Carla drags the headshot victim into the foyer as Ayumi pulls the still living man in behind her.
"Careful of the blood. We don't need a big mess waiting for the cleaners..."
Jess triages the wounded man.
Multiple GSWs to the upper torso and shoulder blades. Shattered clavicle, possible collapsed lung, two...no THREE broken ribs. Good thing this poor bastard was wearing a vest.
"He'll live, but he needs more attention than I can provide here."
Outside, Brian is running a perimeter sweep of the immediate safehouse area, picking various spent brass casings and the like. As he completes his search and heads back in, a transit van fishtails up the driveway, powersliding to a stop in front of the safehouse.
That bloody better be Artis...
Inside, Ian is appraising Thames House of the situation as he hears the squealing tires out front.
"Very well. We'll be awaiting the cleaners and medic unit to arrive. Cloverleaf out."
Ian approaches the foyer where Ayumi has put some plastic down to keep the blood from seeping into the floor tiles.
"Cheerio, chaps, what for tally ho," Artis calls as he gets out of the van. "I got our van (stepping inside) and... and... "
Artis just stops, his arms hanging loose at his sides. "I'm going to be VERY disappointed that I actually asked for surveillance equipment on the van and not miniguns and rocket launchers, aren't I? Just wondering, because last I checked bloodbaths came AFTER the surveillance part. Don't tell me we're done with our covers already? And what is THAT?!" he shouts, pointing at the horribly wounded man.
"Miss, MI-5 does not work that way unless so ordered. And as much as I would like to put a bullet in that scumbag, Thames House feels that he's more valuable alive than dead. Tie him up good and the cleaners will see to the rest."
Ian sees Goose and Brian walk in.
"Ah...Agent Gossard, I trust your trip to Glasgow was a bit less uneventful than ours?"
"Yeah, I suppose so, although I really shouldn't be going back there before switching out the van's license plates. Anybody new trying to kill us, or is it still Catesby?"
"Still Catesby, but she did leave us a few friends that might help later on. I'll have new plates for the transit by morning. In the meantime, we need to get out of here."
"Good news is, apparently, our cover is still in tact." Brian quickly puts everything but the rifle back in his bag, zipping it up and slipping it over his shoulder. He then quietly goes to the door, bracing himself against the doorframe and generally covering the path from the house to the van.
"The area's clear, at least from what I could see. Remind me to get the cleaners to find where my shot went. I'd hate for someone to wonder how a match grade sniper's bullet wound up here. Or for some darling Scotsman to play ballistic analyst. Now I agree, let's get moving before our darling Ms. Catesby decides to alter her employment."
About 45 minutes go by as the rain lets up just enough for the fog to roll in off the Firth. Another transit van followed by two sedan pull up to the safehouse. A man steps out of the vehicle and approaches Ian and Co. Ian doesn't seem too thrilled at their arrived.
-You're late and we should have been gone twenty minutes ago.
-No need to kerfuffle, Ian. Had a wee tug on the way here, let us with a warning. Thames House tells me there wis a right rammy here and yer need the place gussied up?
-Er...right. Two men, bloodstains on the front entryway and in the foyer.
As the "cleaners" go to work, the Team files into the their transit van, Ian riding shotgun.
"We'll be heading to regional HQ in downtown Edinburgh until another safehouse is made ready."
The approaches the outskirts of Edinburgh when Ian's phone rings.
"Cloverleaf. Uh-huh. Indeed. Right, I will inform him of this and we will meet up with you as soon as we arrive. Cloverleaf out."
Ian ponders the conversation for a moment then takes a sip from his coffee mug,
"That was Thames House. It appears that Ms. Catesby's organization has been rummaging around Agency computers looking for the elusive Marcus Alexander. I imagine she will contact Samantha soon with a bid. The fact of the matter is, that while it does put us closer to her, it does not give us any leads on the strike on Parliament. We need to know the how and when of it and soon. The anniversary of Guy Fawkes is approaching fast."
"Have you tried using false leaks? Get the nearby dates, some of the more likely targets, and prime opportunities for a hit, and see if leaking a breech about any of them triggers a flurry of activity?" Brian smiles slightly.
"Catesby's IQ is well over 160...the false leaks have yielded two agents critically wounded, an informant on life support, and the complete unwillingness of Five to devote any further manpower to the endeavor. Need I have to remind you why the Agency and Thames House recruited you for this operation?"
Brian's remark definitely struck a chord with Ian with his strictly business tone being replaced with anger and vengefulness.
"I say we set up a meeting and take her out with excessive violence. All the IQ in the world won't pull a bullet out of your brain. The trick is putting it there in the first place."
Carla sends out a look of when you deal with roaches, you use a big hammer to Brian.
"Catesby has been the target for at least half a dozen black ops mission over the past two years. Cutting off the head of Fawkes will force her lieutenants to be even bolder. We need to kill the whole body for it to stop. That may mean actually letting them into London. Thames House is working out the scenarios as we speak. I have been promised a preliminary outline when we reach the office."
"Gut a terrorist organization from stem to stern in one shot. Just how big is Fawkes? I mean, we've" and by we Brian clearly means the SAS "have been trying to do that in Ireland since how long? That little display they made today was...grandious...even by IRA standards. But no, you don't need to remind me why Five called us in."
The transit van nears the highway exit for the office,
"Turn at the next off-ramp. To answer your question, Agent Osprey, the Fawkes Terrorist Cell numbers in the hundreds. They are a tightly-knit organization, with each member ready to pick up a fallen banner if needed...making a surgical strike unwarranted. Five has been working on a scenario that would get key members together. It appears that Agent Hummingbird's ocean rendevous was such as event..."
"Okay, how about high explosives, then? Any parking garages London needs destroyed?"
All this multiple cell, hydra-style organization annoys Carla. Dealing with drug and war lords meant that if you cut off the head, the body wouldn't rise up and stab you.
"No, but there are several abandoned dock yards that could use some renovating..."
Artis pulls the transit off the motorway and into the streets of downtown Edinburgh. A few minutes later, the Team arrives at a non-descript office building and pull into a underground garage. As they do so, everyone's Agency panic button goes off.
[color=red:abfa5b9f2b]Security Alert Alpha: Report into base immediately![/color]
Moments later, as Tom frantically dials-in a rather young-ish looking woman runs up to transit, banging on Ian's window with a file folder in her hand.
"What the...?"
The woman is noticably winded and borderline hysterical,
-Age...*huff*....Agent...*cough*...Agent Hobart.
-Settle down, love. What's going on?
-There's been *cough* an....*huff* an attack on Downing Street.
The woman struggles to regain her breath as Ian opens the sealed folder.
"Bloody hell. It seems Catesby decided to go with a pre-emptive strike."
The Team assembles upstairs, the situation room being abuzz with various staffers and suits talking on phones, typing away at computers, most watching the large screen showing the BBC News. A reporter is standing in front of a frantic background full of fireman, police, and wounded personnel milling around a once-gated area.
...The scene here at Number 10 Downing Street is one that could only be described as chaos. Just over ten minutes ago, the residence of the Prime Minister was the scene of a violent explosion, which from eyewitnesses just outside the security gate appears to have been from a large transit van.
Ian studies the images carefully, focusing on some of the bystanders in the background.
"Someone get me a copy of this report...I think Catesby just made cameo appearance for us."
"That was a dumb stunt to pull, Gospasha Catesby. And I really think you should reconsider. After all, I don't ask for refunds. I get what I want, and that is either Alexander or you writhering in agony on the ground before me. As I believe in, what is the term...honor among thieves, I give you the choice. Tui panimejesch ?"
Dieter
