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Description
3:27 AM EST
Sunday, December 26th, 1999
J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington D.C.
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counter-terrorism division
Conference Room #2

The carpeting was of a luxurious velvet tone, walls and cabinets made of chestnut, adorned with patriotic trinkets and framed photographs of past directors and special agents recognized for their influence in shaping the bureau of today. And at the very center was a large ovular oak table surrounded by 19 cushioned swerving chairs. It was glossed with a special finish which reflected the multiple soft amber lighting from above and embroidered with the blue and gold FBI COUNTER-TERRORISM DIVISION seal at the middle. There was no radio and no television in this room, but a computer-based projector set up at the end of the table facing the far wall, which bore the more recognizable FBI seal.

But the 10 formally dressed gentlemen sitting at the table facing each other hardly felt any of the warmth and comforting atmosphere the room had to offer. Identification badges were either clipped onto the lapels of their suits, or were hanging from lanyards around their necks. They were diverse from each other in many ways, but what made them uniform at the moment was that they were lost in their individual thoughts about the developing crisis going on in the nation’s capital.

They had been celebrating with their friends and family and sleeping after a long day with their children and their new presents when the calls from their superiors came:

“An emergency meeting’s been called for at HQ. Get dressed and report to Conference Room #2, just down the hall from Operations. One hour.”

One by one, they reached the location of the meeting, sharing traditional salutations with each other and then sitting down at the table and waited patiently for whomever had called the meeting to arrive. Thirty minutes into that wait, however, the agents had started to look around, wondering when the man would arrive. Some were starting to nod off from the inactivity. There was no window, but the lateness of the hour can be felt within them. Finally, one of the agents broke the silence.

So, what do you think is taking them so long? You don’t suppose Agent O’Neill is flying over here to do this himself?

This sounds like something he might be behind. He’s been working his ass off the past few weeks, following leads on possible Al-Qaeda attacks ever since Ahmed Ressam was intercepted at Port Angeles with bomb-making materials.

John was stationed by Director Freeh to personally oversee the bureau’s security measures for the New Millennium celebration at Time’s Square. He cannot leave that position until the celebrations have concluded, no exceptions.

Be that as it may, that man thinks too directly sometimes. He doesn’t see himself getting tied down by regulations in order to get the job done. Just look at how many bodies of government he tried to subvert by pre-approving the capture of-

Right at the moment, the door of the conference room stirred and swung open, and the one who stepped in was not John O’Neill, but a senior agent whom they surmised had the same level of insight in the investigations of the terrorist organizations. He was carrying an unmarked aluminum briefcase and walked quickly to the far end of the room. He set the case down on the table by a projector, and looked up at his audience to introduce himself.

Good morning, gentlemen. My name is Charles Rattiner. I am a special agent within the home office’s counter-terrorism division. I apologize for the delay. Some more developments in this new situation had arisen by the time I was cleared to call for this meeting and the analysts needed a little more time to compile it. But I will waste no more time and begin immediately.

All the agents sat up at attention at this point. The mention of yet more details in these incidents so far cleared out the fatigue from them in an instant and made them eager to begin the assessment of this new threat. Charles opened his briefcase, pulled out a thick laptop, and began connecting it to the projector. He then went over to a lone switch against the wall and flicked it on, prompting the lowering of a projector screen against the far wall. When the projector was turned on, the agents could see the Microsoft Windows 98 logo as it was still booting up.

The speaker then again reached into his briefcase and pulled out ten thinly-stacked manila folders and proceeded to pass them around to them. The top flap was spotted with multiple US Government markings and warnings of “TOP SECRET”, warnings that were still freshly pressed given that they smudged a tad after being on top of each other. The special agent began to read off a small folded piece of paper he retrieved from his breast pocket, apparently the rules and etiquette of conducting such conferences.

Do not open those files or proceed to the next page until prompted to do so by the briefer. By reading those warnings, you acknowledge that the materials within and this entire investigation is of the highest level classified. Public dissemination can jeopardize national security and is criminally charges will be pursued.

The laptop had just finished booting up and now prompted the owner to insert his username and password. He inputted a highly complex series of characters, actually getting it wrong the first time before the main desktop was displayed on the projector. It had the FBI CT logo set against a pure black background. It was littered with multiple written and video files, and with such titles like “SURVIELLANCE”, “EYEWITNESS TESTIMONIES”, they were meant for this conference.

Okay, let’s open our files and turn to Page 1, which contain a copy of all the rules and regulations I stated about the classification of this material. Feel free to review them if you like. When you’re ready, look at me.

None of the agents didn’t bother looking down at the document after opening it. They kept fixated on him.

Very well, proceed onto Page 2, where I will now recount on what we know of Al-Qaeda, previous attack locations and methods, and etcetera.

He then moved his fingers across the touch sensitive mouse pad and clicked on a Adobe Reader document titled “AL QAEDA HISTORY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bi…

*SKIPS AHEAD*

And, at last, our recall brings us to the latest series of events that hallmark that of an impending attack by an Al-Qaeda cell, or should I say, several cells?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_mil…

Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian living in Canada, was arrested at Port Angeles, Washington after crossing by ferry from Victoria, British Columbia, on December 14th. Customs officials then found nitroglycerin and four timing devices concealed in a spare tire well of his automobile. John O'Neill, a top counter-terrorism special agent at the bureau's New York field office, led the investigation into Ressam's associates and plans simultaneous take downs of them all on the 30th, so that they will be held in custody until after the millennium, which we believe is the deadline for any planned attacks.

Some of the agents couldn’t help but smile or give sighs of relief. It seems that Al Qaeda had been thwarted from conducting an operation within the country to kill more innocent citizens.

Now…

Charles paused for a moment as the projected computer screen went back to the FBI CT embroidered desktop. He removed a large pair of glasses, pulled out a cleaning cloth and proceeded to wipe it against the lenses. When he finished and replaced them upon his face and looked up at his audience, he wore a much grimmer expression than he ever did before throughout the conference, even during the distasteful recall of Al Qaeda’s record.

As all of you are well aware of, recent instances of violent firefights and such within the city has alerted all levels of the Government to the possibility of yet more terrorist cells. By the level of devastation seen thus far, we fear that all the other Al-Qaeda leads we have been pursuing the past several weeks were just a distraction.

He spoke firmly, deliberately, to insist how unsettled the bureau feels about the emergence of another, more dangerous terrorist cell. The agents held on to every word, letting the fear creep into their consciousness thoughts as well. Before any of these attacks on DC happened, they had all been so certain that the attack threats had been mostly mitigated. And yet the damage by these unknown individuals so far have proven otherwise.

These series of incidents began in the early morning on the 20th. Nearby residents contacted police about hearing heavy gunfire in an apartment complex still under construction. With the help of the first responders from US Capitol Police, the location was cordoned off and we sent in our own Crime Scene Investigation unit. There were high velocity impact marks found all over the alleged center of the shootout. There were footprints, made by two individual parties on opposite sides and very few fingerprints. But the strangest aspect of  this case thus far was that there was no shell casings, gunpowder traces, or even bullets embedded in the walls at the points of impact. A Geiger counter scan has had hits off some of these points, while some have not. There is no explanation for it so far. There was one visible casualty in the battle, but the body had been mostly incinerated by unknown means. Some body fragments and blood samples were recovered and are undergoing DNA testing. So far, there are no matches within our database. We plan to appeal to Director Freeh to request access to CIA and even allied foreign agencies’ DNA databases. We prematurely classified it as drug deal gone back between rival urban gangs and while the losing gang fled, the victors desecrated the victim’s body by burning it to be a message to anyone else who might cross them.

