Everything was going precisely to plan.

The man could barely contain his glee as the truck slammed into the front of the Center with a boom that shook the surrounding buildings. He watched as various emergency workers appeared on the scene. Each time one tried to enter the building; they were forced back with yells and gunfire. It took several additional deaths before they listened and concentrated on the carnage outside the building.

Zero Hour

Phoenix emergency services were working diligently to remove the hundreds of injured people that had been waiting for the doors to open as quickly as possible. A large panel truck had backed over the waiting crowd and rammed itself in the doorway. Moments later, the facade collapsed as the truck exploded burying the front in a pile of rock and glass. The police were trying to restore some order and clear out the area to minimize more causalities. Three emergency workers lay on the ground covered in sheets from their attempt to breach the building. Though they could not see the shooter, it was obvious they were being watched very closely.

Bravo team had been on site for twenty minutes now and was diligently collecting any data they could. They knew very little of what was going on inside. What they did know came courtesy of Toad holed up somewhere inside. Bruiser and Wolf stared at the blueprints spread out before them in the room they had commandeered in the Regency Inn behind the Sadder Performance and Exhibition Center. "This is the main exposition floor," Wolf stabbed at the large area. "They have shut down the entire floor, chained the exits and have the hostages here, in the center. The front was glass and stone. It's collapsed making an entry via the doors impossible."

"Are we sure this is Fedora? He always blows shit up and then rants afterward," Mozart growled as he glared at the plans.

"Toad thinks so. He said it was the same babble. I'm not positive what's holding them back, but you can bet your ass there's a reason." Bruiser assured them.

Abe, Cookie, Finch, and Railroad marched through the door. The four of them were covered in grime with sweaty streaks trickling down their faces. The temperature was steadily climbing in the Phoenix sun making every step exhausting. Thankfully the air was still on in the center, or the increased heat could make the situation worse. The last thing they needed was short tempers on top of the already volatile state.

"Sit-Rep," Wolf barked. He and Bruiser shared leadership for the group working in tandem like a well-oiled machine.

"Good news and bad. Good news is the civilians who were upstairs when they hit are all evacuated through the upper balcony and down to the patio. That's a few hundred less potential casualties. Damn good that they chose today instead of tomorrow. Saturday is the biggest day, and there would have been thousands here. The bad news is, the doors at the stairwells are all sealed and the dogs hit on C4 on each one. The elevators are stopped, and the power's cut. They locked the doors going into the hall," Abe reported as he pointed to the plans spread out on the table. "They have wireless cameras installed at each door. It's going to be tough getting inside. They saw us snooping around and threatened to kill the hostages if we didn't get back. Toad confirmed via text there are cameras inside as well."

"That's not all Toad found out." Bruiser dropped his cell on the plans.

Benny leaned over and read the text out loud. "I overheard the guards talking. They are waiting for a bigger media presence. The leader, who calls himself Amir, plans on blowing the place on national television for maximum impact. He wants the world to see the U.S. fail on a grand scale."

"Mother humper," Finch muttered. "It's a suicide mission. They have no intention of letting the hostages go. That also explains why they didn't just blow it allowing most of the potential victims escape. They are opting for exposure to a larger body count."

"We need to buy some time. If they are waiting for a bigger media push, then we close down that avenue. Cowboy, you handle it."

"On it, Bruise."

Damn, but it was good to have Cowboy back with them, if only for a short time. He had been getting ready to leave for the airport when Toad's message came. Immediately, he canceled his flight and was ready to go with them. Toad, Hick, and River were brothers and SEALs never left SEALs behind. Ever.

"We've got a slight advantage," Wolf reminded them. "We've got three on the inside."

"Yeah but we're only in contact with one of them," Railroad reminded them. "And I have an idea on how we can fix that."

Before Railroad could tell them, the door flew open and several men entered, approaching the table. The team bristled as one of them eyed them warily. "Christopher Feltzer, Homeland Security."

A tall man wearing a dark blue suit stepped out from behind him. "Dave Ballard, FBI. My team is on the way. Thank you, but we have it from here."

"Oh, hell no."

"This is bullshit."

"Forget it."

