by Tracy Lawson
9:25 PM
As soon as the paramedics loaded Garrick into an ambulance, Kevin’s driver took him back to the OCSD. It was the safest place they could think of to go; security was on duty there around the clock.
He’d barely made it through the doors when an alarm went off. Two guards from the security stand ran past him. “What’s going on?” Kevin shouted after them.
“Security breach at the visitor’s entrance. Stay here, sir.”
Seconds later they were back, dragging a young man and woman with them.
The young man struggled to free himself as he shouted across the lobby. “Kevin! It’s us! We need your help!”
The guard, in an attempt to silence the young man, struck him and knocked his glasses off.
Kevin did a double-take. “Release them immediately!”
“No can do, sir. They used an ID that was flagged as stolen.”
“It’s all right. They’re with me.” The guard still looked as though he might refuse. Kevin shouted above the alarm, “Madalyn Davies is dead! I’m the director. I’m in charge now. Do it.”
The guards looked at each other and let go of Tommy and Careen, and Kevin took a few steps closer so he wouldn’t have to shout. “What are you doing here?”
Tommy swore. “Did you say Madalyn’s dead? What happened?”
Careen nudged him. “First things first. Jaycee’s in here somewhere. Was she arrested?”
“Not that I know of. I just came from the—”
“What the hell?” One of the guards drew his weapon, and Kevin turned to see Atari, his face bruised and his clothes bloodstained, staggering across the lobby. He wavered on his feet as he pointed at Tommy and Careen, and Kevin had to strain to hear him over the alarm.
“Careen Catecher and Tommy Bailey kidnapped me and shot me. The Resistance has seized control of the Link. There’s a bomb in the …” His eyes rolled up in his head. No one made a move to catch him, and he collapsed to the floor.
Tommy and Careen both started shouting at once.
Kevin couldn’t understand what they were saying, so he bellowed at the guard. “Call an ambulance! Turn off that alarm and lock this place down. That’s an order!”
Tommy shook his head. “No! No! Don’t lock it down. Evacuate! We didn’t set a bomb, but what if Atari did?” He turned to Careen. “Oh my gosh! That’s why he was gone for hours the other day.”
“And why the explosives locker at the safe house is empty.”
Tommy slapped his forehead. “Create a diversion and set off an explosion. Why didn’t I see it? He does this every time. We’ve got to hurry and find Jaycee. She doesn’t know!”
Kevin could hear the approaching ambulance’s siren. “I’ll send guards after her.”
“No! She’ll panic if she sees guards, but she probably won’t hide from us.” Careen pushed the button to summon the elevator and pulled a tablet out of her coat pocket. “We can find her faster using her Link. This thing has an indoor search function. You hurry and clear the building.”
Kevin wanted to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. “Jaycee’s Linked. Madalyn’s dead. Garrick’s been shot. Everyone in the House chamber has been taken hostage. And Mitch is missing.”
As the elevator door slid closed, Tommy called after him, “You guys really know how to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the capital!”
Kevin pulled out his phone as he ran up the grand staircase.
Chapter 33
9:21 PM
Tommy watched Careen’s face as she studied the tablet. “You’re doing a great job with the computer. I thought you didn’t use them.”
“I said I don’t like to. I didn’t say I couldn’t.”
The elevator doors slid open, and he checked to make sure the coast was clear before he let her follow Jaycee’s signal into the basement of the OCSD.
She whispered, “I’d hoped I’d never have to come back here.”
He nodded. “I know. I say that every time.”
Careen consulted the tablet and pointed to the right. As he rounded the corner, a thin figure in coveralls stood outside what he recognized as Kevin’s old office. “Jaycee!”
The girl whirled around and thrust out her chin as they hurried toward her. “What are you doing here? You’re wasting your time if you’re here to try to stop me.”
Careen’s tone was soothing. “Whatever Atari told you—”
“This is the only way I can make things right.”
“—it isn’t true. Come with us. Right now.”
Careen handed Tommy the tablet and reached out.
Jaycee pushed her hands away and swiped the ID card she carried to unlock the door. She started inside, and as they looked past her, the backpack she carried slid to the floor with a thump.
Blocks of plastic explosive were piled high on the desk and the copy machine that occupied the tiny space. Tommy spied the timer and watched the countdown pass five minutes and thirty seconds.
“There’s already a bomb? I saw Kevin’s old office and thought it would be a good place to plant one…” Jaycee’s words were lost as the building’s security alarm began to bleat again. They all covered their ears, and Jaycee wailed, “This place is a maze. We’ll never get out in time!” She dashed over and jabbed the elevator button, but the light didn’t come on. “Why isn’t it working?”
“There’s another way out!” Tommy led the way down the corridor. Careen grabbed Jaycee by the arm and followed at his heels. He swiped his ID card at the entrance to the secure ward, and they sprinted down the long hall, through the dungeon-like room, and up the concrete stairs, bursting out into the cold night air that flowed through the adjacent concrete parking garage.
