Darkness on a Pale Blue Stone (13 page)

Lash was impressed, but also surprised. She had taken the Cases to be just a family of weak-willed rich people, but Adam seemed to be more than that. She nodded out of respect.

"What about you, Sean?" she asked.

"Eh, I don't know. I've always wanted... well, an adventure, I guess. Wanted there to be more purpose to my life, you know?" Sean said. Lash nodded in understanding. "So far, I've nearly drowned, been shot at, seen a lot of people die, and now, been captured by the remnants of whatever U.S. government there is left. I guess I don't want to be the 'damsel in distress' anymore," Sean said with a shrug. "What about you, Lash? Why so 'gung-ho' about protecting Gresson?"

"'Gung-ho'?" Lash questioned, mockingly. "Let's just say I'm looking for purpose too."

They waited for another hour until the sun's rays had left the sky and scattered fires were the only light source outside. Clouds blocked most of the starlight. Lash looked out through the small window in the door.

"I don't see anyone," she said quietly. "Let's go." She opened the door and stepped outside. Adam and Sean followed and Sean slowly closed the door behind them.

Lash had been right about the darkness. There were large stationary fires and soldiers carrying their own torches, but it was dark enough in other areas for the three of them to move around unseen. They made their way around the building and saw the Capitol. It was brightly lit with several massive bonfires, giving it an ominous appearance.

With Lash leading the way, the three quietly crept across the Capitol grounds. They avoided any wide-open areas where enough light existed to make them visible, making their trip to the Capitol longer than it otherwise would have been. After patiently avoiding any soldiers, they eventually reached the wall on the Capitol's south side.

"So what now? Definitely can't go in the front," Sean said.

"No, can't do that," Lash said. She looked up.

Sean followed her eyes and realized she was looking at one of the nearby trees that lined the wall. "Oh, come on..." he moaned.

"Yep," was Lash's only reply as she began to climb. After reaching the top of the trunk, she carefully climbed onto one of the branches nearest the wall. The wall was within reach and soon Lash was on top of it. She reached down and offered to pull Sean up.

"No one told me I'd have to be an acrobat for this," Sean said as he prepared to jump.

"It's like... 10 feet tall, Sean. Hardly anything death-defying," Lash replied, arm extended.

Sean groaned, then jumped up for Lash's hand. He managed to grab it, but Lash was unprepared for his full weight. "Why did you come along again?" she grunted as she struggled to pull him up. He managed to get a foothold on the wall and soon collapsed over the railing at the top.

"I... I don't know," he said as he caught his breath while lying on the ground. Adam used the tree to mount the wall and soon they were ready to continue. Lash picked one of the windows that lined the side of the Capitol and motioned them over to it.

Once everyone was there, she gripped her gun and said, "If anyone hears us, be ready to run."

"Yeah, right," Sean said.

Lash slammed the butt of the gun against the side of the window, knocking the glass into the dark room behind it. This action would have undoubtedly set off plenty of alarms one week ago, but tonight there was no response from anything inside or anyone outside. After waiting a minute to be sure, Lash led Sean and Adam inside.

The darkness outside was easily beaten by the darkness in the room. Lash pulled out the lighter and used it to find the door. She turned around, whispered, "Welcome to the United States Capitol," and opened the door.

They stepped into the hallway and began their search. There was no light coming from anywhere nearby, so they followed signs leading them to the front lobby. As they approached, they saw light and heard soldiers talking.

"Ugh. These long shifts are killing me."

"Tell me about it. I'm about to pass out. There's tons of us. We could easily get stuff done and take a rest too, if they would rotate the shifts better."

"It's that Sanders guy. He thinks we can just keep going and going. I don't think he ever sleeps. He's a machine."

"He's an asshole. None of us even have to be here. I mean, think about it. We could leave and there would be nothing anyone could do. Who's gonna court-martial us?"

"And where would you go?"

"Well..."

"Exactly. Long nights on guard duty beats whatever the hell's going on out there. Besides, at least we aren't the ones building the barricades."

"That's true."

