Washington, Omega Headquarters
Inside the conference room, the full primary team was assembled. The television broadcasted real-time news coverage.
"According to the Coast Guard, last night's storm near Chicago caused approximately $100 million in damages. The storm lasted about four hours, resulting in the sinking of two fishing vessels and the accidental destruction of a marine research facility. When the Coast Guard arrived this morning after being alerted, the research base was heavily damaged and close to total collapse. Casualty numbers remain unknown at this time..."
Owen muted the television and turned to the team. The news report had, of course, been prepped by CTU. An entire marine research base was gone, and everyone inside was dead—it was impossible to suppress that entirely. But all other sensitive details had been erased.
With his own people, Owen didn't hold back. He recounted the entire series of events, including Jason Bourne's relentless pursuit of Avril.
Eddie Castor had been so terrified by Avril's hunt for him that he'd chosen to cooperate with CTU. He had already provided a lot of intel, although the true value of those materials hadn't surfaced yet. Omega would need to continue digging.
Owen and Eddie had originally gone to the marine research facility just to retrieve a satellite phone. No one expected they'd run into Avril. A string of unexpected events followed: the base was nearly destroyed, and Avril died at the jaws of a shark—something no one had foreseen.
Avril was dead—and died horribly. For the team, that was actually good news. Truth be told, everyone in Omega despised her. It was estimated that she'd killed dozens of civilians. In a country without the death penalty, capturing someone like her would've been too merciful.
"Anything new from the intel Eddie Castor gave us?" Owen looked at Bubblehead.
Bubblehead shrugged. "Lafferson's level is too high for us to monitor directly. All we have to go on are a few calls tied to this operation—still working on it. As for the other White Mask knights, we've got a few leads…"
He glanced at Ghost, who nodded and picked up the briefing. "It's been a hell of a few days while you were gone. The Core Group has been under attack globally. Internally, they've always been split between moderates and hardliners. Makarov's the face of the hardliners. In the past few days, he orchestrated multiple terrorist attacks in Red Square and across Europe. His influence is rising fast, and the hardliners were on the verge of taking over the Core Group."
"But that also made them a prime target. Russia and European nations now see the Core Group as a major threat. President Voschevsky of Russia even issued a kill-on-sight order for Makarov. Several nations signed joint agreements to combat the Core Group. Multiple strongholds were destroyed. They're on the brink of collapse."
"All because of Makarov," Ghost continued. "To calm global outrage, the moderates betrayed him. They leaked his location, and Makarov was nearly captured by Alpha Group. The hardliners suffered major losses."
Owen looked stunned. Ghost clearly wasn't finished, so he asked, "And then?"
"Makarov was completely cut off. The Core Group won't have him anymore. But we have reliable intel: White Mask took him in. Makarov is now the Knight of War."
Owen nodded slowly. That was a critical lead. With Makarov allied to White Mask, and hated by the Core Group, it might be possible to trace Makarov's movements through his enemies—thereby uncovering intel on White Mask too.
"What about Syndicate?" Owen asked. He still remembered what the President had told him: Syndicate possessed damning evidence of U.S. surveillance on foreign powers. That had to be recovered.
This time, it was Fred who answered: "Facial recognition flagged several suspects. We're tracking them now…"
Fred was still speaking when the conference room phone rang. Owen looked toward the glass window—outside, administrative officer Amy was signaling to him.
He picked up the line. Amy's voice came through: "Owen, Director Bauer is on the line for you."
"Put him through."
"Got it."
A few seconds later, Jack Bauer's voice sounded in his ear: "Owen, get ready. We're meeting at the White House in thirty minutes. President Palmer wants to see you."
Jack hung up without another word. Owen stood. "Alright, folks, that's it for today. I've got to head to the White House."
The team dispersed. Thirty minutes wasn't a lot of time—this was clearly urgent. As Owen left the room, Amy caught up to him, handing him a set of items while walking alongside him.
"This is CTU's newest model phone. Your old data's already been transferred. You'll see what it can do soon enough. These are your car keys—it's parked out front—and your new sidearm…"
Owen nodded, accepting everything. He holstered the weapon, pocketed the phone, and twirled the keys in his hand as he walked out the front door. All his gear from the underwater mission had been lost. This was a full reissue.
White House
Owen met Jack Bauer in the parking lot. All the details of the recent operation had already been relayed to Jack in full, with zero omissions.
They showed their credentials and passed through countless security checkpoints before finally entering the White House. Security had been massively upgraded—if President Palmer didn't personally approve, not even a rat could slip inside.
"Gentlemen, please have a seat here. President Palmer is in another meeting. He'll see you in about ten minutes."
A staffer directed them to a sofa outside a conference room. They sat, waiting idly, while people buzzed around. Owen could catch fragments of conversation—something about Mexico.
He knew exactly what they were talking about. Tensions with Mexico had been rising. Ever since the fall of the Colombian drug cartels, Mexico had surged forward, becoming a dominant force in the narcotics trade. Today, half the drugs on the U.S. market came from Mexico. Washington had begun re-evaluating its southern neighbor.
Ironically, Owen had played a major role in Colombia's downfall. The Montel family—one of the top three cartels in the country—had been eliminated by Owen. Their collapse created a power vacuum, which led to infighting among the remaining groups. Weakened, they couldn't stop Mexico's rapid expansion. By the time they reacted, the Mexicans had already seized the market.
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