Spiders from the Shadows

FIVE


Raven Rock (Site R), Underground Military Complex, Southern Pennsylvania


James Davies was led down a crowded hall. Military officers and enlisted men along with an equal number of civilians—middle-aged men and women who had the air and arrogance of career bureaucrats—hurried up and down the halls. A recessed light in the center of each hallway was illuminated white. DEFCON at the highest level. A sense of urgency filled the air.

James wore a black, one-piece jumpsuit and white socks with no shoes. The jumpsuit was too small for him, and though he had loosened the waistband, the cover over the zipper still pulled tight. He walked slowly, his legs stiff, and he didn’t appear to look around.

He was waiting to find a bathroom, but he had to select one that was private, not under surveillance. The entire mission depended on his choice.

They descended a set of cement stairs, working their way lower into the underground government command post, then came to a secure elevator. The two Marines stood on his left and right, each of them keeping a firm grip on one of his elbows. He tried to pull away, but they wouldn’t let him.

“Look at me, boys. I’m an old man. Do you really think I’m going to run?”

It was ridiculous and they all knew it, but still the guards continued holding him tightly, hurting the tendons in his elbows.

They stepped into the elevator and one of the guards flashed his security card in front of the electronic reader, then punched an unmarked button, sending them to the highly secure presidential and executive level. James felt his stomach flutter as the high-speed elevator descended farther into the bowels of the underground command post. The doors opened and he looked out. No more cement floors and bare walls. Deep blue carpet. Expensive artworks. Mahogany and leather everywhere.

They started walking, James almost limping as they moved down the corridor.

There it was—three doors down, just like they had told him it would be. The door was narrow and outlined in dark wood. A man/woman symbol was at the side. A co-ed bathroom, which meant that it would lock. It was on the presidential level, which meant it was far less likely to be monitored. Passing the deeply stained wooden door, he looked pained, then glanced back.

“I’ve got to go,” he whispered to one of the guards.

The guard firmed his grip around his elbow.

James looked back desperately as they moved away. “I’ve really got to go!” he said again. to stop themllShe really didn’t know.

The guard kept moving him along.

James pulled away and stopped. “Look, you fool, I’ve been locked up for hours. I’ve had every inch of my body prodded, examined, poked, and explored. Only one of my many deprivations has been a bathroom. Now, unless you want me to go in the middle of the president’s office, something I promise you I will do, you’d better give me a little time to stop in there.”

The guard hesitated.

James moved toward him. “Do you even know who I am?” he hissed.

The guard looked back blankly.

“I’m Doctor James Davies, the FBI Director—”

“Not any longer, sir. The FBI Director is waiting with the president in the executive suite.”

James almost sneered, “He is not the president and I have not been replaced!” but he bit his tongue, barely keeping his angry words from spouting out. The military guard, a spit-and-polish Marine, stared at him, his face sympathetic but firm. He wasn’t part of any grand conspiracy. He had no idea what was going on; he was just doing his job. As far as he knew—and how could he know any better?—the legally anointed president was commanding Raven Rock.

James glared at him and squirmed. “Look, Marine, I’m not some Cold War spy or Islamic terrorist, for heaven’s sake. I’m your fellow American. I used to serve the president. I was the FBI Director, even if you say I am no longer.”

“We have specific instructions, Mr. Davies.”

“Was part of your instructions to make me wet my pants?”

One guard glanced toward the other.

“Please. A simple bathroom break. This isn’t a big deal.”

The Marine looked quickly back and then said, “They told us to escort you without any delay. We need to do that. The president can be very—” The Marine caught himself and stopped. James knew that Marines assigned to guard the president were one in ten thousand and, regardless of this Marine’s personal feelings or observations, he wouldn’t hesitate for half a second to place himself in front of a bullet to protect his leader. But his oath extended beyond just that; it included utter confidentiality regarding his personal observations of the president, his secrets, the things he saw and heard. He was allowed to guard the president for one overriding reason: He was as loyal to the office as a dog was to his master. So, like Mr. Davies, he found himself biting his tongue.

The Marine hesitated, then nodded hastily toward the bathroom. “Please hurry, sir,” he urged.

James nodded gratefully and turned.

The second Marine followed him as James opened the door and stepped inside. It was a tiny bathroom, barely large enough for one man. The Marine was standing next to him. James looked at him, disgusted. The Marine hesitated, then backed outside and shut the door.

The room was small and simple. A toilet. A small sink. A cloth towel hanging on the wall. A square mirror. Nothing else. He looked around carefully, searching the corners, the walls, underneath the sink, behind the toilet. No cameras or hidden microphones anywhere, at least as far as he could tell. Satisfied, he stood up and checked that the door was locked. Then, his hands shaking, he bent over the small sink.

