Road To Reelection : Fragile Relations

Chapter 25 : Clean slate

In the communications bunker President Reagan and I looked at the drone feed showing NYC. "Senior Special Agent Jeff Collins reporting for duty." came the voice of the leader of the JTTF strike team. 

"Morning agent, this is President Reagan." 

"Morning sir."

"Commence Operation Patriot." he commanded. "I want the agents alive and in custody."

"Yes sir."

"The drone you're having with you is directly controlled by Athena, she'll tell you what you need." The President and I exchanged nods and I took the second earpiece from his outstretched hands. Programming the drone to fly upwards the three storey building I scanned the security from top to bottom. Our own delegates watched closely, holding their breaths as we witnessed the operation ordered by President Reagan. The three screens below contains three different footages. 

"Everything seems normal, no signs of them knowing that we're onto them." I told the special agent. "Enter through the staircase door at the north, deploy two squads. I'll hold off the power, disable the alarm systems."

"Roger that. Team Alpha, Team Delta, you have your orders laid out." The drone flew towards a more suitable angle to monitor the assault. 

"They have security cams sir." I told the President. "Might as well make the North Koreans 'blind'." he nodded. Hacking into the security grid I disabled the security cameras. "Now!" Armed with assault rifles and decked out in SWAT gears the operatives made their move, Alpha kicking down the door and the squad filed into the building. "The staircase to your left leads upstairs. Collins, send another team to the basement level." 

"There's a basement level?"

"Just go." I said. "Got a hunch. The door beside the staircase."

"Team Beta." Collins ordered. 

"They must have suicide pills on them, be careful about it." I warned. "Remember Korean 858."

"Roger." the team made their way upstairs and broke into two. The first team broke open the doors and threw in flash bangs. As the flash bangs were thrown in they heard screams in Korean but both President Reagan and I know the meaning. Even though they screamed 'Grenade!' in Korean they were too late. "JTTF! Don't move!"

"Status Team Delta?" Collins asked. "Team Delta!" an explosion rocked the second floor, nearly knocking the drone off-course. Wrestling control I flew it upwards to the third floor.

"God, there's a bomb on that floor. No survivors sir." I said.

"Damn." the President replied. 

"Son of a bitch!" Collins shouted. "What's your status Team Beta?" quickly scanning the blueprints I found a camera installed but not in the same security grid as the entire building.

"We found weapons sir." the team leader replied. "Bombs, hand grenades, even S-vests. This must be their weapons' storage."

"Firearms?"

"AK-47s, knock-off versions of the M82, M16, SMGs, bazookas... how the hell did the North Koreans get them?"

"Must be the Sparrow." President Reagan replied. "Any enemy forces?"

"No sir, no crows detected."

"Anything valuable?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am. Blueprints, for the cemetery. This must be their planning ground for the assault."

"Good work gentlemen. Secure the place." Collins said. "Team Alpha?"

"We rounded up the spies, 8 male and 6 female. We expect casualties on the third floor."

"Great work. We'll be in touch soon." President Reagan said, signing off. Moving to the middle screen we focused on the footage that shows the office building known as Dynamic Corps. "Ryan, you're up." I switched from the drone to the security cam footage. 

"Something's wrong." I said. After hacking into the cameras I found the personnel in the company in a hurried state, grabbing confidential documents and throwing them into paper shredders. "You have to act now! They're destroying confidential papers." a noise reducing helicopter is hovering above the building according to the Pentagon's satellite. 

"Do it boys!" Ryan ordered. Then FBI agents rappelled down from the helicopter, positioning themselves over the fragile glass windows without any noise. "Go!" on the order they broke through the windows and the personnel were shocked.

"FBI! Don't move! Put your hands over the back of your head and kneel down on the ground!" one of the agents ordered. With the agents' weapons pointing at them they know they have nowhere to run and did what they were ordered. 

"Surround the building agents!" Ryan ordered. "No one in and no one out."

"Yes sir!" SUVs rushed through the streets and agents emerged from the vehicles while snipers were dropped off from another helicopter, aiming at the building in all four directions.

"Mining site Ryan." I said. Switching to another drone footage military personnel has cornered the facility and the workers all lined up in one line.

"Someone get the Nuclear Regulatory Commission there." President Reagan ordered. "Keep your eyes open." 

"Yes sir." Accessing the Pentagon's satellite I focused the feed on the current areas we have raided. "The situation is under control." Focusing on the situation in New York I watched as the agents escorted into a mini van by armed guards under the JTTF's watchful eye. "Collins, whats the situation on the third floor?"

"Third floor's been bombed hard ma'am. As you said, no survivors."

"I'm sorry about your men Jeff."

"Line of duty ma'am. You experienced it as I do before."

"Check for the bodies. The drone identified seven personnel in the floor before it went up in flames."

"I've found five bodies. Not my men."

"Two agents then. No body?"

"No, bomb's wiped them out."

"What about the ones we captured? Cyanide pills present? Did they bite themselves?"

"Negative, no reports on that. But will enforce screening."

"Good work Collins. Your turn Ryan." I said, my gazes flickered to the Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division. 

"It's going to take a while to redo the documents they've shredded. They're alerted by the North Koreans."

"How?" I asked.

"When Collins' team stormed NYC."

"Damn. Never knew that they were that inter-connected." I cursed. "Operation Sparrow Raid and Patriot is a success." Everybody nodded. 

"The regulatory commission is on their way to Texas." President Reagan said, reentering the room after the phone call. "It's time to make the big reveal."

"Time to go people." I said. Everybody terminated the call, as we know where we're heading now.