Black: Day 01 - Chapter 04

Los Angeles, California
Tuesday, June 7th, 2016 - 01:00 AM

Outside ATC Headquarters

Adam parks his car in the parking lot and takes in what happened. He just watched a good friend a mentor get shot in front of him. But the mourning has to wait, Adam must focus on the task at hand. He takes out the key card and takes a look at it. Tech stuff like this has never been his forte, so he is going to have to find someone more proficient than him to do it. However, Richard told him to trust no one in the office.

Before stepping out, he decides to give Susan a call to check in on her.

"Hey, it's me. What's the situation with you? Found Megan yet?"
"Adam! Thank God you called, where have you been?"
"Things are a little hectic at work right now."
"What's going on?"
"I can't talk about it. Is Megan with you?"
"Oh, uhh. No. We're here at the address Julie's father dug up, but they're definitely not here. She's still not answering her phone. Adam, I'm getting a little worried, to be honest with you. I wish you were here with me right now."
"I wish I could. Believe me. But there's some stuff I really need to take care of."

Adam knows that him being in the field is the last thing Susan needs to hear right now, so he decides to keep things vague.

At Susan and Doug's location, Doug notices something.

"Wait a minute."

Susan then tells Adam to hang on for a bit.

"Adam, gimme a sec. Doug, what is it?"

Doug walks to a parked car he recognizes.

"This is Julie's car."

Susan then gets back to Adam.

"Actually, Doug just found Julie's car parked here. So they were definitely in here."
"But they're not there anymore? Can you put this man, Doug, on the phone?"
"Yeah, sure."

Susan hands Doug the phone.

"It's my husband. He wants to speak with you."
"Sure."

"Doug, it's Adam Black. Susan's husband. Look, I'm a little tied up with work right now. I heard you found your daughter's car parked at your location?"
"Yeah, it's right here. Though the girls are nowhere to be found."
"I'm sure the girls will come back for the car. I'd like to ask you to stay with my wife until they come back."
"Well, thing is, I don't know how long that's going to take."
"I understand, but I would hate to have something to happen."
"Yes, I hear you."
"So, can you do this for me?"
"Yeah, I'll wait here with Susan."
"Thank you. Put her back on the phone, please."
"Sure thing."

Doug gives the phone back to Susan.

"So what are we gonna do now?"
"I told Doug to wait there with you. Julie left her car there, so they're definitely going to be coming back for it."
"I hope so."
"Susan, they're fine. I promise you. Look, I gotta get back to work now. Are you gonna be alright with Doug there?"

Susan would really hope for Adam to come through and be there with her, but she does her best to understand.

"Yeah. Sure."
"Okay. I love you. I'll get back to you as soon as I can."
"I love you, too."

Adam hangs up the phone and steps out of the car. As he enters the key code to open the door into ATC, a number of thoughts race each other in his head. What's his game plan? Who can he trust?

He acts naturally as he steps into the office. Upon entering the main hall, he stops to have a look at the staff at work.

Richard's voice telling him not to trust anybody in the office echoes in his head. Anyone here can be a traitor.

Adam goes into his office and before doing anything else, he pours himself a cup of coffee. 01:09 AM, Adam woke up at 6. Whatever amount of energy the caffeine can grant him at this point will come in dire need.

There's a knock on the door.

"Yea, come in."

It's Mona.

"There you are."

There's a tension that can be felt in the room. Part of it Adam not being sure who to trust, but there is definitely more to it than that. Adam avoids direct eye contact and pretends to work on stuff on his computer.

"Yea, what is it, Mona?"
"Well, first Richard goes AWOL, then you rush out of the office at a time like this, so I was wondering if everything's all right. You okay, Adam?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was following up on a lead. It didn't pan out."
"A lead?"
"Like I said, it didn't pan out."
"I would appreciate it if you didn't keep me and the rest of us in the dark about stuff like this. There's an assassination threat on a Presidential candidate, Adam."

Adam simply tries to get rid of her.

"I know. That's why we shouldn't be wasting our time on this. It was a dead lead, that's it."

He then finishes up his coffee, grabs a pack of cigarettes from the drawer, and gets up.

"Now if you will excuse me."

Mona is left dumbfounded by Adam's strange behavior. Mona is used to being trusted by Adam. And she gives Adam the same kind of trust back. She's usually not being left in the dark about anything.

Adam then gets to Kevin's work station.

"Hey, Kev. Step outside for a smoke with me."
"Uhh, sure."

Mona observes this from afar and surmises the two are definitely up to something.

