{This is an edited chapter that I have re-published} 

Grace leaned against the wall of an elevator that was taking her up to the ninth floor of a ritzy hotel building. She spoke into the tiny microphone clipped to the top of her blazer.

"Collin, are you there?"

"Yep. Have fun in there." Collin remarked, cutting off the communication to allow for the device to begin recording...just in case they'd need it later.

The elevator gave a ding! to mark its stop.

"Right..." Grace murmured, even though he was already gone. She smoothed out her navy blue skirt and straightened. Millions of words and sentences had flown through her mind. She knew how critical her presentation would be; what if she failed? It wasn't like they'd be willing to do what she said, not to mention the fact that they didn't know she was coming.

Stop, she told herself, mustering all the courage within her and marching down the hall to room 256.

Her goal was to redirect their planning to hone in on the central EMP located in London. They didn't need to make the terrorists their priority—they had to focus on their source of power. If the terrorists knew about a frontal assault, they'd be more than prepared to counterattack.

Grace exhaled to try and calm her quaking nerves as she marched down the hallway. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see only four of the world leaders sitting around a table, all of which she recognized.

Howard was directly across from her.

They all looked up to see who had interrupted their meeting.

"Grace Evans," Howard said slowly, his face expressionless. "I should've known at least one member of your motley crew would show up."

"Director Howard," Grace greeted, then nodded to the rest of the group. "Director Chang, Director McFarland, Director Augustus, I'm sorry to intrude upon your meeting, but I have been informed of vital information concerning your approach to this current situation."

Everyone was silent as Grace took her place, standing at an open spot at the round table.

Director McFarland, the woman from England, was the first to speak. "We thought you had taken your leave of this operation, Miss Evans."

Grace nodded politely. And I could've been back home with my family, except that I don't trust that my own government will do what's necessary to keep its citizens safe, was her mental answer. "You would be right, ma'am, but after our meeting in Austria my team and I decided to investigate further into the whereabouts of Colossus, which Director Howard had full knowledge of. I'm sure he informed you that we now have the location to shut down this entire EMP situation?"

They nodded.

"But I've also been informed," Grace continued, "that you plan to attack the enemy in certain areas rather than focusing on the EMPs planted across the world, is that correct?"

"Our job is to protect innocent civilians first and foremost," Director Augustus stated. "These men setting off the EMPs are killing hundreds of people."

"Then you clearly don't understand the threat that these EMPs are presenting." Grace said.

"Hold on, who gave you authorization to even be here?" Howard asked sternly. "We're not willing to negotiate."

Grace's eyes narrowed. "I'm not here to negotiate, Mr. Director. I'm here to win a war." Her gaze swept across them and when she was sure they didn't have any more questions, she straightened herself. "Now, the consequences of these EMPs are going to create a larger passage for the terrorists than they have now. If your concern is truly for the civilians, you will worry about the EMPs first, before anything else. As you know, each army is headed by a terrorist that's supposed to be dead. They've been planning this for years and, as of this moment, they have the weapons, leadership, and planning to take over most the world. The EMPs are the things giving them this power."

"What do you suggest we do?" Director Chang asked skeptically.

Grace took a deep breath. This was it. "If we shut down the London device, we can cut off the energy for all of the other cities across the world. We need a squad of men—"

"I'm going to stop you right there. Who's we?" Howard interrupted.

"Well, the military, to provide air and land support, as well as making sure the least amount of innocents get killed. Me and Agent Clay—"

"Yeah, I'm going to stop you again."

Grace pursed her lips.

"You and Nolan Clay have no business being in this operation anymore," Howard said, "You've done a great deal of work, but despite what you may think about the CIA and other government facilities, we must do our job. We have protocol, Miss Evans. While you, as a civilian, may see a clear path towards the goal, we have to consider our Constitutional rights as leaders, adhere to laws put in place by the United Nations, and abide by certain rules made during times of war." He folded his long hands on the table. "We have our military. We have our own squads. And we appreciate what you and Clay have done, but now it's time to hand it over to us."

Three nods followed Howard's words.

Grace was boiling inside. "And I would agree, sir," she said, her words pinched, "There is no one who knows this operation better than me, Nolan, and the Fairfax's."

"But you also seem to draw carnage wherever you go," Howard replied loftily. "Remember what just happened in Poland? You know, with the Colossus soldiers killing thirteen innocent civilians?"

Grace gritted her teeth. "Protecting innocent civilians from terrorist threats is your job, director, so I'd suggest you start doing it."

"You are out of line, Miss Evans," Director Augustus said firmly, "We have not, by any means, been sitting idly by while the world is being ripped apart."

"I agree," said Director McFarland, straightening her pointed glasses, "You haven't sat in our various meetings. You haven't seen the things we have on camera."

