The thumb drive with all the photographs on it was tucked in beneath the plastic of Kit’s temporary ID pass as she came out of the SCIF room into the corridor of the federal building’s fourteenth floor.
She held her breath. The hall was empty. Silent. She let her breath out slowly, then looked up at the black plastic bubble camera above her.
She stood for a moment, rooted there. Wondering who was watching her, wondering if they knew, wondering how much time she had.
Move! she thought.
She went left down the hall through the dead fluorescent lighting. She suddenly noticed all the grids everywhere. The grid of industrial carpet tiles. The grid of acoustic ceiling tiles.
It made her feel like she was actually inside a computer. Like she’d become a rebel data point that was now trying to escape the boxes of a malevolent spreadsheet.
She stopped again for a moment when she turned the corner. She could see the elevator way down at the other end of the hallway. Between her and it were several office doors on each side. One of them on the right was the SAC’s office, she knew.
Her stomach felt like liquid as she stared at it. The bump of her heart was like a hammer tapping slowly against the inside of her chest.
Doesn’t matter, she thought. Move!
She swallowed dryly and started moving for the elevator. She’d taken three steps when she saw the door for a stairwell on her left.
She stopped and glanced at the elevator again.
Then she stepped back and went left into the stairwell, taking out her phone as she entered through the door.
The buzz of her calling Gannon mixed with the clop of her heels on the descending concrete. The metal stair railing brushing her elbow felt cool as she came down as fast as she could.
“Come on, come on, Mike. Pick up!” she said.
“What’s up?” Gannon said.
It was loud where he was. It sounded like he was on foot maybe.
“I have it. I got it, Mike. I’m coming out.”
“Kit, what’s wrong? You sound panicked,” Gannon said.
“I am panicked,” she said truthfully. “I’ll tell you why when I get out of here. It’s bailout time. I need to get out of here now.”
“Is someone after you? You need to be careful. There’s—”
Then Kit stopped in her tracks as the stairwell door on the landing below her blasted open.