CHAPTER 23 - Operation Silent Rescue

  The three bck vans sat hidden in a secluded area just off the edge of Pentagon property. The location had been carefully chosen, close enough for the field team to execute their mission but remote enough to avoid detection. Insects chirped faintly as a low breeze rustled through the leaves, the only sound breaking the silence. Peter stood outside the first van, lifting the hood and clicking on the hazard lights to complete the illusion of car trouble. In the dim glow of fshing orange, he leaned back against the side of the van, addressing Paul and Henry, who peered nervously through the driver's side window.

  "Alright, Paul. Henry. You both know the pn," Peter said with a calm and even voice.

  "Stay here, keep watch on the monitors. If someone comes sniffing around, just say the van broke down and you’re waiting on the tow truck. If you need to sell it, point to the hood."

  Paul nodded, though the stiffness in his posture betrayed his unease. Henry muttered something under his breath, gripping his seatbelt tightly. Charlie walked up holding two pistols. One in each hand.

  "And one other thing..."

  He spped the pistols gently on the seats beside Paul and Henry. Paul and Henry exchanged wide-eyed gnces, then looked back at Charlie nervously.

  "You’re, uh... you’re sure we’ll need these," Henry asked anxiously.

  Charlie grinned slightly.

  "Probably not. But just in case."

  Both men hesitated but reluctantly picked up the pistols. Paul checked the safety, fumbling a little, while Henry simply stared at his weapon as if it might bite him. Peter leaned into the van.

  "You’ll be fine. Just leave the hard stuff to us."

  "Funny, you didn’t mention guns during the st family holiday, Pete,"

  Henry said, switching his looks back and forth from the gun to Peter.

  "Don’t worry. You're covered," Charlie said with a wink.

  "Good luck out here with all the... cranky, car-hating squirrels."

  Henry tried to sound confident.

  “Good luck.”

  Behind Peter, the rest of the team was suiting up in the other vans. Mangino adjusted her bulletproof vest, spping a spare clip into one of three pistols strapped carefully across her chest. Major Amma stood beside her, silently checking over her gear. Kevin Draiman clicked a colpsible baton into pce, testing it as Pedro Sanchez loaded non-lethal taser charges into a compact weapon on his hip. Charlie lingered near the vans, adjusting his gear. He turned back just as Peter approached with his final checks.

  "Everyone ready?" Peter asked the rest of the field team.

  The rest of the team members nod with readiness.

  "Let’s move out!"

  The command center team watched closely as the field team moved out of view, glued to the rge monitor dispying real-time intel from the Pentagon’s security system.

  "Alright, Uncle Peter," Chris said.

  "We’re feeding you the live visuals now. You’re synced with the route pn we uploaded earlier."

  Peter crouched near the service entrance the pn had targeted, tapping silently on his device. A holographic blueprint of the Pentagon’s network overid on the screen in his palm, dense with security protocols. This was where Euler’s Formu was about to shine. Peter addresses the field team through the comm.

  "We’re about to map out the security protocols. This is step one of the pn—Ruby’s favorite math equation, Euler’s Formu."

  Ruby replied from the command center. “I DO like Euler... but don’t tell anyone I said that."

  Peter grinned.

  “Noted. Okay, team—this formu maps the Pentagon’s multi-dimensional encryption. It breaks apart how their AI defenses overp, letting us identify the weakest links in the chain. This will serve as our guide."

  The teams tapped into their devices, the intricate, glowing 3D model lighting up on their respective screens. It resembled a swirling mass of connected geometries within the Pentagon’s architecture, pathways showing up as faint golden lines. Mangino was impressed by the holographic design.

  “Looks almost… delicate.”

  "Delicate until you hit the wrong path," Major Amma added.

  "Then we’re tripping arms."

  "So... just don’t hit the wrong path. Got it," Charlie said.

  Just as the field team stepped through the first inner perimeter undetected, the lights around the perimeter flickered briefly before stabilizing. This anomaly didn’t go unnoticed—not by the field team, the security personnel within the Pentagon, or the command center back at the base.

