For the past two days, Owen had been calling Bryan daily. Sam had already gathered intelligence on the Montell family, including their residences, members, daily routines, and weapons inventory.
The good news was that the Montell family wasn't all-powerful in Colombia. They were strong, but they had rivals who were just as powerful.
If Owen and his team could eliminate Brancato Montell, the current head of the family, they wouldn't need to worry about the aftermath. The other two major cartel factions would gladly dismantle what remained of the Montell empire—they had been eyeing its territory for years.
The bad news was that, according to Sam's sources, the U.S. government wasn't sitting idle. The CIA had secretly deployed an elite team to Colombia for a retaliation mission—but the mission failed.
The CIA had underestimated the Montell family's influence in Colombia. Even though they carefully avoided alerting the Colombian authorities, someone had leaked their plans.
When the CIA team raided the supposed location, they walked straight into a trap.
The intel they had received was fake. As soon as they breached the building, they were ambushed by waiting gunmen.
Despite their elite training, the CIA operatives managed to take down over twenty cartel members, but the cost was devastating—ten agents were killed on the spot, and two were captured.
The bodies of the dead agents were stripped of any identifiable insignia. The two captured agents refused to cooperate during interrogation. But anyone with a brain knew that this operation had been sanctioned by the U.S. government. The botched mission created an international mess.
Brancato Montell even leveraged the media to report on the incident—though, of course, he never outright stated that the attackers were Americans.
As always, the U.S. government denied any involvement. If the mission had gone undetected, they might have quietly attempted damage control. But now, with public exposure, they weren't going to risk further embarrassment.
Officially, the operation never happened.
The two captured CIA operatives were now expendable.
Owen had expected Montell to exploit the situation further—perhaps even publicly executing the agents. After all, Mexican cartels often did that, and their Colombian counterparts were no strangers to such tactics.
He remembered a viral video from weeks ago showing cartel members ambushing and executing two anti-narcotics officers. The entire incident had been recorded in high definition—proof of how brazen these criminals had become.
But unexpectedly, Montell's family remained silent.
Sam speculated that the CIA had found a back channel to negotiate with Montell. If he continued to escalate, Alex's life in a U.S. prison might suddenly become very difficult.
For now, in the battle between the U.S. government and the cartels, the cartels were winning.
During these past few days, Jack Bauer and FBI agent Womack had been working together closely. Their departments frequently coordinated operations.
Jack had also learned from Womack about the state of the surviving SWAT members. He was aware of Owen's erratic behavior lately and had quietly instructed Heartbeat to keep an eye on him—just in case Owen did something reckless.
Finally, after days of NSA surveillance, they had a potential lead.
Owen was currently en route to a suspected mercenary hideout with CTU's tactical team.
The intel was vague.
A small house had suddenly started ordering daily takeout meals for ten people. NSA's surveillance team had picked up on it and flagged it as unusual.
When intelligence agents investigated, they found that the property belonged to an elderly white couple in their sixties—who had no history of ordering takeout, let alone for ten people at once.
CTU mobilized immediately.
The tactical unit parked a street away from the target location. This was going to be a raid, and they weren't alone—FBI's remaining SWAT members from A-Team were also on the mission.
Womack had considered recruiting new members to replace the fallen SWAT officers, but Ash refused. She and the others also refused to merge with C-Team.
She even rejected psychological counseling.
Womack was concerned that if this continued, Ash might break under the pressure. So he arranged for her and her team to participate in joint operations with CTU—giving her a controlled outlet for her aggression.
He was an experienced officer. He understood that for special forces veterans like Ash, losing teammates wasn't the real trauma.
Her real struggle was feeling powerless. She had been knocked unconscious at the very beginning of the ambush, missing the entire fight. Even though it wasn't her fault, she couldn't forgive herself.
Elite operatives had stronger mental resilience than most people. But if they got stuck in a cycle of guilt, the consequences could be far worse than for the average person.
To prevent Ash from spiraling into a bloodthirsty obsession with revenge, Womack devised a way to let her release her anger—by sending her on real missions.
That was why recent CTU operations had all been joint efforts with the FBI.
Everyone took their positions.
Owen and Heartbeat were behind the tactical team. As per standard protocol, the breach team would go in first. Field agents like Owen and Heartbeat were backup—the second line of engagement.
Owen was surprised to see Monica and the others here.
Aside from Campbell, who was still recovering, the rest of SWAT's surviving members were present.
Ash.
Monica.
Heatwave.
They were all suited up, ready for combat.
Owen said nothing. He quietly grabbed his gear and fell in line behind them. Their small three-person unit seemed under-equipped for the mission, but they were determined.
FBI SWAT and CTU's tactical team had the same objective, but since they hadn't trained together, they operated separately to avoid friendly fire.
CTU would breach through the front.
FBI SWAT would take the back.
At the rear entrance, the four SWAT members took their positions—two on each side, just like they had practiced.
Monica was the lead breacher.
Owen was second in line.
Since this was a surprise attack, their weapons were all fitted with suppressors.
They moved in complete silence, waiting for CTU to synchronize the assault.
"Three… two… one… breach!"
The command came through the earpieces.
Heatwave stepped forward with the battering ram. The door was an old wooden one—easy to break.
With a dull crack, the lock snapped, and the door swung open.
Owen stepped in, using his foot to keep the door from swinging shut.
Monica was already inside.
Owen followed immediately.
Ash came next.
Heatwave discarded the battering ram, switching to his shotgun as he moved in.
A figure appeared from a side room—probably drawn out by the noise.
Monica shot first.
The man collapsed before he could react.
She had already noted his tactical gear—this wasn't an innocent civilian.
Ash signaled her intent—she and Monica would clear the immediate area.
Owen and Heatwave proceeded to the next room.
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