Costa Rica
In front of the small motel, Donald looked around and behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed, then turned and entered the building.
On the third floor, Donald stopped in front of a room. He knocked on the door with one long and two short taps, then pulled out a key and let himself in.
Inside, a woman stood hiding behind the door with a gun in her hand.
"Were you followed?"
"No."
Catherine glanced behind Donald, then gently closed the door, sliding the pistol back into her waistband with her right hand.
"Any progress? HQ is pressing again…"
Donald looked at Catherine. As she passed by him, she casually tossed a stack of photographs onto the table.
"This is all I've got. I'm not part of the inner circle—Mikhail doesn't trust me. There's only so much I can learn…"
Donald picked up the photos and flipped through them one by one. The pictures were a bit blurry, clearly taken from a distance. They depicted Mikhail meeting with another individual. After scrutinizing them for a while, Donald asked uncertainly, "Is that Makarov from the core group?"
"Yes."
Catherine, dressed in a tank top with her hair tied in a ponytail, looked sharp and capable.
"I got the tip last minute a couple of days ago. I barely managed to take those pictures—almost got caught…"
Donald's eyes narrowed. This was vital intel, but then he looked at the woman before him with a trace of concern. She made it sound easy, but only God knew what kind of risk Catherine had taken to get those photos.
"I'll send these back to HQ."
Donald stuffed the photos into his pocket and asked, "What can I do to help you?"
He and Catherine were a two-person team. Catherine was embedded close to Mikhail, while Donald was in charge of support and coordination.
"I need an opportunity to get Mikhail's attention. Next week, I need you to stage an assassination attempt disguised as an enemy attack. Make it look like you're targeting Mikhail, but the real objective is to kill his female secretary. Once that position opens up, I'll handle the rest…"
"Got it."
Just as they finished speaking, there was a knock at the door from outside, followed by someone calling out, "Hello, your food is here…"
"You ordered food?"
"Yeah, got you those Mexican burritos you like…"
"Wow, so thoughtful. If you keep this up, I might just fall in love with you…"
Donald shouted as he opened the door. It had been a while since he'd had his favorite Mexican burrito, and he eagerly pulled out some cash. "How much?"
"It's free."
"Huh?"
Donald looked up in confusion—and a gun was pressed to his forehead. Two gunshots rang out, and bright red blood splattered against the wall.
Inside, Catherine instantly pulled out her gun and fired toward the doorway when she heard the shots. She leapt up from the sofa, retreating toward the bedroom.
But she was too late. She managed to kill the first attacker, but a few burly men rushed in after and wrested the weapon from her hands. One punched her in the nose, and then her stomach and chest took several more hits in quick succession.
In terms of physical strength, women were naturally at a disadvantage against men. After just a few blows, Catherine saw stars and nearly lost consciousness.
The intruders, all dressed like locals, dragged the now helpless Catherine into the center of the living room. They used a knife to cut a large section out of the carpet beneath her, wrapped her in it, and rolled her up completely.
A while later, the carpet-wrapped Catherine was carried downstairs by two men and casually thrown into the trunk of a car. The vehicle started up and sped off without a trace.
...
At CTU headquarters, the Quick Response Team, still in their training gear, was urgently recalled from the range and brought directly into the conference room.
Owen, Monica, Simon, Heartbeat, and Swagg entered the room to find Jack Bauer already waiting for them, along with Jenny from the intel division.
Simon had officially joined the Quick Response Team, thanks to Swagg's persuasion. In reality, Swagg hadn't needed to do much persuading—Simon had agreed almost immediately.
This was largely due to the security situation in Washington. There really wasn't much for CTU to do here, and Simon had long been bored out of his mind. It was only after the counter-hijacking operation with the Quick Response Team that he felt the same adrenaline rush he used to.
During this time, it wasn't just Owen who had been wondering how to bring Simon over—Simon himself had been thinking about volunteering. But since the Quick Response Team had a high bar, and Owen had been handpicked by Jack, Simon was worried that if he volunteered and got rejected, he'd lose face. That wouldn't just be bad with the team—it'd make staying at CTU headquarters awkward too.
In the end, the two of them hit it off immediately. And from that point on, "Ghost" became a member of the Quick Response Team—and their deputy leader.
Jack Bauer wore a serious expression. Once everyone was seated, he began, "Three days ago, two CIA agents—Catherine Levinsky and Donald Scott—were attacked by unidentified armed assailants at a motel in Costa Rica. Donald was shot dead, and Catherine was taken. So... you know them?"
As Jack spoke, he turned to Owen. The look on her face said it all. Owen nodded, her emotions unclear even to herself. Seeing everyone look her way, she spoke up: "They were both my classmates when I first joined CTU and went to train in Lasvia. At that time, the CIA and CTU still shared a training facility. Everyone in that group, except for me, was CIA."
Owen still remembered that girl named Catherine—she was the best among them. Donald had served in the military and had excellent physical skills. They hadn't been in touch for a long time, and now, the next time she heard about them, it was under these circumstances.
Jack nodded and moved on without delay. "After our verification, we believe the one responsible is a man named Mikhail Traykovich. Jenny will now brief you with his details."
As Jack finished speaking, Jenny brought up Mikhail Traykovich's personal file on the large screen and began, "Intel shows that Mikhail has long been involved in trading cocaine for weapons among Russian radical groups, Colombian guerrillas, and Mexican drug cartels. He has a very discreet smuggling network.
"Before she was captured, Catherine managed to confirm that the VX nerve gas sold by the Chechens to the Amir Freedom Party was transported out of Italy via his smuggling network. Based on preliminary intelligence, this guy is also closely connected to several notorious terrorist organizations and has repeatedly acted as a broker between them. That's all the info I have for now."
Once Jenny finished her briefing, she handed the floor back to Jack, who continued, "Our mission this time is to rescue Catherine Levinsky. Any questions?"
Jack looked around at the team. Simon hesitated briefly before raising his hand. "I have a question. She's CIA. Why isn't the CIA handling this themselves? Why us?"
Simon's question resonated with everyone in the room. Jack looked around again—he knew this was on everyone's mind.
"Okay, I'll explain. Catherine may be CIA, but her exposure is very likely our fault. The intel regarding the VX gas and the location in Sarajevo came from her, and it's likely that's what blew her cover. That's why we have to rescue her. Also, the CIA reached out to us. They don't have enough operational force in the area to carry out this mission. They considered asking the SEALs, but the SEALs are currently tied up with other operations…"
"Got it. No more questions," Simon said, lowering his hand. Owen then spoke up, "I want to know about their firepower and personnel."
"Catherine has a tracker on her, and we know her exact location. She's being held at one of Mikhail's compounds. Usually, there are 8 to 10 patrol guards at that site. But not far from there is a barracks that consistently holds around 50 personnel."
"As for their weapons, our intel is limited. But Mikhail is wealthy, and part of his operation involves arms dealing, so they could have anything—from Soviet DShK heavy machine guns to American M2HB .50 caliber machine guns. Ideally, we'd carry this out covertly and extract her before the rest even realizes what's happening…"
Seeing everyone nodding, and with no more questions from Owen, Monica raised her hand and asked, "How do we exfiltrate?"
"Helicopter. I've coordinated with the military. They'll airdrop you into the target zone. The rescue operation is up to us, and after that, you'll need to make your way to the extraction point. The helicopter will pick you up there."
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