Totally Spies Porn Story: Shooting Star Chapter Five

Chapter 5

WOOHP Headquarters Guest Room 7:00 pm

The girls had a tough choice to make, to say the least. Jacob had given them a free ticket out of this mess, and all they had to do was accept it. Yet if they did, they could no longer help with the mission, and Los Angeles and every man, woman, and child in it would still be in danger regardless of their involvement. They sat on the beds and tried to sort out their feelings and make a decision.

This is crazy, said Clover. Did you see what he did? I was on the floor before I even knew what happened! How could an old man like that be so fast? And then he wrecks the train all by himself! Do we even stand a chance against this guy? She was on the verge of tears.

You didnt even see what he did to that girl, Lana. Said Sam. He shot her without a moments hesitation. I didnt see a hint of surprise or remorse in his face. What a monster.

Do you guys really think we should take up Jacobs offer? asked Alex. This doesnt feel like one of our old assignments. Theres just something different about this one.

Yeah, I agree. Theres something not right here.

Too many thoughts passed through their heads to sort them into words. They were still sore from the wreck, and they were still shaken by Stephens savage display of skill.

MacDonald was right. Sighed Sam It was a trap. He was just seeing if we were on to him.

Now that I think of it, it was pretty obvious. Said Clover So why did we go in anyway?

Like Jacob said, it was the best chance weve had to nail him.

When the stakes are this high, I guess you take whatever chances you get. Said Alex

They all agreed. The girls sank into their own thoughts for a moment before Clover turned to Alex. Hows your head?

Alex smiled and said, Ive had worse! The tiny bandages stood out like beacons against her dark skin. The doctor said thered be minimal scarring, so Im not worried about it.

Sam decided to return to the question at hand. So the question here is, do we walk away from this and hope someone else can take care of it, or stay on and fight a bad guy in a totally different class?

Clover sighed and fell back on the bed. I just want to go home! I dont want to deal with these uber-dangerous characters anymore! I just want to curl up in my own bed and not worry about the state of the world until Jerry needs us again! She closed her eyes. Im tired of this crazy game those weirdos play.

Alex agreed. Me, too. I think this whole thing may be too much even for us. What kind of guy takes out a random train just to prove a point? It didnt have anything to do with his plan. He just goes and wrecks it because he can! It doesnt make sense!

Sam also wanted nothing more than to leave all of it behind. But there were so many questions theyd have to leave unanswered. Who was this Stephen guy? What exactly connected him and Jacob? What did he mean by killer instinct and how did it involve Jacob? Why is he trying to destroy the city? Revenge? He did say he lost his family because of the high cost of medicine. Personal gain? No, he planned to go with the bomb. Just for kicks? That cant be it. She felt that there was a whole level of important information Jacob and his cohorts werent telling them. If so, why are they so secretive? Stephens last words and stone-cold voice in the train still echoed in her mind: This is a battle between men. Children should not be involved. He seemed to know Jacob so well. What is the connection here?

Alex asked Sam a question that had been burning all day. Sammy, what happened to you back there?

Huh? What do you mean?

After that girl got hurt, I saw youchange somehow.
What do you mean? How?

There was something in your face. Something Ive never seen before. You were completelycompletely
Completely what?

Angry.

Sam recalled that she was acting more reckless than usual after Lana was shot, but she didnt think it meant anything.

Sam, Ive never seen you like that. It was scary.

Was it really that bad?

Yeah. You looked like you were ready to do something horrible.

Sam thought about what she felt between when Lana was hurt and Stephen dropped the grenade. The details came back into view. She saw Lana get hit and fall down. Then she remembered her vision fading. But it wasnt everything that faded. She still saw Stephen standing there as cold and confident as ever. She saw the gun in her hand, and the only thing she could think about was doing to him what he did to Lana. Everything else; the train, Lana, Alex, they all faded from sight and became secondary objects like the lines on a road. She was aware of their presence, but at the same time ignoring them.

I justhated him. With every fiber of my being, I hated him for what he did. I hated his confident smirk. I hated his face. I hated his voice. I couldnt think about anything else. Its so strange.

Alex leaned forward and stared straight into her friends eyes. Dont ever do that again, Sam! Understand? Never! She was about to cry.

