Special Vests For Special V.I.Ps

With the threat of the bomb, Hammer soon had all the VIPs completely subservient.

Once he had that subservience he immediately had them start wearing bomb vests.

Some tried resisting but then he brought out an assault rifle from the trolley.

One of the most stubborn VIPs glared at Hammer, from beside the Nork Foreign Director, once she was done putting on the vest.

Her disposition, rosie red hair, and model build… She looked almost familiar.

I shook my head and concentrated on the footage.

Once he was done with getting the dangerously attired, Hammer went about packing all the security officers weapons and zip tying them.

Now, even if they woke up. They would be unable to do anything.

My watch beeped, 08:25, just as the door to Park's office swung open.

Right on time.

M quickly turned the monitor screen blank as seven kitchen staff entered the office, pushing their own trolleys.

I stood up at once. It was Chasm, his team and mine.

“It’s a go, Shade.”

I nodded as one of my guys closed the door and one of Chasm’s started removing the table cloths.

Fortunately, the contents of these trolleys weren't as dangerous as Hammer's. Just some gear and firearms for us.

We immediately got to work, undressing and then redressing in bullet proof vest and SWAT gear.

Once we were done, we armed ourselves with the knives, rifles, pistols, nunchucks, stun sticks, and flashbangs on the trolley.

All once parts but now properly coupled back together by Chasm, Cyborg and the guys.

Lastly, we took our comms and affixed them to our ears.

I tapped mine, it beeped and Lynx’s voice came through.

“Team leaders Shade and Chasm, do you copy?”

“Team leader Shade here, I copy.”

“Chasm, Copy.”

“You both and your teams are to head to the commissary and pick up Cyborg. He's cleared a path straight to the commissary absent of all security officers. They're all busy wondering why the doors aren't working for them. You might come across some staff, ignore them. Your job is to safely escort Cyborg to the security room and deal with the officers there so he can get straight to work without disturbances.”

“Clear.”

“Crystal, Captain.”

“Copy that.”

Chasm and I nodded at each other then led our teams out of the office. Lynx directed us to the path that was free of any security guard or hampered by jammed doors.

We did pass some staff on the way, but they ignored or stared at us curiously.

One even tried asking for our help, making a complaint about the doors not working.

“Please remain calm, there's a situation which we are here to resolve. It will be resolved and then you can all get back to your pleasant jobs,” Chasm told them and we continued on our way to the commissary.

Our disguise as the building staff had a second advantage I hadn't seen. Even with the SWAT helmet and balaclava, we looked and spoke like Koreans.

This erased every possibility of suspicion. So the plan went even smoother.

We entered the commissary and stepped in to see the place empty which was natural. Breakfast was twenty minutes ago so the place was properly cleared out.

Except for a table in the corner where Cyborg sat down before six…no seven…that was not right. It was nine.

Cyborg way surrounded by nine suitcase computers.

Once he noticed us, he closed the suitcases and saved us over.

“Eh, some of you would have to help me carry these…”

Chasm sighed and gestured at his boys. Between Cyborg, two guys from Chasm’s team and two from mine, we had it handled and got moving again.

The staff watched us intently this time as we headed towards the security room.

They were probably wondering why we were escorting a kitchen staff member like he was some kind of VIP.

We reached the security room and Cyborg set one of the computers down and started working on opening the door. It seemed like he'd jammed all the doors in the building.

My eyes caught one of the CCTV stationed high up above the door.

“Can they see us through that?” I asked.

Cyborg looked at me then at where I was looking. I looked back to see him shaking his head.

“The security room was the first place that went blind. We can't have them seeing Hammer's show and alerting the rest of the building’s security or the New York police,” he said, “I shut down their intercoms too so they couldn't report in that their surveillance system was acting up.”

“Do we have eyes on them?” Chasm asked.

Instead of answering that. Cyborg turned the computer he was working on towards us.

We saw the officers in the room. They were the perfect image of apprehension. All of them were on their feet and some kept trying the intercom over and over again. A few were checking the monitors’ hardware to see if the problem lay there.

Chasm nodded. “None of them are close to the door. That's good.”

“Flashbangs?” I asked him.

Stiff had warned us to avoid killing anyone so it was all kid gloves for now.

He smiled at me but said nothing.

That very moment, the door slid open. Chasm, without hesitating, stepped into the security room, drawing the guards' attention.

"Sorry, officers... I think I'm going to ask you all to cooperate with us," he said grinning.

The guards rushed to reach him, leaving their posts unattended, immediately unholstering their sidearms.

Chasm threw a flashbang I hadn't seen him bring out and ducked out of the room.

I took cover beside the doorway, pressing my back to the left wall and closing my eyes.

The flash went off and I immediately opened my eyes and rushed into the room with my team and Chasm’s.

We sprayed them with rubber bullets, using kinetic pressure to knock some outs. A few got too close and it became a brawl.

A very unsatisfying one as the guards were still suffering the effects of the flashbangs.

From my black ops days I was used to fighting blind, disoriented, panic crazed opponents.

I'd learned that the first lesson was to always disarm them first before knocking them out.

We were swift and precise. The guards were out and on the floor in seconds.

Our comms beeped.

“Team leaders, report.”

“We have secured the security room, Captain,” I said.

“The guards are down and Cyborg is free to do his thing,” Chasm added.

We moved outside to see the tech geek flat on the floor, his hands shielding his head.

Chasm chuckled. “It’s over now boy, you can get up.”

Gingerly, the boy unfolded his hands and raised his head to confirm Chasm’s words. Once he saw that it was true, he stood up, glaring at the man.

“You have a problem. Let's set off a flashbang without telling our teammates, why don't we?” He said, sarcastically and Chasm just grinned at him.

“Chasm head over to the conference hall with your team and assist Hammer in gathering up the VIPs,” Lynx ordered. “After that, spread out across the building, gather up all the staff and move them to the atrium. I want all the hostages in the atrium in ten minutes.”

“Yes, Captain,” Chasm said and moved out with his team.

“Shade. Have your team secure the officers in the security room. You are on guard duty for now, protect Cyborg as he works,” she ordered and I started directing the guys towards the guards to get them zip tied.

“Cyborg?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Place this building on complete lockdown.”