  "Uh, team?" Candy says over the comm.

  "Looks like the Pentagon’s cameras just went on the fritz. Someone’s disabled them temporarily. No arms are showing yet."

  Linda turned to Francine confused.

  "What’s happening? Is that us?"

  Ruby narrowed her eyes at the screen.

  "Definitely not us. Either they're having tech trouble, or...” She smirked. “...we’ve got a guardian angel."

  Chris started typing rapidly on the keyboard. His fingers flew across the console as he accessed overpping feeds and security subroutines.

  "There," Chris said pointing to the screen.

  "Cameras are down. Someone just did us a favor."

  Peter addressed the entire team through the comm system.

  "Alright, team. Thanks to what looks like an unexpected ally, the cameras are down temporarily. We stick to Euler’s mapped route— no deviations unless I call for it. Every move must be sharp and intentional. Let’s go."

  Back at the command center, all eyes and ears were trained on the mission. Ruby effortlessly toggled through multiple Pentagon interior feeds, which had begun blinking erratically as the cameras cycled in and out of their disabled state. Francine sat frozen, clutching her hands nervously, while Candy muttered backseat advice to Chris. Ruby decided to lighten the mood.

  "Chris, I count at least six security fws they’ve ignored while fixing those cameras. Is someone asleep at the wheel over there?"

  "They’re not ignoring them; they just haven’t gotten around to noticing yet," Chris responded.

  Candy leaned over.

  "Wait... you mean you already figured this out?"

  "Technically, I’m letting Ruby work this one. But yes, I already cross-referenced their internal loop failures. We’re going to exploit that during the next phase of the pn."

  "Ruby, Chris... just... keep them safe," Linda requested politely.

  "And tell Peter to make it quick."

  Ruby tried to ease her concerns.

  "Rex. This is our masterpiece!”

  Despite Ruby's confidence, Francine watched the screen nervously, her foot tapping restlessly on the floor. The field team moved like shadows, adhering strictly to Euler’s mapped golden pathways. Each corridor they traversed was designed to minimize exposure to armed guards while slipping through blind spots between security sweeps. Peter led the team with calcuted precision, his tablet lighting up faintly as key ndmarks in the Pentagon lit up on their device feeds. Major Amma talks to Peter, keeping her voice low.

  "This is genius. It’s like we’re reading their thoughts."

  Peter corrected her.

  "It’s not about reading their thoughts—just staying moves ahead. If you understand their routine patterns mathematically, nothing’s random anymore."

  "You could’ve picked a less stressful way to teach me calculus, Dad," Charlie added.

  From the back, Mangino gnced down at her own synced route data, nodding in affirmation.

  "This is airtight. We’ve leapfrogged three sweeps without hitting detection zones."

  Meanwhile, in a dimly lit cell within the Pentagon’s lower detention block, Colonel Zeke had been seated on his cot, his shoulders squared but tinged with boredom. It wasn’t until he heard the loud buzz and mechanical click of the door lock that his instincts fred—the soft thunder of boots slowly filled the hallway. As the door opened, Zeke shot up from the cot. He squinted through the dim lighting and immediately identified Captain Jenner, his expression unreadable. Colonel Zeke’s tone was half-skeptical.

  "William... You coming to interrogate me yourself?"

  Captain Jenner didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he gnced over his shoulder quickly before pulling a small device from his pocket and handing it to Zeke. It was a miniature communication device—standard issue to covert operations personnel. He answered quietly, but firmly.

  "I’m not here to interrogate. I’m here to help. For three reasons."

  Colonel Zeke took the communicator, his eyes on Jenner.

  "I’m listening."

  "First, I respect you as a commander and a man. You’ve never given me a reason to doubt your word. Second, Major Amma Enki treated me with respect—a trait most officers these days forget."

  Colonel Zeke nodded, his expression softening at the mention of Major Amma.

  "And the third?"

  Colonel Zeke asked. Jenner reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small fsh drive, dangling it in pin sight.

  "That drive you mentioned—it checks out. They prove General Berg is dirty."

