Ever Hayes - Emergency Exit

Major Eddie had also been able to put together the basics of why the Russian had left Denver. While he seemed intent on masquerading as some kind of “hero to the cause” by being the one to personally break through to the vice president, Eddie could see there was definitely more involved. It clearly seemed the Russian didn’t trust, or care for, his fellow commanders. He had ambitions with this mission that had something to do with Hawaii, that much was true, but Eddie suspected his ulterior motive wasn’t solely in disarming the last protected state. The Russian had something personal to gain from Hawaii’s fall.

Perhaps it went hand in hand with Russia’s desire to have sole possession of Alaska. It would make sense from a strategic standpoint if you were planning on a bigger power move down the road. If indeed the two situations were related, then there were definitely some behind-the-scenes games going on among The Seven commanders. And if they weren’t all on the same page, Eddie knew from personal experience where divided leaders took their countries—to civil war.

Haunted as the hotel was supposed to be, the man in the hallway was no ghost. And he was walking their way. The agents had been so preoccupied they hadn’t even noticed, and the door above them was still open. Had the man heard anything? Danny shot up the ladder, quietly closed the closet door, spread the uniforms out, and slid the floor panel shut with a click, just as the man entered the room above them. There was another man in the hallway now. He too was walking their way.

The cameras made it seem like there were lights on, even though it was pitch dark. The man above them had stopped and seemed to be listening for any sound. The second man stood in the doorway now, and two more soldiers entered the hallway frame. Man, those uniforms were hideous. The camera audio was off, given the extreme silence of the rest of the building, but Danny was concerned about the hum of the generator. If they shut the generator off there would be no sound, but they would lose the cameras, lighting, and the heater, and the little girl would probably wake up. And who knew, the silence might then become too loud.

On the other hand, if they didn’t shut it off, there was a chance the vibration could be felt through the floor. Danny was kicking himself for not having thought about that when he was upstairs closing the door. Had he felt a vibration? Had there been any hum or sound? He couldn’t remember. Or was it…? Shit . The heat escaping through the open panel . The jeeps had to have been driving by and picked up the heat signal. But that was from their jeep. They knew there was something in the building, but they couldn’t take the THIRST system out of the truck to check it out. That’s why they didn’t know exactly where to go. They probably had picked up a sound when they entered the building and followed it to this room. There might not be a way out of this one.

Danny turned to Adams, who was looking around the room to make sure no one was moving and motioning for them to sit down on the floor. “Adams,” Danny whispered. “Which of you is best with the girl?”

“Deere. Definitely,” Adams replied.

Danny pointed at Deere and indicated he needed to go make sure she stayed quiet. Deere nodded. The men above them definitely had heard something. They weren’t moving. They were opening the locker doors one by one and pointing their guns in each one, as if they were expecting someone to jump out. This was a terrible sign. Danny couldn’t believe how careless they’d been. Noise had to carry like crazy down here. Pair that with the heat, and they’d been a dead giveaway. How had they not at least closed the door above them? Frickin’ stupid! The lack of other functioning monitors also limited their available intel. From the bunker they had no idea how many men might be elsewhere in the building, or outside in the parking lot.

“Danny,” Adams whispered, as the men neared the C. S. Lewis locker. “This is our responsibility. The girl is yours now. These guys know we’re here. In a minute they’re going to open that locker and find that wall. They’re going to blow it open, and we’re going to have to shoot our way out, if we even get that chance. Our only legitimate hope is if we can somehow get them away from you long enough for you to get Abbey out.”

Danny didn’t necessarily agree yet, but he was nodding. He knew if the men in the room above them did find the secret door they’d be calling in the troops, and fast. He also knew soldiers had been out looking for the VP’s daughter since her father had rescued her. Since there was no other resistance remaining in the valley, if there was a gunfight here the enemy would know this was where the girl had been, and if she wasn’t here, they’d know she was still out there somewhere.

The troops wouldn’t be leaving the valley then. In fact, there’d probably be more sent in. If the VP was indeed an ex-Special Ops Marine, he wasn’t going to be giving up anything to these guys unless they had something he couldn’t bear to lose. By risking his life to try to save his daughter he’d already shown there was one thing. They hadn’t found Reagan, and probably figured she’d died in the cold. But they had to know Abbey was still alive, and when they couldn’t get him to talk through torture, they’d come back looking for her. Abbey was soon going to become the only leverage the enemy would need against the vice president to conquer the last American state.

Danny knew the vice president could do something about that. He could stall and mislead the troops all he wanted, but that would keep them here in the valley. That would keep them searching for Abbey. The only sure way to save his daughter was for the VP to kill himself. But what if he physically couldn’t? That possibility deserved consideration.

It seemed Adams was right. They could either wait for the men upstairs to find their hideaway, which was bound to happen any minute, or they could jump the men upstairs and hopefully create enough of an advantage and diversion for Danny, Cameron, Hayley, and Blake to get away with the girl. Danny glanced at his watch: 3:28. He waved everyone over except Deere, who was still sitting beside a sleeping Abbey. “All right guys,” he whispered. “Here’s the plan.”

There were three men in the room above them, and the fourth was in the hallway outside the room. The soldier who moved aside the clothes in the C. S. Lewis locker didn’t live a second longer. Danny shot him in the head. As that man dropped, Danny squeezed off another shot and took out the soldier right behind him. The third man yelled and stepped into the room with his gun up. Danny took him down with another headshot. The fourth man in the hallway was on the radio as soon as the third man yelled. He pulled a grenade and threw it in the room, but Danny ducked back down the ladder before it exploded.

After the grenade went off, the Secret Service agents took over. Adams took the lead, and a couple gunshots later he’d taken out the fourth guy. All four agents were moving quickly down the hallway towards the main entry when they were met with more yelling from the stairwell. They took up defensive positions by the main stairwell as Danny, Cameron, Blake, and Hayley—carrying Abbey—climbed from the bunker and moved the opposite way down the hall, towards where they’d come in.

They stayed by that stairwell as Danny watched the gunfight behind them through his scope. One of the agents had gone down, and stayed down, from another grenade. The other three disappeared around the corner and remained engaged out of sight. Now was the time to go.