Tuesday, September 11th, 2001

03

𝕽

The humidity of September Florida was suffocating.

I walk to where all of us agents were meeting to report in and then have a quick breakfast.

As I leave the hotel they put us up in, I bump into Sara, one of my good friends. She works as a radio monitor in Angel, so she's basically a low-grade agent.

"What's got you so down?" she says, sounding concerned as she throws her arm over my shoulder. She's just barely a few inches taller than me.

"Just, Jasper," I sigh. She nods.

"Well how about we go report to Austin and get some fucking bomb pancakes before we go do our high-class jobs?" she says, fired up.

Sara is a fireball of a girl, and we've been best friends since college, so she has been with me the whole way with Jasper, and my career.

"Says the radio operator, you don't have to work until we get back on Angel to head home," I joked.

"There's my girl!" she exclaimed before we enter the vehicle we have been supplied with.

As we drive, we listen to some good music, choosing to ignore our problems before pulling up to a smalltown diner. We could see Austin's assigned vehicles as well as two of the other groups of agents that came to accompany the president on his journey.

We walk in, walking to our SAIC and friend.

He seemed to be smiling as he spoke on the phone. We snuck up on him, tapping his shoulder.

He seemed to flinch slightly. Turning around to face us, he seemed to give an annoyed glare.

"I've gotta go Jax, I've got more agents coming in and we need to conduct the meeting soon, I love you, tell Ana that I love her too, and little skamp, " he spoke into the phone, speaking to his pregnant wife and about his daughter with a fond smile on his face as the woman replied.

He ended the call before turning to us with a scowl.

"Aw, is Special Agent Austin going soft on us?" Sara cooed with a teasing smile.

He seemed to growl, completely done with us already.

"Oh, is the puppy angry?" I continued to tease while petting at his neck like a dog.

He snapped his hand up to my wrist and threw it back towards my body with an incessant grunt, rolling his eyes at our antics.

He glanced to his watch, clicking his tongue.

"8:50, you're late," he said, moving to write it in the log for the report when we arrived back in Washington.

"You know us, always getting into trouble, " Sara jested, taking a seat at the table.

"Sorry, that's probably my fault, Jasper and I got into an argument again this morning," I mumbled, looking down.

Of course, Austin still caught it. He gave me a pitiful look.

"No, no, don't give me that look, you know I hate that look," I said heatedly, pointing at him aggressively as I sat down.

I then observed our surroundings, the diner was a quaint little joint, looking like a family establishment. There were four and six people booths and then larger tables, as well as the counter and the kitchen. There was a small box TV mounted in opposite corners. That's when I noticed something. The news feed was playing and.... and......

The north tower was smoking, a very clear impact point standing out.

A look of horror took over my features as I reached to cover my mouth.

Sara seemed to take notice of my expression.

"What?" she asked, catching Austin's attention as well. She quickly followed my line of sight, eliciting a gasp from her as well, as her eyes went wide.

Autin glanced in the same direction of our gazes before his own eyes widened.

"Holy Shit," he whispered.

We all sat in shocked and horrified awe for a moment before coming to our senses.

"Guys!" Sara shouted, and the other seven agents in Austin's unit that were ordering at the counter, as well as the waitress and the cook working, snapped their heads towards us.

Sara shakily pointed to the TV, her gaze never once faltering from the screen.

They all looked before horror and fear framed their features. Worry in some's eyes, anger and sadness in the other's. A tear streamed down one particularly horrified agent's face. I believe it was Jen, a girl who lives in New York as well. I believe her best friend works in the North Tower.

Just then, Austin's phone starts ringing.

He picked it up and answered it, shaking the emotions of shock and horror away for a moment.

"Hello?" he answered, very formally.

"Yes sir, agent 1211920914 speaking, agents 18151914, 191181, 10124, 1011916518, 139385112, 1311895, 1125125, 101854, and 105141496518 are all with me at this very moment," Austin replied, rattling off every agent that is here's agentry assigned serial number.

"Code 52213, sir? Affirmative," he confirmed. Code evacuation? That means effective immediately we are to be ready to board Air Force One with the president within the hour as an emergency takeoff is being prepared for as we speak.

The call is ended and he stands.

"Code 52213 in effect, we are to get the president off the ground within the hour, are we clear?" Austin raises his voice, making sure every agent can hear and understand him clearly.

"Affirmative!" we all call back, making sure he knows we all understand.

"That on the TV right there is causing national panic and we are to report to the hotel lobby in which the president is staying in with every item we need to head to a different location, there is no comfirmed landing location as of right now but that may change, we are expected to report in the lobby of President Bush's hotel by 9:30, and board Air Force One by 10:00 AM, am I clear?" he explains, asking for confirmation on the orders.

"Crystal!" we all reply. Just as we begin to exit, the newsfeed once more catches our attention. A plane crashes into the south tower.

...

Jasper.