Their footsteps echoed off the walls as they ran. They were about halfway to an exit when a shockwave threatened to knock Tommy off his feet. The girls staggered, and as the whole structure trembled, an ominous rumble rose behind them. Tommy ignored the throbbing pain in his leg and ran for all he was worth, but the girls were faster, and the distance between them increased.
The rumble became a roar, and he knew without looking that the concrete was collapsing behind him. Each painted line that marked the parking spaces became a yard line on a football field. First and ten won’t cut it. I have to go for the touchdown.
Careen was first to vault the half wall. She pulled Jaycee over and then hesitated as if to wait for him.
“Go, go, go!” He waved her on as the cloud of dust rolled up, swallowing him and obscuring his view of his goal.
A chunk of falling concrete grazed his shoulder. He struggled to recover his balance and didn’t even see the car in his way until he fell against it. There was nowhere left to go. He covered his head and huddled beside it as the rubble rained down around him.
9:18 PM
Tom, Lara, and Eduardo had watched Trina confront Madalyn on the closed circuit television from a conference room in the Capitol building. Eduardo had cheered when Trina slapped Madalyn, but Tom came to life when Garrick led Madalyn out of the room.
“Finally, this is the moment to have a reasoned discussion and begin to make changes.” He squeezed Lara’s hand.
As the discussion strayed away from downgrading the OCSD’s powers, Tom grew agitated. “Someone call the vote! Do it before they have time to talk themselves out of it. How can they consider leaving the OCSD in power? Renald needs to take control. Oh—there he goes.” When the vice president announced the results, Tom slumped in his chair and covered his face with his hands.
Lara gripped his arm. “Wait, what’s happening now? Is it another of Atari’s videos?”
Armed men in suits swarmed the chamber. They sat in silence, watching the scene unfold until they lost the signal. Within minutes, the president and vice president burst through the door with their security detail and locked themselves inside.
Tom stood. “What happened, sir?”
President Wright seemed dazed. “It was … I think it was a coup. They had the halls bl
ocked off. We couldn’t get to the Emergency Operations Center. You double-crossed me!”
“No, sir! I can assure you it wasn’t us.”
“Then who?”
Tom was afraid he knew the answer to the question. He turned to Lara. “How quickly can you get ahold of Mitch?”
Eduardo handed her his phone, but the vice president spoke up. “You can’t get a signal out of here with that. Use that line.” He pointed to a desk phone.
Lara looked up Mitch’s number in Eduardo’s contacts. “I don’t know if he’ll pick up if he doesn’t recognize the number. If he does, I can put it on speaker,” she said as she dialed.
Tom shot her a warning glance. “Maybe it’s better if you try to talk to him privately first.”
She glanced at all the men in the room. “Maybe you’re right. If he has anything to do with what happened in the chamber, I’ll find out.”
Tom nodded.
Lara didn’t recognize the young, scared voice that answered on the third ring.
“May I please speak to—”
“Umm … he can’t come to the phone right now.”
“Who is this?”
“Quadrant Marshal Seamus Owens, ma’am. Badge number 8861276.”
“I see.” All eyes were on her. “Can you apprise me of your situation, please, Marshal Owens?”
Tom frowned. “What’s going on?”
She shot him a give-me-a-minute look and held a finger to her lips.
“Umm, I’m guarding a prisoner. Sort of. He took me hostage back in BG-098, and now … umm, we’ve kind of switched places. Except he’s not a hostage. Just detained.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure if I can tell you. I think it might be classified.”
“Oh, in that case, you can certainly tell me. I’m here with the president of the United States.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. I’m serious.” She pushed a button on the phone. “I just put you on speaker.”
His voice quavered. “Is the president listening?”
President Wright answered, “Yes, indeed I am. Please go ahead.”
“Well, sir, Mr. Carraway says he’s starting a revolution.”
Lara shot Tom a worried glance. “Who took him prisoner?”
“That was Dr. Jacobs. And me.”
“I see. May we speak to him about the situation?”
“Dr. Jacobs gave him a shot of diaza-something. He’s still pretty loopy, but you can try.”
Mitch’s voice came over the speaker. “Happy New Year! How’s the revolution going?”
Lara kept her voice calm. “Mitch, we’re a little surprised about the revolution. You didn’t include us in the plan.”
“No, I didn’t, because I didn’t want you all working against me. This is my gift to our great nation. Intellectuals may dream about revolution, but they don’t have the stomach to carry one out. That takes a man of action. The American Revolution took seven years to fight. I’ve been planning this one for about sixteen, and nothing’s going to stop it now.”
Tom asked, “Can you tell us who invaded the Capitol building?”
“I hired a private security team to do some work for me.” He snickered. “Private security is just a fancy term for mercenaries.”
Tom shot a glance at the president. “Mitch, call it off. End it before anyone else is killed.”
“What are you now, Wright’s lap dog?”
“No, but—”
“I had to do it this way. The OCSD keeps people in line by exploiting their fears. How else was I going to get through to anyone except by threatening them and making them afraid?” His laugh was harsh. “I guess I should’ve given orders for my men to go in before the vote and apply a little pressure. Would’ve saved time.”
There was a boom in the background. Lara felt the tremor in the soles of her feet.
Mitch asked, “What was that?”
