Awakened: Book One of the Mind Agents series

Awakened: Book One of the Mind Agents series, Chapter 40

"Block 'em out, Sabine! As many as you can."

Sabine hobbles alongside Jack.

"My foot hurts!" she cries as her arm slips from Jack's grip and she falls to the red-carpeted floor.

Jack picks her up. "We're going to make your foot better, okay? We'll get you to a doctor. Right now you have to focus. Keep us hidden."

She nods, showing resolve through her tears.

They traverse a long, decorative hall and stop at a white double door. The doctor knew where the Oval Office was. She attended a meeting there once, with the defense secretary and the head of the NSA. It's not back-of-the-hand knowledge, but Jack thinks it's good enough to get them there.

He hears voices behind them, and turns around, startled. "We've lost them. Heading your way."

He's relieved to know Sabine has them covered. He holds her closer to him.

As soon as he opens the door, bullets rip into the wood. He falls back.

"Have you figured out how to stop bullets yet, Chris?" he asks.

"I'll let you know," Chris says.

Maya throws back two men who appear from a side hall behind them.

"Sabine, we need to go that way," Jack motions with a tilt of his head. "Are we good?"

Sabine nods, her eyes closed. "Okay."

Carrying Sabine, Jack leads them down the hall, past two Uniformed Division officers with guns drawn, who run briskly in the opposite direction. "West colonnade clear. They're in the central hall," one says into his shoulder radio as they pass, oblivious to Jack and the others.

"I am never going to get used to that," Maya says.

Jack hears footsteps ahead. He scans the area and senses at least a dozen minds. By the feel of them, mostly White House security officers, Uniformed Division. But some Secret Service, too.

Jack worries they're stretching the clock. If the defense secretary approved a strike, they only have seconds to convince the president to rescind the command before the silo commanders turn their keys.

But they have to get to him first.

"Everybody get ready," Jack says as they approach French doors at the end of the short colonnade. "Straight through those doors, then left. There's lots of them. We have to barrel through."

Before they move, Jack zeros in on the men ahead of them. He finds one likely to fire just around the corner. He extracts the thought of firing out of the man's mind, and then moves to the next man and does the same. Jack isn't going to miss his chance like he did with the rocket launcher on the helicopter.

Glass flies into the West Wing as Chris blows the French doors open and they run through. Men poised to fire at them are parted like the Red Sea, pinned face-first against the wall.

Trusting Sabine to block any resistance ahead, Jack rushes through the halls.

"That door!" he orders.

A large door flies off its hinges, smashing into the back wall, revealing the Oval Office.

They stumble into the stately round room, breathing heavily. No one's there.

"I've never been in here," Maya says.

"Me neither." Chris echoes, looking up at the domed ceiling.