Ten minutes later, President Palmer accepted Owen's request for a video conference. He was in the middle of a high-level meeting but paused it after his secretary's notification. He moved to a smaller conference room to speak with Owen. Also present were Jack Bauer and, via remote video, General Aetis.
"Owen, what's your take?" the President asked directly.
"Mr. President, I suggest Omega handle this. The military deployed the reconnaissance mission at Omega's request. Now that something's gone wrong, they're in a difficult position to act directly. Omega can infiltrate under covert status, rescue the pilots, and retrieve the photographic evidence."
The President fell into a long silence, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the tabletop. Owen respected this President—he valued life, justice, and fairness—but at the end of the day, he was a politician. And politicians didn't think the same way as everyone else. Owen couldn't guess what he would ultimately decide.
"Jack, what about you?"
Instead of replying directly, President Palmer turned to Jack for his opinion.
"I agree with Owen," Jack said. "The pilots are likely still alive. If they're captured by Serb forces, they might reveal sensitive intel. And if Serb forces get their hands on them, they'll have leverage. They could break the ceasefire whenever they want without bearing any responsibility."
Owen shot Jack a grateful look. If Omega ignored this, they'd definitely offend the military. He didn't have strong ties with the Army, but his relations with the Navy were solid. Regardless of intel or lives, Omega was bound to work with the SEALs again. He couldn't afford to sour that relationship.
"Aetis, is that the situation?"
"Yes, Mr. President. The pilots have access to numerous Navy codes. If captured, the consequences would be catastrophic. The ideal outcome is for a ground team to extract them. But we're also prepared for the worst."
"And what's that?" the President asked.
Everyone looked to Aetis, who said apologetically, "If the pilots are confirmed lost, our submarine will launch a missile strike…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood. The implication was clear: eliminate all trace. Kill the pilots to keep them from talking.
President Palmer remained silent. His finger tapping on the table echoed through the room.
Finally…
"All right, Owen. I approve Omega's operation. You're to infiltrate, rescue the pilots, and recover the photos. But I must emphasize two conditions."
He held up one finger. "First, if the situation becomes unrecoverable, you must ensure the pilots do not compromise our secrets."
Owen nodded. He understood perfectly: "ensuring" meant silencing them if necessary.
Seeing Owen agree, Palmer raised a second finger. "Second, you will receive no official support. The government will not acknowledge this mission. If you're captured, you're on your own—you know how this works."
Owen nodded again. This was standard for agents operating abroad.
The meeting concluded. The President and Jack returned to their previous session. Before leaving, Jack turned to Owen. "I'll have the Intelligence Office forward all data from the target area—weather, troop movements, and any activity from the past 48 hours. Be careful."
Owen acknowledged with a nod. After they logged off, General Aetis reaffirmed that he'd support them however he could.
…
At night, a military aircraft cruised through cloud cover, heading toward the crash site. Omega's main team sat in the cargo bay, masked up, most with their eyes closed, meditating or resting. Only Ferred kept his eyes open, trying to start a conversation—but no one responded.
The crash site logged by the Carl Vinson was inland—far enough from the coast to make a sea infiltration impractical. This time, Omega would parachute in using a HAHO (High Altitude, High Opening) maneuver.
In military operations, HAHO jumps are standard for special forces conducting deep infiltration and reconnaissance. To evade radar and surface-to-air threats, Omega would jump at 15,000 feet and free-fall until just 100–150 meters above ground before opening their chutes.
At this altitude, everyone wore oxygen masks to purge nitrogen from their blood. Otherwise, hypoxia could cause unconsciousness as soon as they exited the aircraft.
As the plane flew, intelligence continued to flow in from the operations center and the Carl Vinson. The updates were grim. One pilot was dead. He'd suffered a fatal landing injury—his neck twisted at an unnatural angle when the navigator found him. The navigator had tried to radio the Vinson, but his signal was cut off, likely jammed. His last words were: "The war criminal's men are hunting me."
"Sixty seconds to drop zone."
The pilot's voice came through the comms. Omega's team opened their eyes, did a final check of gear, and lined up inside the aircraft.
"Final reminder—deploy at 150 meters. Rendezvous at the weapons crate after landing."
Owen gave one last warning at the cargo door, especially to Bayev and Ferred, who were both trained but hadn't jumped with the team before.
Everyone nodded. The red light blinked on—drop zone reached.
"It's snowing out there. Good luck…"
The pilot's voice came through their earpieces one last time. Owen pulled the door release. Snowflakes and howling wind immediately swept into the cabin.
Owen gave a thumbs-up. Ghost pushed out the weapons crate first—it plummeted into the darkness. Then Ghost followed. Next came Swagg, Ferred, Heartbeat, Bayev. Owen jumped last—as was standard for team leaders.
Because they were conducting a covert infiltration, they carried a full combat load. Their weapons were dropped separately in a crate to reduce risk. Once on the ground, they'd locate it using GPS.
Fierce wind howled around them. Temperatures plummeted. Dawn barely peeked over the horizon as Owen hurtled down. His oxygen mask fed a steady supply of air. Snowflakes swirled past the visor. He adjusted his position, using his limbs to regulate fall speed with air resistance.
Though daylight neared, the ground below remained shrouded in black. Their eyes were useless—only altimeters could guide them now.
______
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