Then, less than three days later, our Cyber Crime division encountered a new computer virus rapidly infecting all commercial and government information systems within the continental US, Canada, then all of the Americas and even Europe, Africa and Asia. It had such sophisticated means of infection, unlike any ever seen before, that it infiltrated even our hardened systems…at the Pentagon.

Several of the agents opened their eyes as wide as they could go, some gasped, and some stood up from their chairs on reflex from the utter disbelief of such an impossibility.

What the fuck?! Is this really Y2K?! How, when were our systems compromised?! We have to shut down the entire network and purge the virus!

But we’ll be severely exposing ourselves to foreign military engagement, if some foreign power had aided and abetted the hackers responsible!

Forget it, it’s too late! We have to get the President, his cabinet, and all the representatives into shelter!

And what of the American people? Will they truly be left behind to fend for themselves?

The hasty deliberations between the shocked agents continued on for a minute before the speaker cleared his throat and called for their attention. They looked at him as if he was mad for being so calm with his country being in a sudden point of vulnerability.

Gentlemen, GENTLEMEN! Calm yourselves! Please allow me to finish on the briefing before drawing such conclusions! Yes, the virus infected even the systems that control our nuclear arsenal, but, for some reason, the virus itself bore no adverse effects upon entering our systems! All it really did was generate endlessly cryptic messages on the screen every 30 seconds or so. CC found it easy to isolate and create an anti virus for it. Within 24 hours, all military networks were clear. However dramatic it‘s spread was throughout the globe, it is obvious that the virus’s sole intent was to spread a message. A warning. Here’s the message that the virus would constantly display.

The special agent clicked on a picture file on top right corner of the laptop screen, and when it opened, it was the screen capture of another desktop. The open window that dominated the picture was pure black, gruesomely designed with images of mutilated corpses, bare skeletons and blood spattered all over. Rising smoke and flames completed the hellish scene, and in the center of massacre, dark red English letters began to read:

TO ALL HUMANS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY,

WE CAME FROM A FUTURE FAR AHEAD IN TIME. A FUTURE BUILT UPON BLATANT DECEPTIONS FROM AN IMPERIALISTIC GOVERNMENT. THE MASSES WERE REPROGRAMMED BY THEIR OVERLORDS, ROBBED OF THEIR HUMANITY, AND HAD BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN SLAVES TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THEIR DOMINION OVER THE EARTH.

WE VEHEMENTLY DESPISED THIS FUTURE. WE SUCCESSFULLY RESISTED ALL THEIR ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL US, TO STOP US FROM REALIZING OUR BASEST OF HUMAN INSTINCTS. WE USED THEIR OWN WEAPONS AGAINST THEM, SPILLED THE BLOOD OF THE PATHETIC ENFORCERS OF THEIR WILL.

AND NOW, WE FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO RETURN TO THE WORLD AND RACE OF HUMANS AS IT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE…SEGREGATED BY NATIONAL BOUNDARIES AND IDENTITIES SET INTO PLACE AND CONTINUED BY CORPULENT, SELF-INDULGING GOVERNMENT LEADERS, AND THE HUMANS THEMSELVES SEPARATED BY IGNORANT TERROR BECAUSE OF THEIR APPEARANCES AND PITHY SELF-BELIEFS.

BUT AS MUCH AS WE REVEL IN YOUR PRIMITIVE WAYS, WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT MISSION TO ACCOMPLISH IN THIS PLACE IN TIME. AND IT BEGINS WITH THIS MESSAGE…

WE ARE HERE TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR DAYS ON THIS PLANET ARE NUMBERED. THERE IS NOWHERE THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY RUN OR HIDE THAT WILL BE BEYOND THE REACH OF OUR GLORIOUS WEAPON.

TO ENSURE THE FUTURE THAT WE LOATHE NEVER COMES TO PASS, WE MUST ALTER THE PAST…AND BY THE COUNCIL OF OUR WISE LEADER, WE HAS DETERMINED THAT NOTHING LESS THAN THE EXTINCTION OF ALL HUMANKIND IN THIS ERA WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS.

WE CARE NOT ABOUT OUR OWN LIVES. DEVASTATION SUCH AS THIS IS WHAT WE WERE BORN, RAISED, AND HAVE LONG DREAMED OF ACCOMPLISHING. NONE OF THIS IS A FABRICATION, NOT A THREAT, OR NOT EVEN A WARNING FOR YOU TO TRY TO ESCAPE OUR WRATH.

THIS IS A NOTIFICATION TO THE IMMINENT END OF YOUR WORLD, THE END OF EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER KNOWN. THERE IS NOWHERE TO GO. YOU CANNOT FIND US, AND YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY STOP US.

ALTHOUGH IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ANYONE WILL SURVIVE, THOSE OF YOU WHO DO WILL MOST CERTAINLY APPLAUD OUR BRAVERY AND DETERMINATION IF THEY WERE EVER TO SEE OUR FUTURE, AND THE PATHETIC SHELL OF A ONCE PROUD, DIVERSE AND COMBATIVE RACE. WE ARE MERELY SEEKING TO PREVENT THAT FUTURE FROM EVER HAPPENING.

YOU, NOR YOUR LOVED ONES, WILL LIVE TO SEE THE NEW MILLENNIUM. COME MIDNIGHT, ON DECEMBER 31ST ,WE WILL SET THE SKIES ALIGHT WITH THE FLAMES OF APOCALYPSE, WHICH WILL QUICKLY GROW AND SPREAD FORTH TO CONSUME ALL. THE OTHER LEADERS OF THE WORLD WILL EMBRACE THE MADNESS IGNITED BY IT’S WAKE AND LAUNCH THEIR MISSILES AT EACH OTHER TO ACCELERATE THE PROGRESS TOWARDS OUR GOAL.

FEEL FREE TO STUBBORNLY DENY YOUR FATE, TO PRAY TO YOUR FALSE GODS. NONE OF IT WILL HELP YOU. INSTEAD, YOU SHOULD DO WHAT ANY OTHER PROPER RACE SHOULD DO WHEN FACED WITH THEIR HOUR OF TWILIGHT…JUST LET YOURSELVES GO.

LIBERATE YOURSELF FROM ANY RIDICULOUS NOTIONS OF DECENCY IMPOSED UPON YOU FROM THE DAY YOU WERE BORN. BE WHAT YOU TRULY ARE, NOT WHAT YOU WERE BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE. YOU ARE A HAIRLESS APE WITH A DELUDED SENSE OF SELF-AWARENESS. AWAKEN YOUR DEEPEST DESIRES FOR CHAOS, SELF-INDULGENCE REGARDLESS OF THE COST TO OTHERS, AND RISE UP AGAINST THE GOVERNMENTS AND CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE LONGED SOUGHT TO UTTERLY DOMINATE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIVES…JUST AS WE HAVE. THIS WILL HELP YOU TO RELATE WITH US AND OUR DESIRES, AND YOU WILL GET TO HAVE MUCH MORE FUN THAN YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE EVER ALLOWED TO HAVE.

