by Jaz Primo
Taking off was a breathtaking experience all its own.
Once in the air, I thanked my pilot, Major Connors, for helping us out on short notice.
“Aren’t you two the agents who shut down that EMP that I heard about on the news?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “That’s us.”
“Actually, it was Bringer,” Sanders said over our shared channel.
A feeling of satisfaction washed over me.
“Nice job,” Connors said. “Hell, after that, you don’t owe me any thanks. I’d fly your ass all the way to China and back if you asked me.”
“Don’t give him your phone number, Major,” Sanders said.
Both pilots laughed.
I tried to smile, but was too worried about arriving in D.C. in time to stop what I feared was imminent.
To my surprise, we broke the sound barrier after reaching altitude and landed at Andrews Air Force Base just outside of D.C. within the hour, more than beating what would normally have amounted to as much as a nine-hour process for us.
Wainright had an FBI helicopter ready for us as soon as we exited our planes. After a hasty change out of our flight suits, we flew directly to the Capitol complex.
Additional security, including some of the FBI agents from our TASIT team, quietly mobilized so as not to cause a panic.
On the helicopter, my thoughts were far away until Sanders gently touched my elbow.
“Hey, we’re almost there,” she said, glancing at her watch. “By now the PEP event is well under way and Congressman Criswell’s Capitol-based event began fifteen minutes ago. So far, nothing’s happened. They say no news is good news, right, Bringer?”
“Sure,” I replied, though I wasn’t feeling nearly as hopeful. “That’s what they say.”
Too much crap had happened up until now. Add to that, our enemies, whether Continuance Corporation or others yet to be identified, had track records of being both unpredictable and lethal.
Maybe I was just becoming paranoid.
Of course, people like Senator Conway had a way of encouraging that feeling in me.
“Agent Sanders,” the pilot prompted. “We’ll be landing on a helipad near the Capitol Building. We’re less than five minutes out now.”
I only hoped that my luck could hold out that long.
Then something changed.
“Negative, WAC, I’m carrying TACIT taskforce members inbounds on a critical security support assignment,” our pilot said. “Copy that. Bureau 7, out.”
Sanders unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned forward. “Problems, Taggert?”
“There’s some logistics snafu with Capitol Security,” she replied. “They’re diverting us as a matter of protocol.”
“Wait, what sort of snafu?” Sanders asked.
“Not sure, Agent,” she replied. “Washington Air Control is rerouting us away from Capitol grounds. We’ll have to land at our D.C. bureau helipad.”
“But—” Sanders protested.
“Wait one damned minute,” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt.
I darted forward while pulling Sanders backward, and leaned between the pilot and copilot.
“Hey,” Sanders protested.
“You tell them that we’re putting this bird down in front of the damned Capitol, right now,” I ordered. “Otherwise, I’ll personally thrust a fireball up their ass so hard they’ll feel it in the afterlife!”
Chapter 27
Taggert looked sidelong at me, and her expression was cool. “No need, sir,” she said. “It’s an open mic. They heard you loud and clear.”
“Nice job with mics again, Bringer,” Sanders said, giving me a slight shove.
“Copy that, WAC,” the pilot said. “Bureau 7 inbounds directly to the Capitol.”
She banked our chopper and reached out to flip a switch on the control panel before her.
“There,” she said. “The mic to tower is cold, and we’re back on our original course.”
“Thanks,” I said, sitting back in my seat. “Can you please try to get us as close as possible?”
“Roger that,” she replied. “I can put you on the front steps, if you want.”
“Thanks, Taggert,” I said, looking outside at the looming Capitol Grounds.
The helicopter made a hard bank and angled forward. It felt like we were increasing speed.
“My pleasure, Mr. Bringer. Going in hot and fast,” she replied. “Brings back memories from flying helos in the Navy.”
I definitely liked Taggert.
I looked over at Sanders, who had already dialed someone on her smartphone.
“This is Agent Sanders,” she said. “What’s the sitrep in the Capitol?”
* * *
Unbelievably, and as promised, Taggert sat us down on the green grassy area directly before the Capitol Building.
“Nice job, Taggert,” I said, opening the copter’s side door.
“Good hunting,” she replied.
Despite the height of the copter, I couldn’t help but hunch over slightly as we ran toward the Capitol steps, the whirring of the rotor blades overhead.
I scanned the area as I ran and Taggert took the chopper airborne and away before we were scarcely twenty feet from it. I saw individuals walking about, though it seemed like light crowd traffic for a weekday in Washington, D.C., especially compared to how busy the city had appeared on our approach.
I likewise didn’t see a press presence outside, which made me wonder about the success of Paul’s venture.
Strange.
Sanders was trying to intently listen to someone on her phone.
“Bringer,” Sanders said. “Security teams are out of proper place throughout the area. Apparently, Operations lost contact with them. Secret Services, FBI, and Capitol police are mobilizing now.”
I heard the sounds of multiple sirens in the distance.
“Let’s go,” I said.
We rushed to the steps leading up to the Capitol building, which I took two at a time at a dead run.
