Log:Political Futures

Three Dots and a Dash 2021/09/07 	 Wade Lien Indira Jack Lockwood

1

Willbrook Country Club. Richmond, VA.

The ACLU charity/fundraising event is in full swing for the Jack Lockwood re-election campaign. It's a who's who of Virginia politics, and so Wade's father has invited him to attend to help with the polls per his advisors' recommendations. "It'll be good for your political career to get to know these people more," was one of the selling points Jack gave to Wade.

Indira is also in attendance for the charity part of the event. It's part of the job to make connections with Earth officials and socialize. She's currently seated at her assigned table with her +1 and guard for the evening, Lien, as well as some other state employees.

Wade shows up in a formal dress Starguard uniform, given that it's that kind of event. He walks in and spots his father, Senator Lockwood, who is dressed in a sharp looking suit. He waves and smiles...and walks over to join his father. "Hey there."

Jack shakes his hand and then gives him a quick hug. "I'm glad you could make it, Wade. Good to see you." He smiles slightly, "The uniform suits you."

Lien really doesn't like these sorts of events. Public, scheduled in advance, formal. The last time she was Indira's +1, things exploded. Therefore, this time, she's wearing a much more sensible pantsuit, and dress flats. Still, it would be nice to have a day out with the Ambassador without explosions.

One can dream, can't they? Indira is chatting warmly with a state representative who is trying to get her to contribute to his campaign, too. Others are pointedly avoiding the table of the blue-skinned ambassador who looks like the aliens who were allied with evil Porter. Concerned about their careers, probably. And maybe the representative doesn't realize who he's talking to after being around her for so long.

Jack adds quietly aside to Wade, "I see that meme about you has died down."

Wade chuckles. "Yeah. that's for the best, I guess. But at least it wasn't too embarrassing."

Jack chuckles. "I was worried it'd come back to bite you, but Ramon tells me you got a popularity boost with female voters. Even my numbers had a mild jump."

Indira smiles kindly to the representative as he excuses himself upon seeing someone more important. He doesn't say that exactly, but Indira knows. She looks back to Lien, her smile still there as she communicates over their mindlink << I know you're on duty, but you're allowed to have a drink or two. >>

Wade nods, "It might be a problem. Eventually. But probably not for a long time, I think. Besides, I'm not running for office, right?" He smiles.

"Not yet," Jack replies. "But maybe when you're older. Your political opponents will look at anything and everything. What you've done. Who you've associated with. You have to choose your associates wisely." While he approves of Starguard, he seems to be hinting at something other than them.

Lien has one thing going for her at these events: she's very skilled at not interrupting conversations. She smiles lightly and politely to the politicians do their politicking. All while keeping her eyes open and on those around them. <>

Wade furrows his brow, "Who are you thinking of?"

"Who said I was thinking of anyone?" Jack gives a perfectly evasive answer. Typical of politicians.

Wade chuckles. "I'm pretty sure I have a couple of people in mind that you might consider a problem."

Indira chuckles and says verbally, "You worry too much." As a server comes by to offer flutes of champagne, Indira speaks with her and accepts one, which she puts in front of Lien.

"A couple? Should I be concerned?" Jack asks. There were more than he expected.

Wade shrugs and smiles. "I'm not sure. Is Wolfguard still a thing?"

Lien gives Indira a bit of a wider smile, and shrugs her shoulders. <> She looks over to Wade and his father. <>

"Wolfguard?" Jack is caught off guard, but remains calm. "For the voters? Yes. That's a negative. They deserve a second chance, but reformed villains are tricky in the eyes of the public."

Wade nods. "The only person who seems to do well with that kind of thing is Commander Perrault. He's like teflon in regards to reformed villains."

"Ah, but he's not in politics. He's military. He only has to answer to his superiors," Jack smiles. "Anyway, the main reason I asked you here is because it'd be good for you to get to know some of these people. Donors, representatives, philanthropists. Should you decide to go into politics when you're older and follow in your old man's footsteps."

Lien tends to agree with the senior Lockwood on that... which is the major reason she has one set of activities separate from the other. The sting of that does prompt her to take up the flute and a sip of champagne, though.

Wade nods. "Fair enough. Some networking certainly couldn't hurt." He smiles and looks around to see who he recognizes. Obviously Indira and Lien.

