Don smiled, but the smile didnt reach his eyes. Luke felt a small twinge about that. SRT was teetering on the brink, and now the President was taking Dons agents. Even so, Don needed to man up. This wasnt about egos or agency budgets. This was about getting a job done.

Don looked at the top of his desk. Well, if the President ordered it, I dont see how I can say no. I dont see how the FBI Director can, either. Until I hear otherwise, you have whatever you need.

*

Trudy Wellingtons disembodied head appeared on the flat-panel wall monitor.

Luke, Ed Newsam, Don Morris, and half a dozen members of the Special Response Team sat in the conference room. Real food was spread out on the long black tablesandwiches from the delicatessen less than a mile from headquarters. Lukes was corned beef and sauerkraut on pumpernickel bread.

He glanced at Ed. Ed had also showered and changed. He wore a black SRT jumpsuit now. He held a cold pack to his eye. He had devoured two sandwiches and had a large mug of coffee in front of him. The mug was black with red lettering: JET FUEL. Ed looked alert, immense, formidablea different man from half an hour ago. Outside of the busted face and the swollen eye, he was very much the same man Luke had met that morning.

Can you guys hear me okay? Trudy said.

We hear you fine, Don said.

Video output look all right?

Looks good to me. Is Swann there with you?

Hes right behind me. He established this uplink.

Good, Don said. What do you have for us?

Well, weve got chaos, Trudy said. The National Guard has been mobilized. Every single vehicle, at every bridge and tunnel out of Manhattan, is being searched. The traffic is gridlock everywhere. Tow trucks are clearing out parked cars to open lanes for emergency vehicles. The police have the subways and commuter rails on lockdown. One entrance and exit at each subway station is open, and every person coming in searched. Every single bag is being opened. The lines are several blocks long. The crowds in Times Square became so large that the police closed the subway station there and cleared the square. At least ten thousand people are walking north toward Central Park. Reports of vandalism, mostly smashed shop windows, are widespread in that area.

What else? Don said.

As we speak, hundreds of thousands of people are walking across the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, 59th Street, George Washington, and 138th Street bridges out of Manhattan. It looks like September eleventh all over again. Mostly, people are calm, but I hate to think what this place would be like if the attack had happened here.

Any word on that laundry van? Luke said. We dont know what radioactive materials were used in the attack on the White House. With the van still at large, theres always the possibility of a second attack.