CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Jeffrey, Mason, Andi, and Wolf arrived at the small building near the trail and discovered it was in worse condition than they thought. Ivy covered most of the small concrete structure, including the door. Large chunks of concrete just below the roofline appeared to have broken off, and since there was no sign of them on the ground, they assumed the debris had fallen into the building. The lack of support had caused several roof tiles to slide off, and they lay shattered on the ground.
“Let’s get this cleared away.” Jeffrey tightened the Velcro strap on his gloves, and they began to pull and rip away the ivy and tossed it aside until the door was exposed.
“Looks like you were right. They definitely abandoned this tunnel a long time ago.” Wolf stepped up and brushed his hand over a scratched and dented plaque mounted in the center of the door. “Property of the Potomac Electric Company.”
“Potomac Electric Company hasn’t even been around since the early 1900s,” Jeffrey said .
Andi turned and gave him a strange look. “Why the hell do you know that?”
“Fourth-grade field trip. A kid in my class had a dad who worked for the power company.” He threw aside the last of the ivy, brushed his hands together, and rested them on his hips. “They have old tunnels and substations all over the DC area, and his dad took us on a tour of some of the ones they maintain as historical sites.”
His father, Charles, worked for a government defense contractor as a design engineer. Jeffrey’s childhood was spent growing up in Bethesda, Maryland, only two hours away from DC.
His dad enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen, was shipped off to boot camp for eight weeks—where he spent his eighteenth birthday—then someone handed him a rifle and sent him straight over to Vietnam. He was a great guy—never drank alcohol and, unlike many others who survived that hideous war, he didn’t spend hours alone in a dark room brooding about what he’d been through. But he would never talk about it, nor would he explain how he’d ended up with a bad limp. Whenever Jeffrey asked him about it, his dad would throw his long arm around Jeffrey’s shoulder and tell him not to worry about it, that it didn’t hurt. Then they’d grab a baseball and their mitts and head outside to play catch.
Jeffrey found out from his mom that the reason his dad limped was because he’d gotten shot twice in the leg during the Battle of Hu—one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War. She’d also divulged that he’d been awarded a Purple Heart.
Jeffrey would never forget the moment when his mom opened that velvet box and he got his first look at his dad’s Purple Heart. It had been a big factor in his decision to join the Marine Corps after college and to go through OCS, Officer Candidate School.
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot you grew up near this cesspool.” Andi quickly added, “No offense.”
She had a deep disdain for the nation’s capital and didn’t like being anywhere near it. Though she respected the significance and importance of history and its monuments, her respect did not carry over to the “slimy, back-biting, lizard-like politicians” who worked there. Her words.
“None taken.” Jeffrey was forced to deal with them and didn’t disagree with her assessment.
Once the ivy and stray branches and twigs were cleared away, they got a good look at the steel door. It was rusted and corroding along the bottom edge, and the raised, copper, star-shaped accents had patinaed to a mossy shade of green. A bulky, rusted chain with an equally rusted padlock had been strung across the door and looped through steel rings drilled into the concrete on either side.
The opening to the lock had rusted to a point they couldn’t pick it, so Andi searched around for a fallen branch. She found one about the diameter of her arm and finagled it down through the chain. She wedged the bottom end of the branch against the door, put a booted foot on the concrete, and levered the branch downward until the chain snapped and fell at their feet.
“Voila.” She used her foot to push aside the chain, tossed the branch, and brushed her hands on her pants.
Mason yanked the door open, and there was a loud groan from the long-neglected hinges. What was left of the bottom crumbled as it carved a swath through the dirt.
There were about four feet between the doorway and the top step. Two big chunks of concrete from the wall sat right in front of the stairs, blocking the entrance to the tunnel.
“Wolf and Andi, you get that one.” Jeffrey pointed at one of the chunks and then the other. “Mason and I will clear this one.”
Grunts and other sounds of exertion filled the small space as they hefted the concrete out of the way.
Jeffrey checked the time on his Luminox Nighthawk tactical watch.
“A minute forty-two seconds behind schedule,” he said. “NVGs on.”
They all lowered the night-vision goggles down in front of their eyes, flipped a switch, and their surroundings were plunged into varying shades of green.