Lash crouched down and peered around a corner to look into the lobby. She saw the two soldiers standing by the entrance. She also saw torches lighting a path down a hallway on the opposite side of the room.

"Damn," she whispered. The sound echoed off the rotunda ceiling above her.

"Whoa. Did you hear that?" one of the soldiers said.

Lash, Sean, and Adam froze. As the soldiers approached, Lash quietly led her companions back into the darkness, away from the lobby. The soldiers stopped at the entrance to the hallway.

"Is anyone there?" one of the soldiers called out. After a minute of silence, he turned around. "Must be hearing things."

"Like I said, long shifts. We're going crazy," the other replied as they walked back to their post by the door.

Lash, Sean, and Adam backed away from the lobby, until they were completely out of earshot of the soldiers.

"What's the plan?" Adam asked.

"We find the basement," Lash replied. "If we can find a way down, we can go under the rotunda room and come up on the other side."

"I think we passed a sign for stairs," Sean said.

"Let's go, then," Lash said.

The three of them traced their path back to where Sean had seen the sign. They soon found it and the stairs. They headed down. The basement was even darker than the hallways upstairs, which occasionally received light from windows. Lash led the way with the lighter, attempting to head in the direction of the lobby, though the layout on this floor was much different. They soon found themselves in a dead end that led only to a door reading "Maintenance Access."

"Well, then," Lash said with a sigh.

"Let's just see where this goes," Adam suggested. He tried the door, but it was locked. Lash smashed the door open with her gun, but the loud bang panicked them for a moment. All three of them stopped and listened for any movement. Once they were sure no one was coming to investigate, they stepped inside. There was a narrow corridor that led either left or right. Lash held up the lighter and saw that the corridor was lined with pipes and wiring.

"Probably goes all along the edge of the building," Adam said.

"Perfect," Lash replied. She led the others to the left, hoping to find another door on the other side of the building. They had not gone far, however, when they heard voices ahead.

"Shhh," Lash whispered. They crept closer to the sound.

"... you better come through, Gresson."

"Don't worry about me. You just make sure you do. And if you send anyone before the agreed time, I'm not responsible for what happens to them."

"That's Gress..." Sean started to say, before Lash put a finger to his lips.

"I still don't think I trust him. How do we know he is who he says he is?" a woman voice said.

"If I am, you would be stupid not to listen. If I'm not, then none of this matters anyway," came Gresson's reply.

There was the sound of a scooting chair and then Sanders' booming voice said, "Alright. I think we've heard enough. It's late. Gresson, I'll show you to your quarters."

"Quarters?" Gresson protested. "My group and I are leaving. Now. You all got what you want."

"Actually, we didn't get much of anything. You aren't the most talkative type, Gresson." This gave the three in the maintenance corridor a grin. "Tonight, you will stay here. When, or if, we decide we believe you, then you can go."

Lash, Sean, and Adam tried to follow the sound of footsteps, going back the way they came. Sanders and Gresson arrived at Gresson's quarters for the night. A door opened, Gresson walked inside, and the door closed. Sanders' footsteps went away.

After waiting for a few minutes, Lash called through the wall, "Gresson? Gresson can you hear me?"

"Lash?" he replied.

"Yeah, it's me. We're here to get you out," Lash said.

"We are? Maybe we should..." Adam whispered.

"Aren't you over this yet? He's saved our lives a few times now," Sean whispered back.

"He put a gun to my family's heads," Adam angrily replied.

"Oh... right," Sean said. "Why'd you come along again?"

Adam sighed. "Let's just get moving, alright?"

Lash had managed to climb up above the ceiling-less wall and was now pushing aside insulation above Gresson's room. A minute and solid punch to the ceiling below her later, she had cleared a hole for Gresson. She gave him a hand and helped him out.

"Now you really owe me, Gresson," she said as they climbed back to the maintenance corridor. Gresson's tall frame made it difficult for him to squeeze through.

"For putting all our lives in more danger? The last thing these people need is another reason to shoot us," he replied.

"You're welcome. Never imagined you could be so gracious," Lash said sarcastically.

