To Steal a March (Surviving the Fall 11)

Tina glanced at Jason, who was already looking at the damage. “We won’t lose them. Will we, Jason?”

“No.” He kept his eyes on the blackened wood, but both Mark and Tina could see the traces of tears forming at the mention of his wife’s name. “This is all superficial. You caught the fire before it could do any real damage.” He looked at Mark, his eyes glimmering in the reflection of the flashlight. “Nice work, Mark. You saved your home.”

“And now,” Tina intoned, “we’re going to save the rest of our family and friends.”

Chapter 3

Washington, D.C.

After combing the above-ground halls of the expansive building, Jane, Carl, Dr. Evans and the two technicians began searching the basement levels. While a simple visual inspection would have been enough for some types of searches, trying to find a system that contained information about Damocles was incredibly slow and methodical. Each room had to be scanned for any materials that referenced Damocles and, if it looked

like anything was present, the computer had to be taken up to the squad car where it was connected to the power inverter, turned on and forensically analyzed by one of the techs.

After searching dozens of machines, Jane and Dr. Evans made the call to abandon any more searches of the rooms above ground and focus on the more secure areas in the basement levels. There were three such levels according to the maps located at each floor’s stairwell, but Dr. Evans was the first to call that number out as suspicious.

“These stairwells are too wide and thick. Government contractors use this type when they want to dig deep. I guarantee there’s at least five, maybe seven floors below ground.”

The first two floors of the basement were virtually identical to those aboveground, albeit far darker. Most of the windows on the building were false anyway, but belowground the only illumination besides flashlights were the faint flickers from a few emergency lights whose batteries hadn’t completely died.

Insulated from any external sounds, the basement levels were eerily quiet, and the whole search group—even the normally unaffected Carl—found themselves whispering. The shadows in the halls were long and hard, dancing with each sway and flicker of the lights. By the time the group reached the third and, supposedly, final floor of the basement, Dr. Evans could see that his suspicions were correct.

“Anybody notice the stairs?”

The two technicians, eager to please their idol, started stumbling over each other as they tried to speak, though neither of them said much at all. It was Jane who realized what Dr. Evans was talking about, as she stood on the last stair leading down into the third floor.

“This flight of stairs is shorter than the others.”

“Exactly right!” Dr. Evans beamed at her. “Notice also that the roof seems shorter. It’s because the floor is thicker.”

“For insulation and isolation!” The two technicians spoke in unison, then Jacob continued. “So you were right. There’s another floor below us.”

“More than one. We need to find the entrance, though. It’ll be disguised, locked and heavily armored. I don’t know how we’ll break through.”

Oles grinned and tapped the shoulder strap of his backpack. “Leave that to us.”

***

While the rooftop watch session had been stress-free, Rick could feel tensions rising as he and Ostap slowly descended the stairs to see what the search team had uncovered. He couldn’t pinpoint the source of the tension, but when he glanced over at the Russian officer he could see that Ostap’s body movements had become more rigid and deliberate, eschewing the casualness from before. Something was going on. He didn’t know what, but Jane’s words once again rang in his ears.

“Rick!” Jane’s voice carried down the dark hallway as he and Ostap came to the bottom of the stairs. She jogged down toward him and put her hands on her hips as she addressed the two men. “We found the door leading down into the lower levels. Ostap, I have to say, your techs are some talented guys. The equipment they’re using to break the electronic lock is—”

“Not supposed to be seen by those who aren’t authorized to do so.” Ostap interjected, his voice cold and hard. Realizing at the last second what he sounded like, he forced himself to relax and put on a smile. “Still. At the end of the world, what’s a bit of covert tech between friends? Come on, let’s go see the progress they’ve made.”

As Ostap led the way down the hall, Jane hung back and leaned in close to Rick, whispering to him as they walked. “What’s with him?”

“I don’t know. He’s been acting odd.”

“You think I’m right about him?”

“Maybe. I hope not. What about Carl and those technicians?”

“The technicians look like they want to marry Dr. Evans; pretty sure they’re harmless. Carl’s been fine. Helpful, quiet, nothing but professional. Maybe he’s not in on it with Ostap.”

“Don’t count on it.” Rick shook his head. “Keep your pistol close by and don’t hesitate to use it.”

“Gentlemen,” Ostap announced as he walked up to the two technicians, “please report on your progress. And spare no details.”

Oles and Jacob glanced at each other before Jacob cleared his throat. “There’s emergency power still running through the security systems on the door. We’re wired in and the decryption software’s running. We’re close to finishing on it.”