Chapter 30
Everyone within the British government and intelligence agencies were scrambling to uncover as much information as they could about the attack that had just ripped through London's Victoria underground station in the middle of rush hour traffic. A screen in the corner of the room had been switched to the local news station as bold letters reading 'BREAKING NEWS' moved across the bottom of the screen whilst the reporter went over the same information he had fifteen minutes ago.
"A major explosion has ripped through Victoria Underground Station in the heart of London. The numbers of dead and injured are as yet unknown, as is the cause of the explosion, but they are estimated to be in hundreds as commuters filled the station when the explosion happened. We will continue to bring you up to date information of this incident as it progresses. Here are some images and videos that people have been streaming online from the site. These may be distressing for some viewers." The image switched from the news reporter to a jittery video someone had shot through their smartphone. It was hard to make out through the darkness and smoke on the video as to what was what but Strong thought he could see the steps that ascended from the underground and he knew that whoever was streaming the video was currently trapped in Victoria Station.
Closing his eyes briefly he turned back to the computer monitor he was stood in front of and tried to make sense of the information laid out before him when someone shouted from across the room.
"It was a suicide bomber!" An intelligence officer shouted in shock as he stood up from his seat, "First responders have found the remnants of a suicide vest." The air in the room grew cold and sombre as the news sunk in that there truly had been attack on British soil. And there could be more to come.
Strong turned to the operative closest to him sat at a computer, "Bring up all the intel, photos- anything that Twitch sent us from that building where he found the maps. The clue must be in there and now we know that one of their targets was Victoria station we might be able to uncover the others."
"Yes sir," The operative at the computer nodded and began to type away as various new windows popped up on the screen.
"And warn the emergency services that there may be more attacks ahead." Strong added when he heard his name being called from behind him and turned to see Truro speeding towards him.
"Strong," Truro breathed fast as if he had been running, "The alert has been sent out. Hospitals are on standby and the other stations in London are being evacuated as we speak."
"Good," Strong said as he took on the information and began to walk past Truro to battle the next problem when Truro reached out a hand and grabbed him by the arm. Strong looked down at where he touched him before staring at him in confusion, "What is it?"
"What-" Truro looked around them before he took a step closer to Strong and lowered his voice, "What if we're walking into a trap? Like you said this man has had years to plan. He must know that the first thing we would do is evacuate the other stations."
"So what, you want us to keep people in there?"
"No of course not," Truro dropped his hand from Strong's arm, "but what if there is a bigger picture that we're missing?"
"That's what I'm afraid of," Strong sighed and they fell into an uncomfortable silence when they were hailed from across the room by another computer techie. "Yes?" Strong said as he hurried over, Truro hot at his heels.
"I found one, sir," The young man relayed the information as calmly as he could but Strong could hear the slight exhilaration in his voice at the prospect of what Strong had asked him to locate, "It took a bit of digging and a slight amount of hacking into another country's system which could or could not have been illegal-"
"-Hey," Strong interrupted and arched an eyebrow at the techie when he turned to look at him over his shoulder, hinting for him to get to the point.
"Oh, right, sorry. I found a pilot sitting on his heels on an airstrip near to Afghanistan, sir. And he has a fighter jet fully loaded with ammo."
Truro frowned at Strong, "You want to send in an air strike? I thought you were against that!"
"An air strike, yes," Strong nodded, "But a precision shooter, now that I am totally for. How fast can he get there?"
"He's on standby. He could be there in twenty minutes?"
"Make it ten and patch me through to him, I want to make sure he understands his orders," Strong patted him on the shoulder as the techie nodded and got back to work, "Well done."
"Thank you sir," He replied as he started to type into the computer and Truro started to walk away as his phone rang.
"Hey, out of curiosity," Strong leaned back towards the young man, "How much of what you just did was illegal?"
The corner of his lips tilted downward as he gave Strong a sheepish look, "You may not want to know that sir."
"Plausible deniability, got ya," Strong gave him a thumbs up when he turned and looked at the large screen at the front of the room where the drone footage of Afghanistan was still playing. Strong stared at the infrared blips that were his team. "Hang in there," Strong whispered, "We're coming for you."
