Strasbourg [Chapter Two]
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 02:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sectioneightentertainmentCHAPTER TWO
By the time Alex got to the conference room, the briefing was almost done. Being a con artist, she had learned to hide her feelings from others quite well. All except from Aretha, who had been watching her intently since she had walked into the room.
"Alright, Asher, I want you to find out everything you can about the Dupuis brothers and the microwave laser. Zeke, I want you to call Valerie Vega's office and coordinate with her people about the 'accommodations' they'll be providing for us while we are in Strasbourg. We'll reconvene here first thing tomorrow morning for the final details. Class dismissed." Aretha told the crew. "Except for you, Hunter! You get to stay. We need to talk." she added.
"Uh oh! Sounds like trouble in paradise!" Nigel whispered.
Zeke nudged him in the rib. "Shut up, kid!" he told him. The boys left the conference room.
Aretha moved closer to Alex. "What's up? And don't even bother denying it! I can see it in your eyes! Something's wrong. Now tell me!" she pressed.
Alex hesitated at first, but she knew she couldn't hide anything from Aretha. "That was Hale on the phone. The verdict was in, regarding Neal's case. He was found guilty of bond forgery. They gave him a four-year sentence." she explained.
Aretha patted her on the shoulder and gave her a sympathetic nod. "Look, Alex, I know that this is difficult for you. I'd advice you to get him out of your head completely, but I also know that that's impossible since he's the father of your son. If you need some time to clear your head, just let me know. This mission is built for four people, but we can get by with three. Take some time off, we'll be fine." she said.
Alex shook her head. "No! You're right! I can't spend my life worrying about Neal Caffrey! I have duties to fulfill, a son to take care of, a job to do! I can do this! I'd be much better once I'm working on the field again!" she said empathically.
Aretha nodded in agreement. "Alright then. Go get some rest. I'll see you back here first thing tomorrow morning." They both left the lair and proceeded to their own rooms.
The next day, their plans for Strasbourg were finalized. Asher had all the information ready. He had made them fake passports and documents and their legends. Zeke had arranged for all the 'equipments' they'd be needing in Strasbourg, courtesy, of course, of the UNSC. Mostly 'tools' they're not allowed to have on the plane with them. As Aretha was making her final points before their trip, Alex found it hard to concentrate. She tried to shake the thoughts of Neal away and focused her mind at the job at hand. Aretha asked her if she was alright.
She answered "I was just thinking how our lives would be so much easier if we have a private jet!" She chuckled. Asher quickly agreed and Zeke just groaned. Soon, they all proceeded to get ready for their trip. They packed all their necessities. Alex kissed her son goodbye before she left the manor.
STRASBOURG, FRANCE
Their direct flight from Budapest to Strasbourg wasn't that long. They arrived in their hotel in a few hours. Valerie's office had somehow managed to reserve them two adjoining suites at the posh Hotel Regent Petite France. Also waiting for them in Strasbourg was black van fully equipped with everything that they would need for their 'assignment'. They have received information that the Dupuis brothers are staying at the nearby hotel, in the penthouse suite of the very expensive La Résidence Jean-Sébastien Bach. Clearly, provided for them by their Chinese contacts.
The next few days, the crew had spent on doing surveillance of the place. They needed to know the type of schedule that the Dupuis followed. The kind of people they hung out with, the kind of night life habits they have, if any. Alex also tried to stay out of plain sight, since the brothers Dupuis knows who she is. It might arouse their suspicions, and they can't have that. So, Alex and Aretha planned their next move. They've decided on a simple breaking and entering, smash-and-grab type of job, with Alex on point and Zeke as back-up. Aretha and Asher stays in the van as look outs. It was supposed to be an easy job. They wait for Alain and Gilles to go to their favourite night club, as soon as they leave, they break into their suite, get the laptop back, and then get out before the brothers come back. Sounded easy enough. Alex had done dozens of those kind of jobs on her own, even without back up. She could break in and out of almost any kind of room blindfolded. That is, if her head was fully in the zone.