Clover sat up. Just what is going on here? We never fight like this on missions! What have we gotten into? She looked from one face to the other and saw the same blank stares, and collapsed back on the bed.

Sam leaned back against the headboard. She was tired. They were all tired. This plot seemed to be getting bigger than three teenagers could deal with. She felt guilty over what she did in front of Alex. It felt so unnatural to lose it like that on a mission. Wasnt she usually the smart one who looked before she leapt? She knew Stephen could have killed them easily, so why didnt he? She started to drift off to sleep. When she opened her eyes, Alex and Clover were curled up asleep on the beds. Her watch read 11:00. She wanted to drift back into the peace of sleep, but her mind was still conflicted. Stay and possibly die fighting this maniac, or walk away and leave it to others and do nothing with the knowledge of whats happening?

I need to think, she said to herself. She eased out of the bed, crept to the door, and left the room. The hallways were empty except for the occasional WOOHP staff member who waved or nodded hello as they went to work. She wandered up and down the halls, trying to find and answer to Jacobs proposal. But the answer was obvious, yet she was afraid of it. She entered the elevator and pressed a floor at random. The doors closed and the elevator hummed for a couple of minutes as it changed floors. The elevator let Sam out onto a floor that didnt look too much different from the one their room was on. She wandered down the hall, not paying attention to anything until she heard voices coming from one of the rooms. She followed the voices to an empty cafeteria, but she decided to stay out of sight rather than disturb the people. Leaning next to the door, she recognized Jacobs voice and another one that sounded like it was coming from a small speaker.

I felt it was an acceptable risk given the gravity of the situation, sir.

Thats your opinion! We had to come up with a doozy of an explanation for this little incident to keep the press in the dark! And you know as well as I do how hard it is to keep the press in the dark about anything.

Weve done a good job so far havent we?

Yes, so far. But what about tomorrow? Suppose he decides that instead of a private broadcast to a few world leaders hes going to hijack a radio signal and broadcast there?

He wont do that.

And what makes you so sure?

Theres no reason. Everyone he wanted to know knows, and thats it. Besides, he wants to catch the populace off-guard. He knows hell accomplish his real aims better that way.

Real aims? What are you talking about?

You know as well as I do, sir. Besides, as long as congress is still in the dark, I dont think we have to worry. Theyre the ones who always leak stuff like this.

Sadly, thats the truth.

Sam finally recognized the second voice as that of the Secretary of Defense.

Jacob, youve already screwed up once. We cant afford another SNAFU like that. Next time, itll be the death knell for Southern California. And I especially want you to be very considerate with those girls.

Why is that? Youve read their dossier. Theyre very accomplished agents.

I just dont like the idea of trusting something this important to people who cant even vote yet.

Theyve met Stephen and got a plenty good chance to gauge his strength. Theyll be more prepared next time.

I hope so. I dont want to have to step in on this personally. Im needed here in Washington, and I dont want to make up some excuse to leave my office at a moments notice.

Well make sure thats not necessary, sir. Sam heard him turn something off and decided to step into the room. Jacob put what appeared to be a cell phone on the table he sat at and saw Sam. Oh, hi Sam. Trouble sleeping?

Yeah.

I dont blame you. After my first major SNAFU I didnt sleep for a week.
Really? What happened?
Fraid thats classified.

Oh. Sam stood at the entrance to the cafeteria. Jacob sat at a table and sipped from a white mug. The cafeteria was empty except for a single employee in the coffee store currently reading a book.

Wanna sit down?

Yeah, thanks. Sam pulled a chair out and sat down opposite Jacob. What are you doing up so late?

I slept earlier after debriefing. During a crisis like this I dont sleep much at night. Important things tend to happen at night during times like these.

She noticed his cell phone was bent at an angle with a long screen extending from the top to halfway past the bend. Whats that?

You might say its a digital cell phone, but its got a few more features, like a speaker phone option and this. He turned the unit over and pressed a button on the back. A small panel rose up and the phone projected an image of a tree on the tabletop. Useful for looking at images when a printer isnt around.

Cool.

Jacob flipped through a few more images of buildings, people, random-looking locations, and even one of her school before turning it off. He put the phone away and decided to get to the chase. Whats bothering you, besides the obvious?

Sam thought for a moment and answered, I know what I have to do, but Im afraid to do it. She crossed her arms and laid her head on the table.