Bruiser threw up his hand to quiet the outcry from his fellow SEALs. "With all due respect, Feltzer, we're not going anywhere. You can work with us, or we can work alone, but we're staying. Two of our team members are in there along with an ex-member and their women. We're not standing back and watching from the sidelines." He shook his head emphatically. "Besides, the U.S. military has been chasing Haafiz al-Bashir for years. We are pretty sure this is a sleeper cell organized by him. If we have any chance of finding where that bastard is hiding, we're going to need new intel. One of them in there has to know where he is."

"This is our show, Marine. We'll let you know if we need you." Ballard snarled.

The team stiffened. "We'll see about that. And, we're SEALs, not Marines." Wolf stalked off pulling his cell out. He made a call, talked into the mouthpiece then hung up. Turning back, he crossed his arms. Ten minutes of standoff ended as the cell in Feltzer's pocket went off. Pointing to the Fed, he deadpanned, "Your boss wants to talk to you."

Feltzer's eyes widened in confusion. Taking out the cell, he pressed it to his ear. Feltzer's confusion turned to outright shock. "Yes, Sir." He listened a few more moments then nodded. "I understand, Sir." He punched the phone and dropped it into his pocket. "I don't know how you did it, but we're working with you." He turned to look at his counterpart. "They are taking point. The order came from all the way up." Narrowing his eyes his voice lowered. "But, you don't make a move without keeping me in the loop. Got it?"

"Got it," they answered then turned back to the papers stacked on the table.

"Go ahead, Railroad. What's your idea?"

 

 

Toad knew they were in deep shit. From the little bit he had been able to piece together from the guards' chatter, the clock was ticking down, and he didn't want anyone near here when the timer hit zero. It was going to be up to him to get this situation under control as soon as possible. He was their wild card, their ace in the hole. The terrorists didn't know he was there. The plan Railroad and the others had hatched was a good one, but it was going to be tricky to instigate. So far, all was going to plan as he quietly pulled out the equipment he would need from the media center that faced the smaller stage sitting behind the bathrooms on one side of the exhibition floor. Toad was an expert when it came to surveillance equipment, and they were going to need all the tricks he could pull out of his hat to make this work. Glancing over his shoulder every few minutes, listening for any guards approaching, he worked the in-house equipment until he found the signal they used to monitor the cameras placed on the floor. "Twelve. It'd take too long to close them all down and loop back," he muttered to himself. Instead, he concentrated on the ones on one side only, creating a ten-minute loop for the two trained on the elevator and the corridor outside. He winced when the guard wandered through the scene, paused at the elevator and peered into space. Turning around, he sauntered out of the view, crossing through the second feed and disappeared. Toad didn't have time to edit it out. Instead, he completed the task and broadcasted the signal back to the feeds. Holding his breath, he listened then let it out when it appeared nobody noticed the loops being activated. Perfect.

Slipping out of the room, he peered down the hall, checking the way to ensure that nobody was there. The guard stood in the doorway of the elevator, his gun pointing up, head tipped to the side as he studied the space. Shit. What he wouldn't do for a weapon right now. Drawing out the knife, he pulled open the tiny blade and gripped it tightly in his hand. It was all he had, and he hated to defile Rayna's gift like this, but he didn't have much choice. One of the two of them wasn't walking away and he'd be damned if it was him. Taking a breath, Toad inched down the hall then struck. He grabbed the terrorist around the head, slapping his hand over his mouth as the fist clutching the knife slammed down, jarring the assault rifle from his grasp. It clattered to the floor of the hall. He winced at the noise, but he couldn't help it now. Hopefully, there were no other guards nearby to hear it. Quickly, he plunged the short blade of the pocket knife directly into the side of the man's neck, severing the jugular. Pushing him forward into the elevator, he kept the man pinned against the wall until he quit struggling and slumped to the floor in a growing pool of blood. Drawing the knife out, he wiped it on the man's sleeve, closed it and returned it to his pocket. Letting out a soft warble of a whistle, he glanced up at the ceiling hatch opened and a pair of legs thrust through. Quickly, Dude dropped to the floor and reached up. A black bag was lowered, and he grabbed it, stepping to the side. Railroad dropped through followed by Wolf. Railroad unzipped the bag, pulling out a Sig Sauer and handed it over. Toad checked it, popped magazine into the butt and shoved the pistol into the waistband of his jeans. He then took the earwig and mic set and put them on. Railroad held out a plastic bag containing two more Sigs, four magazines, and two mics.

"Ready?"

"Yeah let's get this party started," Toad muttered.