A bad day at the library!

Barely a sound was heard in the vast interior of the Library of Congress.  All occupants had been evacuated immediately upon notification of the threat by security and now both agents worked methodically yet swiftly searching the area in question.  Secret Service agents Fisher and Lowell were both dressed in protective bomb gear pulling books off of shelves in the historical section.  Kyle Fisher was a very tall and thin Caucasian male with blonde hair and brown eyes.  With the agency for thirteen years the last four of them had been on the Hazardous Device Squad.  He had seen almost all explosive devices in existence since the war on terror had begun.  The device that had been reportedly hidden here though boggled his mind.  Supposedly a small enough explosive to level the library was hidden in the binding of a book in the historical section.  There was no explosive in existence powerful enough to cause that big of an explosion and be that small.

Agent Bethany Lowell was getting agitated he could tell.  She had been with the agency for only 3 years and only 1 with HDS.  She finished with a book and angrily tossed it over the pile of searched ones where it landed with a thump on a piece of marble floor.  She had started getting careless ripping books open with little to no caution and it seemed to be getting worse.  Putting down his just searched book he started making his way towards her as she reached for another book.  She ripped the dust jacket off the book, annoying him to no end.  I grabbed her wrist from behind her as she was about to thrash open the book. 

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU”, he bellowed at her.  The look of surprise on her face was one a kid would get when caught with her hand in the cookie jar.  It quickly faded however and her sea blue eyes seared with fury back at him.
“This is ridiculous.  You and I both know it is an empty threat.  There is no way such a device could even exist much less make it through the security of the US Library of Congress for God’s sake.  We are wasting our time and the agency’s”.

Kyle looked at Bethany with her fire red hair and freckled skin and her temper making her complexion even redder.  She still had a death grip on the book she was going to search even though he didn’t think she realized it.  He wondered how someone like this made it into the HDS. 

Taking a deep breath Kyle spoke in hushed tones, “I know exactly what you mean but if we were to disregard the threat and somehow it was real would you not feel guilty and wouldn’t we be at fault if the building blew up?  So we are going to act like agency employees and conduct a due diligence search following proper safety protocol. Do you understand me”?  The seriousness in his voice cause an immediate snap back to reality for her and she replied with a prompt “YES SIR”

Kyle returned to his searching and she stacked her book and reached for another with gloved hands.  She delicately removed the dust jacket and opened the binding.  Turning through all the pages quickly, she reached the back binding and her heart froze in her chest.  Not believing her own eyes there was the device exactly as described in the anonymous threat phoned into the FBI.  A small golden case the width of three credit cards stacked together approximately ¾ the length of the book it was contained in which ironically, was “The Art of War”. 

Sir!  She managed to say loud enough for Kyle to hear.  He looked up as she pointed at the book in front of her.  Kyle saw from the look on her face that she had found it and the small glint of metal in the book confirmed that fact.

They both looked at the device and noted it appeared totally sealed with no way to access the interior.  Three small possibly Arabic symbols adorned it.  Bethany took her portable x-ray scanner out of her bag and started to set it up over the device.  Meanwhile Kyle stepped away from her and, as any radio signals might detonate any explosives found, keyed into the communications laptop they had setup to talk with the incident command post outside, “Device found attempting X-ray, will advise” and clicked send and stepped back towards Bethany.  Despite the uncertainty evident on her face she maintained a steady hand while setting up the machine.  As she clicked the last setting Kyle heard a sound behind him.  When he turned to look there was a man standing there with an Uzi machine gun pointed at him. 

“Step away from the device both of you”, he said while moving towards them. 

The man was dressed all in black but his face was uncovered.  Kyle and Bethany both held their hands up and slowly moved away towards the communications laptop.  The terrorist spoke with a Russian accent but his words were clear.  He moved towards the device and examined it quickly, the weapon still pointed at both of them.  Satisfied it was still intact and active he turned his attention back to Kyle and Bethany with a malicious look on his face.

“Did you really think we would allow you to disable it?  Guards have been watching it since it was installed two days ago.  I highly doubt you could affect it but you might mess up the targeting with the time left.  Now both of you move over there”, he motioned them towards a storage locker near where their laptop was set up.  “Either of you make any sudden moves and I will kill you both”. With that said he walked a few feet away in an obvious sentry position still holding them in his field of view.

Kyle had no doubts that he meant it.  He looked around the room at the rest of the building he could see but there was no sign anyone else was with this one terrorist.  He was startled when Bethany poked him in the back

She whispered “What did he mean by “the targeting”?  What kind of bomb has a targeting system”?  She looked at him more perplexed than afraid. 
“I’m not real sure but I think this is probably not a conventional bomb that you and I are used to.  We need to see what we can get out of him”

He spoke up, “There are several federal agencies on the perimeter waiting for us to report back to them.  If we don’t, they will think something is wrong and investigate.  Why don’t you tell me why you wish to blow up this building?  What possible cause could you have to destroy the Library?  Its loss would be horrible but no one is in the building and so only we would be casualties.”  He didn’t move his gaze from the man’s eyes one bit.  Kyle was trying his best to upset him so he would divulge any bit of information. 

The man just smiled malevolently back at him.  Moving back towards the device, the machine gun never wavering from their direction he took out a small stylus looking device and tapped the device several times.  Several very faint beeps, like a cell phone would make, emanated from it.  He placed the stylus back in his jacket and approached Kyle.

The smile never wavering he approached just close enough to be far enough away that Kyle could not grab the weapon. 
“
You think my purpose is to destroy a Library with a few antiquated meaningless books?  You think I would spend 5 years and countless millions of dollars to develop the device for such a paltry objective.  As we have less than 30 minutes less American let me regale you with the truth”. 

