate, Wyatt, Carson and Misty gathered. He knew more would be involved, but obviously this was the core team for this one.

Reese looks up as the door opens and nods, relieved that Jason had actually shown up. But before he can say anything, the phone rings. Picking it up, be puts it on speaker phone. “This is Reese.”

“So glad you decided to be there for our call.” It’s a male voice this time, one that Carson didn’t recognize.

Reese bristles at the taunting tone. “We’re listening, and we’re ready to deal. Just name the place and time.”

“Good. It’s going to be number two-twenty-five Hobart street. Seven-thirty tonight. Now listen carefully, because you screw one thing up, and Mick dies. A gun will be pointed at his head at all times and we will not hesitate to pull the trigger. We will bring him out of the building at exactly seven-thirty. You will have one representative and Carson. That’s it. One more person than that, and we will view it as a threat. You will bring Carson to the middle of the street and step back. We will send Mick across, completing the trade, while Carson stays put. Once Mick is in your custody, you will get into your vehicle and leave without looking back and without calling the authorities. Are these instructions clear?”

Reese glances around at the others grimly. “They’re clear.”

“Looking forward to doing business with you. Seven-thirty. You don’t show, Mick dies and we move on to another hostage.” A click signals the end of the call.

Rees takes a deep breath and folds his arms over his chest. “Well…that’s that. Hobart street…that’s out at the southwest corner of town that’s deserted isn’t it?”

Carson nods. “They picked a spot where you could set off a grenade and no one would hear it. No one hears, no law gets involved.”

“Two-twenty-five is an abandoned bank,” Jason adds.

Reese quirks an eyebrow. This was the quick Jason he knew. “What else is around there?”

“I been down to that area a few times,” Jason replies. “It’s in the middle of a block. Brick buildings…all vacant, obviously. Across the street are more buildings, probably three stories tall. Be a great lookout if you ask me. We could position a sniper up there, and fill in the downstairs with lookouts too.”

“What if they’ve already got the place crawling?” Wyatt asks.

“They won’t.” Carson shifts his weight, nodding to Reese. “The Agency is cocky. They’ll expect us to be afraid enough to do exactly as they say. They won’t have extra men except in the old bank with them. Another reason being, that they’re serious about killing Mick. It won’t be any skin of their teeth…we don’t do as they say, they kill Mick, they go after someone else, and the cycle continues until they get what they want.”

“So what about snipers?” Wyatt asks.

Carson nods. “It’s what I was thinking. My advice is to get down there a.s.a.p. We arrive before they do, get our own men in position so we have the upper hand. No surprises. We go in, we start to exchange people, but instead of following through, we take out the competition.”

“What about the trade?” Reese intervenes. “They won’t send Mick across unless they see you in the middle of the street.”

“I need to be up on that roof,” Carson points out, “Where I can see what’s going on. I know faces, I know how the Agency moves. If they try something unexpected, I don’t want to be on the ground useless. From a lookout point I’ll be able to tell if they’re trying to pull something before anyone else.”

Jason quirks an eyebrow. “Sounds to me like you just don’t want to be in the line of fire.”

Carson turns to glare at him. “Look, I suggested going ahead with a trade, but you people won’t let me. If I’m going to help, the best way to make that happen is to make me a pair of eyes instead of bait. I know the Agency and I’ll know if they’re going to double-cross us. But if I’m on the ground with Mick, I’ll be useless because by the time I move, he’ll be dead.”

“That still doesn’t solve our problem,” Reese points out.

“What about a decoy?” Wyatt suggests. “What if they think it’s Carson, but it’s not?”

Reese raises his brow. “But they know Carson well. Besides, who looks like him?”

“Well they wouldn’t have to look like him exactly…just someone close this his build…give them a denim jacket and a baseball cap that’s pulled down low and there you have it. He’ll be in the middle of the road – it’s not like he’ll have to talk.”

“I don’t know…”

“It might work,” Carson muses. “Most likely if they see someone they think is me, they won’t look too close and just go on assuming.” He glances around the room. “We’ll need snipers besides me too. Jason?”

For now, Jason bypasses all personal feelings and mood, putting himself into work mode. “Yeah, I’m in.”

“What about Katie?”

Jason gives him an uneasy glance.

Carson purses his lips. “Reese?”

“I don’t know,” Reese responds. “We can ask her though. Do we need to call Con in?”

Jason shakes his head. “Don’t do that to him. He’s finally got the quiet life he wanted, and a job he’s trying to hold down. Don’t tempt him to jeopardize that.”

“Maybe you’re right…well, that’s two and three if we get Katie. But what about the decoy?”

Carson glances over to Nate, sizing him up. “How would you like to be an Aussie for an evening?”