Jeffrey tapped his earpiece. “We’re entering the tunnel. ”
“Roger that.” Viking spoke barely above a whisper so as not to give away his position on the roof of a nearby office building.
From where he was, he would have eyes on the north side of the building and the circular drive at the front.
“Good luck.” Calliope was perched high in an oak tree on the opposite side of the embassy compound from Viking. She had oversight of the rear entrance driveway and the south side of the compound.
“Let’s go.” Jeffrey led them down into the tunnel, and they were immediately plunged into darkness.
“Dark as shit down here,” Andi muttered.
She was behind Jeffrey, followed by Wolf and then Mason, who covered their six.
“NVGs are no help.” Jeffrey reached up and lifted them away from his face. “Switch to flashlights.”
They all did the same and clicked on their small, tactical flashlights. Their size was deceptive—each one emitted 4200 lumens of bright, white light that flooded the tunnel and gave them their first good look.
It was only about five feet wide and maybe seven feet high, with a dirt floor and concrete walls and ceiling. Jeffrey raised his flashlight and shined it down the tunnel. Caged light bulbs were mounted near the ceiling at about ten-foot intervals. None of them were on, so he assumed the power had been cut to this location.
Cobwebs hung down and water dripped from random spots overhead. Just at the edge of the light, they caught a glimpse of some kind of critter scurrying away amid loud squeaks of protest, obviously unhappy with the invasion of its space.
They started jogging. Their boots splashed in random puddles and their gear rattled as they headed toward their destination. The deeper into the dark they traveled, the damper and colder it became. With each step, the stench of mold and mildew grew to a near intolerable level.
“There.” Jeffrey pointed his flashlight.
About twenty feet away was a door like the one outside but shorter and in slightly better shape. They increased their pace and stopped to examine their ingress point.
“Looks like the only thing securing it is the deadbolt above the doorknob.” Wolf narrowed the beam of his flashlight, leaned forward and shined it into the lock. Then he moved the light to the sliver of space between the door and the jamb. He dragged the beam slowly up the seam, across the top of the door, then down the other side.
“No wires.” He reached into one of the many pockets on his vest, tugged out a lockpick tool, and fed it into the lock. He maneuvered it around, and the click when it disengaged the locking mechanism sounded loud in the tunnel.
“We’re entering the basement,” Jeffrey informed their snipers .
“Roger that,” was Viking’s standard response.
“What he said,” was Calliope’s not-so-formal response.
Jeffrey started to reach for the doorknob.
Andi grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“I’m taking point on this. I’m familiar with this building and can lead us to where they’re holding her.” She released his arm. “You know I’m right.”
Jeffrey hated that she would be so exposed, but of course she was right. He took a deep breath, reminded himself she was a professional, and released it.
“You take point.” He turned to Wolf and Mason. “You two cover our six.”
“You got it.” Mason clapped Jeffrey on the back. “Let’s go get your little girl.”
Andi wrapped her fingers around the doorknob, looked from one to the other, and they all nodded. She released a breath, then slowly turned the knob and carefully pulled the door open an inch at a time and stopped when there was enough space to peek through. Once she was certain it was safe to enter, she nodded, opened the door fully, and they all ducked through the low opening and hustled into a wide room.
This space was taller, at about ten feet with what appeared to be original tiles covering the floor. Some had cracked and popped up over time. To their right was a panel of switches, levers, and buttons on the wall coated by years’ worth of dust and grime. On the left were two large, gray, equally filthy boilers. The glass covering the pressure gauges had become cloudy, making it impossible to see the dials behind them. Spiders had been busy, and their webs draped from one thing to the next and dangled across every single corner of the ceiling.
“According to the blueprints, the door should be over here somewhere.” Andi headed past the boilers to the far end of the room. She stopped and propped her hands on her hips. “Shit.”
“What is it?” They all stepped over to her.
Jeffrey cursed.
He shined the beam of his flashlight over a stack of wooden crates that had been placed in front of the door. Crumpled paper and wood excelsior shavings littered the floor.
Jeffrey, Wolf, and Mason immediately began grabbing crates and moving them out of the way. Andi turned to face the door leading into the tunnel. Hand on the weapon at her hip, she made sure they didn’t have any unexpected company. Except for the wood shavings, most of the crates were empty, so the task was completed quickly.
