by Nick Harlow
“So what’s the plan?” asked Jordan.
“Like I said, we wait till Mayfair calls, then unlock the elevator. Whoever comes down thinks I’m dead, so I’ll be ready. The rest of you will be in the other room, but armed, just in case he gets by me. I plan to wound him and then the rest of you get him tied up and I’ll make him talk.”
“Suppose he won’t talk?” asked Sydney.
Ryan chuckled a bit. “Don’t worry, I’ll make him talk. I’ve got a friend who was stationed in Guantanamo and told me a few things that the general public doesn’t need to know about interrogation.”
“I hate to bring this up, but I don’t want you to be in serious trouble when this is over. Aren’t certain forms of interrogation illegal?” asked Sydney.
“Yeah, but what they’re doing is more illegal. And right now, my job is to protect you guys by any means necessary, and I deem this necessary. Nothing is off the table to keep you safe. Trust me, if whoever we capture is alive, I’ll get him to talk. That’s all you guys need to know. And you don’t have to watch if you don’t want to. It’s actually better if you don’t.” Ryan turned toward the other room and raised his voice. “Hey, MacGyver, how are you coming with your teleprompter project?”
“Slow, but I’m making progress. I’m having to cannibalize a lot of stuff to make the connections work. I’m dealing with technology from two different decades and I have to get the dead agent’s microphone and the modem to interface. But don’t worry, I’ll get it to connect. Whether it actually works is anyone’s guess..”
“Great.” He turned to Andrea. “How’s our home economics cooking class coming?”
“Easier than baking a cake. Tear gas is almost done. I emptied six glass jars from the food supply closet so we’ll have a half dozen bombs to throw. I also brought out a big supply of gas masks.”
“Excellent.”
“And a wheelchair, if you’d like us to get you into it so you can move around a little.”
“I would. That would help. Thank you, Andrea.”
Sydney looked at the group. A feeling of dread washed over her as she wondered if they would possibly be successful against an army of highly trained agents. “So, uh, Agent Ryan, after we get one guy down here and captured, is your plan to send us up in the elevator—”
Ryan shook his head. “No, of course not. No way you’re going up there. You guys wouldn’t stand a chance against the best field agents in the country. It all depends on getting through to the outside world. They need to know that we’re not hostages and that we can provide a diversion. Hopefully that’s all you guys will have to do. But I’m not sending you out by yourselves as some sort of attack force. Right now our best weapon against Mayfair is to take out one more of his guys, find out what they’re up to and make him re-think his plan. Which might force him to make a mistake. If we can capture one of his people, he’ll be down two members of his team since Brooks is already dead. And if we can find out what he wants from your father and we can find a way to tell the guys outside, that gives us a huge advantage.”
“Suppose he figured out how to bypass the elevator lock and sends an attack force at us?” asked Scott.
“Then the moment that elevator door opens we hit them with tear gas and fire everything we’ve got. While we’re basically cornered down here, there’s only one way to get to us, and that leaves them more vulnerable than us. Meanwhile, we wait. The next move has to be Mayfair’s. Unfortunately there’s no way to speed him up.”
Scott slowly nodded. “So is this the Secret Service playbook for situations like this?”
“There is no precedent for a scenario involving a bunch of teenagers. Or the President’s daughter. But there’s the old strategy of divide and conquer that always makes victory possible when you do it to the enemy. And finding out their motivation will give us an edge as well.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sydney wore a trench in the carpet, pacing in the bunker’s Situation Room while keeping an eye on the networks, all of which seemed to be showing the same static shot of the White House. She threw her hands in the air. “Nothing’s happening. Why is nothing happening? What the hell is Mayfair waiting for? And what does he want?”
“Will you please sit down and try to relax?”
She stopped pacing and turned to Scott. “Sorry. I’m just... my dad’s got a gun to his head and apparently no one’s doing anything to rescue him and we have to sit here and wait for Mayfair to make the first move and Ryan needs medical help...” She shook her head and looked away.
