The jeep engine’s quiet humming came to a stop. Kyle and Melissa woke up.
“Where are we?” asked Kyle drowsily.
“We’re at our stop for the night. We’ve only been driving for two hours; I’m sorry to wake you up” replied Alex.
“We’re not going to sleep like this every night, are we?” asked Melissa.
“For the two days that we drive, yes” said Alex. “Which would be tonight and tomorrow night.”
“And after that?” asked Kyle.
“We’ll camp out in tents deep in the woods. Melissa can have her own tent” answered Alex.
“Near Washington D.C.?” asked Kyle.
“Yes. Well, I’m getting awfully tired now; I’ll explain our plans tomorrow” said Alex.
“Good night!” said Melissa.
“Good night” muttered Kyle and Alex, already half asleep.
Kyle woke up. The sun was shining down almost directly above them, shimmering through the tall trees surrounding the jeep. He noticed the windows had been rolled down. Alex and Mellissa were still asleep. He looked at the time on his phone, and it was 11:37 am. Other than an occasional “Caw, Caw” from a crow overhead, it was quiet, and to Kyle quiet peaceful. He figured they weren’t extremely close to a road. After he sat and breathed in the crisp air for about five minutes, Alex began to stir. He looked up at Kyle. He had been sprawled across the driver and passenger seat, which did not look very comfortable.
“When did you wake up?” Alex asked.
“Just a few minutes ago. Did you sleep well?” said Kyle.
“Yes, about as well as you could sleep in a car” answered Alex. Kyle thought he was just being polite.
“I hope we got away from those people.”
“I think we did, but we still have to be cautious. And we still haven’t heard Melissa’s story.” At that moment, as if she responded to the word “story”, Melissa woke up. She looked around for a second, and then said,
“So let’s tell our stories now!”
“Ok, who goes first?” asked Alex.
“How about Kyle?” suggested Melissa.
“I want to hear the rest as well” added Alex.
Kyle began, “Well, after we talked yesterday, I went home and packed my backpack. But during the night, I woke up; because I thought I heard something outside in the backyard. I looked out, and it was a guy with a black mask on his head and a small gun in his hand. I watched him go past my window, and another person as well.”
“Did they see you?” asked Melissa very eagerly.
“No, I watched at first through a crack under the blinds, and as they passed I just saw their shadows. I heard them come through the front door, even though it was locked. I opened the window and grabbed my lava lamp. The guy came in, looked down on my bed, and I smashed the lava lamp on his head.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Melissa.
“Good instincts, as I knew all along” said Alex smugly.
To all of this Kyle just blushed and looked down at the floor of the jeep. “Then I locked the door just in time before the second guy got there, and grabbed my backpack and jumped out the window. I ran to the front yard, and went right on the street. I decided to run for the woods. Well, I found out part way down there that a car was chasing me. The guy was also wearing a black mask. I kept running from him, but I knew I wouldn’t make it to the woods in time. So I suddenly turned and ran straight back at the car, and then jumped over and shattered the windshield.” Alex and Melissa just stared at him wide-eyed, speechless. “So then the car crashed into a tree, and I went through the woods to the alley where I met Alex.”
“That is sooo cool! When we go back home teach me how to do it!” said Melissa. Alex just looked out the window thoughtfully, nodding and muttering a few words to himself. Kyle thought he caught a glimpse of a broad smile on his face, but it quickly vanished.
“Your turn, Melissa” said Alex. “I’ll start driving now, while you tell us your story.”
“Mine’s not as cool as Kyle’s” she said. “Well, I packed as soon as I got home yesterday, because I really wanted to come. I went to sleep early, so that I could wake up early today. But I was woken up by my dogs barking in the back yard. They were barking very loud, and very viciously, unlike I’d ever heard before. My bedroom is on the second floor, next to my parents’ room. Just then my dad came into my room and said he’d seen someone outside. He looked pretty scared. He told me to stay there, but when he left, I went downstairs to see who was outside, and brought the bag I packed with me. I snuck to the bathroom, and as I closed the door behind me, I saw my dad and mom go back to my room upstairs. And before the bathroom knob clicked, I heard a loud sound of glass breaking. I could tell it was from my room. Then I heard my mom scream, but it was muffled quickly. I stood there in the bathroom doorway, not knowing what to do. I was about to get out my phone and call the police, but then my bedroom door opened. I saw someone push my parents out, unharmed.
He saw me and said, ‘I won’t hurt anybody if you just come up here and have a private conversation with me.’ So I went up. He grabbed me by the throat and took me down the hall to a corner. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at me and told my parents, ‘If you move, she’s dead.’ Then to me he asked, ‘What did you see yesterday?
‘When?’ I asked, trying to pretend that I had no idea what he was talking about.
He said, ‘you know very well, yesterday at your school.’
I decided to make something up. ‘You weren’t the guy who had the laptop in the tunnel yesterday were you? Me and a friend were exploring the tunnel, and after a while we saw a light at one end. We got scared and didn’t move, and watched the guy mess around on a laptop or something. When we were sure he was gone, we left and had a talk with an older friend of ours we met, and then went home. Oh and by the way, that’s not our school.’
The guy seemed to buy this at first, but as he kept thinking, he became doubtful. His grip on my neck released. ‘But they didn’t seem to know that guy…’ he muttered to himself. There was a closet behind him that was open. I noticed his gun was now aimed at the ground. Then I kicked him in the stomach and shoved him into the closet. I closed the door on him, and there was no knob on the inside. My parents ran to their bedroom and called the police. While they were talking, I put a note on my door, and went outside. Right before I called you, Kyle, my phone rang and it was you. Then I met you guys at Walgreen’s.”
