Jess presses the "end" button on her phone. That's a bit ironic, all things considered. She turns to her teammates.
"The deal and meeting point are set. I'm calling the Agency next and requesting a specialist for data retrieval with the required hardware. We surely won't have the time to decrypt the data, but we should manage to copy the raw data off the PDA and have it chewed through later."
Raven looks a bit outraged at the thought of using an outside source.
"Um...I know I'm the new guy and everything, but that kinda is what I do. (pointing at his laptop) You know this gizmo does more than run FreeCell."
"Then I trust you can dissemble a PDA of unspecified brand and model, copy the entire contents of it's harddrive - and that via the drive interface itself, since the system will probably be locked against a normal hookup - and put it together again without a trace of the operation; all that within one hour at most ?"
She leaves a dramatic pause, then goes on.
"Fine, but we'd all better make sure our guns are loaded, 'cause if anything goes wrong, we'll probably need to do another one of these pesky armed arrests."
Brian watches the discussion with amusement (he is afterall outside), listening as Jess does a very admirable job of playing the spurned lover. Figuring they're probably discussing things inside, Brian follows her in.
"Sounds good. But this one will be a little trickier if things go south...Stewart won't be caught with just a car like that, and lord knows he's a better shot than almost anyone else I know. If we've got an hour, may I suggest someone take the car now, and the..." he motions to himself and Gavin "the soldierly chaps set up early and lay low. Nothing like a prepositioned rifleman when things go wrong."
The team splits up, heading to their respective objectives.
Team Artis goes to Best Buy and after finding the PDA in question, they wait for someone to help them get it out of the stupid case. They wait and they wait...with Artis offering to pick the lock and leaving the cash where they had removed the PDA. Raven, being the resident technophile, approaches this matter with a little more civility. Ten minutes and 3 readings of the riot act later, a slack-jawed employee finally gets the keys.
With PDA in tow, they head for the rendevous point. As they get close to the bar, the team flags down a cab for Jess to take the rest of the way. The subterfuge would be killed if she were to show up in the Agency car.
Oasis Bar & Grill
Gavin and Brian each take up flanking positions in the hilly areas surrounding the bar's parking lot. Each have a good field of fire, doing radio checks and practice runs to make sure they have their timings down. As they pull off another flawless run, Brian spots Stewart's droptop Jaguar pulling into the bar's parking lot. He reports his sighting to Gavin.
-Do the see the beast?...Have you got it in your sights?
-Clear enough Ms. Moneypenny. This should present no significant problems
Upon seeing the target, the soldiers radio in to Team Artis.
"Osprey to Goose. We have the target in sight...awaiting further orders."
The sun was just beginning to bake the desert as scopes of Gavin and Brian's rifles spot Jess' cab pulling in
to the bar parking lot.
Artis keeps heading down the road, pulling a u-turn at the next intersection. He heads for a good pouncing location.
This gas station should do fine. It's a clear shot right at Stewart and his car.
He gets ready for what most likely be a full-throttle acceleration in the direction of the bar. Harry and Raven lock and load their weapons.
The cab stops just short of Stewart's location. Jess pays the driver as Stewart hastily opens the taxi door in anticipation of the delivery. At this time, Gavin does a once-over on Stewart's wardrobe. He doesn't spot anything unusual at first, but as Stewart bends down to peer inside the cab, the bright afternoon sun reflects off a radio-mic in Stewart's right ear. He relays this fact to team.
"He's wired for sound...repeat...He's wired for sound."
Gavin also notices that Stewart is packing and from the lump under his sportsjacket, he'll bet that it's a small SMG...maybe a MP-5K.
"Target's wearing hardware, possibly automatic. I'm guessing a nine-milly SMG."
Jess gets out of the taxi and greets Stewart with her typical charismatic smile. He returns hers with a grin of his own. Keeping the smile, he asks Jess
"So...did you get what I asked for and may I see it?"
Jess switches to defiant mode, the kind of attitude you get when you're really, really angry with someone for the first time in your life and haven't yet learned that you'd better keep it down lest things get worse.
"You're just the same as everyone else. You're risking a lot for whatever is on your little gizmo, but you have no idea about what is really important. Taking advantage of me like that - maybe you ought to know how it feels to *lose*, Andrew !"
With that, she holds up the PDA in a position to throw it onto the asphalt with all her might (however little that may be), and prepares her other hand to show the secret go-sign.
*If that doesn't make him go ballistic, he's better than I give him credit for - still, obviously no social skills beyond the requisite bed scene.*
She runs her hand through her hair, giving Gavin and Brian the go-code.
Instantly, two shots strike Stewart in the chest with precision marksmanship. Milliseconds later, faint gunshots are heard off in the distance
Blood spatters in all directions as Stewart's body is contorted by the high velocity rounds. Good thing Jess knew the shots were coming as the morbid display in front of her is nearly causes her to faint. She holds back the urge to purge as she runs for cover.
He activates the car's HMG and fires a two wide bursts at him. Andrew is repeatedly stitched by a hail of 7.62mm slugs. With his body severely wounded and twitching, Andrew still appears to be somewhat alive.
Andrew attempts to sit up. It's a slow feat of strength and constitution, but he manages to do so. He appears to be bringing his gun up to finish himself off.
Brian and Gavin see the the silhouette of his head.
No way, this prick is ours for the taking.
They fire off in unison. The first shot tears a gaping hole in the back of Andrew's neck with the second going clean through his forehead and into the Jaguar's door. Andrew's body slumps over to one side like a tattered ragdoll.
While Artis & Co. witness the display of marksmanship, Artis sees a slight shimmer off the otherwise plain landscape. The shimmer fades into the unmistakable shape of James' Aston Martin. It does a quick bootleg turn in the parking lot, stopping perpendicular to the Jaguar thus blocking Artis' view of Stewart...but perfectly setting himself up for a highspeed T-bone.
Artis sees his opportunity to finish the mission once and for all. He looks at his passengers.
"Um...gents. Unless you'd like to jump out of a moving car, I'd get out now."
Raven and Harry very willingly do so.
Artis puts the Agency Cruiser in gear then floors it. Aiming for the driver's door, Artis sets the cruise control and 40MPH then bails out. The car speeds toward the Aston Martin. As James attempt to open the passenger side door, he notices the speeding Crown Vic barrelling directly for him...but it's too late.
The Crown Vic slams into the driver's door, sending pieces of re-enforced carbon fiber and steel into James as he is jettisoned through the half-opened passenger side and into the plate glass window of the restaurant.
Needless to say, both cars are toast.
Meanwhile, Artis dusts himself off from his bail-out. He looks at the burning wrecks and the carnage around him. He grins and a yells out,
Dieter