JANUARY 1ST, 12 AM…AT THE VERY HEART OF THE CORRUPTION THAT PLAGUES THE REST OF THE WORLD…PREPARE FOR THE HUMAN RACE’S FINAL ACT...

-L.D.K.A.

The ten agents had been sitting upon the edge of their seats up until the very end of the declaration of the end of times. They just could not comprehend that any person could be so deranged, or full of hatred to have written something like this. It had to be a joke. The worst joke of the past millennium. When Special Agent Rattiner finally closed the file, it’s damming and blood-chilling words still resided in their minds. The continuation of his briefing is what helped them snap out of their trances.

Believe me, I was just as shocked as anyone else when I read it. Public Internet forums and news media outlets had a field day scrutinizing the virally spread message. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies around the country have openly dismissed it as a terrible, atrocious joke…but they’re taking the threat as seriously as us. This “L.D.K.A.”, our own criminal databases, the CIA’s and the State department’s have absolutely nothing that gives reference to them in past cases. After long hours of cross-examining the message, we have found nothing tangible to link them to Al-Qaeda…though one of our cryptologists made a curious play on the acronym by rearranging the “D” and “K”…but as I said before, that’s no longer the angle that we’re focusing on in this case.

He leaned forward towards them, his right shoulder getting in the way of the projector’s beam, which cast it’s shadow on the screen. He now fore a face of absolute sobriety.

Gentlemen, given that this is most likely the bureau’s, if not the entire world’s, first encounter with these monsters, we urgently need to establish three simple facts within the next five days…before the deadline so that we can act quickly to stop it, if it’s real, that is.

He held up his left hand in a fist in front of him. He brought up one finger at a time for emphasis.

The first is who exactly are they, where did they come from, and how did they get into this country. As the whole of CT’s best hypothesis’ stand, they might be a domestic terrorist network.  And finally, we need to determine what this “Apocalypse” weapon is, how can it be triggered and how can it be disarmed. Our senior analysts believe the message alludes it to be a WMD; Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical weapon, but we can’t assume anything just yet, given the other mysterious circumstances surrounding this group.

…You might have noticed that I didn’t state that knowing which city the terrorists intend to make good on their threat. I believe that the 25th’s incident has solved that for us. “At the very heart of the corruption that plagues the rest of the world”. This phrase was also another reason to pursue the “Al-Qaeda or other Islam extremist faction” vector, but the rest of the message makes no other emphasis to US foreign policies in that region…the only “Where” that remains is where, within the nation’s capital, would provide them with the best possible location to hit all major targets with their weapon.

The speaker then returned to his laptop to bring up some video footage marked “LDKA SURVEILLANCE CLIP #1”.

This video was shot by a security camera in the main terminal of Washington Regan National Airport on the morning of December 25th, where we believe some members of the L.D.K.A. were scouting for possible locations to attack. Airports have a long history of being targeted by terrorists, so after the news broke out about the group, security measures were tightened considerably.

The attendants watched the black and white footage of passengers in winter coats tote their carry-on bags up and down the terminal building. Nothing unusual was popping out to the experienced agents so far…but just then, there they were. Three tall and built looking individuals, clothed entirely in black. They just walked into the scene from the left side of the screen and just stood their looking about, as if trying not to draw attention to themselves as they surveyed the area.

Yep, those are our boys right there. But for some reason, they’re just examining the airline ticket counters, up and down the corridors. The nearest security checkpoint about 50 feet from where they are and it’s not within visual range. I think we can rule out hijacking aircraft, but not an attack in the crowded terminal.

But just as he said that, two figures, who where also not carrying baggage, approached them from the northern end. They were dressed as casually as the general population around them, but the agents could instinctively sense the deliberateness of their stride that hinted at law enforcement personnel homing in on their target. The trio of suspects didn’t see the duo at first, but then turned around when the one of the “officers” called to them. They began to talk for a few minutes, with the trio getting more noticeably shiftier and nervous.

Finally, when they could no longer stand the interrogation, the middleman of the group ripped open his overcoat and pulled out a strange looking assault rifle and opened fire as their opponents dived for cover. The passengers and employees around them screamed and dived for cover. From behind the cover of a ticket counter, one of the undercover officers returned fire when the gunman lowered his guard, the shot hitting the floor right next to his foot. He hopped back in a panic and fired again, the strange bullets hitting and destroying a large cabinet of television screens displaying fight information where other officer was. By this time, airport police had responded to the shots and aimed their firearms at the man, screaming orders at him to drop it, but then the gunman’s two accomplices popped out of their hiding places, wielding weapons of their own, shooting and killing one of the uniformed officers. The survivors desperately shot back while running for cover of their own. Complete chaos took hold as civilians picked themselves up from the floor and scrambled for the exits.

The officer hiding behind the TV cabinet then emerged and fired, hitting the assault-rifle armed gunman in the shoulder, forcing him to drop the weapon. When he tried to close in on him, the other two terrorists then returned fire, forcing him to duck behind the ticket counter where his partner was holed up. They leaned down to pick up their wounded friend from the floor with one arm each. One of them holstered his weapon, pulled out what looked like a grenade and threw it. It was far off from it’s intended target, but it was meant as cover for their escape. Seconds later, the camera was violently jolted by the massive explosion, which ripped a large hole to the first floor.

Jesus Christ!

Once the injured had regained his strength, they all ran him towards the exit. The two undercover officers quickly rose up from their hiding location, giving chase, but just then, one of them stopped abruptly and stood over the weapon their attackers had left behind. He held out his left arm toward it and his body language suggested that he was about to manipulate the object somehow by non-physical means. For a moment, it seemed like the arm itself was changing when image was suddenly and completely distorted in static…tense seconds past and the image resettles with the officer still standing there, left arm out…but the weapon had entirely disappeared from where it was previously laying before him. He simply lowered his arm and resumed the chase.

How the-?! Where did the rifle go, and what was that burst of static just now?!

An excellent question, and one that cannot be answered at this moment. The static imprinted upon the footage was entirely unmanageable, and there were no witnesses at the scene of the event.

The video clip stopped abruptly, signaling the end of crucial footage from this camera. Charles minimized the viewing window and clicked on “LDKA SURVEILANCE CLIP #2”.

This one was focused just outside. The entrance behind it, where the terrorist trio had just run out from and were shocked to see the massive police force that had built up from the time their gunfight inside had started. The police, acknowledging that one of their own was killed by them, opened fire at once. They ducked behind the nearest taxi, left abandoned by it’s driver due to the crisis. One of them drew then threw a handheld device and ran up north from the blockade of cars. The device landed in between two of the police’s Crown Vics, their drivers running away, fearing it was a grenade. The camera then caught a glint of bright light coming from it, then what looked like bolts of lighting shooting from it, followed shortly with multiple explosions of cars as their fuel tanks spontaneously detonated. It was apparently too close to one of the blast as the screen filled with static and then faded to black.

Then footage from another outside camera kicked in, showing the series of explosions that consumed the first camera. It also showed the entrance of the airport, where the uncover officer in the lead reeled back and covered her eyes from the explosions. Soon after the second one caught up and helped his partner to her feet and started running again. The terrorists suspects, far ahead of them, decided upon an abandoned Hummer H1 as their getaway vehicle. Once inside, they muscled their way past a small sedan and out of the blockade. Sensing a chase, the two officers chose an open Land Rover Range Rover and maneuvered out of the jam as well. By the end of the clip, the camera could just make out the two vehicles going down Smith Blvd., headed for George Washington Memorial Pkwy.

