On the morning of April fifteenth, Alison reflected on how surreal the drive to work was. It was the second full day of the exercise, and before leaving her house, she had read through the latest update sent to her that summarized the overnight happenings. The imaginary war had escalated causing the authorities to lock down the fictional version of DC. She had formed an image in her mind in what that would be like, and tried to keep it going during her commute. However that was hard to do on that beautiful mid-April day, as she passed joggers and walkers, and listened to the inane banter on the radio.
Which was the negative of her continuing to work her standard day, while the Joes and the rest of the Pentagon threw themselves fully into the exercise. She was allowed to commute back and forth while the rest of the team stayed on site and worked shifts to keep up the realism. At first she felt guilty for being granted basically a free pass, but she actually needed the easier work schedule this far into her pregnancy. She was exhausted by the end of her day, and she was having a hard enough time sleeping in her own bed, that she couldn't imagine trying to sleep on a cot.
That idea was emphasized as she got out of her car, and had to pause against a pain that started in her lower back. She had spent too much time on her feet the last couple of days. Alison entered her office and walked into a flurry of activity. She went to her desk and skimmed through the documents. She briefly dwelled on the news that due to an all-out charge from the enemy, Flint was going to be leading a team of Joes off the Flagg and to the Pentagon to help defend the building. But then she moved on to her part in the play. She grabbed a headset and checked in with Falcon's team that was stationed outside the White House.
Alison was so involved in her work that she was only dimly aware of the semi-regular cramps that had been hitting her body. It was only when she decided to take a break to get a bottle of water that she clued into the signals her body was sending her. Unfortunately, it was also the same time that the lights went out in the building.
"Is this part of the exercise?" Alison asked.
"Who the hell knows?" Beachhead replied. "I wouldn't be surprised based on all the crap they've thrown at us the last couple days."
Alison stood in place and tried to stretch as she waited for the back-up lights to kick in. They did, briefly. Once it was clear that they were going to stay in the dark, a couple of the guys pulled out flashlights to give a small amount of lighting to the room.
"Okay, until we hear differently, we're going to assume this is also part of the exercise," Hawk announced to the room. "First, I want as much lighting in here as possible so we can see what the hell we are doing. Secondly, I want a status update on our current capabilities as far as communications go. And finally I want an inventory of our emergency supplies. Once I have all that information we can figure out where to go from here."
Alison was closest to the supply closet, so she decided she would tackle the inventory. The last thing she needed to do was to waddle around in the near dark bumping into things. Counting the supplies also kept her from focusing too much on the twinges she was feeling. However, as she wrapped up her count, she was hit with a pain strong enough that she had to take a couple of deep breaths. Remembering what her doctor had advised, she glanced at her watch. She told herself she wasn't going to panic unless it was clear the contractions were coming at regular intervals.
She made her way over to Hawk who was getting an update from Mainframe. "I'm sorry, sir, but this power outage seems to be pretty widespread. At the moment we're deaf, dumb and blind. The only way we're going to be communicating with others is if we stand in the hallway and shout."
Hawk took the list from Alison's hand. "I may have a slightly more sophisticated version of that option. What is the range on the walkie talkies?"
"Miles," Mainframe answered. "They'll easily cover all of the Pentagon and a pretty good distance outside, if you're thinking about sending a team out to see what's going on."
"Right now I just want to know what's going on in here. Plus, one of the last actions was to lockdown the Pentagon, so going outside may not be an option for a while."
"We're trapped in here?" Alison asked, trying to keep her growing panic in check.
"Don't get excited, yet," Hawk answered. "Let's do some recon first."
Alison knew he was right, however when she felt another cramp and glanced at her watch she saw that almost six minutes had passed since the last pain. She remembered the doctor's instructions, which was to go to the hospital once her contractions were consistently five minutes apart and lasting for at least a minute. Luckily what she was experiencing wasn't nearly that strong, but she was concerned about how quickly they were coming.
"I'm going to assume that you don't want to be part of the group that goes exploring?" Hawk asked.
"Yes, sir, I'd rather not."
"That's fine. I need someone here anyway to try to make contact with the outside world. Our landlines are down, and for the moment it looks like the cell network is overloaded."
Hawk called over Stalker and Beachhead and told them to form teams to explore the Pentagon. Mainframe joined in the discussion with tips on how to construct a simplified communications network using the walkie talkies. While they were strategizing, Alison was hit with another pain. She took a deep breath and again tried to breathe through the contraction. She noticed that Beachhead was watching her, but luckily he didn't question her actions.
Once the contraction was over, which was thankfully still only about thirty seconds long, Alison was able to turn her attention back to Hawk. He informed them that Flint's team had made it on site which was another piece of good news. If she was going into labor, at least he would be at her side.
Flint was extremely proud of his team. So far they had pulled off the mission flawlessly. He just hoped some of the bigwigs took notice. What he was doing was really just a small part of the large exercise, but the Joes could use whatever positive feedback they could gather.
The trip from the Flagg to the Pentagon went off without a hitch, and the team cleared every obstacle that had been thrown their way. They easily entered the Pentagon moments before Flint heard the order to lock the place down. Once they were through, he had them stop for a moment to take a breather. "Good job, guys. Next stop is Hawk's office where we'll find out what our new orders are."
Flint took a sip from his canteen, and was going to get the team moving again when the lights went out.
"Someone forget to pay their electrical bill?" Leatherneck asked.
