David Golemon - Primeval

Jack glanced over at Everett and shook his head. "Persistent little son of a bitch, isn't he?"

Everett looked away from Jack and stared at the small, menacing man before him.

"Yeah, persistent."

"Look, whoever you are, you may as well get on with what you're going to do, because my two men are long gone out of this country with the urn and the general. They're under orders to get out with the artifact and not look back."

"And your men always follow your orders?"

"They are highly trained and would do their duty above all else. So, do what you have to do," Collins said as he almost had the knot of rope loose enough to get his hands free.

"That's right, pal, our men do as they're told," Everett chimed in as he, too, worked the rope around his own wrists. "They're probably drinking mai tais in Hong Kong by now."

At that moment, the door to the front of the apartment came crashing in. Second Lieutenant Will Mendenhall fell through onto the floor and two men were on him before he could recover. As two of their guards lifted the stunned black officer off the carpeted floor, one of them hit him over the head. Mendenhall staggered but was held upright by the two men.

Collins looked at Everett and angrily shook his head. "Mai tais, huh?"

While two of the guards held Mendenhall to the floor, the man on the left suddenly jerked backward after the initial crash of glass sounded from the side window. The bullet that struck the stunned man had whistled only a foot over Jack's head. Collins reacted without thinking when he saw the first man go down. He rolled to his right, taking the chair with him until it struck the one in which Everett was bound to. They both hit the floor just as a second bullet came through the side window and took the second man in the side of the forehead. He fell hard onto Will and died only inches from his face.

The Chinese interrogator had a brief moment of life and drew the hidden sidearm inside of his white coat. That was as far as his movement went as a third aimed bullet struck him in the chest, splattering blood all over the silk. For insurance, a second round caught the man in the throat, dropping him like a heavy sack of potatoes.

Jack was silent, waiting for what he knew was coming.

"Clear?"

Collins moved his face upward and shouted as loud as he could so there could be no mistake as he didn't want any more bullets flying into the small living room. "Clear!"

"Clear," Mendenhall echoed.

Suddenly, the remaining glass was knocked out of its frame and the curtain at the side window parted. A Glock nine-millimeter with a long silencer appeared. It roamed first to the right and then to the left. Then it remained steady as Lieutenant Jason Ryan gingerly stepped over the windowsill and jumped into the room, his weapon still sweeping the area of the living room.

"You're a little late!" Mendenhall said pushing the dead guard off of him and swiping at the blood that was staining his Hawaiian shirt. "You were supposed to open fire when I broke the door in, I thought these guys were going to blow my brains out!"

Ryan finally stood and ran to the opening of the hallway and aimed the weapon down its length. Satisfied the hallway was empty, he raised the weapon to the ceiling and then turned back into the room.

"Well, the safety was on—"

"And you forgot to chamber a round, didn't you?" Mendenhall said as he got to his feet.

"Yeah, I said you should be the one doing the shooting."

"And who was going to break down the door with one attempt, you? All one hundred and forty pounds of navy officer?" Mendenhall said with a sneer while staring at Ryan.

"Uh, if you wouldn't mind?" Everett said from the floor.

Both Mendenhall and Ryan saw that the full weight of Collins and his chair was on top of Everett, and they both moved quickly to get them upright.

"You two were supposed to be on that damn boat out of here," Jack said as his hands were finally untied.

"Yes, sir, and you were supposed to lose those three and then meet us there," Ryan said in defense.

"Mr. Ryan, we were just about to make our move. You took a chance on letting those guys get their hands on that urn," Carl said as he finally gained his feet, rubbing at the rope impressions on his wrists.

"Excuse me, Captain, but through the crack in those curtains it looked as if you were having a little trouble getting those knots undone. Maybe your basic seamanship is lacking."

Everett stopped rubbing his wrists and fixed the younger naval officer with his cold eyes.

"Keep going, Mr. Ryan, you're already at a year's worth of weekend graveyard shifts at the complex for this little stunt; do you wanna try for two?"

"We just couldn't leave you guys here… sir," Mendenhall said.

Jack started to say something but Everett grabbed his arm, silencing his boss and then looking at Will.

"It was his idea," Mendenhall said quickly as he pointed at Ryan.

"Thanks, buddy," Ryan said tossing the rope that had held Collins to his chair into the corner.

"You can both commiserate with each other during your cancellation of leaves for that year that you're pulling weekend midnight duty," Carl finished. Then he looked at Jack. "Damn the military for abolishing hanging."

"I absolutely agree. Now, since Batman and the Boy Wonder came to our rescue, let's get the hell out of China."

Colonel Jack Collins watched as Mendenhall and Ryan were pushed to the front door by an angry Carl Everett. As he started to follow, the smile slowly spread across his face. His two men had finally learned to think out of the box, to adapt to that fluid situation that he always preached about to his security department. Although they disobeyed orders, Jack knew it was a good thing they did because if they hadn't, there would two bodies lying dead in that living room instead of three.

The director of Department 5656, Director Niles Compton, watched as the presentation was given to him by the historical forensics team. He sat with his shirtsleeves rolled to the elbow and his glasses perched on the end of his nose as he looked over the tops of the lenses. His eyes moved over the assembled department heads who sat around the large conference table situated on level seven.

"So, in conclusion, Director Compton, it is our opinion that when Kim Jong Il passes away, there will be the narrowest of opportunities to approach his successor, most probably his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un, about dropping the disastrous policies of his nation. We had this opportunity when Kim's father died, and the U.S. government missed it by having a hardened Cold War stance against those very policies. The president may be able to move the younger leader to see the terrible actions of his father and grandfather." Professor Geraldine Kinkaid looked at her notes and then up at her director. "Our recommendation is for the president to have a softened position in the initial stages of the North Korean power transfer. Historically speaking, the Korean people have a tendency to listen soon after a leadership change."

Niles Compton nodded his head and then looked around the table. He saw the empty chair where Colonel Jack Collins usually sat at the far end opposite himself. The colonel's initials were on the proposed report as approving the research and the gentler approach to North Korea at the eventual death of Kim Jong Il, although he did enter his own thoughts in regards to a possible coup opportunity coming from Kim's older son, Kim Jong-Chul, who Jack's military experience says may not take the succession rebuke lying down. But with the historical artifact returned to the North Korean people instead of the United States ally in Seoul, the door may be opened for better relations, thanks to Jack and his men.