And I’m afraid that concludes archived footage of the incident from the airport. By a stroke of luck, an agent from the Violent Crimes division was driving back to headquarters after a formal meeting up in New York when the vehicles zoomed past him on the 395 SW Freeway. He phoned it in and followed them from a safe distance while HQ organized some air support from Strategic Air Command. The media also provided the rest of the coverage.

With a click of the mouse pad, the projector showed archived news footage of the dramatic 395 chase from helicopter, then a video of the chase up close from the FBI vehicle pursuing it. The two vehicles and their occupants apparently paid no attention and continued shooting at each other.

Multiple agencies were coordinating with us to set up roadblocks to stop them from re-entering the main city, but, as seen before, the weapons technology of the enemy are far more advanced than previously anticipated. Some time into the chase, no helicopters or ground pursuit vehicles couldn’t get anywhere close to them due to some electromagnetic interference originating either or both vehicles. They broke our blockades and reentered the city. Their fighting continued even as innocent civilians on the streets tried to get out of their way.

The next sample of footage was very shaky, obviously homemade, set in a narrow street and the audio was overloaded with people screaming and strangely high-pitched gunfire. It then focused on the two vehicles as they headed towards the cameraman’s direction. One of the Hummer’s stray shots actually streamed toward her and suddenly the image was laying on it’s side on the street, the screams of the injured cameraman can now be heard in the softening roar of the fleeing cars.

That video was taken by a tourist who captured the chase in progress down Independence Avenue. She is in stable condition and she surrendered her tape to aid our investigation.

He closed the video window.

The end result was over $300 million in property damage, over $1 billion in lost assets due to disrupted flights at Washington Regan, 13 people killed, 5 of them law enforcement, over 150 injured, diplomatic ties with America and her allies jeopardized by such heinous acts…and the culprits responsible were lost in the morning rush hour and the chaos that they raised. The stolen vehicles were found at separate underground parking complexes,  but their riders were long gone and left little evidence.

However, if it was the only gain for us out of this whole mess, we managed to get all of this surveillance footage on some of our targets. We now have a grasp of their attack capabilities and what they’re after.

Excuse me, Mr. Rattiner, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go back to those scenes for a closer look.

Special Agent Rattiner reopened one of the earlier video files on his laptop, the one where the firefight in the terminal began.

Very well, was there something that you wanted to review that you felt you overlooked in the first showing.

Yes, sir. Well, we know that one group is part of the LDKA, but the second party’s origin and motives remains a mystery. Didn’t you say that on the very first day of these related incidents that it seemed like two parties were fighting each other at the apartment complex? What could it mean, that they are a rival terrorist organization, hoping to beat them to punch on the 31st?

We all noticed that the two unknowns walked with distinction, like, like…one of us, actually. Their combat techniques and maneuvers seemed derived from those trained at our Academy at Quantico. I don’t think that they are terrorists at all, but clandestine officers from a foreign allied nation sent to quietly subdue the real terrorist threat.

  Hey, you know what? Eyewitness accounts from civilians and the first responders of the 25th highway chase claimed that they were responsible for less than 10% of all the damage to property and people that day. Their attacks on the fleeing terrorists suspects were precise and determined not wanting to cause harm to anyone else.

  Humph, “quietly” indeed! If they are indeed our allies in the fight against the LDKA, then why did they not make themselves known to us?! Why didn’t ANY foreign government, who state that they are our allies, inform us that several of their agents that would enter our country to combat the perpetrators of these atrocities?! Allies or not, it is a violation of international statutes to have unregistered agents operate within a foreign country with the expressed intent of committing espionage, or in this case, acts that would be attributable to, or classified as terrorism. The United States Government, at any levels, are not prepared to tolerate vigilantes, let alone foreign ones. As far as we are concerned, they are a grave threat to this nation’s security, along with the terrorists themselves and until, and ONLY UNTIL they are taken in for questioning as to determine who sent them and what their goals are. Special Agent Rattiner, I would appreciate it if you could advance to the external camera recordings. Wherever they were able to catch a clear picture of those two operatives.

As you wish.

After opening the file that had the terminal’s exterior recording, it just took a few seconds of dedicated searching before the agent settled on an image.

There, stop there.

And thus the image froze on the two unknown officers, caught in mid-stride. The image, upon super-enhancement, revealed a young man, possibly in his 20’s. Tall, light skin composition and hair color and a dark shade of gray that defined his eyes in the black and white imagery. He bore a small pistol of unknown caliber and make, his left arm left hanging out behind him. The texture of the skin on the left arm seemed abnormal, almost like just an illusion. Beside him was his partner, a girl, who looked to be in the same age group as the male. Same complexion, but with a more radiant hair color. She had holstered her weapon in order to increase her running speed, but she stayed close to him, confident in the fact that he would cover her back.

Excellent, those are perfect shots. I recommend that we should get working on composing reports of this investigation for inter-agency dissemination. And these two should be registered as “Persons of extreme interest” by the FBI. Have mobile surveillance teams on call, 24/7, when the targets have been spotted. A major national security crisis has descended upon us with just over 120 hours to neutralize. The most probable source of Intel on the L.D.K.A. will be coming from these two.

Yes, that sounds like a reasonable course of action. I will be sure to bring it up to the head of CT, and ultimately to Director Freeh. I will emphasize on the time limit given to us by the terrorists. At the same time, however, we must also continue our intelligence efforts to discover more data about these madmen on our own, and their intended epicenter of attack.

All the agents nodded in agreement. With over 91 years of service, the bureau was well suited to gathering intelligence on it’s enemies, both here and abroad. But given the stringent time limit given to them to stop the possible extinction of the human race, any circumventions to standard intelligence protocol had to be explored and pursued in order to get the job done.

Special Agent Rattiner then stood up straight, switched off the project and his laptop. The pleasant amber lighting returned automatically. He packed away his materials back in the briefcase, snapped it shut and looked back up at his audience.

Gentlemen, I believe that this concludes this CT emergency conference. I thank you once again for your time. We have made a substantial amount of progress in this investigation and I grow more certain that whatever threats these cowards have made against not only the American people, but against every civilized nation and human being on this planet, will never come to pass. Until we meet again, I wish you all a good night.

The ten attendees rose from their seats and exited the conference room, biding their farewells to one another after a long night, and one that was far more than just physically exhausting. But now that they had tangible leads to follow in this case, they would pursue them with everything they had, and then some, to see that the most potentially devastating terrorist threat of our lifetime will not take place…

Little did they know exactly what forces and individuals that they were getting themselves involved with. To successfully mitigate this threat…might very well cost them their lives…

INTERNATIONAL INNOVATIONS ANIMATION STUDIOS LTD.®

IN COLLABORATION WITH
NIGHTMARE NINJA FILMS LTD.®

PRESENT

A FILM BY JASON MENA

BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING NOVEL

CODENAME: APOCALYPSE™

COMING SOON

“Codename: Apocalypse”. Copyright © 2003-2009 Jason Mena/ International Innovations Animation Studios Ltd. All rights to scenario, characters, and all related properties are reserved. Unauthorized copying and distribution of any portion of this document is prohibited.

