Fairfax County, Virginia - Suburbs of Washington, DC

Luke was drifting.

The phone was ringing.

He snapped awake, lying flat on the sofa. Hed had another drink while waiting for David Delliger to call him. Then hed fallen asleep. This must be Delliger now.

He picked up the phone.

Hello?

Luke? Its Ed Newsam. Did I wake you?

Luke was disoriented. No. What time is it? No, you didnt wake me. Ed. How are you doing? Im planning to come see you tomorrow. Ill bring you some flowers. You want a sandwich? Like a real one, not hospital food.

Dont bother, Ed said. Im leaving in the morning. Listen, we got trouble. Three men just tried to kill me.

Luke sat up. What? Where are you?

Im still in the hospital. Ive got about ten cops in here right now. Theyre going to move me to another room, post some guards at the door.

Where are the killers?

There was a pause. Uh, theyre here on the floor. They didnt make it. I tried to get an ID on one of them, but he wasnt into talking. There really wasnt anything I could do. Turns out they killed the nurse at the nurses station, stuffed her under the desk. They came in here wearing masks. If I had to guess, Id say these guys are not going to come back identifiable. Spooks is what Im saying. Ghosts.

Luke ran a hand through his hair. You killed them all?

Yeah. I did.

There was a long silence over the line.

You need to watch yourself, Luke. Thats why I called. This thing with the President… its all wrong. And these guys sure dont look Iranian. They look like surfer boys from San Diego. If they tried to get me, theyll be coming for you, too.

Luke killed the TV set, then leaned over to the end table and turned off the light. He crouched low and ran to the kitchen. He turned off that light as well. Except for the faint orange glow of the wall switches, and a red LED light on the stereo in the living room, it was now dark on the first floor. Luke crawled into the dining room.

Luke? You with me?

Yeah. Im here.

What are you doing?

Nothing, man. Im good.

Luke took a corner of the blue dining room carpet and rolled it up. Underneath was a hinged trapdoor built into the hardwood floor. Luke nestled the phone in the crook of his ear, and pulled his key ring out. There were tiny locks left and right, embedded into the trapdoor. He found the small silver keys that fit each lock, slid them in and unlocked the door.

You going to talk to me? Ed said.

Im getting ready right now, Ed. I think I should hang up.

Thats probably a good idea. Good luck, brother.

Thanks for the tip.