“Where is my mother—”
“I am only doing this because I have nowhere else to stash them at the moment,” he said. He then held up a finger. “And I certainly wouldn’t be hiding them in here if I had any other choice.”
He turned and pounded twice on the door. The agents outside opened it.
Kate had rarely seen hatred in her mother’s eyes, and it stilled her breath to see it as she stepped through, careful not to even brush by Flynn Hallow.
“I remember you, asshole,” Roxy said, holding tight to Lynn’s hand as she rushed in behind. “I hoped you’d died a long time ago.”
“Hello, Mrs. Garth,” Flynn responded.
Roxy almost ran into Lynn, she had stopped so suddenly.
“Mom,” Kate said, watching her mother’s angry expression turn to shock.
“Kate?” Lynn said softly. She hesitated, then strode across the room to fiercely embrace her.
“Mom, I’m so sorry,” Kate said, burying her face in her hair. “I am so, so sorry.”
“What the hell, Kate!” Stella brushed through the agents gathered outside. “Did you do this? Did you order these agents to take us—?”
“She did not,” Flynn said. “Agent, close that door and lock it. If the military out there realizes you’re in here, we’re all in for it. Right now, your nephew is causing a real shit show down there—”
“Where is he?” Lynn demanded. “Take us to him right now.”
“I can’t do that, Mrs. Roseworth. What he’s done—”
The building shuddered as the rain outside turned from a pour to a gush. The windows began to rattle.
“What in the world?” Roxy said.
The trembling of the glass turned into a sudden shaking.
“You’ve… brought… quite the storm, Lynn.”
All heads turned to the man quietly tucked away in the back corner, who was struggling just to raise his head.
“Steven?” Lynn said in a whisper.
Kate steadied her. “Mom—”
Roxy threw up her hands. “Who else is in here? Barry Manilow? Ross Poldark?”
“What… how…” Lynn stammered.
“I tried, Lynn,” he said, his breath barely supporting words. “I tried to tell you—”
The windows cracked so loudly that everyone flinched. Kate instinctively moved her mother away, just as one of the windows shattered.
The air outside seem to take a deep breath before it bellowed.
Glass, wind, and rain flew in. Kate covered her mother, hearing Roxy and Stella cry out.
“Open the door!” Flynn bellowed, pounding on the door.
The other window burst as the agents opened the door. The wind was so strong now, Kate could barely stand. She held tight to her mother as the agents pulled Stella and Roxy from the room.
“Steven!” Lynn cried out.
Kate looked to see the man slide from the chair to collapse on the floor.
“Get out of here!” Flynn yelled.
The wind beating at them, Lynn broke from Kate to teeter towards Steven, barely making it far enough to kneel beside him.
“Mom!” Kate screamed above the winds. She stumbled, seeing Steven weakly raise his hand to his chest and pull out something on a thin chain. With a jerk, he broke it free. He placed it in Lynn’s hand.
Lynn leaned in close to him as he became limp, her hair blowing wildly.
“Mom! Now!” Kate reached her, pulling at her to stand.
“We can’t! We can’t leave him!” Lynn said.
Kate forced her to stand, propelling her through the door. In the moment she herself slipped through, she looked back, seeing the water pour in, soaking the dead man’s body.
The hallway outside was in complete chaos. Lynn had been pulled into the crowd of agents already surrounding Roxy and Stella, with Flynn screaming at them to get out.
One of the agents saw Kate emerge and grabbed her. She heard her mother yell for her as they were propelled down the hall.
“Mom!”
“Keep moving! To those stairs!” Flynn shouted.
“What is going on out there?” Kate yelled to the agent who had her arm gripped tightly.
“There’s a damn tornado! Coming off the water on the other side of the building—”
“Kate!” Stella called out as she was forced down the hallway with her mother and Roxy.
“I’m coming! Agent Hallow! Flynn!”
The agent’s face, usually so sour, was now frantic. “We’re going to be lucky to make it to the garage—”
“William, Ryan. All the others down there, we have to get them out—”
“Where do you think the storm came from?” he snapped, practically shoving her through the opened door.
The frustration in the soldiers was evident in their jugular veins, strained after several minutes of holding their weapons erect. The order to contain the threat at all costs had not included the fact that a US congressman and an famous billionaire would be standing with them.
The strike team leader dared to inch forward. “I’m not going to tell you again to get on your knees with your hands up in the air!”
The hallway trembled. William again repeated what he’d already stated three times before. “Turn around and go back up the elevator. No one has to be hurt. Let us go.”
Another tremor shook beneath their feet.
“What the hell was that?” Quincy whispered.
William could see the soldiers’ eyes flicker from the walls around them back to the scopes of their weapons.
He didn’t dare to move, fearing not only that the soldiers would react badly, but of potentially disturbing Jane. She’d begun to tremble, and he didn’t dare let go to break the connection.
“Mr. Chance, you know we can’t let that happen. There is no way out for you—”
“Enough!” Congressman Smith pointed. “I mean it! Soldiers, lower those weapons now! We’re going to talk this through—”
The crack resounded like thunder, rupturing down the south wall, between the soldiers and civilians. It started first at the ceiling, jarring through the concrete. Water at first leaked and then began to spray.
The soldiers were so jarred they momentarily turned their weapons to the splitting walls.
Like a hundred pipes exploding at once, the Potomac broke through.
The last glimpse William saw of the soldiers showed them rushing back towards the elevator before they were lost completely behind the gushing leaks. Lily gasped as the frigid water swept over their feet and down the hall.
“Run,” William said unnecessarily, turning to take Jane by the arms. “Jane, we have to move. We have to move now!”
She blinked and then stared in astonishment at the rushing water. She looked at him in outrage. “What did you do to me—?”
He forced her down the hall, seeing Quincy carrying Lily and pulling the congressman reach the first door to the right. He then fumbled with something inside the politician’s coat, pulling out a small card and pressing it against the keypad. Quincy pulled the handle, revealing stairs beyond.
“Take them all up!” William said. “I’ll be right behind you once I get him out. Keep that door propped open.”
“You’ll need this,” Quincy said, holding out the badge. As soon as William took it, Quincy ushered the clearly shell-shocked congressman through.
“Go on.” William motioned to Jane.
Her angry eyes were fixated instead on him. “You should have told me!”
“I didn’t have a choice. Once you get up a few flights, I’ll reach out to you to stop it—”
She breezed past William. “Never again. You’ll never use me again.”
“Jane—”
“Open the door!” she yelled, standing in front of the last door.
William sloshed across the hall, holding the badge against the keypad. Seizing the handle, he yanked open the door.