Impressively, Sanders was right at my heels. Truth told, she was probably in better cardio shape than I was.
“Something’s wrong,” Sanders said. “There should be more people here. It’s the Capitol beat and there’s not even a single reporter around.”
“I thought something felt odd,” I said, though I wished I had been mistaken.
“Here we go again,” Sanders said.
“This time, no bad guys are getting away,” I vowed.
It still pissed me off that The Teleporter had managed to escape me twice already. I thought that I’d had a shot at him the previous evening.
Who knew when I’d finally meet up with him again?
Besides, I still didn’t know how he controlled his disappearing acts, much less what the scope of his abilities was.
As soon as we breached the main entrance doors and passed through them, I knew that something was definitely wrong.
Nobody was manning the security posts or visitor inspection areas.
There wasn’t anybody in view.
Nor did I hear any commotion or gunfire. Frankly, it was eerie. The place seemed deserted.
Sanders drew her weapon. “Where is everybody?”
“Yeah,” I replied. I opened my thoughts and scanned the area before us, but I sensed only a handful of contacts. “There’s a few people in the vicinity, but not anywhere close.”
“Lockdown, maybe?” I asked.
A single gunshot echoed in the distance.
“Oh, hell,” I said. “Your turf, you lead.”
“This way,” Sanders said, hurrying down a corridor.
Warning sirens went off, as well as a series of rapid beeps that must’ve been code for something important.
We rounded a corner into a wide, historic-looking hallway. The next thing I saw was a speeding fireball flying directly at us.
I conjured a shield before us just before it impacted, sending a shockwave through my head as flames fell h
armlessly to the marble floor.
There was power behind that one.
I conjured a fireball in reply, but Sanders grabbed at my shoulder.
“Bringer! Don’t burn down the Capitol!”
Aw, shit.
I shook my hand to dispense my burgeoning fireball and strengthened a forward shield as another fireball and some bullets struck, ricocheting off it.
The fireball struck a stone wall beside us and a large portrait burst into flame.
I propelled my shield before me as I charged at our attackers, gaining speed and momentum as I went.
“Stay close!” I yelled.
I only caught part of what Sanders said as I concentrated on strengthening my shield.
“…to tell me twice,” she said.
The sounds of continued rapid gunfire preceded more bullets and another fireball striking before me.
I wasn’t backing down.
No retreat!
My shield slammed into four people at once and bodies went flying left, right, and backward.
Sanders fired from behind me as I repeatedly pounded my fist into the face of the telekinetic guy.
A woman fumbled with an assault rifle as she lay on her back before me. She raised it at me, but Sanders fired first. The woman’s body went limp and her head thumped back against the floor as her weapon fell from her grip.
The man I was pummeling managed a glancing punch to my head as I coated my fist with flames and slammed it into his face one final time.
I followed that strike with one to his chest and his body burst into flames. Before getting burned, I generated a shield before me and awkwardly staggered backward into Sanders.
“Hey!” she said, wrapping her arm around my waist to steady her balance. “Fiery hand!”
I rapidly shook my hand, extinguishing the flames to avoid singeing her.
Additional gunfire from behind us caused me to pivot in a semicircle just in time to deflect rounds coming downrange at us.
It appeared to be two Capitol police officers bearing assault rifles.
“Woah, good guys here!” I yelled as Sanders held up her badge.
“FBI!” she yelled. “TASIT taskforce!”
They ceased fire.
“Sorry, Ma’am!” yelled one officer.
“All hell’s breaking loose!” yelled the other one.
We hurried over to them and they appeared half-scared for their lives.
The sirens and warning buzzers abruptly ceased.
“What’s your situation?” Sanders demanded. “Who’s in command?”
“Who knows,” said the younger officer, who had to still be in his twenties.
“We’ve lost control of much of the building and the command center’s compromised,” the older officer said. “Attackers everywhere and some of them are wearing our uniforms. Offices just went on lockdown, but who knows if that’s even safe.”
“Don’t know for sure who’s even on our side,” said the younger officer named Cooper, according to his nametag. “The radios are offline, so Atkins and I were just trying to link up with anybody we recognized and trusted.”
“Stay with us,” Sanders said. “Where are the delegates and politicians, Atkins? Are they secure?”
“Last I heard, most managed to make it to the Senate Chambers before everything went chaotic,” Atkins said. “You can’t imagine the insanity.”
“What insanity?” she asked.
“Hell, this sounds crazy, but I saw two of our officers get tackled by some guy in black fatigues and then they all disappeared,” he said. “I can’t even find half the people who showed up for duty this morning. They’re gone! I haven’t even seen more than a handful of dead bodies!”
It had to be The Teleporter.
God, how I hated that nickname.
I’ve gotta kill him sooner than later.
Atkins nervously ran his fingers through his hair with one hand.
“Easy, Atkins,” Sanders said. “You’re not going crazy. There’s a guy who can…make things and people disappear.”
He looked at Sanders as if he was barely holding onto his last semblance of composure.
“Who the frig is supposed to fight somebody who can do that?” asked Officer Cooper.
