Chapter 5: The Enemy Inside
The operations center exploded into motion.
Every monitor flashed crimson.
Every keyboard clattered at once.
Phones rang without pause.
No one was looking at Mark anymore.
They were looking at each other.
If Sparrow was inside the FBI...
Anyone could be compromised.
"Disconnect everything!"
Agent Harris shouted.
"Take the witness protection servers offline!"
"They're already isolated!" an analyst yelled back.
"It's still inside the network!"
Another agent rushed toward the server room.
"Manual shutdown!"
"Now!"
Within seconds, the lights flickered.
Half the monitors went dark.
The emergency backup generators kicked in with a low mechanical hum.
But it was too late.
The breach had already happened.
Sarah grabbed my arm.
"You need to leave."
I shook my head.
"I'm not leaving you."
"Maya."
Her voice became firm.
"You are now a primary witness in a counterintelligence investigation."
"They'll come after you."
"I can help."
"No."
"You surviving is helping."
Behind us, Agent Harris turned toward Mark.
"Who is Sparrow?"
Mark stared at the table.
"I don't know."
Harris slammed both hands onto the steel surface.
"Stop lying!"
"I'm not."
"You expect me to believe that?"
Mark finally looked up.
"We never knew each other's identities."
"We only knew code names."
"If one of us was captured..."
"...the others survived."
The analyst interrupted again.
"Sir!"
"We recovered part of the deleted transmission."
Harris hurried over.
Only fragments remained.
...Package Echo...
...Witness relocation...
...Target Maya...
My stomach dropped.
"They know I'm here."
Sarah answered quietly.
"They've always known."
At that moment...
Every light inside the building went out.
Darkness swallowed the operations center.
For half a second...
Nobody moved.
Then emergency red lighting flooded the corridors.
Someone shouted.
"Power failure!"
Another voice answered.
"No!"
"The backup's been sabotaged!"
A gunshot echoed somewhere downstairs.
Then another.
Agents instinctively drew their weapons.
"Lock this floor down!"
Harris ordered.
"Nobody in or out!"
Radio chatter erupted.
"Shots fired near the east entrance!"
"Possible hostile inside!"
"Medical team requested!"
Sarah pushed me behind a reinforced concrete pillar.
"Stay down!"
My entire body trembled.
This wasn't a movie.
People were shooting at each other inside FBI headquarters.
An agent sprinted into the room.
"They're wearing FBI jackets!"
"What?"
"We can't identify who's real!"
Silence.
That was the nightmare.
If Sparrow had infiltrated the Bureau...
A badge meant nothing.
Mark suddenly stood.
Or tried to.
The handcuffs stopped him.
"Listen to me."
Nobody responded.
"You have less than three minutes."
Harris aimed his pistol directly at him.
"Talk."
"They're creating confusion."
"So?"
"So Sparrow always attacks during chaos."
Sarah frowned.
"What target?"
Mark looked directly at me.
"Maya."
The words barely left his mouth.
A loud explosion shattered every window on the west side of the building.
Glass rained across the floor.
People screamed.
Smoke poured through the broken windows.
The fire alarm erupted.
Sprinklers activated instantly.
Cold water flooded the room.
Visibility dropped to almost nothing.
"MOVE!"
Sarah grabbed my wrist.
We ran through smoke-filled hallways.
Agents formed a defensive line behind us.
Someone fired.
Someone fired back.
I couldn't tell who.
Everything became noise.
Boots.
Sirens.
Gunfire.
Shattered glass.
People shouting names.
Halfway down the corridor...
Sarah suddenly stopped.
A man in an FBI tactical uniform stood at the intersection.
Rifle lowered.
Badge visible.
"Agent Collins," he said.
"Extraction team."
Sarah didn't move.
Neither did he.
"Come with me."
His voice was calm.
Professional.
Exactly what I would have expected from an FBI agent.
Sarah quietly asked,
"What field office?"
He answered instantly.
"Washington."
"What was my academy instructor's name?"
A pause.
Only one second.
But it was enough.
Sarah raised her pistol.
"So that's it."
The man's expression changed.
The polite smile disappeared.
Without warning...
He reached for his weapon.
Two shots rang out.
Sarah fired first.
The man collapsed instantly.
His rifle slid across the hallway.
Agents rushed forward.
One searched the body.
"No FBI credentials."
He looked up.
"The badge is fake."
Sarah exhaled slowly.
"Sparrow sent him."
But Mark's voice echoed in my mind.
Sparrow always attacks during chaos.
That man wasn't Sparrow.
He was disposable.
A distraction.
Which meant...
The real operative was still somewhere inside the building.
Watching.
Waiting.
Minutes later, power was restored.
The building was finally secured.
Thirty-seven people were identified.
Every employee was accounted for.
Except one.
Agent Harris studied the attendance log.
"Who's missing?"
An analyst answered.
"Special Agent Emily Brooks."
"When was she last seen?"
"About twenty minutes before the breach."
Sarah frowned.
"Background?"
"Twelve years with the Bureau."
"Excellent performance."
"Multiple commendations."
Harris slowly closed the file.
"Twelve years..."
Everyone understood what that meant.
Long enough to build absolute trust.
Long enough to access almost anything.
Suddenly...
Mark laughed.
Quietly.
Almost sadly.
Harris turned.
"What's funny?"
Mark looked directly at him.
"You still don't understand."
"What?"
"You keep looking for Sparrow..."
"...as if Sparrow is running."
He shook his head.
"No."
"Sparrow is completing the mission."
The room fell silent.
Harris's phone rang.
He answered immediately.
His expression changed within seconds.
"What?"
He looked toward Sarah.
Then toward me.
Slowly lowering the phone.
"The safe house..."
He swallowed.
"...was empty."
Sarah frowned.
"What safe house?"
Harris looked directly at her.
"The one where we moved Mom yesterday."
Sarah's face lost all color.
"No..."
Harris nodded once.
"The guards are unconscious."
"The house has been cleaned out."
"And your mother..."
May you like
"...is gone."
To Be Continued...
