[VM][24][TWW] FIC: 24 Hours in L.A., R (1/?)
Fic written for fox1013's crossover challenge. She chose Keith Mars(VM), Jack Bauer (24), and President Bartlett(TWW).
Title: 24 Hours in L.A. (1/?)
Fandoms: Veronica Mars, 24, The West Wing
Rating: R
Spoilers: None for Veronica Mars, Season 4 for 24, None for The West Wing. It is not necessary to know the fandom in order to follow this story.
The following takes place between 8:00pm and 9:00pm.
Camelot Hotel
Neptune, CA
8:00:00
It was a routine case. A woman had come into his office earlier that day, concerned that her husband was having an affair. Willingly she paid the hundred dollar down payment and went on her way. Keith got women like her at his office everyday. Sometimes it reminded him that the sad state of his marriage wasn't an exceptional case. It made looking at the divorce papers a lot easier. Lianne wasn't the only spouse to engage in extramarital affairs, lascivious acts of betrayal. His camera had caught them all. He could knock out three of these cases a night. It was routine.
A movement near the hotel balcony caught his attention. He readied the camera for the money shot. The husband had checked into a second-story room a half an hour ago. This should be the other woman. He zoomed in on the subject, bathed in shadows. In only a few seconds the subject would be close to the night light outside of the room, revealing her identity. Keith had situated the car at an angle optimal to catching both the cheating spouse and the lover when the door was opened. The subject moved into the light.
08:15:23
It was a man. Keith clicked several pictures of just him. This was an unexpected development since the woman had not indicated that her husband had other sexual proclivities. But all the same, whether it was with another woman or another man, Keith had made another easy hundred bucks.
The door opened and he was quickly ushered in. Keith was unable to get a clear shot of the husband, but that wasn't always necessary in these kinds of cases. He debated whether to stay for an exit shot or not. This was his final case for the evening, so he didn't mind sticking around for another hour or so. Trysts rarely lasted longer than that. He put his camera down on the passenger seat and tuned the radio until he found a station that was playing a Blue Oyster Cult song.
08:20:12
A car pulled into the parking lot and two men exited the vehicle. Keith paid no mind and muttered along with the next song on the radio. Was this Bread? He could never remember who sang this song. He always mixed them up with America.... Hold on... The two men had made their way to the second-story. Keith readied his camera, his stomach knotting with a very. bad. feeling. As expected, the men stopped in front of the cheating husband's room. Keith snapped several dozen pictures as the men were also ushered into the room.
Something here was not right. Sure, they could be having one hell of an orgy in there or something else more dark and subversive was occurring. The raised hairs on Keith's arms pointed towards the latter.
08:24:32
Click. License plate. Click. Make and model of the car. Neither would be exceptionally useful, but it might just generate a lead. Better safe than sorry. Gun unholstered, he made his way up the stairs. Creeping in the shadows, gun drawn, he made his way down the balcony until he was situated next to the room in question. He lowered himself to his hands and knees and crept to a location beneath the window where the thick drawn curtains blocked any incriminating activity. Luckily, Keith did not need a visual to ascertain what was occurring in the room. On the glass he placed a node and put in his ear the receiver. The device was barely bigger than a matchbox. He used the dial on the side to adjust the frequency. He braced himself for groans and moans, but instead he heard talking. Not a lot of talking takes place at orgies. This much, Keith knew. He turned the volume up.
08:28:55
"... told me that you fucking had it taken care of!"
"I do."
"Then what's the problem?"
"There's no problem."
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. By this time tomorrow, the United States government will be crippled. God, it gets me hard just thinking about it."
"We better go before your old lady gets suspicious."
Taking the cue, Keith darted down the stairs and back to his car. Within a minute, the men followed. He picked up his cell phone and dialed directory assistance.
"CTU Los Angeles, please. Thank you."
08:32:32
Counter Terrorism Unit
Lost Angeles, CA
"O'Brian, CTU."
"Miss O'Brian, this is Keith Mars, a P.I. in Neptune, California. This evening I was casing a cheating spouse, but instead ended up listening in on, what I believe to be, a terrorist plan. The only part of the conversation that I caught was that the US government would be crippled by this time tomorrow."
"Mr. Mars, the suspects. Where are they now?"
"I am following two of the four men that met tonight. One of the men is named Jonathan McGillis. I do not have identification for the other three, but I have the makes, models, and license plates of their current transportation."
There was a pause.
"Could you relay that information, sir?" Impatience dripped from her voice.
"Grey Chevy Corsica, California plates 2MX459N. Green Ford Mustang, Nevada plates 623NYR. And a blue Toyota Camry, California plates Y913GN2."
"Mr. Mars, stay in pursuit of the suspects. I will input your information into our databases and transfer you to the CTU Director Michelle Dessler. Hold please."
