Black Dawn

Chapter 2

The two men sitting side by side in the helicopter are battle worn warriors. Both know what is going on. Both know the stakes, and understand the situation. Bruce knows that Adam is cooperating on his own free will. Adam knows Bruce has no other choice. Despite that, the atmosphere is awkward, to say the least.

Five years ago, Bruce helped Adam escape the fate of a war criminal by faking his death. He had gained Adam's trust as his commander during their time as black ops operatives. Adam was never good at taking orders, and Bruce Miller was the one man who knew enough to trust Adam's judgement in various situations. Even though Bruce has always been a by the book type of soldier, he had immense respect for Adam's tendency to follow his conscious and make judgement calls - it usually was the right thing to do in the end. In a way, Bruce might have admired this trait because he himself was often too afraid to challenge the government, and those above him. He did trust the system, but he also appreciated job security.

Adam never did.

On the surface, Adam was always extremely rough around the edges, but his heart was always in the right place. This is what mattered to Bruce, and this is what made Bruce give his blessings to Adam dating his daughter. The very daughter that has drawn them together one final time.

As he views the world below him through the window of the helicopter, Adam can't help but think about Maria. The mistakes made, as well as the good times. There was never another woman for Adam. This was clear to him the first time they met. Maria always had this unique way to make Adam forget what he did for a living; that he was basically a killer for hire. Yes, he hopes, every day, that he only killed people who deserved it, and only to save the lives of many, but the more time he spent serving the government, the more he saw it for what it was: a deeply corrupted cesspool. At least that's how he started to feel. The more disillusioned he grew, the more he questioned. And the more he questioned, the more he became a threat - to the point of eventually becoming an enemy.

Adam interrupts his own reminiscing with an attempt at small talk.

"Does she know?"

Ironically, Bruce is the more uncomfortable of the two, even though Adam is the one being sent to slaughter. Bruce is relieved that the silence is finally broken.

"That you're alive? No. I never told her. She looked for you for two years. She didn't give up on you for two years. It broke my heart to see her like that. But I never told a soul."

Bruce gets noticeably choked up thinking about her daughter, and what she must be going through. Adam notices this, and shares the same feelings, even though he's keeping a calmer demeanor.

"Bruce. I'll get her out of there."

"I know you will."

"She deserves more than to die because of me. I've put her through enough already."

"You did what you had to protect her. You know that as well as I do."

"So, what do we know about these terrorists exactly?"

As soon as Adam starts to ask questions, he's interrupted by the sound of Bruce's phone. There is no caller ID, and both men know what the call is about. Their heart rates go up as they realize they're about to hear from the people behind this. Bruce has already had these calls, but Adam is eager to hear the voice of the person doing this. Bruce quickly picks up the call and puts it on speaker.

"Your time is almost up. I hope you have what I need."

The voice is distorted, and there's no hope of making it out who the male person is, though both men do find the speech pattern somewhat familiar.

"Yes. Adam Black is here with me. We are on our way to the drop off point to make the exchange, as discussed."

"I'm glad. I just wanted to make sure you realize that if we even suspect that we're being followed, you no longer have a daughter, Miller."

Adam showed restraint to this point, but the mention of Maria is too much for him to take.

"And I hope you realize that if you harm her, you no longer have a head attached to your torso."

"Adam Black. You sure haven't changed one bit. At least I now know I'm getting the right man."

"What do you want from me? Revenge? What's this about?" Adam knows he's not getting an answer, but simply wants to continue the dialogue with the man who has orchestrated this whole thing seemingly for the sole purpose of wanting him dead.

"You'll know soon enough. Miller, do your part, and your daughter will be fine. And don't try to trace this, because I'll know."

The call ends.

