The Persona Protocol - By Andy McDermott Page 0,174
roof. Childs might be waiting for him there. Everyone else searches the repository.’ Baxter nodded and took out his phone, while the Admiral called his office on Reed’s. Security checks completed, he barked: ‘I need to talk to whoever’s in charge at the federal data repository in Suitland. It’s a matter of extreme urgency.’ He waited impatiently for the connection to be made.
Finally, he heard a timorous voice. ‘Hello?’
‘This is Admiral Gordon Harper, Director of National Intelligence,’ Harper announced imperiously. ‘Who am I talking to?’
‘I’m, ah, I’m Jerome Butterworth, sir. Night-shift duty officer at the Walter J. Gorman facility. What can I do for you, sir?’
‘What you can do, Butterworth, is put your facility on full security alert, right now. Someone is trying to steal classified data from your repository – he may be there already. He’ll probably be trying to gain entry via the roof.’ When there was no immediate response, he barked: ‘Now, Butterworth!’
‘Uh, yes, sir!’ The official’s voice was muffled as he covered the phone with one hand to shout orders. An alarm bell rang in the background. ‘We’ve gone to full alert, sir. I’ve put the facility on lockdown.’
‘Good. I’m on my way to you with a tac team. The intruder is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. If your people find him, I want them to contain him until I arrive. Do not attempt to engage him – just make sure that he doesn’t get away.’
‘Understood, sir,’ said Butterworth nervously.
Harper disconnected and pocketed the phone. Baxter finished issuing instructions to the other members of his team. ‘We’re all set, sir.’
‘Good.’ Harper sat back, watching other cars pull out of the way as the Cadillac sped towards Suitland behind the Suburban, the SUV’s lights flashing and siren blaring.
Bianca waited anxiously, checking her watch for the third time in under a minute. Something had just happened at the Gorman Building, more exterior lights snapping on and an alarm ringing. Had Adam been caught? She didn’t know. From the Mustang’s position a little way down the street from the offices, she hadn’t even been able to see him make the crossing.
How long should she wait for him? He’d seemed confident that he could get what he needed, but confidence alone was no guarantor of success. At what point should she cut and run? Ten minutes? Five?
Maybe sooner than that. The wail of an approaching siren reached her. She hunched lower and peered down the road. A large SUV came into view, horn blaring as it bullied its way through traffic. An expensive-looking car was right behind it. They reached the government facility’s main entrance and squealed to a halt at the gates. The driver waved furiously for the guard inside the little gatehouse to open the barrier. It swung upwards, and the vehicles surged through to stop at the doors of the building.
A man in a shirt and tie hurried out to meet the occupants as they emerged. Even at a distance through the chain-link fence, she recognised two of them: Harper and Baxter. The latter was carrying a sub-machine gun, as was the SUV’s driver.
‘Oh God, Adam,’ she whispered as they hurried inside. Another siren sounded in the distance, drawing nearer. ‘Get out of there . . .’
‘The man trying to break in here is after one specific disk,’ Harper told Butterworth as they marched into the building. ‘I want it located and taken to safety before he can get it.’
The duty officer, a pudgy, balding man in his late forties, was sweating at the unexpected turn of events. ‘Couldn’t we just, uh, put all our security around the section where the disk’s stored?’
Harper glared at him. ‘This isn’t some crack-addict burglar we’re talking about, Butterworth! You’ve got no idea what this man is capable of. I’m not willing to take any chances with people’s lives. Get me that disk, right now.’
‘Yes, yes. Right away, sir.’ They reached Butterworth’s office. ‘Do you know its ID number?’
‘No, but if I give you the criteria, how long will it take you to locate it?’
‘Everything’s fully archived on the system, sir.’ He gestured at a computer. ‘If you put in the details, it should find it immediately.’
Harper sat at the terminal. Baxter was still on his phone. ‘Spence’s team is here,’ he reported.
Bianca watched as a second Suburban powered towards the gates . . .
And drove past them.
The blood froze in her heart. They were coming for her! She grabbed the override, about to start the engine—