Indira looks over to where Lien is mentioning. Recognition blossoms on her face. "Oh, I hadn't realized. But of course they must be related. I'm sure you know Jack Lockwood from the briefing. He's the one this event is about. Wade Lockwood must be related somehow. At least that's what I understand of humans with the same family names."

Ramon, Senator Lockwood's campaign manager, comes up behind him and lays a hand on his shoulder. "Senator, there's a few donors who would like to meet you. We have enough time for it before we need to get going."

Jack's smile is a bit more forced now. He looks back to Wade. "It was good to see you again. Are you coming over for Christmas?"

Wade nods. "I intend to. At least for a day or two." He smiles. "Are these donors people I should meet? Or not?"

Jack smiles earnestly now. "Fantastic. I'll tell your mother. She'll be ecstatic." He thinks for a moment. "Probably not. Just some new businessmen. I'm probably going to have to refuse campaign contributions, but it can't hurt to talk them into donating to charity." He claps Wade on the shoulder. "Go on and mingle. Just get to know some of the people."

Wade smiles. "Fair enough." He waves to Ramon, "Good to see you again."

Ramon nods back. "Hello again, Wade. Good to see you're doing well." He looks to Jack. "Senator?" he asks if Jack is ready and motions towards one of the large side tables.

Jack sighs and puts on a smile. "Sure. Let's meet with these guys." He looks to Wade. "See you at Christmas," he smiles, then follows Ramon to the new donor table.

Indira looks back to Lien. "Did I understand name relations correctly? It's hard to tell. I haven't met any of the team's families."

After Jack Lockwood leaves the main banquet hall to meet with the donors, there's a montage of handshaking and pleasantries from a number of people in the room, from donors to lobbyists and other political figures. It starts to get difficult to keep track of all the people, and the time, when Wade finally notices Ramon looking annoyed and searching about the banquet hall. He checks his watch repeatedly, then his phone, then searches again.

Wade makes his way over to Ramon, through the crowd. Once he gets close, he says, "Looking for my father?"

Ramon looks to Wade and nods. "Yes. He has another donor who'd like to speak to him. Have you seen him?"

Wade shakes his head, "Not for a bit. He left the hall to meet with some donors, I thought. I can look around for him."

Ramon sighs. "Yes. Every donor and fan wants a chance to speak with him. Usually just to ask about old stories. Some to actually talk politics. If you see him, tell him to check his phone and come meet me by the side of the stage. By the time he gets here, it'll be time for him to give his speech."

Wade nods. "Sounds good." He starts to look around for his father, starting in the direction he last saw him head.

The last place Wade noticed his father going was a large side table near one of the exits of the banquet hall. There's no sign of Jack, but there's some members of the table still conversing with drinks and there finished plates from the meal served at this charity dinner. They're discussing prison reform amongst each other.

Wade stops there, "Excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt. Have any of you seen Senator Lockwood?"

The people conversing look up. One person looks like a grass roots activist and she says, "Oh, yes. He was here a while ago."

Another person who looks like he may be a lawyer by way of his expensive watch and tailored suit says, "I think he and the others went out that way." He motions to the side door.

Wade smiles. "Thank you." He makes his way through the door, and looks around.

There's a few people milling about outside the banquet hall. Some are just members of the club, others are attendees trying to converse somewhere a little less loud, or to go out for some fresh air through the back doors that lead out to the greens, or the front entrance area where the valets are working.

Wade furrows his brow and looks around, "Hrm." He finds himself feeling a bit concerned, and he heads toward the back doors.

There's no more rounds happening as it's now night time, but the courses are still beautifully lit up in places to showcase the courses and provide a nice view for people dining at the two restaurants at the club house. There's still one large golfcart driving off one of the paved cart paths in the dark, heading toward the west parking lot. It swerves briefly in the darkness before straightening out and going on as normal.

Wade heads over to the edge to speak to a couple of the diners, "I apologize for interrupting. Have you seen Senator Lockwood come by here?"

One of the diners sets down her form and grabs a napkin to dab at her mouth. She quickly fusses with her hair. "Senator Lockwood? Here?" she asks excitedly. Her husband gives a grumpy, sour look at her excitement.

Wade smiles slightly, "I take it that you haven't seen him, then?"

"I wish," the woman chuckles. She gets a better look at Wade and gasps. "Say, you kind of remind me of him. Well, back when he was younger."