Once Wolf verified there were no trip wires that would set off a security alarm, he picked the lock and stepped back so Andi could open the door.
“No flashlights. Switching to NVGs.” She lowered her night-vision goggles into place and waited until they did the same .
They all clicked off their flashlights, powered up their NVGs and positioned them in front of their eyes. Their bright green heat signatures glowed and were a powerful contrast to the dark green, almost black surroundings.
To indicate they were ready, Mason tapped Wolf’s shoulder, Wolf tapped Jeffrey’s, and he tapped Andi’s. She took another peek through the narrow opening, nodded once, and swung the door open all the way.
They moved into the basement hallway, and Viking quietly closed the door behind them. Andi pointed her hand twice in the direction of the stairwell at the end of the hall. In a crouch, feet silent, they scanned the ceiling for cameras as they made their way up the steps.
Andi held up a fist, and they all stopped. There was yet another door at the top of the stairs. She scanned it for wires and, again, slowly turned the knob and snuck a peek.
She tapped her earpiece and whispered, “Entering the main floor.”
“Roger,” Casey replied. “Sammy is still monitoring your bio-patches and all looks good.”
She turned to her teammates, nodded once, and opened the door. Single file, they immediately turned left and hurried over to the utility stairs that were used by maintenance people and the household staff. The royal family had no desire to see the inner workings of the embassy or the people responsible for making their lives easier .
Andi pushed the door open, and the gas hinge hissed as it closed. The four of them moved as a tight group quickly and efficiently up the stairs. Midway between the second and third floor, Andi raised her fist up, and they all stopped.
A door opened from one of the upper floors, and two people started down the steps.
Andi turned and signaled down with a chop of her hand in the air.
They all turned, rushed down the steps, and wedged themselves into the darkened space beneath the lowest set of stairs, packed together like sardines in a can. Jeffrey couldn’t even hear them breathing. They had all trained themselves not to panic, to control their breathing and heart rate, and to remain still as a stone.
The voices of two females echoed in the concrete stairwell, and Jeffrey recognized they were speaking Arabic. He spoke enough of it to understand they were talking about a young girl who was brought into the building earlier.
“Mami, I am worried about the little girl.” It sounded like a child, and she was definitely troubled. “I saw Adnan carry her inside several hours ago, and she has been sleeping the entire time. I do not think she has even moved an inch.”
Jeffrey’s body tensed at her words. Had they drugged Isla to the point of endangering her life?
Two sets of footsteps shuffled closer .
“I specifically told you to remain in the hall and not to come into the bedroom. Yet, you disobeyed me and had to snoop.” Her mother tsked. “I, too, am worried, but I was instructed to turn off the video camera and nothing more.”
“But if she is only sleeping, why is there a video camera in the room with her?” Her daughter threw questions at her. “Who is she? Why is she here? What are they going to do with her? How come they have her in a bedroom on a floor no one ever uses?”
Their voices were much closer now, and they stopped on the landing directly above the team.
“Shhh. Hush now.” The mother’s voice became a harsh whisper. “I do not know, but you must not speak of her, daughter. If they hear you talking about her, asking questions about her, they will punish all of us. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Her response was pouty and rife with dissatisfaction.
Their steps resumed.
A woman and young girl, dressed head to foot in black, appeared at the base of the stairs, only a few feet away from where the team stood.
The mother placed a hand on either side of her daughter’s face, leaned down and touched their foreheads together. A moment later, she straightened, nodded once, and swung the stairwell door open .
Jeffrey and the rest of the team remained motionless and waited for the hiss of the automatic door closer to become silent.
Andi risked a quick glance. “Go.”
She darted out first. They all followed and double-timed it up the steps until they arrived at the third floor.
This was when things got tricky.
They had no idea what, if any, type of security measures might be in place and were essentially going in blind.
Speed was their only ally.
They had to find the room where they were keeping his daughter, grab her, retrace their steps through the embassy and down to the tunnel. Once they made it back to the park, they would have to ensure no one could use it after them. Ergo, the brick of C4 in Andi’s vest.
She glanced into the hallway, turned back to them and nodded.
Go time.