Is that all?

Is that all!?

Fear is totally natural. Everyone says Im fearless, but the truth is I get into some situations that scare the living daylights out of me all the time.

Really?

Yeah, but I know thats not whats really bothering you.

Sam looked up. How did you tell?
Part of my job is learning to read people. Your face and body language tell me theres something really bothering you right now, and you dont want to bring it up.

For a few minutes, the room was completely silent. She could tell Jacob was waiting for her to make the next move, since he simply sat there and calmly sipped his coffee. She stood up and walked over to the window. The city gleamed like thousands of jewels against a pitch-black setting. It seemed so peaceful and secure from up here, yet someone down there wanted to destroy it all. For now, she wasnt really concerned with him. She leaned her head against the cool glass and said.

Who are you people?

Whats that supposed to mean?
You. MacDonald. The Secretary. Who exactly are you people? What drives you on this crazy mission?

Unfortunately, most of the details of my life are confidential. But

Just how much of your life is a secret? Whats with all the secrecy around here? What are you people hiding?

Jacobs voice became grave. There are some things that are best left in the dark, Sam. Thats just how it is. Youll have to learn to live with it.

She turned around and leaned back against the window. Then what can you tell me? Why are we so concerned about not letting on what were doing?

Jacob stood up and walked over to the window. He leaned against the sill and stared at the city a moment to collect his thoughts. Sam, do you see all those lights out there?
Yeah.

Looks peaceful, doesnt it?
Mm-hmm.
Now, imagine if all three million plus people down there suddenly woke up one day and discovered that someone wants to blow up their city and has the means to do so.

Theyd want to leave, wouldnt they? She could see where this was going.
And who can blame them? A nuclear threats no laughing matter. The problem is, four million people trying to leave the city all at once is going to create havoc. Everyone starts panicking in their mad dash to leave, and outgoing traffic is gridlocked for miles.

Theyll be sitting ducks.
Yeah. Stephen sees all the chaos, and in the middle of it all, detonates the bomb. He let the image sink in. This is why we cant let anyone outside of those involved know whats really going on. The less they know, the better.

She thought about that for a moment. So what are you going to do?

Im going to see this thing through to the end no matter what you girls do. Im obligated, make that duty-bound, to protect this country by whatever means are at my disposal. He stretched his back and returned to the table. Whatever you three decide to do is your business and yours alone.

Sam joined him at the table and turned a chair around. As she sat down, she confessed, I just dont know what to do.

Jacob set his coffee down and sighed. Well, what are your choices?

Sam thought for a moment. I can go home right now and pretend nothings happening when I know thats a lie, or I can stay here and make a difference against a bad guy the likes of which Ive never met before.

Seems like an easy choice to me. You only have two options. You could flip a coin if you wanted.

For a moment that seemed like a good idea before Sam banished such a loony idea from her mind. Then she thought of something. Why do you keep fighting, besides being an NSA agent?

Jacob held his mug in both hands and thought. Theres lots of reasons. I fully understand the political, environmental, and sociological implications of a nuclear attack, even if it is a terrorist activity, so I cant stand the idea of allowing one.

What else?

Despite what I do for a living, I cant stand the idea of someone murdering defenseless civilians for any reason. I hate nuclear weapons. Theyre so wasteful. The only thing they do is kill huge numbers of people along with whatever else you wanted to destroy. If we can cripple an enemy with the kind of precision we have now, then whats the use of a nuclear weapon?

Sams mind started to drift. She rested her head on the back of the chair and stared out the window at the jewel-lined roads. She followed them to all the places she loved. Her home, her school, the mall, the museums, WOOHP and her friends homes. She thought of all the people associated with each one. She saw Jerry and Alex and Clover, her favorite teachers, David, even Mandy all in their places. Then she imagined them all gone. Each and every place was a radiation-soaked ruin, and every person a mangled corpse lying in the sun. And they were all gone because she chose to not make a difference. She couldnt tolerate the thought of everyone and everything she loved being laid to waste because of one disgruntled old man. Even Mandy deserved a better fate. She made up her mind.

Sam raised her head from the back of the chair and stood up. I know what to do!

And what is that? Jacob asked dryly.

