The federal building evacuation began at 4:23 AM when someone triggered fire alarms throughout the J. Edgar Hoover Building, sending hundreds of FBI personnel into the streets while emergency response teams tried to identify threats that sensors couldn't locate. Adrian watched the chaos from Morrison's car as they approached downtown Washington, understanding that systematic confusion was being used to mask operations that required federal facilities to be emptied of legitimate personnel."That's not a fire alarm," Mara said, studying the organized way FBI agents were evacuating the building while maintaining security protocols. "That's tactical misdirection. Someone wants federal agents out of their own building."Morrison navigated through emergency vehicles with the kind of familiarity that suggested extensive knowledge of Washington's federal district layout. "If The Architect has personnel with legitimate credentials inside federal facilities, evacuating buildings would allow the

The gunfight erupted in a concrete tomb that had been designed to muffle screams, not automatic weapons fire. Adrian dove behind industrial machinery as bullets sparked off metal and concrete, the sound deafening in the enclosed space while muzzle flashes lit up the warehouse like deadly fireworks. "Mara!" he called, trying to locate her position while return fire from at least five different locations pinned him down behind cover that was disintegrating under sustained assault. "Still here!" she shouted back, her voice coming from the center of the warehouse where she'd apparently managed to move despite being restrained. "Adrian, there's a freight elevator on the east wall! Morrison's in the building!" Adrian processed this information while reloading his weapon and calculating angles of fire that would allow him to reach Mara without getting them both killed. Morrison had violated direct orders by entering the warehouse, but right now Adrian was grateful for partners who understo

Alex's accounting office looked like a hurricane had torn through it. Papers scattered across every surface, multiple computer screens displaying spreadsheets and financial charts, empty coffee cups forming a trail from his desk to the printer. Adrian had seen his brother work late before, but never with the kind of manic intensity that suggested he'd discovered something that kept him awake through sheer excitement. "Alex," Adrian said, noting the exhaustion in his brother's eyes and the way his hands shook slightly from too much caffeine, "when's the last time you slept?" "Sleep can wait. But this can't." Alex gestured to the chaos around his office with the enthusiasm of someone who'd cracked a puzzle that had been driving him crazy for days. "Adrian, what I've found—it's going to blow your mind." Morrison moved through the office space with casual interest, studying the financial documents while Mara examined Alex's analysis with her forensic eye for detail. The accounting firm'

The smoke grenade crashed through Alex's office window, filling the room with thick gray clouds that burned Adrian's eyes and made breathing impossible. He grabbed Alex by the shirt, hauling his brother toward the emergency exit while bullets sparked off filing cabinets around them. "Move!" Adrian shouted, pushing Alex through the door as Morrison's voice cut through the chaos. "Seal the building! Nobody leaves alive!" They stumbled down the fire escape, Adrian's lungs burning from the chemical smoke while Mara provided covering fire through the stairwell window. Below them, black SUVs were pulling up to surround the building, men with assault rifles taking positions to cut off their escape routes. "Roof access," Mara called, pointing upward where another fire escape led to the building's top level. "We can jump to the next building!" Adrian looked at the gap between rooftops—eight feet of empty space over a four-story drop. "Alex, can you make that jump?" "Do I have a choice?"

The freight train that carried them out of Washington moved with the steady rhythm of steel wheels on tracks, each mile taking them further from Morrison's immediate reach while Adrian's mind worked through everything they knew about their former partner's methods and weaknesses. Alex dozed fitfully against grain sacks, his fever rising despite Mara's medical care, while she kept watch through gaps in the boxcar's wooden slats. "He'll expect us to contact federal authorities," Adrian said, breaking the silence that had stretched between them for the past hour. "Standard procedure for agents who've discovered systematic corruption—report to supervisors, coordinate with headquarters, rely on official channels." "Which are all compromised," Mara replied, not taking her eyes off the countryside rolling past outside. "Morrison had access to federal communication systems, personnel files, operational planning. He could have been feeding information to foreign contacts for years." "Exactly