|
Registered User
Currently Offline
|
Posts: 1031
Join Date: Jan 2008
|
Arlington, VA…
Captain Midnight stood huddled up with Wraithe and Raptor in the shadow of a large tree. Here he laid out his plan before them. There were two power plants supplying the Pentagon with electricity and they would both have to be taken out in order to disable the security system for the SecDef’s office.
“Since there is no way to know which grid the security system is on we have to take out both the East and South power stations. Wraithe you go south and Raptor you go east. As soon as you shut them down radio me and await further instructions.”
“Understood Sir” Wraithe said with a salute and then he dashed off in the direction of the south power station.
“Not a problem” Raptor replied using her telekinetic abilities to lift her into the air and move through the sky towards the east.
Meanwhile inside the Pentagon…
“Where do you think Charlie has gotten off too?” one security guard asked another as they roamed the corridor of Ring A.
“Uggh” a slight groan could be heard from inside one of the offices and the two security guards opened the door cautiously and peered inside the darkened room.
Inside the office they found a third guard rubbing his broken nose gently and shaking his head “Charlie, you alright?” the guard with a nametag that labeled him as Ted asked.
“We have an intruder” Charlie said quickly “I didn’t see him but I know he’s here cause he broke my @#$&!ng nose.”
The other guard, named Dave, reached for his radio and barked an order to the others “secure the perimeter we’ve got a breach! Repeat we have been breached, code orange!”
Alarms blared throughout the Pentagon. All the exterior windows and doors were covered by sliding steel reinforced plates as the building was locked down. Shadowblade looked around quickly and flattened himself against the wall making himself as small as possible. A small squad of heavily armed guards ran past him as they searched the outer ring. Two guards broke off from the rest and marched over to the SecDef’s office door.
The two men studied it for a moment and once satisfied that it hadn’t been opened they stationed themselves on either side. This was not good at all. There was no way for Shadowblade to slip past the guards and open the door without being seen. So quietly he slinked his way down the hallway looking for a restroom or an open office in which to make contact with his team.
He found the “Men’s” room, entered, and found a stall in which to occupy. Then he activated his communicator and radioed Captain Midnight.
“The guards know I’m here.”
“Damn it! That’s all we need. Okay look, as soon as the power grid goes down you’re going to have about 30 seconds to get into the SecDef’s office, open the safe, get the keycard, and get back out. Otherwise you’ll be trapped in the office for at least eight hours.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Pentagon itself has backup generators, a redundant system to ensure the security system remains active even if both power stations fail. The SecDef’s security system can only be deactivated from the outside. Once it is deactivated then the door can be opened from the inside. However if you are inside when the power comes back up the system reboots itself effectively locking you inside unless someone on the outside disables the security to let you out. The backup generators have an eight hour lifespan to allow the Electric Company to get power back to one of the power stations. Even if we keep the power out you have to wait for the redundant system to rundown.”
“This just gets better and better Captain. So how do you propose I get past the guards and through the door without being seen?”
“Listen, this mission is high priority. We need that security keycard. Dispatch the guards anyway you have to. They knew they were expendable when they signed on to protect the Pentagon.”
“You want me to kill innocent Americans?”
“I don’t like it any more than you do John but this is war” Captain Midnight declares “if you find another way then take that route. I’m just saying if it comes down to them or the keycard you take the guards out.”
Outside the Pentagon…
Captain Midnight looks on as the security “Sweeper” teams patrol the perimeter and come across the downed security guard that Shadowblade had put in a sleeper hold going in. This mission was going south and fast. There didn’t seem to be anyway in or out of the building now that the building was locked down. And he didn’t know how long John could stay hidden inside before being found out.
Suddenly the entire area was plunged into complete darkness as the power went out. The “Sweepers” all looked around concerned and uneasy. Some of them even fired their assault rifles into the darkness, shooting at moving shadows.
Back inside…
Shadowblade watched as the corridor went dark and activated his night-vision. Moving fast he ran towards one of the guards and jump kicked him in the face. The guard went down hard but still alive. The other guard swirled around with his assault rifle prepared to shoot into nothingness. One of the katana blades extended from Shadowblade’s gauntlet and he sliced the weapon in half.
Dropping the gun the security guard took a couple of steps back still scanning the empty area looking for the intruder. John dropped low to the floor and swept out with his leg connecting with the other man’s ankle knocking the guard off his feet. Then Shadowblade opened the SecDef’s door and slipped inside.
“Not too bad” John thought to himself “that only took eight seconds.”
He found the safe hidden behind a portrait of the President of the United States that hung behind the desk. Then he entered the code that Captain Midnight had given him. John looked on with relief as the door swung open to reveal a stockpile of manila envelopes and file folders. He quickly looked through all of these until he found the envelope with the level 9 security keycard and he slipped it into a hidden pocket in his suit.
With five seconds to go Shadowblade slipped back out into the hallway and right into the path of a squad of “Sweepers”. The backup generators kicked in and with an electronic hum the corridor was brightly lit once more. The guards had still not seen Shadowblade due to his invisibility but they did see the door open and close of its own accord. And now they saw the two men slumped in a heap on the floor outside the office and became aware that they were not alone in Ring A.
Outside…
“The power stations are down” Wraithe and Raptor both said at the same time over the communication channel.
“Get back here ASAP we have a situation” Captain Midnight replied heatedly.
As the call ended Captain Midnight looked around as the Sweeper teams fanned out. They were extending their search to include the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington Farms, and the Potomac River leaving little room for Shadowblade’s escape. One of Sweepers was headed in his direction.
“Hold it right there” the guard shouted as his eyes focused on Captain Midnight’s silhouette “put your hands up where I can see them!”
Captain Midnight did as he was told and looked the younger man in the eye “there’s no need to resort to violence, I heard all the commotion and thought you boys might need a hand.”
The guard took a moment but then he recognized the hero known as Captain Midnight from the news a few weeks back and slowly lowered his assault rifle “sorry about that we’re all a little jumpy.”
“Understandable” Captain Midnight said then he delivered a haymaker that sends the guy sprawling backwards.
Wraithe appeared behind him at that moment and readied his energy rifle “can’t leave you alone for even a few minutes huh Captain?”
“What’s going on?” Raptor says descending from the sky “there are armed guards patrolling all over Arlington now!”
“The Pentagon knows we’re here” came Captain Midnight’s reply.
__________________
|
