Hell is the absence of reason.
MIT
Cambridge Mass.
1800
H-hour minus 8
Kat was humming as I walked into the lab, “Hey kiddo, how’s it coming?”
“Pretty good, I’ve got the Matter Accelerator all calibrated, you heading out?”
“Yep, my contact is waiting for me off campus, just have everything ready for when I get back, remember the plan?”
Kat nodded, “Ten minutes after you go through, get out of the building and call the number you gave me, get back home and lay low until things cool down, if things go sideways call Chief Riley at Dam Neck” She cast a look around the room, “I’m going to miss this place”
I smiled, “They’ll rebuild it Kat”
The number I’d given her was attached to six thermite charges and two bricks of SEMTEX, when it blew, it’d blow so big and so hot, that nothing of the portal or any of the research would be left behind. I grabbed my go-bag and headed for the door.
“I love you Kat”
“I love you too Mickey, be careful”
“Wilco, if I’m not back by 0500..” I let it hang.
Kat’s eyes turned steely, “Blow it”
I flashed her a thumbs up and set off at a brisk pace down the hall, Todd was waiting..
DOE HQ Forrestal Building
Washington D.C
0155
H-Hour minus 5 mikes
We parked a block away, going over the plan one more time.
“Roll in five, you remember the layout?”
“Records are on the third floor, 5 guards before the shift change 3 after, plus the gate guard.”
“Right, in 3 we’ll push on the perimeter fence towards the side entrance. We’ve only got a 5 minute window to traverse the property, any longer and the alarms will be on, once we’re inside I’ll advance to the security station and kill the cameras, comms, and alarms. You’ll advance to the records room, grab the package, 30 mike, tops and we’ll be in the wind”
I nodded, “Rog’, lets do the damn thing”
I looked at my watch.
“Go”
We moved fast, cover to cover across the parking lot, the side door was in sight. Todd and I stacked up, I waited for the squeeze while he checked his watch, 10 seconds went by…15...20 .I felt Todd’s hand squeeze my shoulder and I yanked the door open, we fanned out and took control of the side room, moving out into the corridor.
I took a knee, “Alright, I’m headed to the third floor, better have the grid down off or we’re dead before we started”
Todd peeked around the corner, chuckling “Roger that, 5 mike and the grid’ll be down, have faith my son”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll see you outside buddy”, Todd moved out the door and made his way to the substation. I checked my gear, my HK45CT was secured on my hip, an MP7A1 with a suppressor and an Eotech slung across my chest purely out of shit happens, the guards here were unarmed and I wasn’t out to kill my countrymen. Period. We were relying on surprise to rule the day. I sliced the doorway and headed up the stairwell, passing the 2nd floor when Todd’s voice crackled over the radio.
“Substation secured, killing the grid in 2”
“Rog’, passing the second floor, holding at 3, on your go”
I reached the door to the 3rd floor, placing my hand on the doorknob, I waited for the word. A million thoughts rushed to the foreground, Twilight among them. I shoved it all down, no time for that, gotta focus.
“Grid’s down, Go!”
I ripped the door open and sliced into the hallway, “3rd floor hall is clear, where are the tangos?”
“I’ve got two in the break room and one walking the fourth floor, looks like a circuit patrol, I’ll let you know if he heads your way”
“Copy, server room is in sight, cracking”, I slid the Algorithmic Cracker into the keycard lock, after a few beeps the lock popped, I cleared the room quick and set up at the desktop in the corner.
Username: Admin
Password:********
Search: Bajuar, Pakistan
No results…
“Todd?, I’m not getting anything on the system”
“Dig, we’re clear for 10 mike more, then it’s gonna get complicated”
“Rog’”
Access:Root_login
Accessing……
Root accessed
Search: Bajuar
Not found…
“Todd?, What gives? There’s nothing on Bajuar in the system.”
A voice behind me, “There wouldn’t be”
A hammer blow to the side of my head laid me out on the tile. I felt my weapons being stripped
“Get up Petty Officer”
I coughed, spat a bloody glob onto the floor as I staggered to my feet, the guy in front of me was about 5’10 fortyish and reeking of OGA, his weapon aimed at my heart
“Walked you right into it Dunn, we knew something had gone down after the blast, we just didn’t know what. Trusting Fuller? Another mistake.”
“And who would you be asshole?
The mystery man smiled “James Tollevin, CIA. Now Petty Officer, care to explain why you’re in a federal government facility accessing classified records?”
“You should mind your own business, you’ll live longer”
He began to laugh outright, “Were you stupid enough to believe we haven’t had you under observation this whole time?, in the hospital in India? You talk in your sleep son, and you had some quite interesting things to say, Magic? Really?”
This asshole seemed to be enjoying himself, “That’s why you followed me here? Dreams?!”
He shook his head, “Dreams… that’s what we thought at first, then you disappeared from Little Creek and wound up here, it all added up too nicely for comfort. Our suspicions were all but confirmed when you called Fuller, the rest was easy. Let me lay it out for you, You were going to grab the spectral and freq data off these computers and use it to affect this little trip of yours. Am I correct?” the shock must’ve shown on my face, “Surprised?, we bugged your sister’s laboratory on a hunch, boy howdy did that pay off”
“Fuck you”
“One way or another Petty Officer, we’re going to find out where you went, you know we are”
I threw myself at him, the crack of a gunshot shattering the silence, accompanied by a searing pain in my chest, I knocked his gun away, delivering a fist to his throat and a knee to his ribs, he reeled away gagging. I snatched up his Beretta and fired a round into his face, over as fast as it started.
My chest was killing me, I looked down to check the damage, blood was flowing slowly from a hole just off center from my sternum…Lucky he didn’t hit my fucking spine.
“Suck it up Frogman, that asshole Todd is still fucking around out there somewhere”
I kneeled next to the OGA asshole and started rifling through his pockets…Bingo, Spectral analysis for the Bajuar detonation. How the fuck the team of OGA operators snuck up behind me I’ll never know, but I sure as shit felt the round that sliced through my arm, spinning me to the deck, I recovered quick and racked my MP7 dumping the mag on full auto towards the door, they were fucking with the wrong guy, I was slamming a new mag home when a realization hit me like a freight train.
Oh Fuck…Kat…