“That’s even cooler than mine!” said Kyle. Melissa smiled.
“I must admit, you two are truly amazing” said Alex, shaking his head in wonder. They were now on a highway, heading northeast. The sun was now quite strong, casting its yellow rays on Alex and Kyle on the left side.
Suddenly Kyle realized how hungry he was. “When are we going to eat?” he asked.
“Now would be just fine. I packed some sandwiches there under the passenger seat. Eat away” said Alex. Melissa reached down in front of her and took out them out.
After they had eaten, Alex announced, “I think it is time to discuss our plans for this mission.” Kyle and Melissa listened eagerly. “Well, I will outline the plan I and my friends have up to this point, and then you may ask any questions you have.
We will travel today, and rest tonight, in a motel. We will rent two rooms, one for Melissa and one for Kyle and I. There we can take a good shower.”
“Thank goodness” said Melissa. Kyle nodded in agreement.
Alex continued, “Tomorrow we will continue driving, until we get to our campout. I am hoping that will be by ten o’clock or so. My friends, Conor and Drew, will be there waiting for us. We will camp out there until the time of the mission comes. We have yet to find out when that is. But in the meantime, we will train, and will probably have to plan another sneak into the building, for more information, such as when they plan to attack. We will learn how to control a helicopter, and will teach you two how to use knives. Although you will most likely not need the skill, we will even let you practice with a BB gun.
Now here is the plan for the final day, as I have told you before briefly: The person will enter through the tunnel and into the ventilation system, and climb the ladder to the top floor. He will be in the attic. Then he will get some spare uniforms there, our disguise, and drop them out the window and down the garbage chute inside garbage bags. The rest of the team will take them out of the garbage bin they fall into at the bottom. They will unfortunately not work as disguises inside the building; the terrorists will only use them inside the helicopter. In fact, the person will not even put one on until he escapes the building, for the sake of time. He will have to find a worker with a key to the self-destruct control chamber, and take the key. Most workers have one of these. He will adjust the timer to, perhaps, one minute before self-destruction, and run out of the building. He will meet the others, and they will give him his uniform disguise. When the helicopters come, we will tell them that there has been a terrible accident, and that we were the only survivors. When we are all on, we will wait for the right moment, and then hijack them. We will land at a site close to where we are camping out. Then I guess we will have a victory celebration. What do you think?”
“What exactly is our role in it?” asked Kyle.
“I have not yet decided, but you two have brilliant skills, you will definitely not play a minor role” answered Alex.
“Who’s going into the building?”
There was silence for a moment. Kyle and Melissa watched as Alex steered the automobile around a loop onto the interstate. Finally Alex spoke up, “I am willing to, if it is best, but that itself is not yet decided.”
After a moment or two, Kyle spoke, changing the subject, “You said workers had the keys to the chamber. How will we get the key?”
“We will have to get it by force, even kill, if it comes to it. That is why the person who goes inside to set the timer will have to get the key then. It is the only way not to alert them of our presence.”
“So I assume you are positive these fanatics are hitting the White House?” said Melissa.
“I am, without a shadow of a doubt. You saw Mr. Callahan get murdered. We saw the terrible speech and heard the explosion that first day. I saw the numerous uncountable files in the attic. It is unmistakable. The question is: When?”
That ended their conversation. They watched as wild forests, rolling hills, and patches vegetable fields went by on either side. Yet this was not a pleasant trip, not like a vacation; for the knowledge that lay ahead was troublesome, not peaceful. They watched as the sun faded slowly into the western sky to their left, with speech very seldom coming. They ate supper, some more sandwiches, plus some fruit cake for dessert. They traveled several hours into the dark, until they finally left on an exit. There they found a motel and rented two small rooms. They took long, relaxing hot showers, and enjoyed their comfortable beds for that night, knowing these might be the last for some time.
Alex woke Kyle up at 6:30 the following morning. He was completely refreshed, but he didn’t feel like getting out of bed. He picked himself up nevertheless, and got dressed. He and Alex met Melissa in the hallway, and they all went to breakfast together. They finished, and packed up the little they had brought inside the motel.
The morning was very cool, almost cold, and the sun seemed very distant, even in the clear blue sky. They climbed into the jeep. Alex drove them back to the interstate that they had left, and they continued their journey.
“This is the last day of traveling” said Alex.
“Do Conor and Drew know we are coming?” asked Melissa.
“They sure do, I have been keeping in touch with them on our progress. They are very eager to meet you two. Kyle, Drew asked if you brought a spare lava lamp!” chuckled Alex with a smirk on his face. They all laughed.
The day went on as much like that, with light hearts and good humor. The landscape changed dramatically as they went, minute by minute, hour by hour. Day transformed to night, as they neared their destination.
Finally, Alex announced the long awaited news, “We are on the outskirts of Washington D.C.” They turned off the highway they had been on and onto a large road, going north and slightly to the west.
As they passed an intersecting road, Alex pointed to their right, “That’s the road we will take on the way to the building.” After 5 minutes they turned left onto a small two-lane road. It turned back to the north after a minute, and then zigzagged back off to the west. Then off to their left went a small dirt and gravel road, and Alex turned the jeep onto it. About a mile down the path, it split. They turned to the right, and dense trees began to surround them on either side. About half a mile in they came to a clearing on the right, which had a green pickup truck parked next to the woods. Alex swerved the car suddenly straight onto it, and parked it right next to the truck.
“This is it!” he said.
