| "Something a Little Different" | ||
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June 15, 2008 Safehouse 1 0950 hours Jordan waited for the elevator doors to open once she felt the slight jerk as it stopped and dinged, indicating it was her floor. She did not want to be back in this place. The memories were all too fresh in her mind. Stepping off the elevator, she resolved to be strong and forget what had happened. She had other problems to deal with, much bigger problems�well problem really. After spending more then half the night awake thinking of what to do, she was still coming up blank about Vanessa. It was all too strange, she noted again for the thousandth time. She went into the lounge and headed straight for the tea. She needed something to keep her hand occupied. She spotted Saf, "hey." She didn't say anything more and focused on pouring the hot water into the mug. She put the tea bag into the water and watched the black color seep into the water. Saf moved closer to her and appeared she was going to say something, but a young women came in and told them Rebecca was ready for them. She grabbed her steaming tea a little too quickly and some spilt over the edge of the mug. She entered the conference room and put her tea on the table before sitting down. Rebecca was already there and looking anxious to get started. Saf grabbed a seat next to her and sat down. She was interested in what they were going to be doing. An audit or whatever it was sounded fun and nothing like she had ever done before. Rebecca began and while she spoke she called up various images on the screen besides her. "A terrorist attack was carried out last week on the Bank de China in Los Angeles on Monday last week. A number of fatalities, including the Chinese Ambassador, were involved and the possibility of an international incident is high." Jordan listened intently, wondering were Rebecca was going with this. "CTU staff, led by Tony Almeida, did the initial investigations, and discovered the planned attack, however the attack did take place. So your task is to audit their analysis and evidence and prepare a report." At this point Rebecca showed them a few images, one of Tony Almeida and some of the staff at CTU. Jordan watched as Rebecca's eyes swiftly focused on Saf who appeared to not be listening. When Rebecca coughed, Saf sat up and nodded. Rebecca continued, pushing a file at each of them. Jordan opened it immediately as Rebecca was speaking, "In here you ill find the outline details, and a list of information available to you. You will be flying to Los Angeles at 12.00 hours, a car is waiting downstairs, please keep in touch while you are on site, CTU has been asked to provide you with everything you need, within moderation. Do you have any questions?" Jordan looked quickly through the file, seeing a list of the people who where in the bank, that would be good. Time however did not let her look more closely at the other pages. Saf spoke first, "Do CTU know our background or�" She looked towards Rebecca wondering the same thing, "No, they don't know you are SIA staff, only that you are part of an external audit team put together by Jackson. They are also unaware of your past employment and I would prefer to keep�" Jordan stopped listening, she knew what Rebecca was going to say�don't let anyone know who you really are�she was so tired of hearing that over and over again, but perhaps it was necessary to repeat it so often. She flipped through a couple more pages and wondered about what they were going to be doing. The attack on the bank was interesting. Had they gotten the Intel in time, it was likely they would have saved the people who died. What was there audit supposed to revel? Honesty or was there bigger motive? She squirmed in her chair at that dark thought. She wondered what they were `supposed' to find. "And if the report shows they made a mistake?" she asked. "The report is not to be slanted, in any way, shape, or form. It must stand up to being scrutinized and if they made a mistake, then they must be given the opportunity to learn from it. Not have it swept under the carpet and giving them a false sense of security," Rebecca responded. False sense of security, wouldn't that be nice not to have to deal with that every day. Nevertheless, she was relieved that they could complete their report with full honesty. So different from Section, she had been in Section for too long and she couldn't quite stop comparing. Rebecca added a few more last comments for dismissing them. She rose out of her chair and followed behind Saf, picking up the other black suitcase. They left promptly in order to arrive in L.A. on time. Only after the elevator door closed did Safara speak. "I hope you don't mind, but I selected you, I hope you had nothing planned for the next few days." She smiled quickly at Saf; of course she didn't have anything planned. It's not like she has some crazy, nutcase of an old friend hanging