Adam and Kevin engage in some small talk on their way outside, but once they step out of the door, Kevin wants to know what is actually going on.

"Okay, Adam, you wanna tell me what's really happening here?"

Adam lights his cigarette.

"Richard's dead."
"What!"
"He set up a meeting with Ethan at the Axxess Plaza. Ethan had information on the Miller hit. There was an ambush. Richard called me in to get him out of there. He didn't make it."
"Wait, what, why didn't you call for backup"?

Adam shows Kevin the key card.

"This is what Ethan handed Richard. It's a key card. Supposedly, it holds information of who's behind the Miller hit - and who inside the agency is in on it."

All these things are coming in a little too fast for Kevin to take in at once.

"What the hell, Adam?"
"Richard believed someone inside the agency is dirty. And whatever is on this key card can prove it."
"Do you believe it?"
"Richard gave his life, making sure what's on this thing gets out. So yes, I do."
"What do you want me to do?"

Adam hands the card to Kevin.

"I need to go through all the data, every fragment of information on that key card. And report back to me."
"I'm sure the tech guys could do a faster job than me."
"No. Before we know on the inside is dirty, we can't trust anybody."
"But you trust me?"
"Kev, you're my best friend. And right now, the only one I can trust. Think you can handle it?"

Kevin takes a look at the card on his hand.

"I think so. It's gonna take me a while, though."
"Well, then get on it."

---

Outside of the City

Megan and Julie grow even more worried when Johnny seems to be driving the van further and further from the city, making them question if it really is the right way to go.

Julie is the first to ask about this.

"Okay, Johnny, I know you hate being questioned about this, but are you really sure you know where you're going? We're getting away from the city."

Johnny grows more and agitated every passing moment.

"How many times do I have to tell you to relax? We'll be there in no time."
"Where is this party, anyway? Can you at least tell us that? I mean-"

Julie's cut off mid-sentence as she starts to feel tired and nauseous. Megan then intervenes from the back.

"Julie, you alright?"

She doesn't respond and looks like she has to vomit. Megan immediately opens the window for her.

"Stop the van!"

Johnny refuses.

"For fuck's sake, Johnny, I said stop the van! She's not alright, can't you see that?"

Mark then tries to calm her down and places his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, chill."

Megan pushes the hand right off and snaps at him.

"No, I'm not gonna chill! Julie's not okay!"

Johnny insists on keeping driving.

"For the love of God, she's consumed alcoholic beverages. This is what happens when you consume alcoholic beverages. Now fuck off."

Megan then tries to appeal to Mark, but to no avail.

"Mark, could you fucking tell him something?"
"It's alright. We'll be there in a minute."
"My dad is a federal agent. If you two do something, anything, he doesn't like, he can literally have you killed. And knowing my dad, he will probabaly do it himself."

Johnny doesn't feel scared.

"Oh, spooky."

Megan then pulls out her phone.

"Fine."

But Mark grabs her by the hand.

"What are you doing?"

Johnny also sees what's going on in the rearview mirror.

"Mark, take care of your bitch!"
"I'm calling my dad right now."

But Mark takes her phone away from her.

"Sorry, but I can't let you do that."
"Mark, what the hell is going on? We're not going to a part, are we?"
"It's all gonna be all right. Trust me."
"No. I don't trust you. Either of you. I want to know what's going on. And I want to call my dad. Give me my phone."

Johnny grows really tired of Megan's voice.

"Just shut her the fuck up, she's giving me a headache, Mark."

Mark isn't quite as eager as Johnny to do anything drastic. He still attempts to reason with Megan.

"I'm telling you, it's gonna be fine. Just wait. Nothing bad's gonna happen. I promise you."

---

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel

Because neither one can sleep, Senator Bruce Miller and her daughter Maria are putting the finishing touches on Bruce's upcoming speech in their hotel suite.

Bruce is giving a rehearsal with Maria as the test audience.

"...because America Deserves Better. So how was that?"

Maria looks at her father with great pride and smiles.

"That was wonderful, dad. Very presidential. You're gonna knock it out of the park."

Bruce checks his watch.

"In a few hours, in fact. It's already almost 1:30. You should get some rest, sweetie."
"Hah, but what about you? You should catch some sleep yourself."
"I think I'm gonna stay up. I can't afford to be groggy in the morning. Staying up keeps me on my toes."
"A true Patriot, you are, huh?"

There's a knock on the door, and the head of Miller's security staff, Andrew Cole, enters the room.

"May I speak alone with the Senator?"
"Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of my daughter."
"Sir, I regret to inform you that we have received on good confidence that sometime today, there will be an attempt on your life. Due to that, we are raising security measures for the next 24 hours."