Scott stood up, moved toward her and took her hands. “Syd, you’re in run-on sentence mode. I know it’s hard, but try to calm down a bit. Look at me. Breathe.”
Her voice cracked as she looked at him. “That’s not your father upstairs.”
He nodded. “I understand, and I know how close you two are. But you know he’s a soldier at heart and if anyone can get out of this, he can. Your dad is tough as nails and a great negotiator.”
She bit her lower lip and felt her eyes well up. “I already lost my mom...”
He opened his arms wide. “C’mere.”
She moved into his arms and gave him a strong hug, laying her head on top of his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She closed her eyes and breathed in his earthy cologne, his touch seeming to melt her anxiety a bit. “Thanks, Scott, I needed this.”
He gently stroked her hair. “Part of my job. I’m your Wingman, remember? I’ve got your back, Spitfire. That’s what we wingmen do.”
His words lightened the moment. She leaned back and smiled at him as her hands slid down around his waist. “And don’t you forget it, Mister. I really need you today.”
“Happy to serve at the pleasure of the President’s daughter.”
“Seriously, Scott, I’m glad you’re here. Hang on, that came out wrong. I mean, I’m not glad you’re a hostage, but, I mean, if you weren’t here to calm me down—”
“Run-on sentence again. I totally understand. Look, we’ll get out of this. We’ve got a plan to help and get information, we’ve got a great Secret Service Agent with us and a bunch of really smart people down here. Ryan has already taken out one member of Mayfair’s team and we should be able to get another. Your dad’s a smart guy who is no doubt working on his own plan upstairs. Put it all together and we’ll come out of this okay.”
“But my dad has no idea that I’m not a hostage.”
“Well, we don’t know that. And once we establish communications with the outside world and let them know we’re not hostages, the game changes in our favor. And gives your father an edge.”
Sydney let go. “I sure hope you’re right. If only I could let my father know. Because I know he’d agree to anything to protect me and I’m worried he’ll give away the store to save me.” She walked toward a chair, sat, and stared at the TV monitors. “I was going to wait up for him tonight, watch some of our favorite TV shows with him to help him relax. He has that situation with the Russians, the election a few days away... the poor guy has been fried... and now I wonder if I’ll ever see him again.”
He followed her and extended his hand. “Don’t think that way. C’mon, stop watching TV and let’s go see how our geek squad is doing.”
She looked up at him, his eyes a sea of calm, took his hand and got up. They headed to the auxiliary Oval Office, finding Vince and Kyle working on the teleprompter computer while Jordan was lining up a bunch of glass jars. A pile of gas masks sat at one the end of the table while the other end was covered with cannibalized items and a bunch of fire extinguishers. “How’s it going, guys?”
“We’re getting close. We think,” said Vince, who held a cigarette lighter and flicked it while Vince held two wires over the flame for a second.
“We don’t have a soldering iron,” said Kyle, who pulled the wires away from the lighter. “But this works.” He held up the wires by one end, showing they were now connected.
“I’ve got the d
ead agent’s microphone hooked up to the computer,” said Vince. “But I won’t know if it will work until we get connected to a phone line. This model of computer was not really designed for outgoing speech, especially from a device fifteen years newer. I’m not real confident it will work, but you never know.”
Scott pointed at all the jars. “Are those our tear gas grenades?”
Jordan nodded as she started heading back to Agent Ryan. “Yep, and they’re ready to go. Just remember if you have to use them throw them hard enough to break the glass and make sure you have a gas mask on. I got a little whiff of that stuff and it’s really strong.”
“What’s with all the fire extinguishers? You think this stuff might blow up?”
Jordan shook her head. “They’re weapons. If we need something faster than tear gas, shoot someone in the face with a fire extinguisher and they’ll be temporarily blinded and choke on the carbon dioxide. I rigged one up to the elevator so if anyone comes down they’ll get hit the minute the door opens. It would give us a few seconds to take action.”