Wade nods. "I'm his son."

The woman gasps in delight. "Ohhh, no wonder you look so similar! It really does look like you inherited his good looks. Can I have a selfie?" The husband remains grumpy but has also surrendered to the situation drinking his alcoholic beverage.

Wade smiles. "Umm...sure. As long as we're quick. I need to find out where he went." He moves his close so she can get the photo.

The woman is quick to get her camera out and take a selfie with a smile. "Thank you! I'm sorry I haven't seen your father."

"Real sorry," the husband mutters.

Wade smiles. "Thanks." Maybe he didn't come out the back after all? Or maybe it was before they were here? Or they didn't notice him?

Past the camera of the self Wade notices the golf cart from earlier detour off the paved road, through the grass, and onto the sidewalk of the parking lot where there's a black SUV parked and running. It's hard to see in the darkness, but it looks like there's a struggle going on as a large group of people force someone into the SUV and start to pull away.

Wade mutters to himself. He saw the cart not too long ago, after all. He starts to sprint in that direction. It might not be his father, but it's someone getting grabbed. He realizes he might not be able to catch the SUV directly, but maybe he can intercept it.

The SUV still has to get through the parking lot. So even though it's going fast to try and peel out of there, it's speed is still limited by the turns to get through the rows to the exit. And Wade, having inherited his father's super soldier abilities of increased speed, can run faster than a gold metal olympian. With the added benefit of being able to cut through the lawn and parked cars. He catches up to it just as the car slows at the exit and begins to turn to pull out into traffic.

Wade tries to jump and grab onto the handle on the back to hang on.

Wade grabs onto the handle...and nearly slips off, but he manages to get his feet up on the bumper. Thankfully there are a couple of handles, so he puts on on each, in case those inside decide to open one of the doors.

Secure on the car as it starts to speed up, Wade can see on the roof there is a sealed sunroof. The windows are tinted in the back, making it hard for him to make out much of what's going on inside, save that there is a struggle going on.

Wade tries opening the door himself, hoping that it isn't locked.

Clunk! It's locked. To keep people in and out, it seems.

The attempt goes unnoticed. The people inside are very distracted.

Wade nods to himself. Sunroof it is. That'll open more easily. He climbs up onto the roof to get to it, moving carefully.

Wade gets up onto the roof and checks to see if he can open the sunroof...and failing that, he tries to smash it with an elbow strike.

It's hard to get one's fingers through the seems to open it. As he prepares to smash it, the car swerves halfway into one lane and then back into its own. The car in the adjacent lane also swerves to avoid getting hit, laying on the horn loudly, which distracts the driver.

Wade holds on as the vehicle swerves, and he realizes he needs to get inside soon. Maybe he should have tried to rip the back door open. He brings his elbow down on the sunroof, shattering it. He then intends to jump inside, feet first, heedless of the glass. His skin is tough enough that he likely won't really cut himself. His suit might have seen better days, though.

As he smashes through, Wade can see inside with a quick assessment. Two people in the front, and three people in the back. Jack is in the middle back seat with a pair of magnetic cuffs keeping his wrists locked together in front of him. Dumb of the agents to leave them cuffed in the front. With teeth grit, Jack is trying--and almost succeeding!--in pulling the cuffs apart on his own. But the two agents on either side of him are restraining him physically as well to prevent him from getting free.

The sunroof is more situated toward the front of the vehicle, but there's plenty of room past the center console to swing directly into the back or deal with the two int he front.

There is already a combat phase tracker present here.

Wade doesn't really want the vehicle to crash, so he swings down into the back. The glass of the sunroof tears at his uniform, leaving a long gouge, but his skin is unbroken. He then tries to drive his fist into the stomach of one of the men holding his father. He does try to hold back a little bit, to make sure he doesn't break too many bones, though.

No witticisms. No taunting. He's just completely focused.

Agent 3 is knocked against the back of his seat, losing his grip on Jack as he's left winded from the kick.

With one person no longer holding him back, Jack grits his teeth and forces his arms apart, separating the magnetic cuffs enough that they no longer pull on each other. This leaves him free, so long as they don't get too close to each other again.

The agent on the other side of Jack has a tranq gun that he holsters inside his jacket, drawing out a collapsible stun baton instead. He swings it for Wade within close quarters.

Wade twists, managing to avoid the stun baton. The close quarters in the back of the SUV are going to make this tough.