around. Dammit, she should've just denied everything and said it was just a case of mistaken identity. She thought quickly back to Saf's words before carefully replying, "It sounds kinda neat, us going out to represent the SIA, don't ya think?" It was pretty neat, but she wondered why they were doing it. Honestly, it wasn't their typical job. When they arrived at the airport, Jordan spied a charter plane out the window of the limo. SIA sure wasn't sparing any expense for this little trip, but she wasn't going to worry about it. She'd rather just enjoy it. After their suitcases were stowed, they took off. She looked out the window as the rose, watching the city buildings become smaller and smaller, until they disappeared completely as they entered the clouds. With the masses of white outside she turned to Saf who was looking at her, then down to the floor, then back to her. "What's up?" she asked, rather confused to what Saf was doing. "I am not certain we are dressed to impress." Saf replied, sighing loudly. "I guess we are going to have to check out what's in our luggage or go shopping before going to our first meeting. Know any good shops in L.A.?" Jordan shook her head, "Nope, never been there." Seconds later the flight attendant came in with refreshments, but those were the last thing on her mind. Coughing to get the girl's attention, she asked if was a place to get freshened up, and if not, what stores were good. The girl quickly directed them to the back of the plane. "Thank you," Safara said as they both headed to the back to see what Rebecca had left for them. Jordan opened the closet and took a step back to let the light in. There were a number of different outfits; two skirt suits, and two pants suits. Jordan let Saf pick first because she did not care too much for dressing up. Saf choose one of the skirt suits, it was black with a white blouse of course. "Skirt eh?" she asked Saf. Saf nodded and Jordan replied, "Good, I hate the damn things." She laughed, "Should've seen me as a kid." She didn't know quite why she said that, but after she did, she quickly turned and grabbed the closest pants suit, also black. The jacket had a nice collar on it though, one that stuck up a bit, making the jacket look more casual, but it was still professional enough for a meeting. Los Angeles 1620 hours "We probably should touch base with Tony before we land." Jordan said to Saf. "Yes, I'll give him a call now." Jordan listened passively to Saf's voice as she spoke on the phone. She turned to Saf once she was off the phone. "He wants us to come in as soon as we land, that way we can get everything sorted out with security clearance and meet some people. Then we can either start right away or tomorrow, he didn't mind which." "Okay, that's good. I guess the sooner we get started the sooner we can finish." "I agree." Moments later the plane landed and the grabbed their suitcases and left the plane. Jordan quickly spotted a car waiting for them and walked towards it. She placed her suitcase in the open trunk and nodded hello to the driver. He smiled in return and close the trunk after Saf had put in her suitcase. "Hello, Jordan Mitchell," she said introducing herself to the driver. "Ben," he replied shaking her hand and Saf's as she introduced herself. "Mr. Almeida has informed me you will be going directly to CTU." "That's right. Approximately how long will it take us to get there?" Saf asked. "About 15 minutes, depending on traffic. It's rush hour now, so might take a little longer." "Okay, that sounds great." Saf replied and climbed into the car. Jordan followed her and the driver closed the door. "What a job this is eh?" Jordan said quietly to Saf as they waited for Ben to get in. "Ya, sure is." CTU 1645 hours Traffic wasn't too bad, so they arrived quickly. They waited in the lobby as security paged Tony. Only minutes later he emerged from the security area. "Mr. Almeida, I am Safara Churchill, and this is Jordan Mitchell." Safara said, extending her hand. Tony shook Saf's and then turned to her, "Please to meet you Mr. Almeida," she replied noting his strong grasp. "Please, call me Tony," he replied before asking, "Did you have a good flight?" "Yes and we are eager to get started." Jordan replied. "Great, we'll just get you your security passes. I trust I don't have to emphasize enough that you do not misplace these passes." "Of course, we understand." Saf replied. Jordan suppressed a smile at his words, but she knew they were warranted. It only took a few moments to get their passes. It was a quick photo and a signature and they were ready to go. "Alright, let me show you around here, then you can get started," Tony said, leading the way into the main area. Jordan was somewhat excited. She had never been in a government organization that dealt with terrorism and was "public." This was going to be an interesting few days to say the least. Return |
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