THE LULLABY KEY : THE FALL
CHAPTER 23: The Nation Watches
The tunnel was cold and dark and smelled of mold.
Lena led the way, her phone’s flashlight cutting through the blackness. Marcus followed, his gun drawn. Chloe brought up the rear, her silver gown now torn and dirty.
They emerged in the White House basement, in a storage room filled with old furniture and forgotten Christmas decorations.
Zero’s voice crackled in Lena’s earpiece. “Security cameras are disabled for the next ninety seconds. Move.”
They ran.
Up the stairs, through the kitchen, into the residence.
The President’s bedroom was on the second floor. The door was unlocked.
Inside: a king-sized bed, an American flag, a painting of George Washington.
Lena pulled the painting off the wall.
Behind it: a safe. Smaller than the one in the Oval Office. Older.
Chloe typed the combination. Her brother’s birthday.
The safe opened.
Inside: a single hard drive. Red. Labeled “MARCHETTI – MASTER.”
Lena grabbed it.
And the lights went out.
Not a power failure. A tactical blackout.
Pike’s voice echoed through the darkness.
“Did you really think it would be that easy?”
Flashlights flicked on. Pike stood in the doorway, flanked by six armed men.
Lena held up the hard drive. “I have what I came for.”
“You have nothing. That drive is encrypted with a 256-bit key. It would take a supercomputer a thousand years to crack it.”
“Then I’ll wait a thousand years.”
Pike laughed. “You won’t live a thousand minutes.”
He raised his gun.
And Chloe stepped in front of Lena.
“Shoot me,” she said. “Go ahead. I’m the President’s daughter. You shoot me, and my father will have you killed before sunrise.”
Pike’s gun wavered.
“Chloe, don’t be stupid.”
“I’m not being stupid. I’m being smart. For the first time in my life.”
She turned to Lena.
“Broadcast it. Now. Use my phone. It’s connected to the White House press feed.”
Lena didn’t hesitate.
She plugged the hard drive into Chloe’s phone. The files began to transfer.
Pike fired.
The bullet hit Chloe in the shoulder. She screamed and fell.
Lena caught her.
Marcus returned fire. Pike’s men scattered.
Lena dragged Chloe behind the bed. The phone was still transferring.
“UPLOADING TO PRESS FEED. 50%… 75%… 100%.”
The files went live.
Every screen in the White House press corps flickered.
Every phone buzzed.
Every television in America showed the same image:
The President, sitting in the Oval Office, taking orders from a ghost.
The nation watched.
The nation gasped.
The nation burned.