Sydney shook her head in amazement. “You guys are incredible.” She noticed a disposable camera wrapped in duct tape with two of wires sticking out and reached for it. “What’s the deal with this contraption—”
“Don’t touch it!” yelled Kyle.
She jerked her hand back. “Why? It’s just a camera.”
“It’s not just a camera anymore. We made it into a taser,” said Vince. “The flash takes a decent amount of power and has enough juice in it to knock someone on their ass. Just press the button like you’re taking a picture and you can shock the hell out of anyone who touches those wires.”
Scott leaned closer and took a look. “Seriously? And where’d we get that thing?”
Kyle went back to his wiring project. “It’s an underwater camera Andrea used while snorkeling on a cruise she was on last week. She had it in her purse and was bringing it to get the pictures developed. I told Jordan how to rig it up while we were doing the computer connections. It works.”
“Guys! C’mere quick!”
Sydney quickly turned her head toward the voice.
Andrea.
Something’s wrong.
Everyone got up and ran toward her, finding her cradling Agent Ryan’s head in her lap.
Unconscious.
She looked up, eyes filled with worry. “He was fine and all of a sudden he went pale as a ghost, his eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out. The pain must have finally gotten to him. We need to get him to a hospital for treatment. And soon. There’s only so much I can do for him. He’s slowly losing blood. And time is running out.”
Sydney crouched down next to them. “Is he going to—”
“Brooks, come in—”
Sydney’s eyed widened as she whipped her head at the radio. “Oh my God...” She turned back to Andrea. “Can you wake him up?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Brooks, come in—”
“They’ll be sending someone down,” said Scott. “What do you want to do, Syd?”
CHAPTER NINE
Mayfair turned up the volume on his two-way radio. “Brooks, come in... Brooks!”
“Maybe he’s in the bathroom,” said another agent. “Give it a minute.”
“The bathroom?”
“Hell, all the kids are tied up. Not like they can go anywhere. Or maybe the jammer is creating a problem down there. It had a lot of static before that it never had when we installed it.”
Mayfair slowly nodded. “Fine. But if he doesn’t answer in sixty seconds, I want you to go down there and check on things because we’re about to get the ball rolling on our demands.”
“You don’t really think Brooks is having a problem with a bunch of kids—”
Mayfair glared at him. “Dammit, if I tell you to go downstairs, you’ll do it! And if I don’t hear from Brooks in a minute that’s where you’re going.”
“Geez, Mayfair, calm down. I wouldn’t worry about some spoiled brats in the bunker.”
“You know damn well why I’m worried about one in particular, and it’s not Sydney Donovan. Without that person, we’re all dead.”
RYAN DIDN’T WAKE UP.
Surely, someone was coming down to the bunker.
Very soon.
Sydney unlocked the elevator and then took her place. She pressed her back against the wall right next to the elevator door.
Makeshift camera taser in her hand.
Jordan and Scott next to her with guns.
Kyle and Vince on the other side of the elevator door with fire extinguishers and handcuffs.
The plan: blind him, taser him, tie him up.
And, if Ryan regained consciousness, get information out of him.
Ryan’s plan to wound the target went out the window since Sydney couldn’t be sure anyone could be that accurate with a gun in a real life situation. They might kill the guy or miss entirely, and if it was the latter, they could all be killed. As Ryan had said, target practice was one thing; shooting at another human being who wanted to kill you took things to a different level.
The radio came alive and made Sydney jump.
“Brooks, come in. Brooks...”
She felt Scott’s hand on her shoulder. “Breathe, Syd. We’ve got the element of surprise.”
“I know. But we’re still just a bunch of kids.”
“And you just came up with a plan and got everyone in place like a field general. In one minute. We can’t fail with a leader like you. In this case, we’ve got the advantage in numbers and the element of surprise. We capture the guy, lock out the elevator and wait for Ryan to come around.”