One of the agents (Agent 4) has to focus on driving. Agents 2 recovers from that kick he just took to the chest. Agent 3 now also draws a stun baton and tries to attack Wade from behind while twisting in his car seat.

Wade manages to avoid the second attack from the other direction, almost like he had predicted it entirely.

Wade turns sideways, trying to strike the other agent on the other side of his father with a kick, while temporarily planting his hand on the far door for balance. He knows he doesn't really have to hold back, given their armor. He effectively ends up stretched across the back from side to side.

Agent 1 is calm and collected while the other agents are a bit more frantic. He brings up his forearm at the last moment, striking against Wade's shin and deflecting his foot to smash out the passenger side window instead.

Jack deals with the agent on his other side and tries to smash his elbow into the guy's face, but he pulls his blow as well.

Surprisingly, the other agent manages to juke his head out of the way just in the nick of time.

Jack is surprised at this. "I must be slowing down," he comments.

Wade smiles slightly, "Too much office work?"

Jack chuckles. "Probably. Not enough time at the gym." He's still ready for a fight, though.

As are the agents. The driver guns it as they speed past a light that was about to turn red. The agent in the front and the back now both wield stun batons and find themselves up against not one, but TWO supersoldiers. Or at least one and a half. The one in the front once again tries to tag Wade from behind, while the other one that just dodged Jack's elbow tries to jab his baton into Jack's stomach.

Jack manages to lean away just in time, twisting a bit so the stun baton only catches his jacket.

Wade again easily evades the stun baton, pushing himself off the door just in time to avoid the strike.

Wade decides to go after the agent in the front seat instead, rather than let the guy take free shots at him repeatedly like that. Well, and their leader is already on the defensive.

Agent 2 is struck in the front seat, but shakes it off rather quickly.

After twisting from the baton, Jack then turns and swings a fist for the agent to try and put him out. Just not put him in a hospital.

That spry agent manages to just barely lean back enough to be missed by the swing. Jack realizes he really needs to get back into training.

Wade says to his father, "They seem to be armored. If you aim for the chest, I don't think you'll have to hold back."

Agent 1 assesses the situation. They've been lucky so far. But this situation isn't going to go in their favor. He unbuckles his seat, opens his door, and tucks and rolls out of the car.

The agent lands pretty hard and rolls to a stop in the right-most lane as the car goes on.

Agent 4 double takes as their leader abandons them. "I guess we'll just have to finish the mission," he says and starts to speed up, turning to take them onto the onramp of the freeway. The other two agents are still dealing with trying to attack the supersoldiers with their stun batons. This time they try to coordinate a bit better and focus on Wade.

Wade sees the leader has jumped out, and notices...these guys haven't even spoken yet. Trying to hide their nationality, maybe? He takes another swing at the guy who isn't driving up in front.

Agent 2 is hit hard and reels, crashing into his door, stunned.

Jack comments, "They don't exactly have workouts to cover this situation at the gym." He swings a punch at Agent 3 next to him. He's not pulling his punches, but he's not swinging as hard as he could.

This time Jack lands his punch and knocks the guy out. He slumps against his seatbelt, held upright with his head hanging down. The baton tumbles out of his hand and onto the floor of the SUV.

Left behind by the car as it speeds off onto the free way, Agent 1 springs to his feet and brushes himself off as he starts to jog in the opposite direction of the car. Driving in the same direction is a motorcycle that slows down long enough for Agent 1 to hop on the back before it speeds off and away after a coordinated pickup.

The SUV picks up to freeway speeds.

Agent 2 in the front shakes off the blow and comes to his senses. Agent 4 focuses on the road, frantically looking at the rear view mirror. He decides to reach into his jacket for a weapon and pulls out a gun, risking trying to fire in the back. Agent 3 is still unconscious.

Wade lets the gun fire past him, though he does worry a bit about where that bullet will end up. First things first. He goes to grab the driver's wrist, attempting to wrench the gun away, and turn it around to point it at the man's head.//30 STR Takeaway, OCV 11, DCV 11

Wade wrenches the gun out of the man's hand, flips it around, and points it at his head. "I highly..HIGHLY..recommend you pull over, if you want to live." Would he kill the man? No. But the driver doesn't necessarily know that.