"You're right," Grace said evenly, not trying to hide the disgust she felt, "I haven't seen those things on camera because I've been living them. Every day. I've watched as the life left every single one of my friends, I've killed more men than I care to count, suffered more than any one person should. Why?" Her eyes narrowed passionately. "Because I swore an oath to protect the innocent; an oath you yourselves took when pledging yourselves to these nations." Her gaze settled on Howard. "And you want to talk about protocol, Mr. Director? Tell me how this entire situation is just like any other war?"

Howard's jaw clenched. "It...it isn't."

"Therefore, I would suggest a different course of action, wouldn't you?" Grace asked. "We need you to focus on what actually matters—the EMP in London. Nolan Clay needs to be part of that in some way."

Howard tilted his head to the side, almost as if he were curious. "Why Clay? He's never lead a team before."

Grace gave him an earnest glare. "He's been leading us this entire time. He's the reason we've made it this far. And I can tell you this; he is worth five of any man you could put in charge."

Tense silence filled the meeting room when Grace's phone vibrated in her pocket. She backed away from the table. "I'll let you all discuss in private."

She hurried out of the room and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Grace," Nolan said, "We've got a small problem."

~~~~~~

Two hours earlier

Nolan rubbed his thumb along the palm of his hand, scanning the mass of people wandering the streets of London.

"Stop looking like you're about to pounce on some rich guy." Toby said, his voice crackling through the earpiece. He was stationed three block away, surveying the area over there.

"That's the plan," Nolan replied, although he sat back on the metal bench.

Maddie and James had been able to pinpoint the exact location of the EMP...Westminster Abbey.

It was a brilliant plan on Egor's part. It was like placing it in the center of a maze—easy to defend, but hard to get into.

Nolan and Toby were keeping an eye out for suspicious activity, hoping to stop an attack before it happened while they awaited news from Grace. Since the EMP had been shut down, they were sure Egor would try to sneak in and boot it up manually again.

It was a race to see who got there first.

"Grace seemed pretty bummed to leave her boyfriend," Toby commented.

Nolan almost gave a start. "Her what?"

"Oh please," Toby said, and Nolan could imagine him rolling his eyes, "Two people don't look at each other like that unless they're in—"

"Toby, stop."

"Touchy, aren't we?"

"I've been dealing with Colossus idiots for too long," Nolan sighed. "And somehow you manage to be more idiotic than all of them put together."

Toby continued pestering Nolan, but Nolan's mind was on other things. He'd seen three people with black combat boots walk past him in the last fifteen minutes. It seemed like a minor, non-deadly detail, but still; not many people wore those kinds of boots when shopping around town. Nolan also knew it was easy to hide a bulletproof vest or gun holster under a shirt or jacket, but shoes weren't as easily disguised. Then, he caught sight of the man's jaw—tiny writing scrawled on his skin in black ink. To the free world.

Nolan stood up and followed the man at a long distance.

"...so she's probably—"

"As fun as it is listening to you talk about my love life like a fifteen-year-old-girl, I think I might've spotted something."

Toby growled some unsavory words and said, "What'd you find?"

"I'm in pursuit of a man, probably around six feet tall, older-looking. He's heading into an alleyway on..." Nolan squinted at the sign, "45th."

"I'll be there as fast as I can."

Nolan quickened his pace, thankful for the busy street around him. Once he got to the alleyway, he watched as the man slowed down for half a second, looked around, and entered an abandoned building ahead.

Nolan snuck behind him, waited a few moments, and opened the door. The building was old and smelled of dust. It looked like it used to be filled with offices at one point and the walls were made of crumbling concrete and drywall.

A noise sounded upstairs like metal clanking against itself.

Nolan crept up the dilapidated steps, drawing his 1911 pistol. He watched as a shadow moved outside the third door and positioned himself against the wall.

He moved into the open and raised the gun. "Put your hands where I can see them!"

The man turned around slowly, raising his arms expressionlessly.

Nolan squinted at him. He knew that face...it was older, more worn than he remembered...but...

"Captain Davis?"

"Nolan Clay,"

Nolan lowered his gun, moving his eyes to the mess of wires and tablets behind his old SEAL captain. "What are you doing here, sir?" He asked hesitantly. Flashes of memory crippled his mind from all the way back to seeing Captain Davis for the first time to the last, when he delivered the news of Nolan's prison sentence and dishonorable discharge from the military.

"I have to finish what I started," he replied, barely above a whisper, a small quake in his voice.

Nolan gave him a measured stare. "And what would that be? What did you start?" He felt the urge to salute or stand at attention...but something was off. There was a wild, almost desperate, look in Captain Davis's eyes that made him foreign, unrecognizable.

Davis's jaw worked furiously, his eyes wide and darting. "I did this. I preserved the terrorists I was assigned to kill."

Nolan stepped closer to him, finger still on the trigger of the gun. "You what?"

