by Joni Parker
***
Inside, Sergeant Donaldson lay in a fetal position while Captain Wells helped him roll onto his back. Donaldson was hurting. The Captain got up to follow her.
“What the fuck?” The Captain jiggled the door knob and pulled. “Who locked the door?” He pulled again. “She locked the fucking door!”
“That’s impossible.” The Admiral stepped up and turned the knob, pulling hard. “No!”
Tyler went over to help the Marines, pressing his lips together. He’d noticed a change in the girl’s demeanor as soon as the Admiral had mentioned a mental evaluation. It was like flipping a switch and she turned from docile to violent. She’d never hid the fact that she could be dangerous and was now proving it. What next?
***
Down the hall, Alex pointed at the next door. “Gorian,” she said in Elfspeak and heard the lock click.
As she approached the next door, an older woman with graying hair and reading glasses chained to her neck, stepped out carrying a load of papers in her arms. She stopped and stared at Alex. “Where’s your badge?” She lifted hers in the air.
Alex read her name, Edith Johnson. “I didn’t get one.” She bit her lower lip, opened her eyes wide and shrugged, as innocent a look as she could muster.
“Are you with Collins?” The woman scowled. “I told him he needed to make sure all of his personnel wear badges. Get back to his office.” She pointed down the hall.
Alex squeezed her legs together. “I really have to go to the toilet. Please.”
“Oh, all right, come along, but as soon as you’re finished, right back to his office.” The woman rolled her eyes and turned down the hall.
Silently in Elfspeak, Alex locked the door behind Edith with the Dwarf spell.
***
Inside the Admiral’s office, D.I. Tyler found the second door to the office locked. He pounded his fist on it in frustration. “Who has the key?”
Captain Jonas clenched his fist and rolled his eyes. “I knew something would go wrong.”
Admiral Collins picked up the phone and called Security. “This is Admiral Collins, code 56431 Bravo. An intruder is loose in the building. Commence Operation Lockdown. Send someone with a key to my office immediately—it’s locked.” He paused and turned beet red as he listened. “What do you mean there aren’t any keys? They’re electronic? Bollocks! I order you to unlock my door.” He paused. “No, I don’t want to cancel Operation Lockdown. What do you mean, you can’t do both?” He slammed the receiver down and grimaced, covering his face with his hands as he recalled the briefing he’d received a few days ago about the security system in his new office. Once the system was activated, the office doors were locked electronically and the only way to open them was to cancel the operation. A definite flaw in the system.
Within seconds, a loud siren blared in the hall, followed by an announcement, “Attention in the building. Operation Lockdown has been activated. Remain in place. I repeat—Operation Lockdown is in effect. Remain in place.” The siren blared once more.
***
In the hall, Edith Johnson stopped and stared at the ceiling, listening to the sirens. Alex covered her ears and glanced up to see what she was staring at.
“What’s going on?” Alex shouted over the siren.
“It’s the alarm. Follow me.” Edith waved her to the fire escape, where the noise lessened. “Everything’s been locked down. We have to report to Security.”
Alex raised her eyebrows and followed the woman upstairs through an emergency exit.
***
At the main Security desk, a guard checked the computer screens and threw his hands up. “Damn! I don’t see any fucking intruders.” The alarms continued. “I’ll check again.”
“Roger that.” The other guard typed on the computer keyboard, locking all main entrances. He picked up the red phone. “Attention in the building. Operation Lockdown has been activated. All doors will remain locked until further notice. Remain in place.” He put the phone down.
The first guard frantically checked the wall of monitors. “Who in the hell are we looking for? All I see is Edith with a guest, that’s all. This must be a drill.”
***
After Alex and Edith climbed two flights of stairs, Alex saw the sign for the garage where she had come in. Another clear sign was the lingering smell of diesel exhaust. At that moment, the stairwell door flew open and a dozen security guards, dressed in black uniforms with body armor and helmets emblazoned with the word Security, poured through. Each carried a long black rifle. The two women stood against the wall as they passed by, but one of them ran into Edith’s arms, knocking her papers to the floor. He continued on.
“Watch where you’re going.” Edith shook her fist and bent down to pick up the papers.
Alex bent down to help her, but the papers had flown down the stairs.
Another guard burst through the door. “What in the bloody hell are you doing here?”
“We were trapped when the alarm sounded. We’re on our way to Security.”
“Move your bloody arses!” He rushed by.
“I need my papers. What a mess!” She picked up more papers.
“Miss Edith, where’s the toilet?” Alex crossed her legs.
“Oh, I forgot. It’s through the door to the right. As soon as you finish, go to Security and report in. I’ll meet you there.”
Alex handed her the papers she’d picked up. “Thanks.” As she exited, she noticed a black ball with a blinking red light above her head. Squinting to look inside, she couldn’t see anything other than the light, but she guessed it was something dangerous to her. She detached the green stone from her necklace and pressed it to activate the wand. She didn’t know much about magic, but she did know it could disrupt anything. As she touched the wand to the bottom of the black ball, lightning bolts flashed inside and the red light went out. With a nod, she continued on. At the end of the hall, she paused at Security to watch the two men inside and heard them shouting at each other.
