"Is it done?" a terrorist, his face obscured by a black mask, urged impatiently.
"Ashiba, the people down there are pushing you too! I just locked down the external network," the man typing away at his computer complained impatiently in his plastic English.
"These guys don't know how to set up surveillance. They have so many interfaces that I have to manually adjust each area."
He glanced at the monitors covering the entire wall and suddenly picked up the intercom and shouted, "There's movement in the north corridor of the East Wing office!"
Several gunshots rang out, followed by a crackling intercom. "Someone trying to escape by jumping out the window, taken down." Just as
the man at the computer put down the intercom, a slight noise suddenly rang out in the corridor, like the clanking of a bullet casing rolling across the floor.
The two men in the room were startled and turned back, their guns pointed at the door from which the noise had come.
However, to their surprise, a side door closer to them suddenly opened, and a ghostly shadowy figure darted into the room.
The black terrorist standing behind Bangzi bore the brunt of the attack. Before he could turn his gun, he felt a sharp pain in his throat. All his strength seemed to spurt out through his severed carotid artery, and his trachea, also cut open, could only make a faint "ho ho" sound.
Bangzi, standing behind his companion, had just swung his gun when the shadowy figure was right in front of him.
Bangzi's right hand, holding the pistol, was firmly gripped by Jack, and he instantly lost the strength to pull the trigger. Before he could even let out a cry of pain, a dagger had already pierced his ribs and pierced his heart.
Two bodies fell to the ground at random. Jack, without even a glance, stepped aside, pulled a chair, and sat down at the keyboard, tapping his headset. "Kate, what do we do next?"
"Open the card reader, place your Secret Service badge, and leave it to me."
As all the screens before him turned blue and lines of code began to scroll, Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Having an AI assistant was a huge relief; he couldn't figure it out on his own.
A few minutes later, as Jack leaned over to examine the two bodies, Kate, who was hacking into the White House's systems, suddenly asked, "Um, the 'PEOC' in the underground bunker just sent a communication request to the Pentagon. Would you like to observe?"
—
"Ma'am, this way," Maureen said, still a little confused as she entered the Pentagon surrounded by a group of Secret Service agents. She didn't realize it until Joy Reacher, the Deputy Director of the Secret Service, who was at the front, turned and extended a hand to her.
As Maureen walked along, she saw many Pentagon staff members. Some cried into their phones, others huddled in corners, whispering to each other. But most stared blankly at her, as if they hadn't yet recovered from the sudden onslaught.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway as a group of people, accompanied by a frail-looking Supreme Court Justice, approached. The middle-aged woman leading the group looked familiar.
Maureen's heart only reassured when she saw Hannah and Jiejie following behind her.
"Ms. Moje (Dana), news on the news."
Maureen had barely finished her words when she noticed a book in front of her. Looking down, she saw Dana Moje holding a Bible in front of her.
"Madam, please place your hand on the Bible and read with me," the old judge, whose gait was shaky, spoke in a resonant voice.
Coming to her senses, Maureen instinctively placed her left hand on the Bible, imitating the judge's right hand, palm facing outward.
"Madam, please repeat after me, I, Maureen Cahill, solemnly swear." The old judge read in a solemn tone.
"I, Maureen Cahill, solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States of America, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, sovereign God."
As Maureen followed the old judge in reciting the oath, Joy Reacher, standing nearby, filmed the scene with his phone.
The old judge extended his hand to shake Maureen's, addressed her simply as "Madam President," and retrieved the Bible. The simple, almost sloppy, oath-taking ceremony was complete.
"Madam President, please follow me," Dana Moger led the way, with Joy Reacher standing behind Maureen.
"Ms. Moger, I want to know about Zoe." Maureen knew Jack's female boss, Dana Moger, and after following her into the elevator, she couldn't wait to ask.
"Congressman Anderson (Zoe) isn't in the Capitol. Jack said he's located her and will find a way to get her out,"
Dana Moger said succinctly as she pressed the elevator button. "Rosie is assisting Jack at the frontline command center. She'll report back as soon as she has any news."
"So where are we going now?" Maureen glanced at Hannah and Jiejie, who had also entered the elevator. She saw no trace of sadness on their faces. Her nerves, strained since being abruptly taken away by the Secret Service from a secret safe house in suburban Baltimore, finally relaxed slightly.
"The command center beneath the Pentagon,"
Dana gave Maureen a meaningful look. "Be prepared, the storm has just begun."
The elevator doors opened, leading through a long corridor. As the heavy metal protective doors swung open, a cacophony of voices, mixed with the chaotic ringing of phones, washed over them like a wave.
A large hall, large enough to accommodate thousands, opened into view. A long conference table sat in the center, flanked by a dazzling array of communication equipment and LCD monitors.
The long conference table was now filled with people: men and women, young and old, some in military uniforms, others in suits.
A common trait among them was that they were all busy barking orders into phones, some even holding more than one, their left and right hands unable to hold them, so they placed them on the table in front of them.
Only one seat at the end of the long table remained empty, but whether intentionally or not, almost no one present noticed the sudden appearance of the group, their heads bent low as they busied themselves.
"Excuse me," Maureen said, approaching the lone empty seat and tapping lightly on the table.
Perhaps because her voice was too quiet, it went unnoticed. The Army general, with four stars on his epaulettes, sat in the first seat on the left, his voice particularly loud.
"I'm ordering all special forces personnel on leave to return to their units immediately upon receiving this order. Can you do it? Okay, assign them immediately."
Receiving Maureen's pleading gaze, Joey Reacher, standing beside her, took a half step forward and slammed his hand on the table, his voice easily drowning out the clamor.
"Hi! Hi! Ladies and gentlemen! Please maintain a minimum of respect. Madam President has something to say!"
(End of this chapter)