Rebel Heart

"Oh, God," she whispered. Lana crossed to the screen and touched it, bringing up details of the attacks. She rifled through the data of each one. The timing on all four attacks was the same to the hundredth of a second.

"Ma'am?"

She ignored the voice and stepped back, staring.

"This is Colonel Jessup."

"Larry, this is Lana at the command center," she said, forcing her attention back to the communications center. "What's the location on my keypad?"

"Hold one, ma'am."

She checked the locator as she waited, seeking out General Greene on the compound. He was touring the perimeter, as he did daily. She sent him a page through his personal net and sat down again.

"It should have reached you by now," Larry answered. "No word?"

"None."

"I'll check their location and contact you. Jessup out."

"This an emergency?" General Greene asked, his voice muffled over the communications system.

"I'll come to you, sir," she replied.

"You got my location."

She jogged across the compound to the area of one of the breaches. A charred hole still smoked in the compound's wall. Three bodies were laid out in a row beside it. She stopped, unfamiliar with the sight of death. General Greene addressed well-armed sentinels. Lana neared, forcing her gaze away from the three bodies as she waited. He broke away before she reached him, instead striding towards her. He gripped her arm to turn her away from the scene and set off at a quick march.

"They're using some fancy equipment. We're doubling the guards. This better be important, Lana. I've got stuff to do," he said, terse.

"All four are missing. One is on its way back," she told him. "One we don't need to worry about."

He released her once they were away from the scene. "Why don't we need to worry about one of the keypads?"

"Sir, the attacks on the eastern seaboard were caused by one of the keypads. It's been used."

He stopped and faced her, frown deepening. "What're you saying? That one of ours sold the keypad to the PMF?"

"I don't know, sir." She rushed on, "But it's the only thing that makes sense. The attacks were too powerful for the capabilities of our enemies alone. Think about it, sir. The timing, the sophistication, the expertise needed to launch such an attack. They used our skills against us. There's no other"Stop," he ordered. "I will not believe that even the madman Arnie could have done something like this. You're talking about high treason at the VP level at least to access those things."