Chloe O'Brian put the caller on hold. She looked around the floor of CTU in search of Michelle. The work stations bustled with activity, even at this late hour of the night. Terrorists didn't stop planning just because the average work day ends at five. She walked over to Edgar's station.
"Edgar, where's Michelle?"
"I don't know, Chloe," he answered dumbly. She rolled her eyes and let out a huff of air. Useless. She stalked over to Tony's station. He was on a call, so she stood in his eye line, waiting for him to finish. He lowered the phone, putting his hand over the mouthpiece.
"Is there something you wanted, Chloe? I'm on the phone."
"Do you know where Michelle is?"
"In her office, I guess. I don't know," he answered quickly and returned his attention to the phone.
"Since you're her husband and everything, I assumed that you would care where she is. But I guess I was wrong. Hopefully you're not heading for another divorce or anything. I mean, the first one was bad enough, I don't think you'd get through another one..." Chloe stopped her verbal stream-of-consciousness as Tony sharply glared at her.
"Fine. Whatever. I was just concerned." Chloe tramped away.
08:45:34
Neptune, CA
The car turned onto the highway, clearly headed north. Los Angeles was Keith's bet. They would hit city limits within the hour. He was still on hold at CTU. And he though that tonight was going to be routine.
"Dessler, CTU. Is this Keith Mars?"
"Yes, this is Keith."
"Are you still in pursuit of the suspects?"
"Yes I am. I am tracking the Camry as we speak. They just got on the 5. I strongly believe that they are heading your way. We should be within city limits in under an hour."
"Listen, we pulled nothing about the vehicles that you gave us."
"That's not unexpected," Keith interrupted.
"However, we did find a money trail from Mr. McGillis leading to several shady persons. We're investigating it now. Keep in touch with us. We're going to pull you up on satellite and prepare several tactical teams."
"Will do, Ms. Dessler."
After hanging up, he eyed the clock. One of the down sides to being on his own payroll rather than the government's was that he didn't earn overtime. He changed the radio station to something not commercials. Proud Mary. How appropriate.
08:57:00
Los Angeles, CA
Michelle tried to ease the sudden migraine located between her eyes by applying pressure with her hands. It was not working. She had a feeling that this was going to turn out very, very badly. She took a bottle of ibuprofen from her bag and dry swallowed three pills, hoping they would ease her headache as well as her nerves.
She used the video intercom to contact Chloe.
"Yes, Ms. Dessler?"
"Chloe, I want you to get Jack in here."
08:59:58
08:59:59
09:00:00
TBC
Any suggestions for terrorism plots for crippling the US government are welcomed. :)
Title: 24 Hours in L.A. (1/?)
Fandoms: Veronica Mars, 24, The West Wing
Rating: R
Spoilers: None for Veronica Mars, Season 4 for 24, None for The West Wing. It is not necessary to know the fandom in order to follow this story.
The following takes place between 8:00pm and 9:00pm.
Camelot Hotel
Neptune, CA
8:00:00
It was a routine case. A woman had come into his office earlier that day, concerned that her husband was having an affair. Willingly she paid the hundred dollar down payment and went on her way. Keith got women like her at his office everyday. Sometimes it reminded him that the sad state of his marriage wasn't an exceptional case. It made looking at the divorce papers a lot easier. Lianne wasn't the only spouse to engage in extramarital affairs, lascivious acts of betrayal. His camera had caught them all. He could knock out three of these cases a night. It was routine.
A movement near the hotel balcony caught his attention. He readied the camera for the money shot. The husband had checked into a second-story room a half an hour ago. This should be the other woman. He zoomed in on the subject, bathed in shadows. In only a few seconds the subject would be close to the night light outside of the room, revealing her identity. Keith had situated the car at an angle optimal to catching both the cheating spouse and the lover when the door was opened. The subject moved into the light.
08:15:23
It was a man. Keith clicked several pictures of just him. This was an unexpected development since the woman had not indicated that her husband had other sexual proclivities. But all the same, whether it was with another woman or another man, Keith had made another easy hundred bucks.
The door opened and he was quickly ushered in. Keith was unable to get a clear shot of the husband, but that wasn't always necessary in these kinds of cases. He debated whether to stay for an exit shot or not. This was his final case for the evening, so he didn't mind sticking around for another hour or so. Trysts rarely lasted longer than that. He put his camera down on the passenger seat and tuned the radio until he found a station that was playing a Blue Oyster Cult song.
08:20:12
A car pulled into the parking lot and two men exited the vehicle. Keith paid no mind and muttered along with the next song on the radio. Was this Bread? He could never remember who sang this song. He always mixed them up with America.... Hold on... The two men had made their way to the second-story. Keith readied his camera, his stomach knotting with a very. bad. feeling. As expected, the men stopped in front of the cheating husband's room. Keith snapped several dozen pictures as the men were also ushered into the room.