Bruce stays as calm as he can, but Maria stands up in shock.

"What? Where does this come from?"
"The Los Angeles Anti Terrorist Coalition, ma'am."

Bruce tries to calm her down.

"I'm sure the best people are already working on this. Unfortunately, this is an aspect of being a public figure. Especially a political one."
"I don't... An attempt on your life? I can't even-"

Bruce embraces his daughter with a strong hug.

"It's gonna be alright. I promise you. Nothing is going to happen to me today."

The information coming from ATC then makes Bruce think of something.

---

ATC Headquarters

The phone rings in Adam's office.

"ATC Los Angeles, Adam Black."
"Adam. This is Senator Bruce Miller."

Adam stops in his tracks. Adam and Bruce have never had much interaction with each other, but Adam knows Bruce was one of the few trusted friends of his father. Adam knows they went to hell and back together.

From afar, Adam has always held Bruce in the highest regard.

"Senator Miller."
"Please. Call me Bruce."
"Yes, sir."
"I've just been informed of an apparent threat on my life. Some time day. The information is coming from your office."
"That's what we're working on right now, sir, yes."
"What do you know about this?"
"We don't have a lot to work with currently. But there is a lead we're following up on. It's going to take some time."
"I would ask you to keep me personally informed."
"Yes, sir, I will."

The call ends. And Adam sits on his chair, having been reminded of how personal he feels this situation is. It's his job to make sure nothing happens to Bruce Miller, but he also feels that it is his personal duty.

He then goes back to check on Kevin.

"You got anything yet?"
"Not much. I managed to dig up something, though."

He shows Adam what he found.

"Looks like an address. How long do you think until you've gotten everything out of that card?"
"A while. This stuff is pretty heavily encrypted, and while I can do this sort of stuff, I'm not the best at it."
"So hours, not minutes?"
"Definitely."
"Well, Miller's speech is early in the morning, we need to know more until then. I'll go check the address myself."

Adam takes his phone and writes down the address.

"Call me if anything comes up."
"Yeah, you got it."

Adam heads out again. The exchange between him and Kevin was once again observed by Mona who grows increasingly suspicious about the two of them.

She makes her way to Kevin's workstation.

"Okay, are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on here?"
"What?"
"Don't give me that, Kev. I'm your friend. And I'm Adam's friend. I'd like to know why I'm being kept in the dark. The two of you are clearly working on something."
"I'm sorry, Mona. I just don't have anything to say. Adam's following up on something, he didn't say."
"He didn't say anything as the two of you chatted for two minutes?"
"No. He said he'd go follow up on something."

Kevin gets back to working as Mona storms back into her office, feeling annoyed by being kept out of the loop.

---

Outside of the City

Johnny finally stops the van and pulls over near a gas station, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

He gets out and opens up the side door, shouting at Megan.

"Okay, you still wanna make that phone call? You're gonna make a phone call now. It's time you called mommy."
"I want to call my dad."
"I said you're gonna call mommy!"

Johnny then pulls her out of the van, causing her to fall down on the ground, bruising herself.

"Mark give her the phone. Okay, now, you're gonna call your mom. And you're gonna tell her you're at a party, you're fine, she doesn't need to look for you, and you'll be home in a couple of hours. You got that?"
"Go fuck yourself."

Johnny grabs a metal pipe from the van and goes to hit Megan with it, but Mark intervenes.

"No! We were told not to harm her, remember?"
"Fine."

Johnny then grabs the arm of the now unconscious Julie and places it outside of the passenger's door. And slams it with the pipe with all his power.

Julie wakes up and screams in pain. Johnny then tells Megan again.

"Call your mom! Or I'll hurt her more!"

Mark turns on the car stereo to make it seem like Megan's call is coming from a party.

Terrified, Megan dials her mom's number and tries her best to follow the instructions.

"Hey, uhh, m-mom?"

Susan is overjoyed to receive the phone call.

"Megan! Thank God! Are you alright? I've been worried sick!"
"Everything is- everything is okay, mom. I'm at a party. I'm gonna be home in a couple of hours."
"Where is this party?"
"I- I don't know, I don't know how we got here. But I'm gonna be home soon, okay, I promise you. Mom, I love you!"
"I love you, too, Meg-"

The call disconnects as Johnny takes the phone away from her.

"Good job. Now get back inside."

Megan does as she's told. And Johnny then makes another phone call.

"Okay, we're here."

The person on the other end is Noah.

"Were there any problems?"
"No, no problems at all."
"Good work."