  Colonel Zeke’s face broke into a relieved grin for the first time in what felt like weeks.

  "William, thank you."

  Jenner gnced behind him nervously, pulling a small remote from his pocket.

  "I’ve temporarily disabled the cameras. You’ll have five minutes of dead time. I’ll need that communicator back in four... or I’ll be in here with you."

  Colonel Zeke nodded.

  "I'll be done in three."

  Back at the command center, Chris’s console suddenly lit up with activity. A signal—a coded attempt at communication—appeared in the secure comm system.

  "Hold on. Someone’s trying to break into our comms..."

  Ruby leaned in closer, her nervous energy giving way to curiosity.

  "It can't be Pentagon AI. That would’ve triggered arms."

  "No! It’s someone inside," Chris responded.

  "And... they’re about to succeed."

  "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

  A moment of stunned silence filled the command center before Major Amma’s voice broke through in disbelief.

  "Zeke? Is that you?" Colonel Zeke responded joyfully.

  "Amma! It’s so good to hear your voice."

  The field team stopped in their tracks, hearing this over the comms. Peter gnced at Major Amma, raising his brows in surprise and approval. Ruby was grinning.

  "This mission really IS the gift that keeps on giving.”

  "Colonel Haywood, this is Peter Parsons. I’m the lead field-op. We’re here to get you out."

  Colonel Zeke's tone carried a wave of respect.

  "Peter Parsons? There’s a lot of chatter about you floating around here. Not all of it fttering."

  "That’s his way of saying he’s impressed," Major Amma said to Peter.

  Jenner’s voice cut through suddenly.

  "Captain William Jenner here. I gave the colonel the comm device. I can shave your travel time in half."

  The field team seemed even more secure in their success with the captain's offer.

  "Okay, captain," Peter replied.

  "We're all ears."

  The comm crackled faintly as Peter’s field team paused near the second access point, huddled in the shadows of the service hallway. Jenner’s calm, measured voice came through Zeke’s communicator, a firm but quiet assurance giving everyone confidence.

  "We’ve got to execute this precisely. Here’s what we’re going to do."

  Zeke shot Jenner an incredulous look, finding it hard to believe the young officer had risked so much to help him. Back in the command center, Ruby leaned over her console, listening intently with the rest of the group as Jenner continued to y out his pn.

  "I’ll take the colonel through four checkpoints to reach your team at the service access point. The first two are covered by protocol—the colonel isn’t fgged as ‘high-priority.’ It’ll just look like I’m transferring him."

  Ruby interjected sarcastically.

  "And if someone decides to get nosey?"

  Jenner replied.

  "That’s where you work your magic."

  Ruby grinned.

  "Copy that. Proceed."

  Jenner continued, "Checkpoint One is just the direct exit from his cell. I’ve already cleared this with the station guards. They have no reason to suspect anything yet. Checkpoint Two is the tricky one: the elevator lock on the detention level. I’ll use my override keycard to temporarily bypass it, but arms will eventually fg unauthorized access—your job is to dey that."

  Francine nervously turned to Ruby.

  "Dey it how?"

  Ruby leaned back with a smug expression.

  "Rex. I pn to break the brain of the Pentagon’s AI defense system. It’s already second-guessing itself thanks to some messy equations I fed it."

  Candy, with a raised eyebrow, had to ask.

  "Messy? Care to eborate?"

  "Pentagon AI likes being all logical and efficient, but, thanks to G?del’s Incompleteness Theorem—because math is a jerk—I can confuse it by making it deal with things it literally can’t handle. Like, contradictory data inputs. Imagine solving a puzzle where half the pieces say, ‘I go here,’ and the other half say, ‘Nope, I live next door.’”

  Linda asked, blinking rapidly.

  "That works?"

  Jenny interjected with confidence.

  “Like a charm. The system doesn’t know whether to lock down or have a meltdown. I’ve got decoy information looping in their system logs too, so they think the captain and colonel’s movements match a normal routine."

  Jenner was impressed and concerned at the same time.

  "That’s some… interesting work. Weirdly unsettling, but I’ll take it."