The night of the 'assignment' came, which Asher dubbed as Operation : Foolproof. "Isn't that kinda jinxing it a bit, Ash?" Alex asked him.
"Nope, I'm very hopeful that this assignment will be over soon and I will be back to watching episodes of Doctor Who in no time!" Asher replied confidently.
"Exercise cautious optimism, Ash! You never know what kind of surpise the future holds." Alex said cryptically.
She went back to preparing for the job. Alex was wearing her usual black leather cat burglar suit, with her belt bag containing her burglary kit. As per usual, they all have their com links on, not only for communications purposes, but also so that Asher could track all of their locations on the grid. Alex had her com link transceiver clipped on the collar of her jacket for easy access. Asher did a final sound check to make sure that all their earpiece communicators were working. After everything was all prepared, Alex said a silent prayer and went into the hotel.
In the beginning, everything went as planned. Alex broke into the Dupuis' penthouse suite. She went into the bedroom and found the case containing the laptop inside one of the drawers.
Like I said, they're not very smart. Alex thought. She was just about to grab the case when she heard Zeke's voice on the com link.
"Alex, get out of there now! The mission's been compromised! I repeat, get out of there right now!" he shouted.
Then she heard gunshots, followed by a few loud explosions from what sounded like grenades. As it turned out, the Dupuis didn't go to their usual night club hang out. They had gone to make the exchange with the Chinese. It seemed that they didn't like the terms of the deal so the Dupuis had walked away without handing over the 'merchandize'. The Chinese, sensing a double cross, had followed them into their hotel and then riot ensued. With Zeke trapped in a gun battle with the Chinese agents a few flights below, Alex now had no back up against the dubious Dupuis brothers, who were fast approaching her location.
*Alex struggled to see through the thick smoke as she tried to find her way out of the room that was now engulfed in flames. She stopped in her tracks. Without warning, the sound of a single gunshot rang in the air. As she felt some of the bullet's impact on her left collar bone, Alex's body slammed against the wall, her head hitting hard against the concrete. Her body slumped to the floor. As she fought to stay conscious, she heard two male voices talking in French.
"Elle est morte. Allons-y!" ["She's dead. Let's go!"] the first voice said. Alain Dupuis, she recognized that voice.
"Non, nous avons besoin obtenir l'ordinateur portable!" ["No, we need to get the laptop!"] the other voice said. That would be Gilles Dupuis, Alain's equally crooked older brother.
"Juste que le feu détruire ! Nous avons besoin de sortir d'ici, maintenant !" ["Just let the fire destroy it! We need to get out of here, now!"] the younger Dupuis yelled.
Alex heard them leave in a hurry. She tried to use her earpiece to call her team for help, but it wasn't working. She looked at the com link transceiver clipped on her jacket and saw that it was busted. "Aretha!" she called before she lost consciousness.*
Back in the van, Asher and Aretha heard everything that was happening. They were trying to contact both Zeke and Alex on their earpieces. Zeke was busy fighting off the Chinese. They couldn't get any response from Alex.
"She's off the grid, Aretha! Not even a blip on the radar!" Asher said in a panicked voice.
"Keep trying! I'm going in!" Aretha replied as she was getting out of the van. She tried her earpiece as well. "Alex, can you hear me? Please say something!" she pleaded in a frantic voice. Still no answer from Alex.
Aretha scrambled her way into the crowd that was trying to get out of the building. It was only a matter of time now before the authorities are called in to the scene. They needed to get out of there, FAST. Aretha proceeded to go to Zeke's location to give him assistance. She saw him struggling out of the building, coughing from all the smoke.
"I shot four Chinese agents, they're still trapped inside! The Dupuis brothers got away. And I've lost contact with Alex! Sorry, boss!" Zeke said apologetically.
"We need to find her fast, before the police get here!" Aretha said. She tried the com link again, but only silence from the other end answered her.
Back in the penthouse suite, Alex was starting to wake up. She rubbed the back of her head as she tried to remember where she was. Then she saw the fire around her and it all came back to her.
The mission! she thought.
