Black: Day 01 - Chapter 03

Los Angeles, California
Tuesday, June 7th, 2016 - 12:30 AM

Axxess Plaza

Adam enters the empty hallways of the Axxess Plaza. He moves as quietly as he can, his gun extended out, surveying his surroundings. There seems to be no sign of movement, no signs of life.

He and Richard agreed to meet on the roof, so Adam looks for a way up.

Stopping for a moment, attempting to give his eyes some time to get used to the darkness.

But there's no time to waste, so he keeps moving, finding a staircase. If he had any time to think, he'd think of the fact that he's in the field, putting himself at risk, doing everything he promised Susan he'd never do again. But alas, those thoughts go their way out of his mind as soon as they entered.

It's been a while since Adam has been on the field - yet it comes naturally for him. There's that part of him he never admits to being there that does enjoy the thrill of it all. Working behind a desk, despite his best efforts, has never given him the fulfillment he sought for as he assigned to work as a field agent.

Adam has never been particularly proud of that part of him. And, as stated, doesn't fully admit it, even.

At the same time, he hates it. He hates it because it once nearly destroyed what he holds most dear. That being his family.

It's this conflict that Adam has wrestled with his entire adult life. The same conflict his father talked about while he was still alive.

Halfway up the stairs, still no signs of intrusion. No signs of anything, really. Just a big corporate building, given a rest for the night.

---

ATC Headquarters

Kevin is sitting at his desk, going through data on his computer, as he's approached by Mona Young, one of the longest-serving employees and agents of ATC, still trying to get used to her current position as ATC's chief of staff. But more than that, she's a long-time trusted friend of both Adam and Kevin.

Adam and Kevin aren't the most trusting people on Earth. But Mona, through the years, has earned the trust of both.

And she holds it dear.

"Hey, Kev?"

Kevin was in deep focus mode going through whatever he was going through, but snaps out of it.

"Yea?"
"I saw Adam leave in a hurry just now. What was that all about? You'd think we should all be working on the Miller case."
"Yea, uhh. Adam stuff, I guess."

Mona immediately catches on.

"Did he tell you to trust him?"
"Yea. That's what he said."

Mona, then, notices something.

"I actually haven't seen Richard around for a while, either. Curious that they'd both be gone."
"Yea, I think I saw Richard leave shortly before Adam rushed out of here."
"Well, that's curious."

Kevin thinks whether or not he should tell her about Adam contacting him about the passcode to the Axxess Plaza. But, having known Adam for as long as he has, Kevin decides to simply trust his instincts.

"A little bit, yea. But I guess we should just keep working on stuff and wait for them pop up."
"Yeah. I guess. Let me know."
"Sure."

---

Unknown Location

Mia has isolated herself from the others, outside of the building Noah has chosen as his base of operations.

A cigarette in one hand, she's talking to someone on the phone. Evidently quite secretly.

"I promise you. There's not gonna be a problem. I'm just getting myself a small bonus. And it'll all be okay by the morning. Yes, I know that. Well, have I ever let you down? Exactly. Just relax, trust me, and let it happen."

She then sees someone approaching her location.

"I'll talk to you soon, I gotta go."

She hangs up the phone just as Noah arrives.

"Who were you talking to?"
"Personal. Don't worry, it was on my dime."

Noah, seemingly agitated already, is not amused by Mia's humour.

"You may think you're calling the shots around here because you the location of the ID, but we're-"

Mia interrupts him immediately.

"You're, in fact, totally screwed unless I get my money because no ID, no nothing, Noah."

Noah has no counter-argument. So Mia continues.

"So, where's my money?"
"You'll have it."

Mia then lights another cigarette.

"Good. As soon as the money's safely secured into my account, I'll tell you where the ID is."
"I gotta hand it to you, Mia. You sure know how to play this game."*
"A girl's gotta look after herself, you know."

Noah turns Mia's head and looks at her straight into her eyes.

"But I'm warning you. If you cross me - Senator Miller is not the only person that's going to end up dead today."

---

Axxess Plaza

Adam opens the door to the roof of the Plaza.

He takes his steps carefully, looking for any movement. The only light on the roof comes from the city lights of Los Angeles, which never fully sleeps.

The corner of Adam's eye catches on to a shadow from behind a corner. He extends his weapon and slowly approaches.

A man steps out from behind the cornet with his weapon aimed at Adam.

It's Richard.

"Adam!"
"Richard!"

Both men lower their weapons.

"Richard, you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Did you see anybody?"
"No, the building seemed empty. You said there were multiple shooters?"
"Yeah. I set this up all wrong. They must have followed me here. This is all my fault."
"Hey, no time for that now. Do you have evidence on who's behind the Miller hit?"
"I think so."

Richard reaches to his pocket for the key card.

"This key card supposedly holds information on who inside the agency is dirty. Ethan gave his life handing it to me."

Adam is as confused as Richard was when Ethan first handed him the card.