I have to tell Alex and Clover! Ill be right back! She bolted from the cafeteria and down the hall. Jacobs phone rang and he answered it.

JacobYes sir, she didNo, I dont think we have to worry about themYou have?Good, well be ready by thenYes, sir. He ended the call and pocketed the phone. He drained the last of his coffee and returned to his room.

Sam was in such a hurry she ran into the door before she remembered to insert her card key to unlock it. She threw open the door and found Clover and Alex sitting on their beds, apparently shed walked in on their conversation.

All three of them blurted out at once, I know what we have to do!

The next few minutes were pure confusion as they vied to be the first to say it, but Clover eventually won the screaming contest.

WEVE DECIDED TO STAY WITH THE MISSION!

That finally shut everyone up and gave them a chance to catch their breath. Finally Sam spoke up. You have?

Alex turned around on the bed. Yeah, Clover and I are going to stick with it no matter what!

Yeah, it is awful that this psycho wants to blow up our home, but itd be worse if we just stood by and let him do it.

Sam sat down next to Alex. Funny, thats exactly what I just thought.

Whered you go, anyway? asked Alex.

I needed some time to think and walk around a bit.

Oh, okay!

What made you decide to do it?
I suddenly realized how selfish I was, thinking about what I want while the whole city is counting on us to see another day. Kinda puts things in perspective, doesnt it?

Clover gently rubbed the side of her face. Not to mention that Stephen guy still has to pay for hitting me like that. No one ever hits me like that! Ill make sure he regrets doing that for the rest of his life! Say, you didnt see Jacob out there, did you?

Sam lied. No. She decided it was better that they not think Jacob influenced her decision.

Then its settled! Declared Alex. Were going to do whatever we can to bring this guy in come hell or highwater!

Alex! exclaimed the others.

What? Its just an expression. They all shared a good laugh.

They felt the matter could wait until morning and turned in for the night. Despite the gravity of the situation facing them, their hearts were peaceful and their minds clear. They slept better than they had for days.

MacDonald signed the last form authorizing the next phase of the operation. He clipped the forms together and handed placed them in the out box and leaned back in his chair. Soon an assistant appeared and took up the forms. He glanced at the cover sheet and his eyes went wide.

Another one of these? Already?

Yes, Im afraid so, Roger. MacDonald was trying to sort out all the possible complications in his mind, and there were a lot of them, every one hinging on just a few major ones. His phone rang and the light next to Sec Def lit up. He answered the phone and said, MacDonald speaking.

So, youre going ahead with the next phase?
Yes.
Have the WOOHP girls made their decision?

Not officially, but Jacobs positive theyre staying on.

You sound worried. Is there a problem?

Possibly. And it involves Jacob.

The Secretary was silent. Please explain.

You know what the parameters of this mission are, right?
Yes, you told me just a few hours ago.
Thats where the problem lies or may lie.

I dont follow, Jeff.

Youve never seen Jacob in battle. Hes an absolute demon. I keep wondering if he can truly distinguish between friend and foe in a fight.

Thats not good, Jeff. We need WOOHPs cooperation on this. I dont think theyll be happy if our man kills their best in a firefight. Is this why he usually works alone?

Yes. He makes little distinction between his enemies and those who get in his way. I fear if the girls slow him down, he will lose any regard for their safety.

Jeff, Im not liking what Im hearing.

The truth isnt always pretty, sir. Jacob is an amazing fighter. We havent seen anyone with his level of talent in over thirty years. The problem is, hes so good at it, hes likely to stop thinking about anything except his enemies and his objectives, and thats what makes him dangerous.

Should we tell the girls about the secondary objectives?

No. Its best that they not try to interfere with Jacobs objectives.

The Secretary sighed. Jeff, I hope you know what youre doing. And I hope those girls are capable of much better than what happened on the train.

I and everyone else on this end of things are certain they are.

Be careful. The Secretary hung up.

MacDonald leaned back and clasped his hands together. It always disturbed him that someone so young was capable of so much. But he pushed that thought to a corner of his mind. He needed Jacob. The United States needed Jacob. Both needed WOOHP and its vast resources. They needed the talents of those three teenagers. MacDonald wondered how he could be so calm with so much riding on his actions. Just a knack for it, he thought. He hadnt been to church in years, but he still said a prayer for their safety, and then left the office.