“Uh-oh,” Sherman said from across the room.
“Uh-oh is right,” she said. “Access denied. And I’ll bet Carpenter’s office is getting an alert right now telling them I’m trying to get into this file.”
“Maybe we should shut down and get out of here, then,” he said. “Before the rent-a-cops show up. Or worse, some of the CNO’s Marines from Opnav security.”
“I can’t imagine anything like that,” she said. “It’s not as if I was doing something illegal. This is a system I use all the time.”
“See if you can log into your division’s LAN E-mail system,” he suggested. “See if this denial is file -specific, or user-specific.”
She frowned but then exited the archive system and opened E-mail.
Another red banner. “It’s me, she whispered.
“I was afraid of that,” he said. “Let’s go. Now.”
“I have to shut the system down. If I don’t, the server will-“
“Screw the server,” he said, reaching down to hit the computer’s power key. “We need to get out of this building and down to Aquia as quickly as possible.”
Karen got up hurriedly and turned off the office lights.
They opened the door and looked out into the empty corridor.
“No sounds of approaching jackboots,” Sherman said.
“Follow me.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, hurrying to keep up in her skirt and heels.
“Don’t think we ought just to waltz out the South Parking entrance,” he said over his shoulder. If that was a network trap, there’ll be a security alert. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but somebqdy’s locked you ‘out of the system, and recently. We’ll take these stairs right here.’ He ducked sideways into a small stairway in the middle of the corridor. Karen followed, her heels clattering on the concrete steps.
“Where does this go? I’ve never used this one. “
“Spend enough years in this building, you learn some shortcuts. This’ll get us down to the first floor, and then we’ll go around the B-ring to corridor four. Stay out of the A-ring in case security vehicles are on their way. Damn, I wish it weren’t Saturday. The building’s empty as a tomb.
We’re going to be conspicuous.”
“Where will that take us?” she asked.
“And I may have to take these shoes off.”
He turned around to look and then apologized. “Sorry. I forgot about heels. I guess there’s no need to run.” But even as he said that, as they were about to cross the sixth corridor through the B-ring, they heard the urgent beeping sound of an approaching electric security vehicle coming down the A-ring to their left. They stopped and ducked back into the B-ring, flattening themselves against an office door.
There were two large glass doors across the sixth corridor, where they could see the reflection of the security vehicle, a large electric golf cart with a rotating amber beacon, go humming by. There were four armed men riding in the vehicle.
Sherman swore. “Reaction force. Probably on their way to the main entrances. That may or may not be for us, but if it is, we’re going to have to hurry.”
Karen popped her shoes off and began to trot in her stockinged feet. As long as they were on the polished corridor floors, it wasn’t too bad.
They moved quickly along the angled segments of B-ring, across the fifth corridor and then into the fourth corridor. She had to put-her shoes back on to get across the garage and utility street between D-ring and E-ring, and she left, them on as they went back up a small stairway to reach ground level. Sherman paused just inside a doorway.
“Okay,” ‘he said. “What we’re trying for here is the heliport door. It’s an exit that’s open only on workdays. Usually, there’s a guard, but probably only an alarm system ‘right now. It opens directly into the heliport area, and from there it’s only a hundred yards or so to South Parking. It’s all I can think of.”
She nodded. “I can’t believe there are police after us. I didn’t do anything I don’t do routinely.”
“That’s when you were persona grata,” he replied, keeping an eye out into the corridor through the glass door.
“Now you’re keeping bad company. Sure you want to keep going with this, Counselor?”
“I’m sure,” she said with a small smile. “I think.”
Right. Remember that the forces of truth, justice, and the American way are all behind you. Way behind you.
Let’s do it.”
He took one more look through the door for amber strobe lights, then pushed the door open. They stepped out into the fourth corridor, which was darker than usual. In the perpetual effort to save money, the Pentagon building’s management turned out half the overhead lights in the corridors on weekends. Trying to act normally, they walked together the final eighty feet to the small doorway at the end of the corridor.
The guard table by the door was unoccupied, but they could see a red sign chained across the door.
“Definitely alarmed,” she said, keeping her voice down as they approached the door. “Won’t that bring the reaction force?”
“Probably. We can only hope they come from the inside and that no one thinks to simply step out of the South Parking entrance to see what’s happening back on the heliport.
Wish I had a helo out there.”
“You’re an admiral. Can’t you just call one?”
“Remember the guy in Henry the Fifth who claims that he can call forth spirits from the vasty deep? And the other guy says, yeah, but do they come when you call them?
That’s me. I used to think I could, though,” he said.
The chain across the door was there to hold the sign, not to secure the door. The door itself had a fire- escape bar on the inside, which meant they could get out, although not back in once that door closed. Two black boxes with shielded wiring were positioned on either side of the top left crack between the door and the doorjam. There was also an amber strobe light mounted ten feet high in the ceiling and it, too, was wired to the black box.
“Definitely alarmed,” he said. “Okay. Once outside, we turn left and walk quickly but normally toward South Parking. If someone stops us, we did see a man in civilian clothes headed for the River Entrance.”
“He went thataway, Sheriff?”
“Right. Unless they’re specifically looking for us, my admiral’s uniform may do the trick. Ready?”
“I guess,” she said, adjusting her shoes. She was wishing she could see through that door.
He stepped forward, unhooked the chained sign, and then pushed the bar.
Karen expected an audible alarm, but the only thing that happened was that the amber light began to flash over their heads. They went out through the door, pushed it shut, walked quickly down the steps to the heliport area, and turned left for South Parking. Traffic out on Washington Boulevard whizzed past just beyond the heliport. The bright sunlight was almost blinding.
They headed down a sidewalk right alongside the building and made it almost to the edge of the heliport before two armed guards came around the comer of the building.
“Good, they’re Marines,” Sherman murmured.
Karen couldn’t quite figure out why that was good, but then she began to understand when the Marines trotted up to them, assumed rigid positions of attention, and saluted in unison. Sherman returned the salute casually and asked what the problem was.
“Intruder alarm, heliport door, sir,” the smaller one said.
“I saw a guy come out of there as we were walking past,” Sherman replied, pointing down toward the other end of the building. “Civilian?
With a briefcase? Seemed to be in a hurry?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Good afternoon, sir!” they shouted in unison as they took off down the side of the building, unslinging submachine weapons.
“Let’s go, Counselor,” Sherman said, looking over his oulder. “That’ll be good for about another ninety
