The chopper flew low and fast. The landscape buzzed by below them, almost close enough to touch. Luke barely noticed. He shouted into the telephone. He kept losing the call. The hand-off process from one cell tower to the next was iffy at over a hundred miles per hour.

We need to evacuate the White House, he said. Trudy! Do you hear me?

Her voice cut through the static. Luke, theres a warrant for your arrest. You and Ed. It just came through.

Why? Because of the doctors? We didnt hurt them.

There was a burst of static. The call dropped.

Trudy? Trudy! Shit!

He looked at Ed.

He told me they were in the Dun-Rite Laundry van, Ed said. The signs were magnetic decals. They took them off in Baltimore, and changed the license plates. There may be surveillance cameras near where Thomas was found. They might pick up the trail on the vans location that way.

Lukes phone rang. He picked it up.

Trudy.

Luke, before you say another thing, let me speak. Eldrick Thomas is dead. He had a massive heart attack. You and Ed are on video surveillance. Its clear in the video that you gave Thomas a shot of some kind.

Ritalin, to wake him up, Luke said.

Ed leaned in close just before Thomas died.

Trudy, Thomas was giving Ed the information. Do you understand? Eldrick Thomas is not the issue right now. The attack is planned for the White House. All the evidence points to a drone attack. They were in the Dun-Rite Laundry van. They changed the markings. We need to find the van and we need to get everyone out of the White House. Now.

Another burst of static came in.

Theyre not going to… Luke? Luke?

Im here.

Theyre watching Grand Central and the Hoboken PATH station. They closed the Midtown Tunnel. I spoke with Ron Begley. They dont believe its the White House. They think you killed Eldrick Thomas. The arrest warrant is for murder.

What? Why would I murder Eldrick Thomas?

The phone cut out again.

Luke looked at Ed. Well get the pilots to radio it in.

Ed shook his head. No good. Nobodys going to believe us. And if we tell the pilots to radio it in, everybodys going to know where we are. No. We have to go in ourselves. And we have to go in stealth.

Luke went up to the cockpit and poked his head inside.

He knew these twoRachel and Jacob. They were old friends of his, and theyd flown together for years. Both of them were former U.S. Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Luke and Ed were used to flying with people like this. The 160th SOAR were the Delta Force of helicopter pilots.