Consuming Fire

Chapter 79

The jet was cleared for landing on the Ellipse park. Hunter had no time to prepare herself before the ramp was lowered and half a dozen army officials carrying loaded weapons and other men and women in suits marched up the ramp with stern-looking faces. Leading the way were two FBI agents; Barry Sanders and his superior, Special Agent Fitzpatrick. The moment Barry met her eyes, he smiled and nodded. Hunter nodded back. It was surreal knowing that just last year, he was having beers with Joshua in her kitchen. Now they were fighting a war together.

From outside in the distance, Hunter could hear screams and explosions.

"Officer on deck!" someone shouted and the soldiers already on the jet stood sharply to attention. She hurriedly unclipped her seatbelt and stood up, only Amelia behind her. Eli kept himself concealed, trying to appear completely invisible.

A very tall man with broad shoulders and a gruff expression wearing a military uniform with a lot of badges marched toward her. His boots made a loud thunk on the metal grating. He looked around, raised his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Captain Mackintosh, you son of a bitch," he muttered to himself and shoved his hat under his arm. "So this is it?"

"General Rogers," said Amelia and she saluted him. "I'm Captain Mackintosh's daughter, Amelia. I assume my father contacted you about the situation?"

"Indeed," said General Rogers. "I half expected more of an army, but I trust the Captain's judgment." He turned his attention to Hunter. "You're the fire girl, yes?"

"Hunter," she said and shook his hand.

"This is my team. They're here to escort you directly to the building. We aren't authorized to arm you, but I presume you have a weapon suitable for this mission?"

"Yes," she lied. "I do."

"Right, well let's move out then. We don't have time to lose; this monster has already taken down two of my squadrons."

"His name is Jack," said Eli loudly.

The entire group turned to him. Bravely, Eli stepped into the light with his chin up.

General Rogers looked fit to blow. "Who in God's name are you?"

Hunter was beyond amazed at how tall Eli stood against this military figure. Simply standing up to his father brought on an asthma attack, and now he was a completely different person. A person she admired for his courage and his faith in Jack.

"That monster is my best friend. I'm going to save him."

The General chuckled under his breath. "Hunter," he said to her. "I don't know much about your kind and how it is you came to be ... how you are." Hunter's eyebrows shot up at his bluntness. "But whoever that is in my President's house, he has killed over thirty of my men within the last hour. He is dangerous, deadly and works for the devil. He is not your friend-" he sneered at Eli,"-any longer. If you want to save this country, you will take him out. We cannot fight this. You're our only hope."

Hunter looked up into his harsh face, thankful that she knew something he didn't. She was going to stop Jack. But she was not going to destroy him.

"Yes sir," she said with a sparkle in her eye.

"Good."

"Once this mission is complete," said Fitzpatrick, "there will be a team out the front of the White House, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Mr. David Meyer. You will report to General Rogers and he will transport you back to this jet. Understood?"

Hunter nodded, even though she didn't care who the Chairman was or whether or not he'd be waiting outside.

"I don't have time to prepare you for what you're about to face," said the General. "My men have trained for years for these kinds of missions. So my only advice to you is to keep your eyes on the target and don't give up until you can't breathe in anymore."

Hunter nodded, her heart rate thumping.

"Good luck Hunter," said Barry.

"Thanks."

"Let's move."

The escorts grouped, gathering their weaponry. Hunter heard Amelia whisper to Eli. She didn't hear what she said, but when Hunter looked over her shoulder as she was urged down the ramp, she saw Eli remain on the jet. Amelia had convinced him to stay. He must really like her, she thought.

The moment they were on solid, damp ground she forgot all about Eli and focused on one thing only; Jack.

The smell of fresh air filled her lungs, the scent of dirt and smoke and gunpowder still remaining. Hunter heard explosions and felt her heart leap.

They ran across the grass, the soldier's weaponry clicking in their arms. She caught the eye of a soldier directly on her left. He was huge, his jaw square, his muscles bulging through his uniform. Did he know what he, too, was getting himself into?

"You okay?" he muttered to her in a deep voice.

"Just a little nervous," she replied. "How do you do it, how do you go to war not knowing if you're going to make it out alive?"

"To protect my country," he replied. "So that my wife and baby girl have a house to live in and a roof over their heads."

Hunter nodded. There are many different kinds of heroes in the world, she thought.

She tried to make everything peripheral and focus on the White House where she knew Jack would be but there was too much going on in her mind, too many emotions ruled by the fear in her heart. She focused on the fire for comfort and ran.

It wasn't long before they made it across the road where barricades and police cars blocked the traffic. There were people off to the sidelines, some not noticing them and others pointing. They didn't know who she was, thankfully, but Hunter didn't doubt that after tonight, they would remember her.

Then suddenly, there it was. Giant and beautiful. For a moment she paused to admire it. Joshua took her to Washington when she was thirteen. She didn't appreciate it much back then, but even with smoke around it, the house still projected elegant history all on its own.

The plan was to sneak through the back and make a surprise entrance. Hunter ran in the center of her protection, the memory of the map completely lost inside her head. There was too much else to think about. She didn't focus on what entrance they came through or where Jack was supposed to be. She didn't notice any of the artwork or pay attention to the damage.

Not until suddenly, there was gunfire. Someone had seen Jack. Hunter covered her head from the ear-piercing noise, afraid like a child as a terrible rumble shook the ground and it sounded as if the roof were caving in. A huge chunk of sandstone hit her left leg and she groaned in pain. A soldier screamed and when she looked up, a body landed beside her. He'd been flung at her, blood across the left side of his face, his eyes wide open. Dead. Another scream came and a soldier pushed her forward. It was the one she'd spoken with before.

"Keep moving," he growled. "Don't think about the dead."

Hunter stumbled into the entrance of the White House where a giant room was spread before her with two staircases on either side and a chandelier bigger than a car above her head. Dust from the explosions settled and she saw him.

He stood on the other side of the foyer on top of a fallen pillar, the size of two men fused together, his chest bare, spidery veins littering his body. In his eyes she saw nothing, no relief to see her, no hope at all of humanity. Just darkness.

It really did take over him.

"Jack," she breathed. "What happened to you?"