The Guard officer shook her head. “While there’s plenty of time, I do not want to jeopardize the operation at this point. All we need now is Boise police getting involved. Besides, we’ll be going in at oh dark thirty hours. A lot of vehicles suddenly running around near the capital building just might raise an eyebrow or two. When we go in, I want total surprise.”

“I need to contact my station in New York and let them know that I am alive and that I need to do a live broadcast,” Anderson announced. “What time do you want the governor to go on?”

“Make sure you tell them nothing,” Nancy warned the New Yorker. “Don’t even give them a teaser.”

Anderson put his hands up. “Oh, trust me. There’s no need to worry about that. I know where my ass will be and what’ll happen to it if someone screws up in New York.”

“Good. Lightfoot and the squad with him will hit the lights at four twenty,” Nancy explained, running through the high points of the operation once more as she answered Anderson’s question. “I anticipate needing twenty minutes to clear the wing of the building the governor’s office is in. When that’s secure, I will give you twenty minutes to set up your equipment and establish the link with New York. It will also give the governor a chance to prepare his remarks.”

“So you’re looking at broadcasting at seven A.M. eastern?” Anderson asked.

Nancy nodded. “The primary decision makers will be in place in Washington or on their way. News and talk shows will be coming on and the folks in Boise will still be asleep.”

Listening to the National Guard lieutenant colonel explain things like this made Nathan appreciate what his father saw in her. There was no trepidation in her voice or the slightest hint of doubt in her manner. Nathan wondered how long it would take him to become a professional like her.

Finished, Nancy looked around the motley collection of people whom she was convinced held the fate of her nation in their hands. “Any further questions?” In the fading light, she gauged the ability and confidence of each as she waited for someone to speak up. When no one did, she clapped her hands. “Okay, people. We have a lot to do and not a whole hell of a lot of time left. Let’s get moving.”

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 25

BOISE, IDAHO MORNING, NOVEMBER 12

“Vigilance is the order of the day. We must not allow ourselves to be lulled into complacency,” Thomas Jefferson Osborn admonished in an address to his militia commanders.”We stand on the verge of achieving everything we have worked so hard for. I therefore urge you to redouble your guard.”