Captain Davis, the man Nolan had followed, had respected, had been willing to die for, was standing in front of him as a traitor.

"I thought...I thought I was helping. I'd seen the change in our military—"

"So you decided to help terrorists take it over?" Nolan spat.

"No...I was convinced that I could help make a greater nation...I didn't know about the EMPs."

Nolan still couldn't believe it. "You wanted to make a great nation run by terrorists?"

Davis averted his eyes ashamedly.

Nolan lunged forward and pressed his arm across the captain's chest, slamming him against the wall. "Answer me!"

"I...I—it was a mistake."

"A mistake?" Nolan scoffed. "I was locked away in prison for something I never did. I thought that was a mistake. But no, it was you. You're the reason all of this is happening..." He clenched the gun in his hand tightly. "I think it's a little more than a mistake."

Davis clenched his jaw. "I don't have a choice."

"You always have a choice," Nolan growled.

Davis's arm swung up and cuffed Nolan across the temple, batting him to the side and lunging for the mess of wires behind him.

"Stop!" Nolan cried, not even sure what he was trying to prevent Davis from doing. He scrambled to regain his balance and shoved the barrel of his gun in the back of his old commander's head.

Davis's entire body shook as he held a tablet in his hands. Nolan peered at the screen, but only saw an intricate pattern of computer jargon.

"It's reset..." Davis whispered, falling to his knees. "What have I done? What have I done?"

He began weeping loudly.

Nolan didn't know what to do; the man was crazy. "What just happened?" He demanded.

The captain looked at him over his shoulder, his eyes red and wild. "I started the EMPs again..."

Nolan's body went weak. "No..."

Before his next thought could occur, Davis flung himself at Nolan and wrestled away his gun. The man scurried away and positioned the pistol at his own temple.

Nolan got to his knees and lifted his hands, panic filling his chest.

"Captain Davis..." Nolan said, trying to remain calm, "Just stop. Stop for a minute."

Davis stared at him wildly, looking nothing like the man Nolan used to know. "My wife will never forgive me...she never knew..."

"It's okay," Nolan chided, keeping his hands in front of him, "You can help me...I'm trying to stop all of this and you can too."

Davis shook his head. "Make it right, boy..."

He pulled the trigger.

Nolan flinched.

He closed his eyes and sighed. The quiet that followed was deafening. How many men had to fall under Egor's hands before this was over? Nolan remembered the trust he had in his commanding captain...what had he turned into?

Finally, Nolan looked up and retrieved his weapon from the hand of Captain Davis, who was lying dead on the floor.

He shifted over to the tablet and dialed Maddie and James's number.

"What's going on? We lost control of the EMPs." Maddie said on the other end.

"We had a mole in the system," Nolan replied grimly, "Captain John Davis, commander of SEAL team five. He's the one who made sure all of these terrorists stayed alive...and now he's rebooted the EMPs."

Maddie swore angrily. Nolan heard intense whispering on the other end before Maddie came back on the line, "I don't know what to do from here. We've already made a counter-device...and I don't think we can make a counter-counter-device." She sighed heavily. "Can you decipher when they'll start going off?"

Before he could answer, footsteps sounded on the staircase.

Nolan spun around, aiming his pistol at the door.

"Nolan? You still alive?"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Toby, get in here."

Toby came around the corner and stopped, his eyes locked on the body lying on the ground. "What..."

"It's nothing," Nolan said hollowly. "He just restarted the EMPs. Can you tell what this means?"

Toby rubbed his chin, scanning the code quickly. "Looks like the data for at least twelve of the EMPs."

"How fast are they going to go off?" Maddie asked urgently.

"I...I can't tell..." Toby's fingers flew across the screen. A moment passed before he said, "I sent the file to you."

"All right," Maddie murmured. "Let's see...okay, got it." It took a minute for her to decipher the information that came to her. She hissed a curse. "I can't believe this."

"What happened?" Toby asked, nervously licking his lips.

"We never shut down the EMPs," Maddie said, "They've still been storing up energy this entire time. Egor knew this—he knew once he reactivated the London EMP that all the others would be ready to go..."

Nolan sat back and swore. He rubbed his face and said, "Alright, thanks Maddie."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we can do anything else," she replied weakly. "I have no way of knowing when they'll start going off, but my guess would be that you have less than fifteen hours to complete the objective."

"Yeah," Nolan said, "You and James have done good. Don't worry about us."

"Good luck,"

The call ended and Nolan shared a look with Toby.

"It's all us now," Nolan said, "We'll have to attack tonight. If we don't shut down the London EMP..."

"That's it."

Nolan exhaled slowly and pulled out his phone to call Grace. She wasn't going to be happy...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading! Sorry for not posting last week, writer's block got the best of me!

~How do you think Grace's meeting is going so far?

~What are your thoughts on Captain Davis?

~The race begins! How many EMPs do you think will go off before they can stop them (or will they?)?

Thank you again for reading, I hope you're enjoying! (Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!)