* * *
By now the sun had fully descended behind the horizon and the temperatures were dropping drastically as the men stood around the jeeps reached into their vehicles and switched on the headlights. Parked in an arc the jeeps were all facing towards them in the centre when the lights came on and bathed them all in the pale yellow light. Jules's eyes scrunched a little at the sudden brightness before she refocused on Abbas. The yellow light made his face look sunken and old, illuminating the beads of sweat on his forehead that had nothing to do with the temperature. Silence covered them like a blanket, only their breathing and the occasional adjustment of a rifle in a nervous pair of hands had been heard as night fell. No sound came from the building behind her or her team.
"It is nightfall," Abbas rasped as he looked around them as if searching for the bogeyman in the shadows but when he saw nothing was there his lips tilted upward in a smirk and his voice regained some confidence as he asked, almost tauntingly, "Where are your men then?"
Jules's arms were being to feel as heavy as lead as she tried to keep them raised and the gun trained on Abbas but her muscles started to protest in agony. The pain shifted to the back of her mind though as she flickered her gaze a few inches to the right and saw Marc. The blade was still at his throat but Abbas was not pulling him backwards anymore meaning that his feet were firmly on the ground with his arms out to the side. His eyes watched her closely with a hooded expression she couldn't read.
"They'll be here," Jules reassured him, guessing that the look on his face was nerves, as she readjusted her grip on the handgun and turned back to Abbas, "Don't worry."
The smile on Abbas's face vanished and he jerked the machete at Marc's throat making her heart palpitate and Marc's eyes to squeeze shut for a moment, "Perhaps I should just kill him now, yes?"
Jules shuffled forward a step in haste. "You do that Abbas and you're good as dead," She was quick to remind him, her eyes boring into Abbas's so that there was no mistaking her commitment to follow through. She would pull that trigger if he so much as gave her husband a small cut.
"Jules," Marc called her name softly and when she looked at him that same expression was still lurking in his gaze but she now knew what it was. It wasn't nerves, at least not completely. She could tell that the fire that had burned in those beautiful spheres at the beginning had almost dwindled out. He was giving up.
"No," Jules shook her head a little as she locked her eyes with his, "We're getting out of this." She turned back to Abbas and as she did she began to note the way the men behind him began to grow jittery with impatience. She chewed on her lower lip as she tried to think of how to gain them more time and regain control of the situation but nothing was coming to her when she heard Marc saying her name again.
"Jules, listen to me, please listen," Marc almost pleaded with her but Jules just kept her eyes trained on Abbas who was revelling in Marc's display seeing it as weak and embarrassing which only made her want to shoot him even more, and ignored Marc.
Marc was not one to be ignored though and changed his tactic, "Sergeant Reynolds," He nearly shouted at her, his voice striking every chord in her body so much that she could not ignore it, "Your commanding officer has asked you to listen and you shall."
Jules clenched her jaw tight as begrudgingly turned her head to look at him. Following orders had been ingrained into her but she did not have to like it.
As she looked at him though both Marc's face and voice softened, "You have to leave. And that isn't a request."
"And go where?" Jules stared at him, "I don't know if you've noticed but we're pretty much surrounded." She no longer cared about whether admitting it in front of Abbas made them appear weaker. She needed to make Marc understand, "And even if we weren't surrounded I'm not leaving you."
"You go back to the building and find cover," Marc pleaded with her, "You'll have a better chance from there. I'll hold them up here and get you cover." Marc knew though that he wouldn't last long. Abbas would slit his throat but at least Jules would have a better chance of survival than out here in the open. He looked down at Abbas's arm around his neck, if he could just get his hand behind then maybe he could push him off.
Jules's heart was racing as she heard what he was saying. She began to shake her head in denial.
"Then you round up the others and shoot to kill everyone," Marc's throat began to grow tight, "You can do this Jules. You're an exceptional Marine, you use all of your training and you get yourself and those children to safety. Jules look at me, do you understand me?"
Jules gripped the gun tight as she looked across at Marc, "I understand." She nodded and Marc's lips parted a little in shock and relief, "But I won't do it." She added.
