The Rowen (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 7)

by JC Ryan

  “So, the decoy team that was supposed to exit at the Blair house didn’t show either?”

  “Nope. No one showed up at any of the designated or backup sites.”

  ‘The best-laid schemes of mice and men go oft awry,’ Sam remembered the line from a Robert Burns poem.

  “Alright, we have a missing President, Vice President, and their staff. We have not one, but two missing decoy teams, and as yet are unable to account for the welfare of the White House staff and anyone else who may have been inside.

  Jack replied. “Yep, that’s an accurate summary. However, I must point out; Hayden obviously hasn’t found the President and Vice President either. So let’s not get desperate.

  “Is it possible that the President found a hiding place inside and is evading Hayden that way?” Sam asked.

  “At this point, I’d say just about anything is possible, Sam.”

  “Alright. Tell everyone to hold their positions and let’s see if anything shakes loose. Jack, get Tectus to send a few team members into Hayden’s camp to see if they can learn anything. The rest of us here will put our heads together and start work on alternatives.”

  When Jack hung up, he looked at Peter. “Well, what do you think?”

  Peter sat silently for a few moments deep in thought. “I think we need information; I’m going to take a look inside.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Jack said.

  “Let’s do it!” Peter grinned.

  They made their way boldly across the street in plain sight of anyone who might be watching, stopping to pick up weapons on the way. Peter chose a baseball bat that was covered in blood and Jack an axe with skin and cloth still hanging from it.

  Just as they reached the entrance to the building, a man with a pitchfork came around the corner. “Hey! You there! Stop!”

  “Hi! How’d your area check out?” Peter asked as the man approached.

  “I haven’t seen a sign of them. You?” the man replied.

  “Nothing yet, still looking. The General asked me to check the Treasury building.”

  “Again?” the man asked incredulously. “We’ve checked it twice!”

  “Well, I guess it’s my turn—want to come?”

  “Hell no! There’re too many dead bodies in there—gives me the creeps. ‘Course it isn’t much better out here,” he said surveying the remnants of the most recent civil war skirmish. “I think I’m going to go get a drink somewhere.”

  “That sounds like a grand idea!”

  “Wanna come?

  “Nah, I’m gonna make a quick check of this place,” Peter inclined his head toward the building, “and then head home to my girl,” Peter winked.

  The man grinned back at him, “In that case, I wouldn’t waste my time with the building, but have it your way!”

  Jack looked at Peter. “I can see I don’t have to worry about you. They trained you CIA spooks to think and lie on your feet. Well done!”

  “The best defense is a good offense! Fit in first, fight second; listen and learn; they gave us all kinds of training,” Peter grinned. “So many people think spy work is about sneaking around with a gun and breaking into places for information. It’s really about how well you can fit into a situation and function as one of the group—being a chameleon.”

  “Let’s go… ya big lizard!” Jack laughed.

  “Careful, friend,” Peter cautioned with a smile, “the Komodo dragon is also a lizard - and a big one!”

  Peter knew that twinkle in Jack’s eyes meant he would probably never live this down.

  Stepping inside the Treasury Building, they quickly but carefully made their way through the darkened hallways toward the tunnel entrance. The tile floors gleamed softly in the dim lighting of the building. They passed by beautifully designed spiral staircases and many columns reminiscent of the Greek Revival style architecture of the building. Had the building been fully illuminated, they would have been able to see the baroque designs on the ceilings.

  When they reached the tunnel, they paused to listen and then, hearing only silence, cautiously stepped inside and began to make their way toward the East Wing.

  With room for three to walk abreast, the tunnel, with its low ceiling, concrete block structure, and concrete floor was in stark contrast to the wide, high-ceiling, richly decorated hallways they had just passed through. They moved stealthily through the tunnel, pausing to listen every few steps, and stepping over bodies, watching for anyone they knew.

  They’d identified two dead Secret Service agents, picked up their guns and magazines, checked the guns and moved on into the East Wing. There was no sign of Daniel’s party or the decoys—nor had they seen a living person. The East Wing seemed to be just as deserted—only dead bodies in the hallways.

  It was evident that quite a battle had taken place near the tunnel entrance. Aside from the bodies, the walls were riddled with bullet holes, pictures hung askew on the walls or lay on the floor beneath their mounts, and a serving tray, its contents scattered nearby, lay abandon in a nearby corner.

  “Wherever they went, it looks like they got there by the skin of their teeth,” Jack whispered.

  They listened for a moment and decided it was safe to proceed into the hallway.

  “I think, on the off chance that they had somehow managed to shelter in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, I’m going to check there first,” Peter told Jack, “and then I’ll check the Reagan tunnel and over to the Blair House.”

  “I’m going to check the lower floor and sub-basement, then return to the car,” Jack advised.

  “Okay,” Peter agreed. “Pick me up on 17th Street when you’re done.”

  Jack nodded, and they went their separate ways.

  Taking the stairs to the first floor, Jack passed through the Lobby and Garden Room, made his way along the East Colonnade through the Visitor’s Foyer and into the Center Hall of the White House ground floor. He took the stairway immediately to his right and entered the sub-basement.