I held up my hand and generated a flame around it. “Me, that’s who.”
Cooper practically fell backward as he gawked at me. “You’re that wizard guy!”
Seriously? Wizard guy?
“Hey, you two get your shit together and cover our flanks,” I ordered, extinguishing the flames around my hand. “And help point out any good guys to us, while you’re at it. I don’t wanna fry the wrong people.”
Both officers gave me a wide berth.
Sanders acted as guide as we hurried toward the Senate chamber.
Gunfire erupted ahead of us and we quickened our pace.
To their credit, Atkins and Cooper held themselves in check. Cooper neatly nailed one assailant as he came out of a side office at us.
There were dead bodies galore in the area leading to the Senate chamber, and most of them looked like friendlies. There was a mix of uniformed personnel, plain clothes agents, and a number of civilians, including some members of the press.
I led the way, rounding a corner to an open area outside the chamber where a half dozen armed men in plain clothes were gathered. Two of them appeared to be setting explosives against the chamber doors.
I quickly backed up and around the corner before they spotted me. I halted my group and held my finger to my lips.
“Six hostiles,” I whispered. “Two are setting explosives. I’ll go first. Follow and terminate with prejudice.”
I generated a shield and started to conjure a fireball, but suddenly extinguished it.
“What?” Sanders asked.
I looked at her. “Explosives and fire?”
She nodded.
I held up my finger for them to wait and turned the corner.
Gunfire erupted as soon as they saw me. I maintained my shield and used my abilities to grab one of the men and cast him against the others, progressively knocking four of them to the floor.
The two men setting explosives turned and fired, but their rounds hammered at my shields.
I projected my shield forward at rapid speed until it clobbered the men, slamming them backward.
“Now!” I yelled.
Sanders, Atkins, and Cooper rounded the corner and fired downrange.
Two hostiles returned fire and I heard Cooper yell out behind me.
I used my ability to grab that assailant and project him upwards into the ceiling. I followed by rapidly propelling him onto the tile floor.
After I heard bones break and he lay unmoving, I released him.
Sanders expertly shot another guy in the head and he crumpled to the floor.
I turned back to look at Cooper, who was on the floor, grasping at his left thigh, which was bleeding profusely.
Sanders and Atkins immediately went to aid him while I walked up to the chamber doors.
“To anyone inside,” I shouted. “The cavalry has arrived! We’re here to protect you!”
“Secret Service detail to Vice President Spade here,” sounded a reply. “Identify yourself.”
“I’m Logan Bringer with FBI Agent Sanders of the TASIT taskforce,” I said.
I could hear raised voices before someone yelled, “Everyone quiet!”
Then there was relative silence.
“Bringer? Is that really you?” asked a voice I definitely recognized.
Paul Criswell.
Thank goodness.
“It’s me, Paul.”
“We’re glad you’re here,” he said. “How do we know it’s you?”
“Are you kidding? I even rode backseat in a Ghost Falcon at Mach plus just to get here in time,” I said. “Now open the damned door so I can save your ass…once again!”
“You asshole,” he said, relief evident in his voice.
I
grinned.
Then there was a pause until he added, “Yes, Mr. Vice President, that’s definitely him.”
* * *
Inside, the room hosted more than four dozen senators and representatives, as well as a meager handful of Secret Service agents and four Capitol officers. A small group of civilians stood nearby, including a couple of reporters.
Sanders and Atkins helped Cooper inside while I watched for uninvited guests.
We quickly secured the doors shut.
Vice President Spade walked over to me and shook my hand. “Logan Bringer. It’s a sincere pleasure to meet you.”
The Secret Service agent beside him seemed less than enthused.
“My pleasure, sir,” I replied, shaking Spade’s hand.
Sanders stepped up beside me. “Mr. Vice President, I’m FBI Agent Megan Sanders.”
“Thank you, Agent Sanders,” he said. “We’re grateful.”
The Vice President turned to the agent beside him. “Agent Eric Jacobs here is head of my security detail,” he said. “What’s going on out there?”
Paul stood beside me while Sanders hastily recounted events since our arrival and a bevy of politicians gathered around us.
“I thought more forces would be here by now,” Spade said. “Jacobs says we can’t hold out here much longer.”
“There are barely enough agents and officers to cover potential entrances, but we’ll be in trouble if we’re attacked in force again,” Jacobs warned.
“Everyone better be mobilizing as we speak,” Sanders said. “It shouldn’t be long now.”
I wished that I felt as confident about that as she sounded. It seemed to be taking an awful long time.
“How long have you been holed up here?” I asked.
“We only secured the room about ten minutes before you arrived,” Agent Jacobs replied. “The gun battle outside was costly, but we needed to choose someplace large enough to hold us. This was the closest location.”
Jacob’s estimate suggested that things must have started going to hell during our helicopter flight to the Capitol.
“It shouldn’t take this long for backup to arrive,” Agent Jacobs said. “Communications are offline. All phone lines and Internet are down, and we can’t even get cellular signals, which in itself is damned strange.”