"An access card?"
"Yes. According to Ethan, these key cards can be used to smuggle information in and out of restricted buildings."
"Makes sense. Do you trust Ethan?"
"Yes, I do."

Adam surveys the area. Then looks at where came in from.

"Is that the only way out of here?"
"That's the way."
"Well, we've gotta get you out of here."
"Let's do it."

But before they make it to the door, Richard stops.

"Adam?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry I dragged you into this."
"Richard. Never say that to me. You of all people. I owe you my life. And don't you forget that. Now come on."

---

Somewhere in Los Angeles

The party group of Megan, Julie, and their friends Mark and Johnny are driving around town in the van, making their way to the festivities.

The chatter gets interrupted when Julie, on the passenger's seat, points out that Johnny seemed to take a wrong turn.

"Uhh, are you sure this is the right way? I feel like you should have taken that right."

Johnny's mood has turned darker, and he is noticeably annoyed by being given driving instructions by Julie.

"Relax."
"I mean, sure, but you said that the party-"
"I said relax!"

Johnny raising his voice gets the attention of Megan and Mark at the back of the van.

Megan then whispers to Mark about why his friend is acting that way.

"Is he alright?"
"Yea, don't worry about it. It's all gonna be alright. Just don't worry about it."

Megan is not completely convinced, but decides to trust her boyfriend on this. She stays cautious, however.

Mark seems like he knows more than he's letting on. A slight nervousness about him might give it away if the two girls weren't slightly intoxicated already. So it goes unnoticed.

---

Susan and Doug arrive at the address Doug discovered, in hopes of finding Megan and Julie, but seemed to have arrived at a dead end.

Susan is getting desperate as they step out of the car.

"Doesn't seem like there's anyone here. I'm getting worried? Am I wrong in being worried? Are we just being silly?"

Doug tries to show her understanding.

"No, of course not. She's your daughter, of course, you're worried. I mean, I'm sure they're just out partying. But I, too, would like to know where my daughter is. And your daughter, as well."

Susan pulls out her cell phone.

"I guess I'll try giving her another call, you never know."

---

Megan is fiddling with her phone as she notices the call from her mom incoming.

Mark's eye also catches a glimpse of the screen of Megan's phone.

Being slightly worried over Johnny's recent behaviour, Megan contemplates answering the phone.

Mark gently grabs her by the wrist.

"Let's just have fun, alright? You can talk to your mom in the morning. Don't mind Johnny. Let's just focus on the two of us, okay?"

Megan decides to trust Mark and puts her phone away.

---

Axxess Plaza

Adam leads the way, as he and Richard are trying to navigate through the Plaza.

Suddenly, Adam stops as he hears something. He puts his hand, telling Richard to stay still.

"Adam, what is it?"
"I hear something. Stay where you are."

Instinctively, Adam is the one going to check if the path is clear.

He peeks around a corner, and his eyes make contact with three armed men, approaching their position.

Slowly, he makes his way back and tells Richard to move back around another corner.

"Three men. Armed. Approaching our position. Stay here."
"No. We'll take care of them. Not you. We."

Adam doesn't want Richard to risk himself, but knows he can't talk him out of it. So he agrees.

"Fine. Cover for me."

Adam moves to a better position as Richard gets ready to give cover.

The men move in. Get closer. And Adam opens fire. The element of surprise gives Adam and Richard the edge, as they clear out the three men.

But gunshots echoed around the building, and Adam hears voices coming from elsewhere. There are more.

"Okay, Richard we gotta move. We have more hostiles."

Adam leads the way as, in a split second, he remembers everything about being a field agent and clears out the hostiles as they appear. But more seem to be on their way.

Richard does his best to help, but it's clear that Adam is the one in the driver's seat.

His skill and talent are almost scary, and Richard is glad Adam is one of the good guys.

The situation quiets down. Adam signals to Richard that it seems safe to proceed.

"Okay, let's head out. We'll go through the parking garage, move!"

Going back to where he came in from, Adam enters the code on the keypad that opens the garage door.

One more group of shooters awaits, outside the building. The door opens and Adam is a sitting duck. Richard then pulls out his gun just in time.

"Adam, get down!"

Richard opens fire at the men, but not before one of their bullets pierces through his chest and he falls down on the ground.

Adam managed to take cover behind his car just in time to watch Richard's body crashing down from the gunshot.

"Richard!"

Still just barely conscious, Richard urges Adam to get back to ATC. He takes out the key card from his pocket and throws it to Adam.

"Get the card back to ATC! Find out who's behind this. You're the only one who can do it."

If Adam were to expose himself by getting back to Richard, he would be an easy target for the shooters. But he insists on doing it anyway.

"I am not leaving you!"
"Don't be a fool. Make sure - that card gets to ATC. And don't trust anybody!"

Adam can only watch as life escapes the body of the man he considered a father for years. Someone he trusted. A friend.

"Son of a bitch."

He is no position to take out the shooters from where he is. So he opens the door of his car and speeds away. Barely avoiding fire.