Chapter 10 - The Dash for the Pentagon and the Final Broadcast
The rain had turned into a blinding downpour as McCallum’s sedan tore down the interstate highway toward Washington D.C., breaking every speed limit on the Eastern Seaboard.
Maya gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity, her eyes locked on the dark, wet road ahead, while Evelyn sat in the passenger seat, frantically typing commands into the offline laptop connected to the micro-drive.
"We won't make it through the security gates," Evelyn warned, her voice breathless as she watched the digital speedometer climb past ninety miles per hour.
"The Secretary of Defense ordered a shoot-on-sight lockdown for anyone connected to the Echo Squad leak."
"We're not going through the security gates, Colonel," Maya replied coldly, her jaw clenched.
"We're going through the loading dock. McCallum arranged a diversion."
True to her word, as the massive concrete monolith of the Pentagon hove into view through the gray curtain of rain, a chaotic scene unfolded near the western delivery entrance.
Three military fire trucks, sirens wailing and lights flashing, were parked haphazardly across the access road, having responded to a simulated chemical spill called in by General McCallum.
Military police and security guards were swarming the loading bays, creating a massive blind spot in the outer perimeter.
Maya didn't hesitate. She whipped the sedan off the highway, driving straight across the grassy embankment and crashing through a temporary plastic security barrier directly into the underground delivery bay.
The car screeched to a halt beside the freight elevator.
"Grab the laptop!" Maya commanded, bursting out of the vehicle and drawing her sidearm.
Evelyn grabbed the ruggedized laptop, clutching it to her chest like a shield as they sprinted toward the freight elevator doors.
Using her military override code, Maya punched the keypad, and the heavy steel doors slid open just as a squad of armed military police shouted orders for them to halt from across the bay.
They dove into the elevator, Maya slamming her fist against the button for the main press briefing room on the third floor.
As the doors slammed shut, cutting off the shouts of the guards, Maya and Evelyn stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the silent rising car.
"This is it," Maya said, pulling the micro-drive from her tactical vest and inserting it into the side port of Evelyn's laptop.
"Once we hit the master broadcast switch, there's no turning back."
Evelyn looked down at the blinking green light on the laptop, her expression hardening into a mask of pure, unyielding resolve.
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"Let's burn it all down," Evelyn whispered.
The elevator bell chimed softly.