Moving back to the device he held out his hand like presenting an award.  “This…is the Micron laser targeting system.  You see this small case holds no explosives at all.  What it does in fact hold is a very sophisticated homing beacon.  The signal it emits activates a missile onboard a stealth plane circling Washington DC.  I will answer the silent question you both have now.  The stealth plane I speak of is also the result of years of R & D.  It is not only completely radar invisible but also invisible to the naked eye.  You see it could land in your front yard and you still not see it as it is also totally silent.  The pinnacle of stealth technology” He ended his presentation as a salesman presenting a new style of automobile or a new computer system to a technology conference. 
“I have just programmed the pre-launch sequence.  The fact that you accidentally discovered the device is inconvenient at best.  We will simply now wait here together as I accomplish something that millions have tried for generations and failed, the total annihilation of Washington DC from the face of the earth”. He was no longer the charismatic salesman.  He was evil incarnate. 

Kyle knew exactly what this meant.  Not only was a missile going to crash into the Library of Congress but it will have a nuclear warhead.  He planned on destroying the entire city with a nuclear detonation.  Looking at Bethany it was obvious she didn’t understand at first but the realization came slowly but surely.

“It will be glorious my American friends.  We will end decades of Jihad by eliminating the seat of power of the US.  With Washington gone they will have no further target for their unmitigated rage”.  Kyle saw the look on his face and was sure of only one thing.  This man is mad beyond redemption. 

“You don’t want to do this”, he pleaded. “You despise the politicians who make their homes here but there are millions of innocents in the city.  Why would you want to kill them”? He did his best to put a pleading tone in his voice.

“I could sit for hours and debate the issue of Washington’s guilt and the interpretation of the scriptures but suffice to say “all who exist in the serpents den will perish for the good of the world”. 
With that being said he moved towards the device once again taking out his stylus.  What he failed to notice is while Kyle was pleading with him Bethany had managed to open a small window no bigger than a view port on a ship. 

The terrorist looked down to place his stylus on the device and diverted his gaze from Kyle for no more than 2 to 3 seconds.  It was long enough for Kyle to pull a throwing knife out of his rucksack attached to his bomb suit and throw it hard enough to embed in his arm.  The terrorist howled in pain, dropping the Uze, and his howl quickly became rage.  Kyle had already launched at him and made a full body tackle as the terrorist grasped the knife to pull it from his arm.  The knife came free with obvious arterial blood gushing from the wound.  Oblivious to the wound the terrorist swung the knife at Kyle trying to impale it in his heart but he missed.  Struggling to neutralize the advantage the weapon gave the man despite his injury Kyle managed to sweep his feet out from under him.  As they landed Kyle dropped his elbow hard on his abdomen.  A sickly crunching sound was heard giving Kyle a confidence boost.  The terrorist somehow managed to maintain his grip on the knife and swung at Kyle haphazardly.  He sliced a deep gash in his left leg.  Burning pain flooded from the wound but Kyle ignored it.  Grabbing the terrorist he snapped his pinky finger breaking it  causing the knife to drop.  Kyle reached for it but the terrorist kicked it hard.  Suddenly a figured jumped on the terrorists back but was promptly flung backwards off of him, knocking Bethany against a hard metal container near the wall.  It looked like she lost consciousness.
Feeling time slipping away Kyle squared off with the injured, yet not even close to defeat, man.  No taunts were exchanged between the two.  They both knew the stakes involved.  A roundhouse kicked was attempted by the terrorist only to miss and land with Kyle’s heavy booted foot being kicked and connecting between his legs.  Gasping in pain he doubled up on the floor.  Brought down by a desperate measure Kyle only took when defeat actually looked possible.  Leaning down and landing one solid punch across the jaw Kyle assured he was unconscious for now.  He searched through the jacket the man had on for the stylus.  Grabbing it quickly he moved towards the device.  The Arabic symbols were obviously control nodes, Kyle had ascertained when watching him manipulate it earlier.  The final sequence he had tapped in had to have been an arming sequence for the pre flight.  There was no way to be sure what he keyed in would be a disarm/deactivate signal but he had to try.  There was one of the symbols glowing red now and the rest were not lit up.  Remembering the final sequence the terrorist used Kyle very gently tapped the first symbol in reverse hoping the same sequence keyed in backwards will shut it down.  When nothing happened he proceeded to the next symbol.  Reassured he keyed in the rest of the sequence he remembered.  Tapping the last symbol his heart sank briefly as nothing happened.  Then the one lit symbol blink five times and then turned green and five faint beeps sounded.  That appeared to be the correct sequence.  He ran over to Bethany to check on her and found her moaning quietly trying to roll over.  A big bruise forming across the left side of her face she appeared hurt but alive.  Kneeling down he started to pick her up in a cradle and as he did a loud growl emanated from behind him.  Turning around he saw the bloodied terrorist leveling his Uzi at both of them,  a feral look on his face that was covered in so much blood only the whites of his eyes were visible.  He had the appearance of a native in the Congo getting ready for a ritual hunt.  In the breath of a second as the barrel of the weapon was leveled at them ¾ of the terrorists head disappeared in a mist of red.  Only the right side of his head appeared with jagged pieces of skin and brain matter hanging loose.  He fell where he stood the weapon clattering powerless next to his corpse.  Kyle looked where the shot had come from and a sniper was barely visible out the small window Bethany had managed to open while he had distracted the man. 
His heart still thudding in his chest he looked at Bethany in his arms and watched as she still moaned silently as her head turned slowly from side to side.  He smiled and made his way to the command post outside.