  Now Chris interjected.

  "I’m on the third checkpoint. When you hit the AI-controlled hallway, the guards will still technically be monitoring it, but I’ll reroute their comms to keep them distracted."

  Colonel Zeke asked with a snort.

  “Distracted how?”

  "Simple. I intercept their communications, break them into components using Fourier Transforms, then feed it back altered. So, when one guy says, ‘Check Corridor 3C,’ his partner will hear ‘Check Sector 8A.’ They’ll be running in circles before they realize what’s wrong."

  Zeke was clearly impressed.

  "How old is this kid again? Is he applying for grad school in time travel or something?"

  "Don’t infte his ego, Zeke," Ruby demanded.

  "It’s hard enough keeping my genius brother humble."

  Chris smirked.

  "At some point, you’re just going to admit I’m better at this than you, Ruby."

  Ruby snapped back.

  "Keep dreaming, nerd!"

  Peter’s voice cut through.

  "Eyes on the prize, kids. Jenner, what about Checkpoint Four?"

  "Checkpoint Four is where I meet your extraction team at the service access. Camera coverage is disabled, and guard rotations won’t cross your path if you stick to the mapped routes. Once I bring the colonel there, you’ll have to get him out cleanly while I backtrack to avoid suspicion."

  "How fast can you get him there?" Major Amma asked.

  "Three minutes if everything holds steady. Four if your team’s ‘paradox magic’ stumbles."

  Ruby got mildly defensive.

  "Paradox magic? Geez, Jenner, put some respect on our names!"

  Zeke chuckled as he tightened his boots, preparing to leave. Under the cover of chaos Ruby and Chris created, Jenner held Zeke by the elbow, guiding him carefully through the Pentagon’s winding corridors, fshing his ID pass at the guards on duty.

  "Transfer for detainee interrogation."

  The guards barely blinked, waving them through. Checkpoint One—clear.

  At Checkpoint Two, the elevator loomed ahead, its biometric lock glowing red. Jenner slipped his override keycard into the reader and muttered under his breath.

  "Hey kid, if your paradox magic isn’t fired up, now’s the time."

  Ruby’s voice crackled in his ear comm.

  "It’s already fired up. Just swipe the card and walk through like you’re the hero in a bad heist movie." He swiped. Green light. Checkpoint Two—clear.

  At Checkpoint Three, the automated hallway stretched long and empty ahead of them, but Jenner knew guards were just one bad signal away from appearing. Chris spoke now, his voice calm and precise.

  "Alright. Redirecting signals. Keep walking."

  In the hallway monitoring room, guards scrambled, confused as their radios bred conflicting commands. Some were sent to wrong floors entirely. Others stood down, unsure why an elevator backup arm wasn’t triggering. Zeke leaned toward Jenner as they walked.

  "This is genius, William. Who are these kids?" Checkpoint Three—clear.

  Finally, Zeke and Jenner approached the service access point where Peter’s team waited. Zeke immediately grinned upon seeing Amma, who walked toward him with relief washing over her usually stoic features.

  "Amma! About damn time," Zeke said.

  "You COULD say thank you, sir. We almost broke the Pentagon," Major Amma replied.

  The captain turned to Peter, shaking his hand firmly while speaking quickly.

  "I’ve got to head back before anyone notices I’m gone. You’ve got the colonel—just keep walking the mapped exit."

  Major Amma gave him a quick hug, holding on for a second longer than expected.

  "Thank you, William."

  "We owe you for this," Peter told the captain with gratitude.

  Jenner pulled back, standing tall and saluting formally.

  "Just take down the general."

  Jenner turned and disappeared down the hallway, leaving Zeke safely in Peter’s hands as the extraction team began moving toward their final exit. The field team began heading back to the transport. Waiting in the transport van, however, Paul spotted Dunning pulling up in his vehicle—the same one he’d noticed on their way to the Pentagon. Dunning stepped out smugly.

  "You boys need some help?" Paul stiffened, gripping the pistol nervously, while Henry exchanged a wary gnce.