9:23 PM
Kevin was panting by the time he reached the second-floor atrium. He covered his ear with his free hand to shut out the bleating alarm as he shouted into the phone. “Send a hostage negotiation team and all available units to the Capitol building. Unknown forces have taken over. They shot Madalyn Davies and Chief Garrick and they’re holding … Who am I? I’m Kevin McGraw, the acting director of the OCSD. Just do it!”
He shouldered through the double doors without breaking stride, and they slammed back against the walls. To his relief, Nicole was hurrying toward him. He shouted over the alarm. “Is anyone else still here?”
She pointed behind her. “I saw Jack Fischer heading back to his office right before the alarm went off. I think everyone else is gone. What’s happening?”
“It’s a credible bomb threat. Don’t panic, just get out of the building and as far away as you can.” Then he took off in the opposite direction, and as he rounded the corner, he saw the head of Analysis and Integration carrying a three-foot stack of file folders.
“Jack! Are you crazy? There’s a bomb. We have to get out of here!”
“I can’t leave the files behind. I loaded up my pockets with chip drives. If the building blows, I’ll lose all the pending investigations.”
This was no time to argue. Kevin grabbed half the stack. “Come on! The elevators are shut down. This way!”
They rushed down the curved staircase, through the empty lobby, and out the nearest door. Kevin saw Nicole, a few of the custodial staff, and the security guards headed into the parking lot. There was no sign of Tommy, Careen, or Jaycee.
His ears felt as though they were stuffed with cotton, and the bleating alarm inside the building was muffled and far away. They took shelter behind an OCSD van and crouched with the stacks of files. Jack panted beside him, and as they waited seconds that seemed like minutes, Kevin wondered if maybe it had been some kind of trick. He stood up to peer at the building through the van’s windows just in time to witness the fireball that burst up from the lower regions of the building. The glass blew out of every window, and smoke, dust, and debris rose as the building crumbled. The force of the blast rocked the van, and papers from the Analysis and Integration files they’d worked so hard to save spun up into the air and were carried away on the wind as the dust cloud settled over the parking lot.
Chapter 34
9:33 PM
The rumbling stopped. The dust cloud blotted out the night sky and glittered in the light from the streetlamps. Jaycee knelt on the gritty, cold lawn and raised her arm to breathe into the crook of her elbow. Beside her, Careen sat up, coughing.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah.”
Jaycee looked around. “Where’s Tommy? Did you see him come out?” Huge chunks of concrete and other debris blocked their exit point.
Careen took in the scene and cried out in horror. She scrambled to her feet, screaming his name as she ran toward the collapse. Jaycee dashed after her. “Stop it! Do you want someone to hear you?”
Careen sobbed as she ran the length of the garage and back, searching for a way inside. “No! I can’t go through this again. I can’t lose him this way.” She struggled through the rubble and tugged at a piece of concrete until Jaycee grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away.
“Wait! The rest of it could fall. Don’t rush in there until we know it’s stable.”
“We can’t wait. What if he’s hurt? What if he’s dead?”
“If I was dead I wouldn’t want you risking your life for me.” Tommy’s voice sounded far away.
Careen buried her face in her hands for a moment and then waded back through the rubble to lay her forehead against the concrete that separated them. The gesture was so tender and intimate that Jaycee looked away. Careen’s voice was gentle. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I don’t think I’m hurt much. I’m just bruised—and stuck.”
Jaycee called back, “We’ll get you out.” She scanned the scene, looking for an opening in the concrete big enough to crawl through. B
eside her, Careen gave a little shriek and grabbed her arm.
“What? Do you see him?”
“No.” She began sobbing and laughing at the same time. “The security guards know who I am. My Link will show them where to find us.”
“Then we have to hurry.” Jaycee called inside to Tommy. “Can you tell us where you are?”
“I almost made it to the wall. I’m beside a black car and a concrete pillar. I have room to breathe, but I can’t stand up all the way.”
“Do you feel a draft? Is there cold air blowing on you?” She wished she had a light brighter than her Link to shine inside the garage.
“Yeah. I can feel it coming from under the car.”
“Okay.” She turned to Careen. “Let’s get him out.”
She nodded and brushed a tear off her cheek. “What should we do?”
“I wish I had a flashlight.”
Tommy spoke up. “The tablet’s in my coat pocket. Hang on a second.”
The glow of the screen pierced the darkness.
“I see it!” They peered inside, and Jaycee said, “He can’t be too far away. Shine it around, Tommy. Do you see any openings? Any rubble you can move?”
The glow grew stronger. “There! You’re pointing it right at us now.”
He replied, “The car’s between us.”
“Okay.” Jaycee chewed her lip for a moment. “Is it crushed?”
“Umm … no. The window on my side is broken, though.”
Jaycee motioned to Careen to follow her. “Tommy, we’ll get to you as fast as we can. First we have to make the passageway bigger.” They began shifting smaller pieces of debris out of the way.
Careen seemed calmer as soon as she had something to do, and together they worked quickly. After a time, Careen broke the silence. “When I first saw you at the safe house, you said you wanted to talk about something?”