Adam knows he knows the caller. The voice was distorted, but the way he spoke was familiar. There's very little they can do right now. One wrong move could mean Maria's death, and even though the entire thing is a clearly a trap, risking Maria's life is something neither can afford to do. The feeling of guilt for having Maria dragged into this starts to overtake Adam. This is exactly the type of thing Adam wanted to protect Maria from. Adam's made a ton of enemies, and knows full well he has a target on his back. It's the curse of a hero: the bad guys always target the ones you love. Adam himself despises the word hero.

Bruce decides to fill Adam in on what he knows.

"They call themselves the Founding Fathers. There's very little we know of them, there's no mention of them in any previous case files. But they know how we operate. They've managed to orchestrate this thing because they seem to know the system inside and out. This leads me to believe that they are former insiders, or at least the leader is."

"The Founding Fathers?"

"The Post War era has seen a rise of constitionalist groups, but most of them have been minor. They tend to fly off the radar."

The mention of "Post War" sparks a sarcastic reaction in Adam. He hates this type of elitist government newspeak, and knows it holds no value.

"The Post War. Protected by soldiers, with weapons. I guess no one talks about the proxy wars breaking out every day, the child soldiers still being utilized. It's not reported because 'war' is a banned word now, right? You used to stand for something, you know."

Bruce realizes the slight jab thrown at his way.

"It's not perfect. But the number of major conflicts, and threats of which, has been zero since 2017. Not to mention.."

Adam is quick to interrupt.

"This is about Maria. I'm not here to argue politics with you. And I'm not here to help you out, either. You, or the government. It's hard to tell who the terrorists are these days, anyway."

Bruce knows better than to challenge Adam on his beliefs, so he opts to leave it at that. As another silence between the two men takes place, the helicopter continues its flight to the agreed spot, which is located in DC.

Time passes, and no more words between the two men are exchanged, until the helicopter lands on a rainy and stormy DC. Adam is taken to the side of town, which reminds Adam of his previous surroundings, since there's very little there. It's time. Bruce follows his instructions, and leaves Adam handcuffed to await his fate. They haven't been close for the past five years, but time does slow for just a moment, as he realizes he will most likely be seeing his old friend for the last time.

"No matter how you may feel about me, or who I work for, or this country, and whatever the official record books say about you, I know the truth about you, and I want you to know that what you've done, and what you're doing right now is not in vain. You're a good man, Adam."

Adam's never been one for soft words, but he admittedly has a place for Bruce in his heart, and does owe him his life for an incident, or two.

"You too, Bruce."

Bruce releases one of Adam's hands from the handcuff, the two have a firm handshake, and Bruce then proceeds to handcuff Adam's hands behind his back. This was also instructed.

Adam says one last thing to his friend.

"Maria's gonna be alright. I promise."

Bruce appreciates the gesture, and finally turns his back to leave. As soon as this happens, a black van approaches, and Adam knows that it's showtime. Out of the van, four men wearing all black and ski masks, armed with high tech rifles, come out. Adam instantly notices that they are professionals; their stances, the way they hold their weapons, the way they communicate. All professionals. These men know that they're doing. Adam is kind of hoping to deal with a bunch of rookies, but realizes that there's no such luck at play. One of the men opens up the back door of the van, releasing some of the hostages, as they promised. So, so far they're sticking to their end of the bargain. The hostages are taken in by Bruce's men, as the terrorists wait for Bruce and his mean to leave, and not follow them.

After they are alone, the terrorists slowly approach Adam. Adam can hear them say things like "That's him" and "Be careful, he's really good".

One of the men grabs Adam's attention, however. He has a slightly different way of moving, a slightly different way of pointing his gun. Adam always notices things like this. They're all good, but this guy seems really good. He also seems familiar. The man also looks at Adam a bit differently from the others. There's something about him, but Adam can't quite put his finger on it.

And he doesn't have the time to, either, since as soon as the terrorists get close enough, he is blindfolded, and knocked out by a rifle to the back of the head.

The terrorists make sure they're not being followed, and drag Adam to the back of the van, and drive off.