Description
3:27 AM EST
Sunday, December 26th, 1999
J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington D.C.
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Counter-terrorism division
Conference Room #2

The carpeting was of a luxurious velvet tone, walls and cabinets made of chestnut, adorned with patriotic trinkets and framed photographs of past directors and special agents recognized for their influence in shaping the bureau of today. And at the very center was a large ovular oak table surrounded by 19 cushioned swerving chairs. It was glossed with a special finish which reflected the multiple soft amber lighting from above and embroidered with the blue and gold FBI COUNTER-TERRORISM DIVISION seal at the middle. There was no radio and no television in this room, but a computer-based projector set up at the end of the table facing the far wall, which bore the more recognizable FBI seal.

But the 10 formally dressed gentlemen sitting at the table facing each other hardly felt any of the warmth and comforting atmosphere the room had to offer. Identification badges were either clipped onto the lapels of their suits, or were hanging from lanyards around their necks. They were diverse from each other in many ways, but what made them uniform at the moment was that they were lost in their individual thoughts about the developing crisis going on in the nation’s capital.

They had been celebrating with their friends and family and sleeping after a long day with their children and their new presents when the calls from their superiors came:

“An emergency meeting’s been called for at HQ. Get dressed and report to Conference Room #2, just down the hall from Operations. One hour.”

One by one, they reached the location of the meeting, sharing traditional salutations with each other and then sitting down at the table and waited patiently for whomever had called the meeting to arrive. Thirty minutes into that wait, however, the agents had started to look around, wondering when the man would arrive. Some were starting to nod off from the inactivity. There was no window, but the lateness of the hour can be felt within them. Finally, one of the agents broke the silence.

So, what do you think is taking them so long? You don’t suppose Agent O’Neill is flying over here to do this himself?

This sounds like something he might be behind. He’s been working his ass off the past few weeks, following leads on possible Al-Qaeda attacks ever since Ahmed Ressam was intercepted at Port Angeles with bomb-making materials.

John was stationed by Director Freeh to personally oversee the bureau’s security measures for the New Millennium celebration at Time’s Square. He cannot leave that position until the celebrations have concluded, no exceptions.

Be that as it may, that man thinks too directly sometimes. He doesn’t see himself getting tied down by regulations in order to get the job done. Just look at how many bodies of government he tried to subvert by pre-approving the capture of-

Right at the moment, the door of the conference room stirred and swung open, and the one who stepped in was not John O’Neill, but a senior agent whom they surmised had the same level of insight in the investigations of the terrorist organizations. He was carrying an unmarked aluminum briefcase and walked quickly to the far end of the room. He set the case down on the table by a projector, and looked up at his audience to introduce himself.

Good morning, gentlemen. My name is Charles Rattiner. I am a special agent within the home office’s counter-terrorism division. I apologize for the delay. Some more developments in this new situation had arisen by the time I was cleared to call for this meeting and the analysts needed a little more time to compile it. But I will waste no more time and begin immediately.

All the agents sat up at attention at this point. The mention of yet more details in these incidents so far cleared out the fatigue from them in an instant and made them eager to begin the assessment of this new threat. Charles opened his briefcase, pulled out a thick laptop, and began connecting it to the projector. He then went over to a lone switch against the wall and flicked it on, prompting the lowering of a projector screen against the far wall. When the projector was turned on, the agents could see the Microsoft Windows 98 logo as it was still booting up.

The speaker then again reached into his briefcase and pulled out ten thinly-stacked manila folders and proceeded to pass them around to them. The top flap was spotted with multiple US Government markings and warnings of “TOP SECRET”, warnings that were still freshly pressed given that they smudged a tad after being on top of each other. The special agent began to read off a small folded piece of paper he retrieved from his breast pocket, apparently the rules and etiquette of conducting such conferences.

Do not open those files or proceed to the next page until prompted to do so by the briefer. By reading those warnings, you acknowledge that the materials within and this entire investigation is of the highest level classified. Public dissemination can jeopardize national security and is criminally charges will be pursued.

The laptop had just finished booting up and now prompted the owner to insert his username and password. He inputted a highly complex series of characters, actually getting it wrong the first time before the main desktop was displayed on the projector. It had the FBI CT logo set against a pure black background. It was littered with multiple written and video files, and with such titles like “SURVIELLANCE”, “EYEWITNESS TESTIMONIES”, they were meant for this conference.

Okay, let’s open our files and turn to Page 1, which contain a copy of all the rules and regulations I stated about the classification of this material. Feel free to review them if you like. When you’re ready, look at me.

None of the agents didn’t bother looking down at the document after opening it. They kept fixated on him.

Very well, proceed onto Page 2, where I will now recount on what we know of Al-Qaeda, previous attack locations and methods, and etcetera.

He then moved his fingers across the touch sensitive mouse pad and clicked on a Adobe Reader document titled “AL QAEDA HISTORY AND INFRASTRUCTURE.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bi…

*SKIPS AHEAD*

And, at last, our recall brings us to the latest series of events that hallmark that of an impending attack by an Al-Qaeda cell, or should I say, several cells?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_mil…

Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian living in Canada, was arrested at Port Angeles, Washington after crossing by ferry from Victoria, British Columbia, on December 14th. Customs officials then found nitroglycerin and four timing devices concealed in a spare tire well of his automobile. John O'Neill, a top counter-terrorism special agent at the bureau's New York field office, led the investigation into Ressam's associates and plans simultaneous take downs of them all on the 30th, so that they will be held in custody until after the millennium, which we believe is the deadline for any planned attacks.

Some of the agents couldn’t help but smile or give sighs of relief. It seems that Al Qaeda had been thwarted from conducting an operation within the country to kill more innocent citizens.

Now…

Charles paused for a moment as the projected computer screen went back to the FBI CT embroidered desktop. He removed a large pair of glasses, pulled out a cleaning cloth and proceeded to wipe it against the lenses. When he finished and replaced them upon his face and looked up at his audience, he wore a much grimmer expression than he ever did before throughout the conference, even during the distasteful recall of Al Qaeda’s record.

As all of you are well aware of, recent instances of violent firefights and such within the city has alerted all levels of the Government to the possibility of yet more terrorist cells. By the level of devastation seen thus far, we fear that all the other Al-Qaeda leads we have been pursuing the past several weeks were just a distraction.

He spoke firmly, deliberately, to insist how unsettled the bureau feels about the emergence of another, more dangerous terrorist cell. The agents held on to every word, letting the fear creep into their consciousness thoughts as well. Before any of these attacks on DC happened, they had all been so certain that the attack threats had been mostly mitigated. And yet the damage by these unknown individuals so far have proven otherwise.

These series of incidents began in the early morning on the 20th. Nearby residents contacted police about hearing heavy gunfire in an apartment complex still under construction. With the help of the first responders from US Capitol Police, the location was cordoned off and we sent in our own Crime Scene Investigation unit. There were high velocity impact marks found all over the alleged center of the shootout. There were footprints, made by two individual parties on opposite sides and very few fingerprints. But the strangest aspect of  this case thus far was that there was no shell casings, gunpowder traces, or even bullets embedded in the walls at the points of impact. A Geiger counter scan has had hits off some of these points, while some have not. There is no explanation for it so far. There was one visible casualty in the battle, but the body had been mostly incinerated by unknown means. Some body fragments and blood samples were recovered and are undergoing DNA testing. So far, there are no matches within our database. We plan to appeal to Director Freeh to request access to CIA and even allied foreign agencies’ DNA databases. We prematurely classified it as drug deal gone back between rival urban gangs and while the losing gang fled, the victors desecrated the victim’s body by burning it to be a message to anyone else who might cross them.

