...
No rest for the wicked.
Morning at a workweek in one of America's busiest cities, much like the last time he was here to visit his daughter. Not much had changed. Cars, vans, and pickup trucks of various makes formed a line on the bridge as far as the eye could see. Tempers flared in the streets of the Big Apple, proven by the constant honking of horns and cussing of frustrated city-dwellers. Any attempt to appease them would be in vain, except perhaps a chirpy voice on the radio. The local station still had that same spunky, female disc jockey, always eager to dole out the latest traffic update...
"~Rise and shine Americaaa, and happy Juneteenth! Time now is eight minutes after seven o'clock.
If any of y'all still getting outta bed, well, better double-time it now 'coz we have one HECK of a gridlock this morning! ...We've got a bottleneck in the Cross Bronx up until Exit Two, as usuaaaaal... FDR Drive all the way to Queensboro is also moving at a snail's pace; everyone better avoid that area to make way for the international delegation coming to today's Global Security and Anti-Terrorism Summit in Midtown..."
...
For a moment, the man in the black tactical suit spaced out and absorbed the irrelevant facts, just so he could think of something else. From the way the radio described it, a drive to Long Island at this time would probably take a couple hours. Little Jenny and her mother were just a few miles away. True, they might have not yet returned from their delightful vacation in Hawaii, but it wouldn't hurt to check on their house himself. If he wanted it bad enough, he could ditch his post, hail a cab or limp his way, just to see them again one more time. Say things that he should've said. Make amends as he should've done. There probably wouldn't be another opportunity for him after today. His fate had been intertwined in a conspiracy he should've seen coming.
He had become part of something bigger, ever since he took up that job in the Middle East. Ever since he let himself and his friends be roped into 'another simple mission' with the CIA. After that, the series of unfortunate events kept escalating: from Gabe's death, to the ill-fated robbery in LA, to the bloody confrontation in Redmond, and his capture at the hands of terrorists. Now, it had finally come full circle. A familiar scenario: a small team, perched up in some landmark, manning defensive positions, all the while a massive throng of vehicles honked their horns in collective anger. None of the civvies below were aware that a covert mission taking place, one that could decide their fates forever.
Blissful ignorance would be the best though, as cruel as it sounded. The last thing that the black-clad commandos needed was pandemonium in the streets, as it would achieve the terrorists' plans in a different way. Across the world, tens of thousands of lives would either be saved or snuffed out, and this knowledge brought them even more undue stress. The man begged for his body to remain strong, even for a short while, and carry him through the toughest spots. He wished that his wounds wouldn't slow him down when the time came. He hoped that things would work out for the better, if it ever did, one last time.
Least of all, he prayed for a miracle that the looming doom would simply go away, save everyone the trouble. Alas, the world was not that simple. Nobody else needed to die today.
Today of all days.
...
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Queensboro Bridge, Manhattan, New York
Day 21
Freedom Day
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YOU ARE READING
Freedom Day
Action(Originally published in FF.net) After recovering from a botched mission in the Middle East, a new recruit joins Team Rainbow eager for a chance at redemption. But the attack on Bartlett proved that his failure had more consequences than he thought...
