As a medium-sized, four-engine, multi-role tactical transport aircraft, the C130 is only slightly larger than a Boeing 737.
While it can't compare to strategic transport aircraft like the C-17 or the Seres Y-20, imagine a massive aircraft nearly 30 meters long, with a wingspan of 40 meters, fully loaded with ammunition and carrying over ten tons of fuel, hurtling toward you, blazing with flames and black smoke, and emitting the sound of twisting metal on the verge of disintegration.
With a resounding explosion, the entire Special Administrative Region seemed to fall silent.
Everyone who witnessed this scene lost their ability to speak, watching helplessly as the gunship, which had just been soaring in the air, crashed headfirst into the lowest level of the Capitol with pinpoint precision.
The Capitol is a three-story, flat-roofed structure, with a three-tiered dome above the central conference hall.
Atop the dome is a small round tower, surmounted by a bronze statue of the Goddess of Victory.
This bronze statue of Victory differed from the one in New York. She wore a feathered crown, held a sword in her right hand, and a shield in her left, her gaze fixed eastward.
Unlike the White House, which faces north and south, the Capitol faces west and east, with its back to the Washington Monument.
Therefore, when the AC130 descended, only a few people, including FBI Director Jim Womack and Joint Chiefs Chairman Al Kleiman, who were conversing privately at the corner of the staircase, could see it.
The rest of the cabinet secretaries and members of Congress, already seated in the 1,000-seat central rotunda, were whispering about the emergency outside.
Capitol Police and Secret Service agents, responsible for Capitol security, had already opened the various gates and were preparing to evacuate the cabinet secretaries and congressmen according to emergency procedures.
Then, a catastrophe struck suddenly. Amidst an unspeakable sound of terror, the mural "Washington in Heaven" atop the central rotunda suddenly cracked, and the lights went out.
This neoclassical building, over 200 years old and burned down along with the White House in 1814 by the British and the British, and later rebuilt, was toppled like a building block.
Three massive bronze doors on the east side, known as the Columbus Gates, weighing tens of tons, toppled outward with a crash, instantly reducing the magnificent building to rubble. The lights went out, replaced by a raging fire
. The AC130's remaining dozen tons of jet fuel crashed into the Capitol along with the aircraft, sending flames shooting skyward.
Meanwhile, the Washington Monument on the National Mall, seemingly half its height lower, continued to rustle and shed stone.
Everything happened so fast that even Jack was slow to react.
Like the Statue of Victory in New York, the Washington Monument is a hollow structure, with a white marble exterior and a high-speed elevator that reaches the top.
In 2011, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake damaged the obelisk, forcing it to close for repairs. It took nearly three years to complete the restoration and reopen.
Jack, unaware of the devastating scene within the Capitol, was simply stunned by the devastating scene.
Gazing at the obelisk, its upper half ripped off and its lower half precariously crumbling, and the flames and smoke rising toward Capitol Hill, it took him a moment to recover.
"Kate," Jack said before a sonic boom echoed through the sky. Two F-16 fighter jets, flying at supersonic speeds and at a low altitude, unleashed a deafening roar that reawakened the entire city from its momentary pause.
Screams, cries, the panicked screams of passersby, sirens, and car alarms echoed from all directions, creating a sense of surrealism.
"If anyone contacts me, please reply that I'm fine. Also, please contact Deputy Director Joy Reacher of the Secret Service and tell him I need to know Maureen is safe."
Although according to the rules of "Designated Survivor," Maureen should not be in or around D.C. at this moment, Jack still felt a little concerned for her safety.
After Kate replied "Roger," Jack got back on the road in the Mammoth, heading towards the White House.
He was only a few hundred meters from the White House. Although traffic was chaotic, people occasionally appeared on the roadside, crying for help.
But D.C. wasn't as crowded as New York City. The White House was surrounded by federal government buildings, so there was no such thing as rush hour.
While the gunship's high-altitude bombardment was widespread, the chaos it caused across the city far outweighed the actual damage.
To Jack's surprise, when he arrived at the White House's iron fence, he found hundreds of fearless tourists gathered there, taking photos and watching the excitement.
The lawn south of the White House, known as the Oval, was hosting a concert welcoming the President and First Lady of the Democratic Republic of the Congo when Jack left.
Several cars were parked in the driveway on one side of the lawn. One, a bulletproof Cadillac, bore the flags of two countries. A team of Secret Service agents stood guard in the driveway, their dazed expressions revealing they hadn't fully recovered from the shock.
The rooftop, blasted by 25mm machine gun fire, lay in a horrific state, with several mutilated bodies lying behind shattered railings.
Several police cars blocked both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. Jack stopped and presented his ID. "Officer, I'm here to help."
The portly white officer glanced suspiciously at Jack's ID, then shrugged and pointed behind him. "I don't think the Secret Service will let you in at this time."
Jack noticed that behind him, besides the onlookers, there were also several people with ID pinned to their chests, some even holding musical instruments.
These were clearly White House staff and the band members who had previously held the welcoming ceremony on the lawn, now evacuated by the Secret Service.
Jack was a little anxious. He was waiting for Kate to contact Joey. With the deputy director of the Secret Service taking action, it shouldn't be a problem for him to enter the White House and bring Zoe out.
But he didn't know how much time he had. It was obvious that the gunship was just the opponent's first move.
It was probably a bit unexpected that it could cause such great damage. The timing of the air-to-air missiles launched by the two F16s was too coincidental. Apart from the White House and the Capitol, the gunship would not have caused such great damage if it fell anywhere else.
"Should you consider further evacuating the people outside first?" Jack also pointed behind him.
The fat police officer patted the radio hanging on his chest, and the latter made a crackling sound, "We are still waiting for instructions from above. The whole city is in chaos now."
(End of this chapter)