  He’d barely taken two steps toward the hallway when he heard a voice behind him, “Don’t move, hands up.”

  Jack froze as a Secret Service agent stepped in front of him, gun drawn and leveled, ready to fire.

  “I’m not one of Hayden’s people; my name is Jack Symonds; I’m with the Rossler Foundation.”

  The agent before him sized him up for a moment. “If that’s true, name the rendezvous point.”

  “Which one?”

  “You pick.”

  “Southern exits were to meet at Constitution Gardens.”

  The agent still didn’t lower his weapon.

  “That’s a logical guess. What else?”

  “If the President were going to exit from the West Wing, Vice President Rossler would have called her plan to the Foundation referring to it as Operation Condor.”

  The agent lowered his weapon. “You took one hell of a risk coming down here. Why?”

  “We’re looking for the President and Vice President. They called in that they were leaving through the East Wing, but never appeared. I decided to check down here.”

  “The last I heard over the radio they did leave through the East Wing as planned. We came down here and have been leaving, alone or in groups of twos and threes through the courtyard above as if we are part of Hayden’s troops. We mingle with the troops, then the crowd, and work our way to the North rendezvous point. There’s only a few of us left down here.”

  “Do you know anything about the other groups?”

  “No, shortly after I heard the report of the invasion, Hayden’s men took over the radio system and we have been maintaining radio silence.”

  “Okay, go ahead and get the rest of your group out, and go with them. I’m going to check a few more places and then leave myself.”

  The two men shook hands. “Good luck,” they said almost in unison.

  Jack did a quick check of the storage rooms, the air conditioning center, and the dish wash area, counting five peopl
e in addition to the two agents. Then he took the stairs on the west end of the hallway to the basement under the North Portico.

  He checked the carpenter shop, storage areas, Nixon’s bowling alley, and the flower shop but saw no signs of anyone. Just as he started up the stairs to return to the ground level, he saw two of the people from the sub-basement emerge from the stairwell and slip out the door into the west courtyard.

  At least I’ll have some good news when I get back—some of them have gotten out.

  Peter got to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center; it was the one area free of damage and bodies.

  They had obviously been here but got away.

  Don’t want Hayden digging himself in here.

  He checked the door mechanism and found that it was still operational. The door had been blocked open by someone’s shoe. He removed the shoe and secured the door.

  Only an authorized fingerprint can open this door now.

  From there he worked his way back up to the fourth level and moved toward the access door to the Reagan tunnel, following it to the Oval Office. Being inside the White House, this narrow corridor was equipped with lights, and he was relieved when he didn’t come across any more bodies.

  If they came this way, at least they were safe—this far at least.

  ***

  Before Peter reached the door to the Oval Office, he heard Hayden’s shouting.

  “What do you mean you lost them? How can you lose a room full of people?” Hayden shouted. He had completely forgotten that he too had just managed to lose the equivalent of a room full of people.

  “They were all right here in this office when we left with you for the East Wing to capture the others. When we returned, they were gone.”

  “You didn’t think to leave someone here to guard them?”

  “No sir, you said they were decoys, and we were after the President and Vice President, so we didn’t think you wanted those people held.”

  “Idiots! I’m surrounded by complete idiots!” he shouted shoving the unfortunate soldier away from him. “Do I have to think of everything? Do I?”

  The General’s eyes were bulging, and saliva was beginning to dribble from the corners of his mouth. Those around him looked at one another in alarm and tried to, unobtrusively, step away from him. They all knew the General was a tightly wound man, and right now he was becoming slightly undone. No one was sure what he was going to do next.

  The room became silent as the General paced, pulling himself back together.

  “Alright. Forget about the decoys. I want this place and the tunnels searched—every closet, cupboard, alcove, bedroom—everywhere!”

  “But sir, we’ve already searched the House, the Wings, the tunnels through to the Treasury and Blair house, and they just aren’t here.”

  “Ask the staff—beat the information out of them if you have to.”

  “The staff have vanished as well, sir.”

  “What! They didn’t just disappear. They’re here somewhere—all of them. Find them! Find them now!

  “And send reinforcements to both Andrews and Anacostia. If they did get out, they aren’t going to get to either one of those planes.”

  Oh oh. Peter thought. That’s going to cause problems if they’re still trying to make it to Air Force One. But what was that about another plane?

  He heard people leaving the office and decided it was time to move on and meet Jack. He carefully stepped through the door arriving near the President’s private bathroom outside the Oval Office and fell in with the group as they filed out to search the premises again.

  Starting off toward the stairs that led down to the tunnel to the Blair House, he stopped and checked each room as if he were one of Hayden’s troops.

  He was alone when he reached the entrance to the tunnel. He double-checked that it was clear and stepped inside. He switched on the flashlight app on his smartphone. This tunnel was older and narrower than the one to the Treasury Building.

  Again, he was relieved to find the tunnel free of the dead or injured. He reached the basement of the Blair House without finding any evidence that anyone had come this way.