The Driver is at a disadvantage. His eyes widen as he loses his gun and has it trained on him. "A-alright, alright. Just don't shoot!" He turns around slowly and puts both hands back on the wheel without making any sudden moves and begins to slow the vehicle down, signaling to pull over.

Jack doesn't say anything about Wade's maneuver. He knows his son well enough to know he wouldn't pull the trigger. He instead looks to Agent 2 and holds out a hand, palm up, expectantly. "Keys." It's a simple demand.

The mysterious motorcyclist drives Agent 1 at top speeds, weaving through traffic and turning off down side streets as it escapes into the night.

Wade keeps the gun trained on the driver. "As soon as you pull over, turn off the car, and pull the keys out."

The SUV slows down to a crawl and finally stops on the shoulder of the freeway. There's a small grassy bank on the edge of the freeway, no divider in this area.

Agent 3 is still unconscious in the back. Agent 4, the driver, is turning off the engine and pulling out his keys as he raises his hands in the air in surrender. Agent 2 thinks he can still get out of this and quickly unbuckles himself and tries to make a break for it, running down the grassy bank. Jack sighs as the man runs instead of giving him the keys to his restraints.

Wade sighs. "I can get him. He wont' outrun me."

Wade hands off the pistol to his father, to keep the driver covered, and he gets out of the vehicle, not really getting far either. He calls to the fleeing agent, "You're not going to escape me, you know."

Wade catches up to the fleeing agent. "Stand down before I put you down."

The agent's fleeing was of pure panic and no logic. But as Wade effortlessly catches up and warns him, he slows to a halt and put his hands in the air. "Okay...okay..." he pants.

Wade turns the guy around, and shoves him back toward the SUV. "First off, the keys to those magcuffs."

"Right. Um. I'll have to reach into my jacket," the agent informs Wade.

Wade nods. "Nice and slowly."

The agent uses one hand to hold the left side of his jacket out, then reaches in slowly before pulling out a small remote key. It's a small fob with some buttons to control the magcuffs.

Wade takes the keyfob from him carefully...and tries to unlock the cuffs.

A little light goes red on the fob. Another light on the cuffs do the same with a soft beep, and the unlatch and deactivate, falling away from Jack's wrists as he keeps an eye on the driver.

Wade looks to the agent who handed him the keyfob, "Who were you working for? VENOM? Someone else?"

"VENOM?" The man says in surprise. He also sounds American. "No...we were working for the guy who bailed on us. He was working for someone else, but we were never in direct contact."

Wade nods. "Who was the guy who bailed? And you clearly had someone else following you on that motorcycle. Who was that?"

"Aren't...aren't you going to read me my rights?" the agent asks uncertainly.

Wade smiles slightly. "I should point out...I'm military. Not a policeman." He looks up the Miranda Rights spiel, though...and he recites it, while keeping an eye on the guy.

The agent nods, probably already knowing his rights. "I...think I'll remain silent."

Wade nods. "I'll look forward to having another word with you in the future. Or three." He opens the SUV door. "Dad, you okay?"

Jack chuckles and rubs the side of his neck. "Fine, if feeling feeling my age some. There attempt to drug me failed, at least."

Wade nods, and sends a text to Ramon to explain what's up, before he calls the police. "I just sent Ramon a text. Any idea who these guys are, other than goons-for-hire?"

Jack frowns in thought. "I made a few enemies when I was serving the country as Patriot. At home and abroad. Not a narrow list, son," he smiles faintly at that. There may be a flash of regret there before saying, "These three were claiming to be part of a successful sustainable startup that wanted to make a campaign contribution and wanted to talk outside for some privacy. That's when the fourth one joined up and surprised me with the cuffs. He didn't talk at all."

Wade nods. "The guy who jumped out, presumably. I would have liked to hear him speak to get a feel for his accent."

The two still conscious agents stay silent on this matter, but they glance to each other at the mention of their boss.

Wade takes a deep breath and looks to the two men, "Did this guy have an accent? Perhaps didnt' sound American? Vaguely like Australia? Vaguely like British?"

The driver looks to the other agent and then back to Wade. "Um. Yeah. Sort of." He gets a death glare from his compatriot for volunteering that information.

Wade nods slowly. "Thanks." He looks to his father, "Narrows it down. A lot. Probably South African. Which means...probably VENOM, even though they don't hold the country any more."

Jack nods slowly at this. "That's left them having to scatter to wherever they can get refuge. Coordinating in cells like back in the old days of the predecessors, probably," he refers to VIPER.