She turned to face him and saw the confidence in his eyes which somehow seemed to inject a dose of calm into her veins. She was about to say something but she heard it.
The elevator motor starting. The car heading up.
“Here we go, everyone. Get ready.”
She heard the elevator stop and a bell ring as the doors opened above.
A few seconds, and then the motor started again, signaling the car coming down.
She took a deep breath and put her hand over her heart.
It had slowed down to an almost normal rate.
Suddenly, she was laser-focused.
And she remembered what Ryan had told her.
I can’t explain it, but somehow self-preservation kicks in when your life is in danger. You don’t panic.
The elevator motor came to a stop.
The door opened, triggering the fire extinguisher that had been rigged to go off. She heard a man coughing and saw a foot step out of the car as Kyle and Vince emptied their fire extinguishers at him.
She leaned forward with the homemade camera taser, pressed it to the man’s leg and pushed the button.
Sparks shot out as the man grunted, fell to the floor and went into violent spasms.
Scott, Kyle and Vince quickly jumped on him. Scott knelt next to him and held him down, while Vince pulled his arms behind him and locked his wrists in the handcuffs. Kyle used his set of cuffs on the man’s ankles.
Jordan stood over the man with a gun pointed at his head.
Sydney stood up as the fog from the fire extinguishers cleared. “Okay, drag his sorry ass into the other room, put him in a chair and tie him to it while I lock out the elevator.” She handed the camera taser to Scott. “And if he resists, give him another Kodak moment.”
They had no rope, so Scott tied the rogue agent to a chair with a bunch of electrical cords. Sydney slid a chair a few feet in front of him while Jordan stood next to her with her pistol trained on the man’s chest. She recognized the agent as one usually assigned to the West Wing.
The fiftysomething, gray haired agent finally stopped twitching, coughed a few times and looked up. “What the hell?”
Sydney looked at Scott for a moment and got another injection of confidence. She folded her arms, crossed her legs and smiled. “Welcome to the bunker, Agent Kle
in. Nice of you to drop in.”
He struggled for a moment against the cords, then seemed to realize he wasn’t going anywhere. “Where’s Agent Brooks?”
“He has reached room temperature, as you boys like to say.”
The captured agent looked to the side and saw Agent Ryan being attended to by Andrea. “So he’s not dead.”
“Just on the disabled list. Since he’s twice the agent Brooks was. Really, Klein, you guys shouldn’t have sent an amateur like Brooks up against the best Agent in the Secret Service. Didn’t you guys realize that’s why my dad always has him with me?”
Klein glared at her. “You kids have no idea what you’re up against. You just signed your own death warrant.”
Scott chuckled. “That’s funny considering you’re the one who got taken down by a bunch of teenagers with a fire extinguisher and a homemade taser and is currently tied to a chair. We didn’t even need to fire a shot. So from our point of view, we’re not up against much.”
“Once I don’t come back, Mayfair will send an army down here.”
Jordan cocked her gun. “Bring it.”
Sydney leaned forward. “Tell you what, Klein, tell me what I want to know and maybe I’ll speak to the Attorney General on your behalf when we all get out of here. Maybe you can get life in prison instead of the death penalty. Or an immunity deal if you help us and testify against the people behind this. I know you’re not smart enough to come up with this plan on your own and you’re someone who always follows the leader. You’re obviously just a pawn. So help us out and maybe you won’t face a firing squad for treason.”
“I’m not giving you damn thing, little girl.”
“That’s no way to talk to the President’s daughter.”
Sydney whipped her head in the direction of the voice.
Ryan was awake.
Andrea found some powdered Gatorade and mixed up a batch, thinking that Ryan had gotten dehydrated and passed out. She looked to be right. Sydney watched the color return to his face as he drank nearly an entire pitcher.
All the while keeping a close eye on the captured agent. Finally he’d had enough to drink.