Then, less than three days later, our Cyber Crime division encountered a new computer virus rapidly infecting all commercial and government information systems within the continental US, Canada, then all of the Americas and even Europe, Africa and Asia. It had such sophisticated means of infection, unlike any ever seen before, that it infiltrated even our hardened systems…at the Pentagon.

Several of the agents opened their eyes as wide as they could go, some gasped, and some stood up from their chairs on reflex from the utter disbelief of such an impossibility.

What the fuck?! Is this really Y2K?! How, when were our systems compromised?! We have to shut down the entire network and purge the virus!

But we’ll be severely exposing ourselves to foreign military engagement, if some foreign power had aided and abetted the hackers responsible!

Forget it, it’s too late! We have to get the President, his cabinet, and all the representatives into shelter!

And what of the American people? Will they truly be left behind to fend for themselves?

The hasty deliberations between the shocked agents continued on for a minute before the speaker cleared his throat and called for their attention. They looked at him as if he was mad for being so calm with his country being in a sudden point of vulnerability.

Gentlemen, GENTLEMEN! Calm yourselves! Please allow me to finish on the briefing before drawing such conclusions! Yes, the virus infected even the systems that control our nuclear arsenal, but, for some reason, the virus itself bore no adverse effects upon entering our systems! All it really did was generate endlessly cryptic messages on the screen every 30 seconds or so. CC found it easy to isolate and create an anti virus for it. Within 24 hours, all military networks were clear. However dramatic it‘s spread was throughout the globe, it is obvious that the virus’s sole intent was to spread a message. A warning. Here’s the message that the virus would constantly display.

The special agent clicked on a picture file on top right corner of the laptop screen, and when it opened, it was the screen capture of another desktop. The open window that dominated the picture was pure black, gruesomely designed with images of mutilated corpses, bare skeletons and blood spattered all over. Rising smoke and flames completed the hellish scene, and in the center of massacre, dark red English letters began to read:

TO ALL HUMANS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY,

WE CAME FROM A FUTURE FAR AHEAD IN TIME. A FUTURE BUILT UPON BLATANT DECEPTIONS FROM AN IMPERIALISTIC GOVERNMENT. THE MASSES WERE REPROGRAMMED BY THEIR OVERLORDS, ROBBED OF THEIR HUMANITY, AND HAD BECOME NOTHING MORE THAN SLAVES TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF THEIR DOMINION OVER THE EARTH.

WE VEHEMENTLY DESPISED THIS FUTURE. WE SUCCESSFULLY RESISTED ALL THEIR ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL US, TO STOP US FROM REALIZING OUR BASEST OF HUMAN INSTINCTS. WE USED THEIR OWN WEAPONS AGAINST THEM, SPILLED THE BLOOD OF THE PATHETIC ENFORCERS OF THEIR WILL.

AND NOW, WE FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO RETURN TO THE WORLD AND RACE OF HUMANS AS IT WAS ALWAYS MEANT TO BE…SEGREGATED BY NATIONAL BOUNDARIES AND IDENTITIES SET INTO PLACE AND CONTINUED BY CORPULENT, SELF-INDULGING GOVERNMENT LEADERS, AND THE HUMANS THEMSELVES SEPARATED BY IGNORANT TERROR BECAUSE OF THEIR APPEARANCES AND PITHY SELF-BELIEFS.

BUT AS MUCH AS WE REVEL IN YOUR PRIMITIVE WAYS, WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT MISSION TO ACCOMPLISH IN THIS PLACE IN TIME. AND IT BEGINS WITH THIS MESSAGE…

WE ARE HERE TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR DAYS ON THIS PLANET ARE NUMBERED. THERE IS NOWHERE THAT YOU CAN POSSIBLY RUN OR HIDE THAT WILL BE BEYOND THE REACH OF OUR GLORIOUS WEAPON.

TO ENSURE THE FUTURE THAT WE LOATHE NEVER COMES TO PASS, WE MUST ALTER THE PAST…AND BY THE COUNCIL OF OUR WISE LEADER, WE HAS DETERMINED THAT NOTHING LESS THAN THE EXTINCTION OF ALL HUMANKIND IN THIS ERA WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS.

WE CARE NOT ABOUT OUR OWN LIVES. DEVASTATION SUCH AS THIS IS WHAT WE WERE BORN, RAISED, AND HAVE LONG DREAMED OF ACCOMPLISHING. NONE OF THIS IS A FABRICATION, NOT A THREAT, OR NOT EVEN A WARNING FOR YOU TO TRY TO ESCAPE OUR WRATH.

THIS IS A NOTIFICATION TO THE IMMINENT END OF YOUR WORLD, THE END OF EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER KNOWN. THERE IS NOWHERE TO GO. YOU CANNOT FIND US, AND YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY STOP US.

ALTHOUGH IT IS UNLIKELY THAT ANYONE WILL SURVIVE, THOSE OF YOU WHO DO WILL MOST CERTAINLY APPLAUD OUR BRAVERY AND DETERMINATION IF THEY WERE EVER TO SEE OUR FUTURE, AND THE PATHETIC SHELL OF A ONCE PROUD, DIVERSE AND COMBATIVE RACE. WE ARE MERELY SEEKING TO PREVENT THAT FUTURE FROM EVER HAPPENING.

YOU, NOR YOUR LOVED ONES, WILL LIVE TO SEE THE NEW MILLENNIUM. COME MIDNIGHT, ON DECEMBER 31ST ,WE WILL SET THE SKIES ALIGHT WITH THE FLAMES OF APOCALYPSE, WHICH WILL QUICKLY GROW AND SPREAD FORTH TO CONSUME ALL. THE OTHER LEADERS OF THE WORLD WILL EMBRACE THE MADNESS IGNITED BY IT’S WAKE AND LAUNCH THEIR MISSILES AT EACH OTHER TO ACCELERATE THE PROGRESS TOWARDS OUR GOAL.

FEEL FREE TO STUBBORNLY DENY YOUR FATE, TO PRAY TO YOUR FALSE GODS. NONE OF IT WILL HELP YOU. INSTEAD, YOU SHOULD DO WHAT ANY OTHER PROPER RACE SHOULD DO WHEN FACED WITH THEIR HOUR OF TWILIGHT…JUST LET YOURSELVES GO.

LIBERATE YOURSELF FROM ANY RIDICULOUS NOTIONS OF DECENCY IMPOSED UPON YOU FROM THE DAY YOU WERE BORN. BE WHAT YOU TRULY ARE, NOT WHAT YOU WERE BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE. YOU ARE A HAIRLESS APE WITH A DELUDED SENSE OF SELF-AWARENESS. AWAKEN YOUR DEEPEST DESIRES FOR CHAOS, SELF-INDULGENCE REGARDLESS OF THE COST TO OTHERS, AND RISE UP AGAINST THE GOVERNMENTS AND CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE LONGED SOUGHT TO UTTERLY DOMINATE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIVES…JUST AS WE HAVE. THIS WILL HELP YOU TO RELATE WITH US AND OUR DESIRES, AND YOU WILL GET TO HAVE MUCH MORE FUN THAN YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE EVER ALLOWED TO HAVE.

