Chapter 3
The realization struck Chloe like a physical blow, draining what little color remained in her youthful face.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff coin meant the breach went beyond rogue mercenaries or corporate spies.
It signaled a high-level treasonous network operating from the highest corridors of power in the nation's capital.
"General... if the Pentagon has been compromised, nobody in this hospital is safe," Chloe whispered frantically.
Sterling reached down and detached the IV line lock, checking the pulse in her cold wrist.
"We are evacuating you to a secure underground bunker in Maryland within the hour," Sterling announced firmly.
Suddenly, the overhead fluorescent lights flickered twice before dying completely, plunging the hospital room into pitch darkness.
The steady rhythm of the heart rate monitor vanished, replaced by the loud metallic clatter of emergency generators kicking in downstairs.
Red emergency lighting illuminated the room in a bloody glare, casting long sinister shadows across the walls.
"Stay down!" Sterling ordered, drawing a sleek sidearm from his shoulder holster with lightning speed.
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Through the frosted glass window of the double doors, two dark figures dressed in tactical gear appeared in the hallway.
They held suppressed submachine guns trained directly on the lock of the hospital room door.