“Blast! What the bloody hell happened to camera two?” The guard on the right tapped the screen. It remained black.
“The whole fucking system’s crashing!”
The guard sat down at the computer keyboard and began hitting keys. “Are you sure this isn’t a drill?”
“No, keep working.” The other guard sat down at another keyboard.
Quietly, Alex chuckled, turning down the hall where she saw another black ball with a red light inside. She smiled and pointed her wand at it. Lightning bolts erupted inside and the red light vanished.
The guards from the Security office shouted, “Camera three’s out. Do something before the whole bloody system crashes!”
Alex grinned and kept walking.
***
Inside Admiral Collins’ office, his phone rang. The Admiral picked it up and stood at attention. “Yes, Admiral Teller. I was in the process of having the young female, Lady Dumwalt as she called herself, escorted to the clinic for examination. She was handcuffed, but broke free and locked us in my office. I called Security and ordered Operation Lockdown to keep her from leaving the building.” Sweat dripped off his brow as he listened.
“No, Admiral, I thought she was delusional—there’s no such thing as Elves. And her claim to royalty is simply preposterous. We researched her father’s title and there’s no record of it anywhere. She must have made it up.”
He paused and listened. “Yes, Admiral, I’ll be right there as soon as I can get out of my office. The doors have been locked electronically as part of Operation Lockdown.” He paused again. “No, Admiral, there aren’t any keys—it’s a new system.” He was sweating heavily. “No, Admiral, there isn’t a manual override.” He gritted his teeth and nodded. “Yes, Admiral, it is a flaw. Now we know.”
Holding the phone away from his ear, he waited until Admiral Teller finished his tirade. “Yes, Admiral, we can’t open the doors until Operation Lockdown is canceled. Security has sent out patrols t
o look for the girl in the building.” He listened. “What was that again? The young girl? Captain Jonas reported that she was a trained assassin and could be extremely dangerous.” He paused, listening. “Yes, Admiral, I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
He hung up and wiped his brow, taking a few deep breaths. Perhaps the presence of Scotland Yard had made her suspicious. Whatever it was, he was in no mood to answer to Teller. He had to find a solution, fast.
He picked up the phone. “Security? Admiral Collins here. Find a way to open the door to my office and Admiral Teller’s immediately.” He listened and his face turned red. “No, I do not want to cancel Operation Lockdown. We must find this intruder.” He paused briefly. “What do you mean, you don’t know who it is? It’s that girl…Lady Dum…walt. Her picture’s in the computer, damn it! She’s tall…wait. Blast! Tyler!” The Admiral held the receiver out for him to take the call. As he took the phone, the Admiral ordered, “Describe the girl to him.”
“Yes, Admiral. D.I. Tyler here. Check the computer for Dumwalt, d-u-m-w-a-l-t. She was with the sailors who returned earlier this morning.” He paused. “What?” He turned to the Admiral with his hand covering the mouthpiece. “The guards can’t access it. They don’t have clearance.”
“That’s right. It’s classified top secret. I’ll get it for them.” Detective Sergeant Pennington went over to the Admiral’s computer.
Tyler turned back to the phone. “I’ll describe her. She’s about six-foot tall with long black hair, blue eyes, wearing a brown cape--”
“That’s what made me suspicious,” Pennington said under her breath.
“What?” Tyler covered the mouthpiece again.
“That cloak she was wearing—it’s the latest fashion trend. I’ve got to admit I really liked it and her boots. I wonder where she got them.”
The Admiral rolled his eyes and pointed at Captain Wells. “Open that door.”
The Captain gathered the other Marine, now recovered from Alex’s blow. They kicked in unison, but the door remained locked. Captain Jonas came over to help.
The Admiral seethed. He took a drink of water and paused to think. The girl could be gone by now, if the guards didn’t know who they were looking for. He rubbed his forehead. If Operation Lockdown stopped now, she could still be in the building—on the other hand, if it continued for a while longer, the Admiral will have to wait. Fucking black bastard! Teller was his junior by four years and yet, was now a three-star Admiral who had been knighted by the King. He bristled at the thought. The bastard had been given special assignments and awards, just because he was black. Now he was here as his boss until the investigation into Hunter Dawn was completed. For now, Collins controlled the current situation; Teller would have to wait.
***
Alex ran down a hallway, noticing another black ball above her head. With a touch of whimsy, she tapped her wand against it, exploding the insides in a flash. She backed away in surprise. Acrid smelling smoke poured out of it and she waved it away with her hand. To her right was the garage where the coach had stopped. The diesel fumes lingered. She gazed out the window where it was dark and deserted. Footsteps came up behind her. In front of her was a window set in a metal frame without any hinges or latches to open it. Alex touched it with her wand.
“Wand of Spiritus, open window.”
The window swung open on a pivot in the middle, leaving a gap large enough for Alex to crawl through. Once on the other side, she tapped the window frame with the wand to close it—it spun around and fit into the frame backward.