JANUARY 1ST, 12 AM…AT THE VERY HEART OF THE CORRUPTION THAT PLAGUES THE REST OF THE WORLD…PREPARE FOR THE HUMAN RACE’S FINAL ACT...

-L.D.K.A.

The ten agents had been sitting upon the edge of their seats up until the very end of the declaration of the end of times. They just could not comprehend that any person could be so deranged, or full of hatred to have written something like this. It had to be a joke. The worst joke of the past millennium. When Special Agent Rattiner finally closed the file, it’s damming and blood-chilling words still resided in their minds. The continuation of his briefing is what helped them snap out of their trances.

Believe me, I was just as shocked as anyone else when I read it. Public Internet forums and news media outlets had a field day scrutinizing the virally spread message. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies around the country have openly dismissed it as a terrible, atrocious joke…but they’re taking the threat as seriously as us. This “L.D.K.A.”, our own criminal databases, the CIA’s and the State department’s have absolutely nothing that gives reference to them in past cases. After long hours of cross-examining the message, we have found nothing tangible to link them to Al-Qaeda…though one of our cryptologists made a curious play on the acronym by rearranging the “D” and “K”…but as I said before, that’s no longer the angle that we’re focusing on in this case.

He leaned forward towards them, his right shoulder getting in the way of the projector’s beam, which cast it’s shadow on the screen. He now fore a face of absolute sobriety.

Gentlemen, given that this is most likely the bureau’s, if not the entire world’s, first encounter with these monsters, we urgently need to establish three simple facts within the next five days…before the deadline so that we can act quickly to stop it, if it’s real, that is.

He held up his left hand in a fist in front of him. He brought up one finger at a time for emphasis.

The first is who exactly are they, where did they come from, and how did they get into this country. As the whole of CT’s best hypothesis’ stand, they might be a domestic terrorist network.  And finally, we need to determine what this “Apocalypse” weapon is, how can it be triggered and how can it be disarmed. Our senior analysts believe the message alludes it to be a WMD; Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical weapon, but we can’t assume anything just yet, given the other mysterious circumstances surrounding this group.

…You might have noticed that I didn’t state that knowing which city the terrorists intend to make good on their threat. I believe that the 25th’s incident has solved that for us. “At the very heart of the corruption that plagues the rest of the world”. This phrase was also another reason to pursue the “Al-Qaeda or other Islam extremist faction” vector, but the rest of the message makes no other emphasis to US foreign policies in that region…the only “Where” that remains is where, within the nation’s capital, would provide them with the best possible location to hit all major targets with their weapon.

The speaker then returned to his laptop to bring up some video footage marked “LDKA SURVEILLANCE CLIP #1”.

This video was shot by a security camera in the main terminal of Washington Regan National Airport on the morning of December 25th, where we believe some members of the L.D.K.A. were scouting for possible locations to attack. Airports have a long history of being targeted by terrorists, so after the news broke out about the group, security measures were tightened considerably.

The attendants watched the black and white footage of passengers in winter coats tote their carry-on bags up and down the terminal building. Nothing unusual was popping out to the experienced agents so far…but just then, there they were. Three tall and built looking individuals, clothed entirely in black. They just walked into the scene from the left side of the screen and just stood their looking about, as if trying not to draw attention to themselves as they surveyed the area.

Yep, those are our boys right there. But for some reason, they’re just examining the airline ticket counters, up and down the corridors. The nearest security checkpoint about 50 feet from where they are and it’s not within visual range. I think we can rule out hijacking aircraft, but not an attack in the crowded terminal.

But just as he said that, two figures, who where also not carrying baggage, approached them from the northern end. They were dressed as casually as the general population around them, but the agents could instinctively sense the deliberateness of their stride that hinted at law enforcement personnel homing in on their target. The trio of suspects didn’t see the duo at first, but then turned around when the one of the “officers” called to them. They began to talk for a few minutes, with the trio getting more noticeably shiftier and nervous.

Finally, when they could no longer stand the interrogation, the middleman of the group ripped open his overcoat and pulled out a strange looking assault rifle and opened fire as their opponents dived for cover. The passengers and employees around them screamed and dived for cover. From behind the cover of a ticket counter, one of the undercover officers returned fire when the gunman lowered his guard, the shot hitting the floor right next to his foot. He hopped back in a panic and fired again, the strange bullets hitting and destroying a large cabinet of television screens displaying fight information where other officer was. By this time, airport police had responded to the shots and aimed their firearms at the man, screaming orders at him to drop it, but then the gunman’s two accomplices popped out of their hiding places, wielding weapons of their own, shooting and killing one of the uniformed officers. The survivors desperately shot back while running for cover of their own. Complete chaos took hold as civilians picked themselves up from the floor and scrambled for the exits.

The officer hiding behind the TV cabinet then emerged and fired, hitting the assault-rifle armed gunman in the shoulder, forcing him to drop the weapon. When he tried to close in on him, the other two terrorists then returned fire, forcing him to duck behind the ticket counter where his partner was holed up. They leaned down to pick up their wounded friend from the floor with one arm each. One of them holstered his weapon, pulled out what looked like a grenade and threw it. It was far off from it’s intended target, but it was meant as cover for their escape. Seconds later, the camera was violently jolted by the massive explosion, which ripped a large hole to the first floor.

Jesus Christ!

Once the injured had regained his strength, they all ran him towards the exit. The two undercover officers quickly rose up from their hiding location, giving chase, but just then, one of them stopped abruptly and stood over the weapon their attackers had left behind. He held out his left arm toward it and his body language suggested that he was about to manipulate the object somehow by non-physical means. For a moment, it seemed like the arm itself was changing when image was suddenly and completely distorted in static…tense seconds past and the image resettles with the officer still standing there, left arm out…but the weapon had entirely disappeared from where it was previously laying before him. He simply lowered his arm and resumed the chase.

How the-?! Where did the rifle go, and what was that burst of static just now?!

An excellent question, and one that cannot be answered at this moment. The static imprinted upon the footage was entirely unmanageable, and there were no witnesses at the scene of the event.

The video clip stopped abruptly, signaling the end of crucial footage from this camera. Charles minimized the viewing window and clicked on “LDKA SURVEILANCE CLIP #2”.

This one was focused just outside. The entrance behind it, where the terrorist trio had just run out from and were shocked to see the massive police force that had built up from the time their gunfight inside had started. The police, acknowledging that one of their own was killed by them, opened fire at once. They ducked behind the nearest taxi, left abandoned by it’s driver due to the crisis. One of them drew then threw a handheld device and ran up north from the blockade of cars. The device landed in between two of the police’s Crown Vics, their drivers running away, fearing it was a grenade. The camera then caught a glint of bright light coming from it, then what looked like bolts of lighting shooting from it, followed shortly with multiple explosions of cars as their fuel tanks spontaneously detonated. It was apparently too close to one of the blast as the screen filled with static and then faded to black.

Then footage from another outside camera kicked in, showing the series of explosions that consumed the first camera. It also showed the entrance of the airport, where the uncover officer in the lead reeled back and covered her eyes from the explosions. Soon after the second one caught up and helped his partner to her feet and started running again. The terrorists suspects, far ahead of them, decided upon an abandoned Hummer H1 as their getaway vehicle. Once inside, they muscled their way past a small sedan and out of the blockade. Sensing a chase, the two officers chose an open Land Rover Range Rover and maneuvered out of the jam as well. By the end of the clip, the camera could just make out the two vehicles going down Smith Blvd., headed for George Washington Memorial Pkwy.