Marc closed his eyes, "This is no time to be stubborn Jules, go and-"
"Stubborn? You think that's what I am being?" Jules snapped at him in pain, "I love you," She said and Marc's eyes widened a little as he heard her, "I am not going to leave you and go back to a place where you aren't there, I can't do it Marc. We're in this together. Carlos and Twitch will keep the children safe. I am staying right here." Jules ignored the stray tears that ran down her face, "We never leave a man behind. Now shut up and help me save you." She turned back to Abbas, hating him so much right then that she thought she might implode from it and the look he saw in her eye made him falter.
"Okay," Marc closed his eyes briefly as he took a deep breath before looking across at Jules and then to the building behind her where a sniper rested. He hoped they were ready. He gave Jules a small nod, "I guess there's no time like the present." Before Abbas could react, Marc flung his hands up and grabbed the blade's handle with one hand and Abbas's arm with his other and tried to push them off of him.
As Marc struggled with Abbas Jules glanced at the other men but saw that they were watching, waiting for the outcome, before choosing how to proceed so she turned back to Abbas and waited for him to emerge from behind Marc but as they fought they only grew closer as each grappled for control of the blade.
Her heartbeat was loud in her ears like a drum as her eyes frantically searched for an opening whilst trying to watch the rest of Abbas's men when over the thumping of her heart she heard a low rumble. She thought nothing of it and tried to focus on Abbas when she saw Marc swing his body to the side to try and dislodge Abbas but before she could shoot the terrorist disappeared back behind Marc's back as he clung to the blade, his arm around Marc's throat still. Cursing herself for not being quick enough she began to hear the low rumble once more but this time it was growing louder.
What the- Jules thought as the men behind Abbas began to shout and point towards the sky. Still hearing the noise she turned and looked to where they were pointing as Marc and Abbas still struggled amongst themselves. Looking up all Jules could see were a multitude of stars staring back at her when she spotted that two of the stars were moving, fast. Staring closer she realised that they weren't stars at all but headlights. A second later the lights dropped down a little in the sky before a string of bright amber dots began to rain down from the plane, hitting the ground like tiny grenades as huge amounts of dirt blew up around where they landed.
As it started to pass over the building the firing stopped for a moment before it started once again and she saw the aircraft's ammunition begin to pellet the jeeps, burning through the metal like butter on a hot plate. A few headlights were shattered in the assault causing the light around them to darken a little as Abbas's men began to shout in their native tongue and open fire towards the lone aircraft that banked left in the sky to avoid them, momentarily pausing its attack.
Hope flared in Jules's chest as she turned back to Marc thinking that perhaps they were not as doomed as they thought but those feelings dissipated when she saw that Marc was on his knees on the ground with a red-faced and angry Abbas stood behind him resting the machete closer to Marc's neck than ever before. Jules could see the way Marc's skin sort of spilled over the top of the blade from where Abbas was pressed it so close, but Jules could not see any blood just yet. Despite that seeing Marc on his knees with a defeated and scared expression on his face was not one she was going to forget anytime soon.
"Abbas," Jules took a step closer, her eyes never leaving his, as she slowly started to raise her weapon once more. Her arms had dropped as she had been looking at the miracle plane, "Abbas, think about-" Before Jules could finish her sentence she saw Abbas's fingers grip the handle tighter and his arm start to pull the blade across Marc's throat, cutting into his flesh.
"No!" Jules shouted as her heart stopped inside of her chest. Lifting the gun up a few inches she squeezed the trigger and shot Abbas in the face. The single gunshot seemed louder than all of those coming from the automatic rifles around her that were still shooting towards the plane that flew back over, lighting up the area around them with its large calibre rounds. Jules watched with wide eyes as Abbas's body fell backwards to the ground, the blade dropping from his fingertips and cluttering into the dirt.
"Marc?" Julia called, not daring to breathe as she watched him still kneeling upon the ground watching her. Perhaps she had fired the bullet just in time, she thought as she took a single step forward but as she did so Marc's body swayed dangerously. Frowning she tried to read his face but as she took another step closer she saw a large amount of blood suddenly appear at his throat where Abbas had been holding the blade. Jules gasped as a moment later Marc's eyes fluttered shut and his limp body collapsed forward into the ground.