She crawled on the floor, careful not to inhale the smoke. Finally, she got to the drawer where the laptop case was located. She strapped it onto her back and tried to find her way out of the room. She found the door ajar and made her way through the corridor. The entire hallway leading to the emergency exit was engulfed in fire. That was clearly not the way out. She needed to think fast, or else she's going to die right there. And she can't let that happen. She had a little boy to come home to. She needed a plan, quickly, before it's too late.
She saw the fire hose reel nearby. Then she remembered that Bruce Willis movie Mozzie loved so much, he had to watch it every time it was on cable.
Why not? I'm all out of options! Alex thought.
She smashed the glass and pulled the fire hose out and went back inside the penthouse suite. She picked up a chair and then smashed the window. She used the fire hose as a rope and tied it around her midsection. She went out the ledge and tried not to look down.
Here goes nothing! she thought. She closed her eyes and then jumped. As she fell, she screamed, "Yippee ki-yay!-" Her yell was cut short, so did her fall.
The fire hose wasn't long enough and she was still dangling at least twenty feet above the ground. The metal part of the hose was starting to dig into her ribs. She undid the knot and began to fall. With a loud crash, she landed on the roof of a sedan.
On the ground, her fellow crew members had been frantically trying to find a way to get her out, while trying to get people out of the burning building. All of a sudden, they heard a female voice yell, followed by a loud crashing sound nearby. Then they saw Alex emerge out of the rubble, dusting herself off as if nothing had happened.
"Damn, Alex! Did you just Spider-Manned your way out of that building?" Zeke asked, seemingly quite impressed.
"Nah, I 'John McClaned' my way out!" Alex replied with a sly grin. Then she saw Aretha coming her way.
"Damn it , Alex! New rule : If you're alive, you answer me when I call you on your com link!" she said angrily.
"I couldn't!" Alex answered as she pointed at her com link transceiver. It had a bullet in it. "Dupuis shot me! Good thing that's the only thing damaged!" she continued. Then Alex saw Asher come out of the van.
"Hey, Ash, think fast!" Without warning, she threw the laptop case to their resident nerd.
"You got the laptop?" Asher asked incredulously.
"Hell yeah, I got the laptop! Now, do your thing, Poindexter!" she teased their young crew member.
Sirens were blaring from a distance. They made sure that no one else were remained trapped inside and everyone made it out alright. They proceeded to get in to the van, when Aretha noticed Alex winced. There was obviously more to her injuries than she had let on. Alex had her hands on her ribs as she walked. Then, there was the trickle of blood coming down Alex's right temple.
"Alex, you're bleeding! We need to have you get checked out!" she said worriedly.
"No! No hospitals! It's too dangerous! I'm alright!" Alex replied. The sound of sirens were becoming louder. A signal that they needed to get out of there in a hurry. They helped Alex into the van.
"Okay, we're taking you back to the hotel. Zeke, get some medical supplies from the pharmacy! Asher and I can handle the exchange!" Aretha ordered as Asher drove the van away from the crime scene as fast as he could without attracting any unwanted attention.
Unbeknownst to Aretha and her crew, they were already being watched from a distance. Not far away from them was another black van. The driver waited a short while before he started to follow them wherever they were headed.
~END OF CHAPTER TWO~
Footnotes :
*Alex Hunter's weakness, as always, is Neal Caffrey. Remember, when she gave birth prematurely when she found out about the FBI closing in on Neal? Her mind gets distracted and her body panics at the mere mention of his name. I wouldn't go so far as to say that she is still in love with him, but there's a deep bond between them since he is Nicholas' father.
*A direct flight from Budapest to Strasbourg only takes about an hour.
*Doctor Who is a long-running BBC programme popular amongst tech geeks and sci-fi nerds alike. I'm a huge fan of the show.
*In case you haven't figured it out, the name of the Bruce Willis movie was "Die Hard". Mozzie quoted some lines and was wearing the 'John McClane' attire when he pretended to be a mental patient in "Vital Signs".
***Thank you kindly for taking time to read this chapter! This one was so much fun to write! Hope you enjoyed it!***