Once everyone was back in the corridor, Sean said, "These guys really suck at making decent prisons."

"Tell me about it," Lash replied.

They retraced their path back upstairs, keeping as quiet as possible. Once upstairs they made their way to the room they had first entered and exited out the broken window. It was now later in the night, but the clouds had somewhat dissipated. Light from the moon and stars now took away their ability to cross the Capitol grounds in total darkness.

Before they continued, Gresson turned to Lash and said, "Thank you. I didn't mean to be ungrateful back there. Let's just make this little rescue worth it and get the hell out of here."

"Right behind you," Lash said.

They all made their way to the wall and dropped down quietly, except for Sean who managed to fall on his back.

"You alright?" Adam asked.

"Yeah. I'm really not cut out for all this sneaky spy stuff," Sean said, getting up and brushing himself off.

They stayed behind the few trees by the wall and examined the soldiers ahead. There were less than before, but still enough to make crossing to the building where the others were held difficult.

Gresson sighed. "Let's just get this over with. Stay ten seconds behind me." He headed directly to the nearest soldier. Lash counted to ten, then motioned for Sean and Adam to follow.

Gresson ran up to the soldier, and before the soldier could react, Gresson knocked him out with a blow to the head. Before the body hit the ground, Gresson grabbed the soldier's uniform and dragged him out of the radius of light from a nearby fire.

Another soldier, seeing movement in the darkness, ran in Gresson's direction. Lash, Sean, and Adam heard nothing but a
smack
. Gresson pulled the two bodies behind a bush. Seconds later, the others caught up to him. Gresson noticed the soldier guarding the front door of the building where the rest of the group was held.

"How did you all get out?" he asked, curiously.

"Back door," Lash answered.

"Ah," Gresson said. He crouched and walked toward the front door.

"What's he doing?" Sean asked. Lash and Adam only shrugged.

Gresson stood up just beside the soldier. He reached his arm around his back and tapped his far shoulder. The soldier jumped and turned. Gresson wrapped his other arm around the soldier's neck, cutting off circulation. Seconds later, the soldier slumped to the ground unconscious. Gresson then stepped inside, followed by Lash, Sean, and Adam.

Lash ran to the room where the others were and unlocked the door. As she stepped inside, she heard gasps. She realized they couldn't see who she was and said, "It's me. We got Gresson. Let's go."

A few minutes later, everyone was gathered outside. They headed for a road leading south.

"So, what happened in there?" Jake asked.

"Let's save story time for after we get out of here," Gresson responded.

As they approached an exit, which was once a busy downtown street, the group realized two soldiers were in their way. It was too late to hide, and Gresson simply led them forward.

"Hey, what are you doing?" one asked, pointing his rifle at them.

"We have permission to leave," Gresson replied, not slowing down.

"Whoa, whoa. I need to talk to a superior about thi..." the soldier said when Gresson stepped up to him, grabbed his gun, and slammed it into his face, knocking him over.

"Hey!" the other soldier cried. Lash and Gresson aimed their guns at him as he did the same. "Just... just wait a sec..." he said, petrified.

"Drop your gun," Gresson said, walking toward the remaining soldier.

"I... I..." he stammered.

Gresson reached him and gripped his rifle. "I'm going to hit you now," he said, calmly.

"O... Oka..." the soldier said, before Gresson did precisely that. The soldier was out cold before he hit the ground.

"Let's go," Gresson ordered the others. They all began to walk south, leaving behind several unconscious soldiers and an entirely unaware force that made up the remnant of what was left of the United States government.

"Good riddance," Jake said, looking back.

"You didn't even do anything Jake. All you did was sit in a dark room for an hour. When are you gonna heal up and show us all these skills of yours?" Lash mocked.

"Oh, shut up."

Chapter 18

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport - August 11, 2072

"God, I wish one of those worked," Jake said, observing through a large glass window the many landed or crashed planes surrounding the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The group had crossed the Washington Channel and Potomac River the night before and had spent several hours of rest in the airport's terminal. It was now late morning, and everyone was slowly beginning to rise after Gresson's urging.