As she stepped away, she tripped over a bundle of black rubber tubes. Alex recalled the scientists on Seaward Isle had shown her the wires to their computers had been wrapped in similar tubes, so she tapped them with her wand, severing them with a jolt of lightning. More acrid smoke rose, forcing Alex to cover her nose and mouth. At the same time, the lights in the garage went out, as they did in the building. Chuckling softly, Alex blasted the tubes again and blew on the tip of her wand as if it was smoking hot. She headed across the garage to an exit door. With a wave of her wand, she opened the door and stepped out.
***
Inside the Admiral’s office, Pennington accessed the information she wanted and hit the key to bring up a picture of Alex—the screen went black. The office was thrown into total darkness. She screamed, “No!”
“What happened to the lights? Where’s the emergency power?” Admiral Collins reached across his desk for the phone.
“The phone’s dead, Admiral.” Tyler put the receiver down. He brought out his mobile phone and touched it, providing some light. “No signal. The power’s out to the building’s antenna.”
“Blast!” The Admiral pounded his desk. “We’re going to need air soon.” He loosened his tie and removed his jacket. “We need air conditioning. There’s a back-up system, isn’t there? I’m sure it was in the plan.” His office was located two floors below street level with no exterior windows or doors. It had been located in a separate building from the Ministry of Defense, due to an extensive renovation project in the ministry building. Emergency battery lights flicked on, but it didn’t help the Admiral’s mood. He sat down and rubbed his face with a cool water bottle.
Chapter 13
ON THE RUN
Alex took several deep breaths and stepped out to the street. She paused to get her bearings. The fresh air felt good in her lungs. She turned the wand back into a green stone and attached it to the chain around her neck. Ahead of her, stood a group of people, so she fell in at the back and strolled down the sidewalk after them. The group stopped at the street corner where she saw a sign for Trafalgar Square and the statue of Admiral Nelson.
***
Inside the building, the Security guards were occupied at their keyboards, trying to get the back-up generator online, when one of them saw something move and turned in time to see the door open.
“Hey, mate. Someone’s going out the car park.”
“What? No way.” The other guard glanced up and saw Alex’s brown cloak as the door closed. “Bloody hell! That’s her. How’d she get past us?”
The first guard swallowed hard. “Notify Admiral Collins.”
“You’re the senior man. Better you than me.”
He picked up the phone and put it down. “Dead.” He headed to the door and pushed, but couldn’t get out. “Unlock the door.”
“I can’t.” The guard hit the button several times. “Nothing’s working.”
The second guard went to the electrical panel on the wall and flipped the switches. He counted to ten and flipped them back on again, but nothing happened. “Blast!” He stepped back and ran his hand through his hair. “Now what?” He rushed over to look at the contingency plan, but it was in his computer. “Damn!”
***
Alex examined Admiral Nelson’s statue. It was the right statue, but the wrong direction. She’d seen the Admiral’s left profile when they drove in. In front of her, a group of people blocked her way. She started to go around, but a female tour guide arrived, holding an umbrella.
“My apologies for the delay. Let’s proceed.” The guide raised the open umbrella. “No worries—the police have the situation under control. Please follow me and watch your step. We’re entering Trafalgar Square. Thank you for your patience.” She waited for the traffic light to change.
As the tour guide led the group across the street, Alex followed behind. After they passed a line of coaches, Alex turned away and strolled to the next corner, closer to the river. It was getting dark and the tall buildings and constant stream of traffic confused her. The coach had come this way—it was the correct view of Admiral Nelson. Alex strolled across the street with another group of people.
“Love your boots.” A young woman nodded to Alex and kept going.
“Thanks.” Alex stopped at the next corner with the rest of the people and turned to look at the young woman—her knee-length brown plaid cloak flapped in the breeze, revealing her brown jac
ket over a gray blouse. Her brown trousers were tucked into tall gray boots. The young woman stopped at the corner and looked back at Alex.
Alex nodded, lifted her eyebrows, and looked down at the woman’s boots; the woman smiled.
An electronic chirping noise drew Alex’s attention back to the people around her who started walking across the street. As she followed behind, she noticed two more young women, wearing cloaks and tall boots. One of the women pulled her hood over her head and Alex realized her black hair stood out, so she pulled the hood over her head. It was the first time in her life she was in style and could blend in.
***
Meanwhile in the Security office, one of the guards wrote a note on a pad of paper and held it up to the window.
A security guard in the garage cupped his hands over the window and read the sign. He squinted, furrowing his brow as he turned around and glanced at the door. Speaking into his battery-powered walkie-talkie, he said, “She left the car park, lads.” Then he called the police.
***
Even from a distance, Alex could hear the alarms; guards blew whistles and shouted at each other—she ducked into a small shop and glanced at postcards in a rack. After the guards ran by, they turned down a small street to the river. Alex followed behind, zigzagging between the buildings until she reached a raised platform overlooking the river where she could watch the situation unfold.
The wrought iron railings provided little cover, but a line of bystanders stood in front of her; she could monitor the activity through the gaps between them. Soon, dozens of police officers joined the action, arriving in cars marked with yellow and blue squares, flashing blue lights, and blaring sirens. The police and guards fanned out in an intense search pattern and several police officers had dogs on leashes. When Alex saw the dogs, she immediately pulled her energy in, knowing they were sensitive enough to detect her.