  He left through the back door, made his way quietly across the courtyard and down the alleyway, appearing on 17th street just as Jack was starting to worry.

  “You’re not going to believe this buddy,” Peter said as he got into the car with Jack. “We need to get HQ on the line.”

  Jack dialed, and as soon as Sam answered, he put the phone on speaker.

  “Sam, everyone,” Peter said, “the White House is empty except for dead bodies and Hayden’s people.”

  “You mean Daniel and the President, and everyone is dead?” Sam asked horror-stricken.

  “No! Sorry, that’s not what I meant!” Peter corrected. “I mean that Daniel, the President, the decoys, the staff, everyone is gone.”

  “How did you find this out?”

  Peter related his excursion through the White House and what he heard in the Oval Office.

  At the conclusion of Peter’s report, Jack added, “I checked out the sub-basement and found two remaining Secret Service Agents and a few staff members. From their report, they are escaping alone or in small groups through the courtyard by blending in with Hayden’s troops and then making their way to the North rendezvous point.”

  “That’s good news!” Sam said.

  “Peter, Nigel here. How many Secret Service Agents were down?”

  Peter thought for a moment counting silently. “No more than half a dozen.”

  Nigel frowned. “I may have an idea where they went, and if I’m right, given what you’ve just told us about reinforcements at the two bases, Peter, they’re going to need some help.”

  Chapter 25- A back-up plan

  After coming to a dead end at the West Wing parking lot, the agent led the decoys and staff members deserted by Hayden on through the lobby, across the hallway, and into an opening that accessed a stairwell to the lower floor.

  From there he checked to be sure the way was clear of Hayden’s people and led them across another hallway and into an infrequently used office.

  The office was unadorned having only a desk, two oak-finished filing cabinets, oak paneling on the right-hand wall, and a full-wall oak bookcase on the opposite side. Stepping to the left corner of the bookcase, he pulled the spine of one of the books open and pressed a button. To the astonishment of the people with him, the center section of the bookcase swung open revealing a dark stairwell.

  He pushed another button, and a dim light appeared at the foot of the staircase. He motioned for everyone to proceed quietly and follow the tunnel below. After the last person had started down the stairs, he carefully closed the wall, took the stairs two at a time, and sprinted to catch up with the leader of the group.

  “Where does this go?” Someone asked.

  “To the Blair House.”

  “But the General’s troops are all over the place; we won’t be able to get out of there either.”

  The agent grinned. “Oh yes we will!”

  When they emerged into the empty brick basement of the Blair House, several people started for the stairs. The agent stopped them. “No, not that way. Come this way!” And he opened a door marked ‘mechanical room’ and stepped inside.

  The room contained what looked like a boiler, water heater, water filtration system, and a few other things that were not identifiable. A panel marked ‘Master Control Unit’ was installed on the right-hand wall. He approached the panel, pushed a couple of buttons and part of the wall slid aside revealing a concrete platform and several maroon underground monorail cars gleaming in the overhead lights. Tracks disappeared into the tunnel in both directions. “Hurry, get in!” the agent encouraged.

  With stunned expressions, everyone quickly made their way onto the platform and boarded one of the cars. By this time, one of the other agents had taken a seat in the front compartment of the monorail and as the last agent stepped aboard it b
egan to move.

  “Where are we going now?” someone asked sounding half amazed half scared.

  “To Camp David!” The agent said with a big grin as the cars smoothly picked up speed.

  ***

  They had just entered the Treasury building when Daniel heard a gunshot and saw the leading agent fall. “We’re trapped!” yelled a second agent, “Fall back!”

  “Can we get to the basement of the Treasury building?” Laurie asked one of the agents.

  “No, ma’am. With Hayden’s troops covering this tunnel entrance, there is no way to exit and reach the basement stairwell safely.

  Several agents ran forward to lay down fire, “Get them to safety,” one of them yelled referring to Laurie and Daniel. The remaining agents turned, and Daniel found himself being propelled back the way they’d come.

  He managed two steps before he felt a tremendous blow from behind and was knocked to the floor. He heard someone shout “Veep down” just as his brain registered searing pain tearing through his left shoulder.

  He was lifted bodily and flung over the shoulders of someone who began to run again.

  “We’re going to run into Hayden’s forces this direction too!” Rick shouted.

  “No!” the girl said. “I know a way out! Quickly, come this way!”

  The agents looked at one another for a moment. “She grew up in the White House,” one of them shrugged, “what do we have to lose?”

  They followed her another 30 yards where she stopped and disappeared into an alcove.

  “There’s nothing there! It’s just an old storage closet without a door,” one of the agents said.

  She stuck her head back around the corner of the alcove. “Hurry!”

  They could hear Hayden’s men approaching from both directions.

  “Follow her,” the President ordered.

  “Put me down,” Daniel told the agent. “It’s a shoulder wound; I can walk.”

  Daniel found himself set on his feet inside the alcove illuminated only by the light from the tunnel. He was astonished to see that the left side of the concrete block alcove was actually fairly deep, but there was no one in it. He turned and stepped quickly toward the end, but when he arrived, he found a narrow passageway to the right and stepped through.