And I’m afraid that concludes archived footage of the incident from the airport. By a stroke of luck, an agent from the Violent Crimes division was driving back to headquarters after a formal meeting up in New York when the vehicles zoomed past him on the 395 SW Freeway. He phoned it in and followed them from a safe distance while HQ organized some air support from Strategic Air Command. The media also provided the rest of the coverage.

With a click of the mouse pad, the projector showed archived news footage of the dramatic 395 chase from helicopter, then a video of the chase up close from the FBI vehicle pursuing it. The two vehicles and their occupants apparently paid no attention and continued shooting at each other.

Multiple agencies were coordinating with us to set up roadblocks to stop them from re-entering the main city, but, as seen before, the weapons technology of the enemy are far more advanced than previously anticipated. Some time into the chase, no helicopters or ground pursuit vehicles couldn’t get anywhere close to them due to some electromagnetic interference originating either or both vehicles. They broke our blockades and reentered the city. Their fighting continued even as innocent civilians on the streets tried to get out of their way.

The next sample of footage was very shaky, obviously homemade, set in a narrow street and the audio was overloaded with people screaming and strangely high-pitched gunfire. It then focused on the two vehicles as they headed towards the cameraman’s direction. One of the Hummer’s stray shots actually streamed toward her and suddenly the image was laying on it’s side on the street, the screams of the injured cameraman can now be heard in the softening roar of the fleeing cars.

That video was taken by a tourist who captured the chase in progress down Independence Avenue. She is in stable condition and she surrendered her tape to aid our investigation.

He closed the video window.

The end result was over $300 million in property damage, over $1 billion in lost assets due to disrupted flights at Washington Regan, 13 people killed, 5 of them law enforcement, over 150 injured, diplomatic ties with America and her allies jeopardized by such heinous acts…and the culprits responsible were lost in the morning rush hour and the chaos that they raised. The stolen vehicles were found at separate underground parking complexes,  but their riders were long gone and left little evidence.

However, if it was the only gain for us out of this whole mess, we managed to get all of this surveillance footage on some of our targets. We now have a grasp of their attack capabilities and what they’re after.

Excuse me, Mr. Rattiner, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go back to those scenes for a closer look.

Special Agent Rattiner reopened one of the earlier video files on his laptop, the one where the firefight in the terminal began.

Very well, was there something that you wanted to review that you felt you overlooked in the first showing.

Yes, sir. Well, we know that one group is part of the LDKA, but the second party’s origin and motives remains a mystery. Didn’t you say that on the very first day of these related incidents that it seemed like two parties were fighting each other at the apartment complex? What could it mean, that they are a rival terrorist organization, hoping to beat them to punch on the 31st?

We all noticed that the two unknowns walked with distinction, like, like…one of us, actually. Their combat techniques and maneuvers seemed derived from those trained at our Academy at Quantico. I don’t think that they are terrorists at all, but clandestine officers from a foreign allied nation sent to quietly subdue the real terrorist threat.

  Hey, you know what? Eyewitness accounts from civilians and the first responders of the 25th highway chase claimed that they were responsible for less than 10% of all the damage to property and people that day. Their attacks on the fleeing terrorists suspects were precise and determined not wanting to cause harm to anyone else.

  Humph, “quietly” indeed! If they are indeed our allies in the fight against the LDKA, then why did they not make themselves known to us?! Why didn’t ANY foreign government, who state that they are our allies, inform us that several of their agents that would enter our country to combat the perpetrators of these atrocities?! Allies or not, it is a violation of international statutes to have unregistered agents operate within a foreign country with the expressed intent of committing espionage, or in this case, acts that would be attributable to, or classified as terrorism. The United States Government, at any levels, are not prepared to tolerate vigilantes, let alone foreign ones. As far as we are concerned, they are a grave threat to this nation’s security, along with the terrorists themselves and until, and ONLY UNTIL they are taken in for questioning as to determine who sent them and what their goals are. Special Agent Rattiner, I would appreciate it if you could advance to the external camera recordings. Wherever they were able to catch a clear picture of those two operatives.

As you wish.

After opening the file that had the terminal’s exterior recording, it just took a few seconds of dedicated searching before the agent settled on an image.

There, stop there.

And thus the image froze on the two unknown officers, caught in mid-stride. The image, upon super-enhancement, revealed a young man, possibly in his 20’s. Tall, light skin composition and hair color and a dark shade of gray that defined his eyes in the black and white imagery. He bore a small pistol of unknown caliber and make, his left arm left hanging out behind him. The texture of the skin on the left arm seemed abnormal, almost like just an illusion. Beside him was his partner, a girl, who looked to be in the same age group as the male. Same complexion, but with a more radiant hair color. She had holstered her weapon in order to increase her running speed, but she stayed close to him, confident in the fact that he would cover her back.

Excellent, those are perfect shots. I recommend that we should get working on composing reports of this investigation for inter-agency dissemination. And these two should be registered as “Persons of extreme interest” by the FBI. Have mobile surveillance teams on call, 24/7, when the targets have been spotted. A major national security crisis has descended upon us with just over 120 hours to neutralize. The most probable source of Intel on the L.D.K.A. will be coming from these two.

Yes, that sounds like a reasonable course of action. I will be sure to bring it up to the head of CT, and ultimately to Director Freeh. I will emphasize on the time limit given to us by the terrorists. At the same time, however, we must also continue our intelligence efforts to discover more data about these madmen on our own, and their intended epicenter of attack.

All the agents nodded in agreement. With over 91 years of service, the bureau was well suited to gathering intelligence on it’s enemies, both here and abroad. But given the stringent time limit given to them to stop the possible extinction of the human race, any circumventions to standard intelligence protocol had to be explored and pursued in order to get the job done.

Special Agent Rattiner then stood up straight, switched off the project and his laptop. The pleasant amber lighting returned automatically. He packed away his materials back in the briefcase, snapped it shut and looked back up at his audience.

Gentlemen, I believe that this concludes this CT emergency conference. I thank you once again for your time. We have made a substantial amount of progress in this investigation and I grow more certain that whatever threats these cowards have made against not only the American people, but against every civilized nation and human being on this planet, will never come to pass. Until we meet again, I wish you all a good night.

The ten attendees rose from their seats and exited the conference room, biding their farewells to one another after a long night, and one that was far more than just physically exhausting. But now that they had tangible leads to follow in this case, they would pursue them with everything they had, and then some, to see that the most potentially devastating terrorist threat of our lifetime will not take place…

Little did they know exactly what forces and individuals that they were getting themselves involved with. To successfully mitigate this threat…might very well cost them their lives…

INTERNATIONAL INNOVATIONS ANIMATION STUDIOS LTD.®

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NIGHTMARE NINJA FILMS LTD.®

PRESENT

A FILM BY JASON MENA

BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING NOVEL

CODENAME: APOCALYPSE™

COMING SOON

“Codename: Apocalypse”. Copyright © 2003-2009 Jason Mena/ International Innovations Animation Studios Ltd. All rights to scenario, characters, and all related properties are reserved. Unauthorized copying and distribution of any portion of this document is prohibited.