The Pentagon Paradox

Chapter Four

ADELINE

It has been a day since I spoke with The Chairman. Yesterday, I only explored the first floor. It was mostly simple things like civilian employee offices, a big cafeteria, prayer rooms, and just random places for athletic enjoyment.

Nothing that would sound interesting to someone like me. My grip on my thermos tightens as the elevator door opens and I step onto the second floor.

This morning was a disaster. I woke up late and couldn't find my common access card, rushed through traffic and got a ticket. I only noticed my fashion crime of an outfit when I stepped into The Pentagon.

Blond hair in a low bun, a dark oversized V-neck shirt, and black jeans. My nose is red from the cold, and the only thing keeping me sane is my milk.

I have always hated beverages that weren't soda or water. I detested coffee my entire high school years, and now I settle for the purest form of energy served in a cup. Milk.

I hide it well, though. Put it in a thermos and avoid coffee machines in case someone asks me to join them for a drink. I have found that the purer you seem to someone, the less seriously they take you.

I couldn't care less, but for someone in my profession, sounding like a serious adult capable of great harm is a must. I take out the map The Chairman gave me and start exploring the floor.

The second floor is the floor tourists like most. It has a mini shopping mall and the famous Hall of Heroes. It also has offices, but all these employees only knew Windsor briefly.

I need a better plan if I am to figure this case out. After an hour of memorizing basic routes and the code for office placements, I headed to the cafeteria on the first floor.

I decided to read Joe Windsor's file as I sipped milk. Joe has been the Secretary of Defense for five years now. A few months before his death, he was accused of treachery. According to The White House, highly classified intelligence was discovered after raiding a secret Russian headquarters.

The intelligence announced Windsor as a double agent for the Russian Federation. He was forced to step down and undergo a trial. Windsor was a public favorite, and he was one of the few young politicians to object to the Iraqi war.

He was detested back then, but once the truth came out, his old videos went viral and were used in a few documentaries. Eventually, he became one of the cabinet ministers.

After a few weeks of investigation and trials, Windsor was let go for lack of evidence. The court said the intelligence wasn't clear enough and could have been misinterpreted by the agents since the intelligence was heard, not read.

The government refused to submit the footage of the trials due to the highly sensitive information being discussed. To make it up to Windsor and calm the public, the government gave him an envious amount of money and promised to give him back his position.

Windsor wasn't a fool, though. He managed to get a signed contract from The President himself and made sure to publicly announce it several times.

He even spread copies of the document around the state with different friends and family, just in case. Unfortunately, on the day Windsor was supposed to reclaim his position, leaks from 2001 resurfaced.

Rape cases and gang business colored Windsor's clean file red. It was also said in an interview with one of his old colleagues that he got death threats constantly, but no one could harm him when he was under the government's protection.

Due to the outrage of the media and people fabricating news about Windsor, the government delayed his return to The Pentagon and instead hosted him in The White House.