Am I facing green? Hayes said.

Weve got five angles on you, sir, but yes. Green is looking directly into their eyes. Thirty seconds.

David Halstram positioned himself at the back of the TV studio, taking in the whole scene. The President stood tall at the podium, utterly calm, waiting for the light to come on. In the small amphitheatre facing him sat some of the most important and influential people in the country.

Congressmen and Senators from both sides of the aisle made up much of the audiencemostly liberals like the President, but also plenty of the loyal opposition. The Secretary of State was here, as was the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Education. The Directors of NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the National Park System sat in a row, surrounded by their senior staff.

Halstrams heart raced. To say he was excited would be to badly underestimate his state of mind. He felt like he was in a rocket ship, accelerating through the Earths gravity field. These were the moments he lived for.

He was born to do this job. He didnt drink alcohol, and he had never done drugs. He barely had any need for caffeine. He worked eighteen-hour days without blinking, dropped to sleep for four or five hours, got up and did it all over again. What kind of rush was coffee compared to the life that David led?

President Thomas Hayes was about to give one of the most important speeches in American history, and David Halstram, his chief-of-staff, his confidant, his trusted advisor, was standing thirty feet away.

Twenty seconds, Mr. President.

A brief disturbance flickered across Davids awareness. Luke Stone. They had vetted him this afternoon. Of course they had. He had saved the President, but… you had to know who you were dealing with. There was a lot in the mans file. Red flags waved like crazy. Combat stress. Questionable use of force. Abuse of authority. Forgeries. Apparently, he had entered the West Wing today with faked Yankee White security clearance. How did he manage that? What would have happened if he hadnt managed it?

Ten seconds. Good luck, sir.

Now he wanted them to leave the facility. Okay, David would talk to him about it. Maybe in the morning, they would… what? Go to Camp David?

On the podium, Hayes looked straight at the camera.

The voice came back one last time. We are live in four…

Three…

Hayes smiled. It seemed faked, forced, but then it faded into something else.

Two…

It became a look of determination.

One.

Good evening, my fellow Americans, the President began, with a broad, confident smile. I am here to tell you

BOOM!

A light flashed, and for a split second, David thought it was the green light the President was waiting for. But it wasnt green. It was white, and huge, and blinding. It came from somewhere behind the President.

It swallowed the President whole.