He didn’t know what to expect. They h of the United States?” apad told him it would be—how had they described it?—terribly unpleasant, but not painful. But they had also warned him to brace himself, to have something he could hold onto and to prepare himself not to groan or cry out loud.

That made him wonder exactly how unpleasant it might really be.

His pulse was pounding in his ears as he leaned over the faux marble sink, made certain the drain was plugged, opened his mouth, reached back onto the artificial molar, felt the thin veneer give way at his touch, took a deep breath, leaned a little lower toward the sink, and squeezed.

He felt a sudden burning and he forced himself to swallow. The ipecac worked just as quickly and as violently as they had told him that it would. In seconds, he was racked with waves of nausea. The waves came at him with a power he had never felt before, gulping heaves of gut-crushing spasms that made him feel like he was going to explode.

He heaved up his last breakfast. He heaved up the lunch before. He felt like he was heaving up every candy bar he had eaten in high school. Wave after wave, he wrenched in silence, the two tiny plastic capsules, unmercifully, the last things to come up.

Forty seconds later, the heaving was complete. He leaned across the bowl, turned on the water, extracted the two one-inch capsules he had regurgitated, and rinsed them off. Using handfuls of disinfectant soap, he washed his hands, his arms, his face, the sink, dried his hands and face, then caught his breath again. Holding the red capsule to the light, he split it open, examined the tiny contents carefully, then knelt beside the sink. Tucked below the basin was a single electrical outlet. He pushed the receiver/transmitter into the socket and left it there, effectively turning Raven’s entire wiring system into a huge antenna. Lifting the blue capsule, he split it open, pulled out the tiny drone, deployed the folded wingtips, and activated the minuscule battery to turn it on. Then, carefully, as if he were holding a live dragonfly, he tucked the tiny drone into his right pocket, constantly aware of the paper-thin wings pressing against his leg.

Dropping the broken capsules into the toilet, he flushed, checked his look in the mirror, opened the door, and walked into the hall.





Offutt Air Force Base, Headquarters, U.S. Strategic Command, Eight Miles South of Omaha, Nebraska


Brucius was startled as he stared wide-eyed at the screen. The team of satellite technicians behind him suddenly came to life, typing at their consoles while talking to each other in hushed tones. His heart rate doubled, his fingers subconsciously clenching the edge of the console in a white-knuckled grip. A single drop of perspiration rolled down his left rib. The image on the main screen flickered, then went blank. He waited, his breath heavy. He strained to follow the technicians’ conversation, but they spoke in technical jargon so he couldn’t understand much of anything they said. Glancing over his shoulder, he wanted to scream for information but held his tongue, knowing it wouldn’t do any good aside from releasing his pent-up pressure.

Turning, he looked forward again.

The main screen was still blank.

He waited.

The audio was the first thing to come through. One of the technicians whistled, then slapped the other on the shoulder. Brucius continued waiting, not daring to even hope. Another crackle from the audio.

Behind him, the lead technician left his seat, walked the descending aisle to his right, then approached Brucius from behind. “Baby Dragon has been activated,” he whispered at his shoulder. “We’re not getting of the United States?” apany visual, and the audio is intermittent, but it’s definitely on.”

“So he made it into Raven Rock?”

“Yes, sir, he did.”

Brucius took a breath and held it. “And he’s activated the drone’s transmitter?”

“Yes, sir. At the very least, he’s turned it on. Again, we’re getting only intermittent audio signals right now, but if he’s following the plan, that would make sense. The drone hasn’t been deployed.”

“How long until they realize the security violation? How long until they find the mobile—what do you call it—the nest?” asked Brucius.

“Mr. Davies has been able to plug the receiver/transmitter into their electrical system but we don’t know enough yet to estimate how long we have. We’re guessing they’ll pick up the intrusion fairly quickly. But even if they know they’re being violated, it may take them a while to find the bug.”

Another man slipped into the room, young and thin, with wire glasses. It was Brucius’ chief of staff. He moved quickly toward Brucius. The technician moved away.

“I hear the drone’s been activated,” the chief of staff said.

Brucius nodded.

The chief of staff glanced anxiously behind him. “The security teams in Raven are going to locate the nest, we know that. When they find it, they’ll know it’s him. I don’t think they’ll be forgiving. He’s got to get out before that point.”

Brucius grunted. No. Not forgiving. Not these men.

“It’s going to work out,” the chief of staff assured Brucius, reading the worried look on his boss’ face. “They’ll tear Raven Rock to pieces, but the presidential suite is the last place they’ll look. He’ll havehim up and dre