Something here was not right. Sure, they could be having one hell of an orgy in there or something else more dark and subversive was occurring. The raised hairs on Keith's arms pointed towards the latter.
08:24:32
Click. License plate. Click. Make and model of the car. Neither would be exceptionally useful, but it might just generate a lead. Better safe than sorry. Gun unholstered, he made his way up the stairs. Creeping in the shadows, gun drawn, he made his way down the balcony until he was situated next to the room in question. He lowered himself to his hands and knees and crept to a location beneath the window where the thick drawn curtains blocked any incriminating activity. Luckily, Keith did not need a visual to ascertain what was occurring in the room. On the glass he placed a node and put in his ear the receiver. The device was barely bigger than a matchbox. He used the dial on the side to adjust the frequency. He braced himself for groans and moans, but instead he heard talking. Not a lot of talking takes place at orgies. This much, Keith knew. He turned the volume up.
08:28:55
"... told me that you fucking had it taken care of!"
"I do."
"Then what's the problem?"
"There's no problem."
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear. By this time tomorrow, the United States government will be crippled. God, it gets me hard just thinking about it."
"We better go before your old lady gets suspicious."
Taking the cue, Keith darted down the stairs and back to his car. Within a minute, the men followed. He picked up his cell phone and dialed directory assistance.
"CTU Los Angeles, please. Thank you."
08:32:32
Counter Terrorism Unit
Lost Angeles, CA
"O'Brian, CTU."
"Miss O'Brian, this is Keith Mars, a P.I. in Neptune, California. This evening I was casing a cheating spouse, but instead ended up listening in on, what I believe to be, a terrorist plan. The only part of the conversation that I caught was that the US government would be crippled by this time tomorrow."
"Mr. Mars, the suspects. Where are they now?"
"I am following two of the four men that met tonight. One of the men is named Jonathan McGillis. I do not have identification for the other three, but I have the makes, models, and license plates of their current transportation."
There was a pause.
"Could you relay that information, sir?" Impatience dripped from her voice.
"Grey Chevy Corsica, California plates 2MX459N. Green Ford Mustang, Nevada plates 623NYR. And a blue Toyota Camry, California plates Y913GN2."
"Mr. Mars, stay in pursuit of the suspects. I will input your information into our databases and transfer you to the CTU Director Michelle Dessler. Hold please."
Chloe O'Brian put the caller on hold. She looked around the floor of CTU in search of Michelle. The work stations bustled with activity, even at this late hour of the night. Terrorists didn't stop planning just because the average work day ends at five. She walked over to Edgar's station.
"Edgar, where's Michelle?"
"I don't know, Chloe," he answered dumbly. She rolled her eyes and let out a huff of air. Useless. She stalked over to Tony's station. He was on a call, so she stood in his eye line, waiting for him to finish. He lowered the phone, putting his hand over the mouthpiece.
"Is there something you wanted, Chloe? I'm on the phone."
"Do you know where Michelle is?"
"In her office, I guess. I don't know," he answered quickly and returned his attention to the phone.
"Since you're her husband and everything, I assumed that you would care where she is. But I guess I was wrong. Hopefully you're not heading for another divorce or anything. I mean, the first one was bad enough, I don't think you'd get through another one..." Chloe stopped her verbal stream-of-consciousness as Tony sharply glared at her.
"Fine. Whatever. I was just concerned." Chloe tramped away.
08:45:34
Neptune, CA
The car turned onto the highway, clearly headed north. Los Angeles was Keith's bet. They would hit city limits within the hour. He was still on hold at CTU. And he though that tonight was going to be routine.
"Dessler, CTU. Is this Keith Mars?"
"Yes, this is Keith."
"Are you still in pursuit of the suspects?"
"Yes I am. I am tracking the Camry as we speak. They just got on the 5. I strongly believe that they are heading your way. We should be within city limits in under an hour."
"Listen, we pulled nothing about the vehicles that you gave us."
"That's not unexpected," Keith interrupted.
"However, we did find a money trail from Mr. McGillis leading to several shady persons. We're investigating it now. Keep in touch with us. We're going to pull you up on satellite and prepare several tactical teams."
"Will do, Ms. Dessler."
After hanging up, he eyed the clock. One of the down sides to being on his own payroll rather than the government's was that he didn't earn overtime. He changed the radio station to something not commercials. Proud Mary. How appropriate.
08:57:00
Los Angeles, CA
Michelle tried to ease the sudden migraine located between her eyes by applying pressure with her hands. It was not working. She had a feeling that this was going to turn out very, very badly. She took a bottle of ibuprofen from her bag and dry swallowed three pills, hoping they would ease her headache as well as her nerves.
She used the video intercom to contact Chloe.
"Yes, Ms. Dessler?"
"Chloe, I want you to get Jack in here."
08:59:58
08:59:59
09:00:00
TBC
Any suggestions for terrorism plots for crippling the US government are welcomed. :)