Sherman swore. “Reaction force. Probably on their way to the main entrances. That may or may not be for us, but if it is, we’re going to have to hurry.”
Karen popped her shoes off and began to trot in her stockinged feet. As long as they were on the polished corridor floors, it wasn’t too bad.
They moved quickly along the angled segments of B-ring, across the fifth corridor and then into the fourth corridor. She had to put-her shoes back on to get across the garage and utility street between D-ring and E-ring, and she left, them on as they went back up a small stairway to reach ground level. Sherman paused just inside a doorway.
“Okay,” ‘he said. “What we’re trying for here is the heliport door. It’s an exit that’s open only on workdays. Usually, there’s a guard, but probably only an alarm system ‘right now. It opens directly into the heliport area, and from there it’s only a hundred yards or so to South Parking. It’s all I can think of.”
She nodded. “I can’t believe there are police after us. I didn’t do anything I don’t do routinely.”
“That’s when you were persona grata,” he replied, keeping an eye out into the corridor through the glass door.
“Now you’re keeping bad company. Sure you want to keep going with this, Counselor?”
“I’m sure,” she said with a small smile. “I think.”
Right. Remember that the forces of truth, justice, and the American way are all behind you. Way behind you.
Let’s do it.”
He took one more look through the door for amber strobe lights, then pushed the door open. They stepped out into the fourth corridor, which was darker than usual. In the perpetual effort to save money, the Pentagon building’s management turned out half the overhead lights in the corridors on weekends. Trying to act normally, they walked together the final eighty feet to the small doorway at the end of the corridor.
The guard table by the door was unoccupied, but they could see a red sign chained across the door.
“Definitely alarmed,” she said, keeping her voice down as they approached the door. “Won’t that bring the reaction force?”
“Probably. We can only hope they come from the inside and that no one thinks to simply step out of the South Parking entrance to see what’s happening back on the heliport.
Wish I had a helo out there.”
“You’re an admiral. Can’t you just call one?”
“Remember the guy in Henry the Fifth who claims that he can call forth spirits from the vasty deep? And the other guy says, yeah, but do they come when you call them?
That’s me. I used to think I could, though,” he said.
The chain across the door was there to hold the sign, not to secure the door. The door itself had a fire-escape bar on the inside, which meant they could get out, although not back in once that door closed. Two black boxes with shielded wiring were positioned on either side of the top left crack between the door and the doorjam. There was also an amber strobe light mounted ten feet high in the ceiling and it, too, was wired to the black box.
“Definitely alarmed,” he said. “Okay. Once outside, we turn left and walk quickly but normally toward South Parking. If someone stops us, we did see a man in civilian clothes headed for the River Entrance.”
“He went thataway, Sheriff?”
“Right. Unless they’re specifically looking for us, my admiral’s uniform may do the trick. Ready?”
“I guess,” she said, adjusting her shoes. She was wishing she could see through that door.
He stepped forward, unhooked the chained sign, and then pushed the bar.
Karen expected an audible alarm, but the only thing that happened was that the amber light began to flash over their heads. They went out through the door, pushed it shut, walked quickly down the steps to the heliport area, and turned left for South Parking. Traffic out on Washington Boulevard whizzed past just beyond the heliport. The bright sunlight was almost blinding.
They headed down a sidewalk right alongside the building and made it almost to the edge of the heliport before two armed guards came around the comer of the building.
“Good, they’re Marines,” Sherman murmured.
Karen couldn’t quite figure out why that was good, but then she began to understand when the Marines trotted up to them, assumed rigid positions of attention, and saluted in unison. Sherman returned the salute casually and asked what the problem was.
“Intruder alarm, heliport door, sir,” the smaller one said.
“I saw a guy come out of there as we were walking past,” Sherman replied, pointing down toward the other end of the building. “Civilian?
With a briefcase? Seemed to be in a hurry?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Good afternoon, sir!” they shouted in unison as they took off down the side of the building, unslinging submachine weapons.
“Let’s go, Counselor,” Sherman said, looking over his oulder. “That’ll be good for about another ninety seconds we’re lucky.
They walked rapidly to the comer of the building and then stepped across the empty perimeter street toward their cars. Karen could see other guards standing around the South Parking entrance doors, one of whom was using a radio. They made it to their cars, and Karen slipped into the Mercedes while the admiral opened the door to his car. She reached down to finger a pebble out of her right shoe, and when she straightened back up, the cars were surrounded by armed guards. A huge man in a uniform she didn’t recognize was gesturing for her to get out of the car. He was emphasizing his, command with the barrel of his gun. She rolled the window down, keeping her hands in sight.
“Get out of the car, please, Commander,” the guard said.
Two other guards were between her car and Sherman’s, and she could see Sherman getting out of his car. She did the same, and they walked her around to the back of Sherman’s car. Three Army majors who had been about to leave for the day were watching in amazement from the next row of cars. Karen was grateful not to see the two Marines they had encountered along the side of the building.
A Marine captain walked up to the group of guards and saluted Sherman.
“Opnav security, Sir. Sir did you just come through the heliport door?”
“Yes, I did. We did.”
“That’s an alarmed door, Admiral,” the captain said in a tone of voice that clearly indicated he was pointing out the obvious. “May I see your identification, please, Sir?”
“Sure,” Sherman said, reaching for his wallet. And then he paused for a second and looked over at Karen. She felt a cold wave of dismay. He had cut up his ID card up there at the DCNO’s office. He fished out his wallet, looked inside, and then shrugged his shoulders. “Well, Captain, I seemed to have misplaced it.”
“I can identify this officer,” Karen said.
“May I see your ID card, then, Commander?” Which is when she realized she didn’t have an ID card, either.
“Uh“‘was all she could manage to say.
“Yes, ma’am,” the Marine said in a gotcha tone of voice.
“Why don’t we all go back to Opnav Security and straighten this thing out? Admiral Sherman, this way, please, Sir. I I They know who we are, Karen realized with a sinking feeling. Train, we need you.
Train was blind, again. He had been looking directly into that lens, his eyes wide open when the retinal flash exploded down his optic nerves. He was only vaguely aware of a sharp sting in his left arm. He tried to think of what to do next, but his brain was just idling’quietly in place. He realized that he was still standing, leaning against the wall in that hallway, but that was about the sumof it. There were still two intense purple suns pinwheeling in his eyes. Seen those puppies before.