Wade looks to the two agents, and then back to Jack, "By the way, I think you're missing your speech now." He smiles slightly. "I'm sure Ramon is dealing with damage control."

"And getting a few more gray hairs in the process," Jack smiles as he straigthens his tie with one hand, still keeping the gun--with the safety now on--at the ready. "Why don't we put those magcuffs to better use so I can put this gun down?" he suggests, just as sirens can be heard and lights starting to flash along the freeway.

Wade nods. "Good point." He takes tthe cuffs...and secures both of the agents, cuffing them together, since there's only one set of them. He uses the keyfob to turn them on again.

Jack puts the gun down after he removes the clip and the round from the chamber. "I'm not a fan of guns, anyway," he notes as he gets out of the car finally, now that Wade has the driver and other agent in custody. He smiles. "You did good, son." He's putting it mildly.

Wade smiles as he hears that. He was already feeling like he had done a good job, but it's always good to hear approval from your parent anyway. "Thanks, Dad."

Jack smiles and gives Wade an approving pat on the shoulder. "You make your mother and I very proud every day." The police arrive and Jack steps away to give statements on what happened, and to try and extricate themselves as soon as possible. He even manages to charm their way into getting a ride back to the squad car.

Wade manages to say, "Thanks Dad, that means a lot.", just before his father goes to give his statement. He keeps an eye on the two agents in the meantime. He points to the rip in his dress uniform, "Seriously, guys. Look at this. Such a pain."

The agents look at Wade like he's nuts. "You...did that to yourself...?" the driver tries to deflect guilt on the matter of his uniform, as if THAT would make his attempted kidnapping charges any lesser. The police come and ready them their rights (again) as they cuff them and pat them down for additional weapons.

Jack comes back with a smile. "I procured us a ride back. Ramon has been panic texting me again, but I think he has it handled."

Wade smiles. "Glad to hear it. I'm probably not going to be able to get a replacement uniform in time, so if you're okay with it, I can go like this, or just keep out of the way."

Jack thinks on it. "Well. Ramon may think it'll help with the polls with female voters," he chuckles. "But maybe for the sake of the charity event, we shouldn't bring attention to this diversion. I don't want to take focus away from the cause."

Wade nods. "I'll defer to you and Ramon about how to handle it. My uniform isn't torn THAT badly, but still, it looks a bit ragged."

"I'll call Ramon and see if he can arrange delivery of a change of clothes," Jack suggests as he inspects the extent of the damage.

Mostly, it's his jacket and his shirt which is torn. Sure enough, the shirt does show some skin now. In theory, he could keep the jacket closed, and it would be...okay-ish.

"Hmm. I suppose if you just button up your jacket, it won't be noticeable," Jack suggests.

Wade nods as he does so, "Yeah, not so bad, I guess. That'll work."

Jack gives an approving nod. "Now, let's get back to that fundraiser, before Ramon has a fit." Two more text alert sounds beep from his phone. "A -bigger- fit," he corrects.

Wade nods. "Sounds good."

Jack smiles and gives Wade a fatherly pat on the arm. "Come on, son." They head off for the squad car where an officer is waiting to give them a lift back to the charity event. Once there, it IS a bit late for the speech, but the fundraiser went on without any other hitches, and a considerable sum was donated to ACLU. Only a few people notice the wrinkles in the Lockwoods' clothes, but Jack is able to divert the conversation to keep people focused on important issues.

Meanwhile, at a local municipal airport, a motorcycle pulls up to a hanger where a private plane is being prepped. The driver heads into the plane as the agent from the attempted kidnapping takes out his smartphone and dials a number.

A modulated voice answers. "Did you get it?"

"Natuurlik." The agent pulls out what looked like a tranq gun that he used on Jack. "The DNA sequencer is uploading the results now," he says in a South Afrikaan accent.

"Perfect. You'll find the funds in your account as soon as the transfer completes." And then the call disconnects.

The VENOM agent smiles at having pulled off the heist and climbs into the private getaway jet. The stair ramp is pulled up and the door closed, the jet taxing out to the tarmac and taking off shortly after.

The jet is just heading out over the ocean, some 50 miles out when the sequencer data finishes uploading. Ten seconds later, the jet explodes in ball of fire in the night sky and crashes into the ocean.