"I'm sure this is just another curve ball they're throwing us," Flint replied. "Night vision goggles on. Let's show the brass that the Joes aren't afraid to play in the dark."
They only made it halfway down the corridor before Flint's communicator beeped. He brought the team to a halt again to take the call.
"Flint, Flagg Actual," Admiral Ledger said amidst a high level of static. "Have you reached your destination?"
"That's an affirmative, sir. But I'm having a hard time hearing you."
"I'm not surprised. We're having communication issues with the mainland since the power outage."
Flint didn't like the sound of that. "So it extends beyond our current location?"
"Yes, it does. We're still trying to get confirmation on just how far reaching this is, but it seems to be at least DC, and possibly extending into Virginia and Maryland."
"So I'm going to assume this is not part of the exercise."
"It looks like you are correct. But right now I want you to continue on like it is. Meet up with Hawk and try to get back in touch with me. As I said, we're having a hard time getting anyone on the horn over there."
"I read you. We should be there within ten minutes."
Flint got his team moving again. He knew he should be more concerned with the consequences of having an extensive power outage on the public, but he was more annoyed that the event was probably going to overshadow any of the work he and his team had done.
They entered the D Ring and practically ran into Beachhead. "Oh, good. This completes my to-do list. Hawk's waiting for you," Beachhead informed him.
Flint entered the room, locked eyes with and smiled at Alison, and then turned his attention to Hawk. The general shook his hand and congratulated him on a job well done. "Thank you, sir," Flint replied. "But it looks like we have a bit of a problem on our hands." Flint then summarized the admiral's call. "This may be the only way to get a call outside this building," Flint added as he handed his communicator to Hawk.
While Hawk attempted to contact the Flagg, Beachhead turned towards Flint. "So we're stuck in here?"
"At least for the time being. What's the matter, Sneeden, are you claustrophobic?"
Beachhead scoffed. "I don't have an issue with it. But obviously you haven't noticed that your wife may be in labor."
Flint's head whipped around to look at Alison again. It was hard to see in the dim lighting, but she did seem to be gritting her teeth in pain. He hurried to her side. "Are you okay?"
"I think I'm having contractions," she admitted. "But I've been timing them and they don't seem like they're getting much worse. Right now I have other needs I need to take care of. Can you walk with me to the bathroom?"
Flint looked at Hawk, who was still in the process of trying to contact the Flagg. "We'll be right back," he said to Beachhead as they left the room.
Once out in the hallway, Alison stopped him. "I didn't want to make a big deal in there, but are we really locked in here?"
"I didn't personally check all the doors, but from what I heard, yes."
"Damn," Alison said as she rubbed at her belly.
"Tell me the truth, what's going on with you?"
"I came to work and I noticed that I was having contractions. I thought they were just Braxton Hicks, but once the lights went out, I realized I had been having them pretty regularly all morning. They're about five and a half minutes apart, maybe thirty to forty-five seconds long. So we're not quite at the point that I would be calling the doctor, but if this outage goes on much longer I think we're going to get there."
"Okay. Right now we just need to stay calm. Even if you are in labor, it sounds like it's still early on and we probably have hours before we need to worry."
"I know. And that's what I keep telling myself. But, Dash, I really don't want to have her here."
"Don't worry. You won't. Even if I have to break down a door, or dig a new tunnel, I will make sure I get you to a hospital."
She put on a heroic smile and then entered the bathroom. Once she was behind the closed door, Flint exhaled sharply and dropped the brave persona. The truth was that her announcement had rattled him. However, he was trying to stay calm for her sake. She looked so terrified that he couldn't make her feel worse.
But if she was actually in the midst of labor, he didn't know what the hell he was going to do. Their first problem was going to be getting out of the Pentagon. He wasn't sure what being locked down entailed. He hoped that it was only a matter of convincing a higher-up to go against procedure as opposed to literally being locked in the building. Although performing the former still wasn't going to be easy.
And then once he did get them out of there, he knew it was going to be quite the ordeal traveling to the hospital. DC traffic was a nightmare on a good day, and he could only imagine what the streets would be like while the city was gripped in the claws of a wide spread power outage. And this was all assuming that he would even be free to go since they were in the midst of the exercise.
He continued to contemplate various escape scenarios until he realized that Alison had been in the bathroom for an unusually long time. He knocked on the door and then cautiously entered. "Alison? Babe, are you okay?"
Her voice came from behind the only closed stall. "Dash, this is really happening," she replied in a shaky voice. "My water broke."
His nerves were kicked up a notch. He was glad that a closed door separated the two of them. He then fell back on his military training to get through a stressful situation. "Okay," he said calmly. "I'm going to tell Hawk. But in the meantime do you need anything?"
She didn't answer at first. Flint called out her name, but as he heard her breathing sharply, he realized she was having another contraction. He tried not to think about the kind of pain she was in. A few more seconds passed and then she finally spoke. "I have a bag under my desk. Can you bring it to me?"
Flint went back to the Joes office. Everyone in the room seemed to be sidetracked, which he was happy about. He hoped to get back to Alison without anyone noticing. However, as he reached for the bag under her desk and stood back up, he came face to face with Beachhead. "How is she?"
"You were right. She's gone into labor." Flint braced himself for an outburst from Beachhead, which he did not have the patience for. But the drill sergeant surprised him.
"Do you want me to tell Hawk?"
"No. It's better if it comes from me. Alison needs her bag, and then I want to see if she can make it back in here. If not, I may need someone to keep an eye on her while I talk to Hawk and figure out a plan to get her to the hospital."