He stood up and walked to the entrance and looked out at the night for a long time. Far in the distance a night bird cried out in a voice that was as sad and desolate as all the pain in the world.

His cell phone rang. Mr. Church answered it and listened for a moment.

“I understand,” he said. “Thank you, Mr. President.”

He set his phone down and touched a button on the console. “Auntie, the word is given and it is ‘go.’”

Aunt Sallie nodded and sent the command signal. “All dogs off the leash.”

On the screen, the glowing dots began to move.

Church looked at Lilith. “A theory, however compelling, is not a target. If Arklight has any intel that you haven’t shared, then now is the time. Give me a target, Lilith, and I’ll show you what kind of war I am willing to wage against those monsters.”

There was a soft ping and Church touched the button to unmute the computer center.

“Mr. Church,” said Rudy, “we have something you need to see.”

“Is it about the Red Order?”

“It’s about the nukes,” said Circe. “There aren’t seven of them.”

“Then how—”

“There are eight.”

Chapter One Hundred Four

Chapter One Hundred Four

Aghajari Oil Refinery

Iran

June 16, 5:29 a.m.

We moved down a set of metal stairs that zigzagged along a steep wall, with Ghost’s nails clicking behind me. I was dressed like a security guard, and Lydia was in her chador and carrying a clipboard with important looking papers on it. She made sure not to make eye contact with any of the men, and she walked a half pace behind me. The men who passed us did not avoid looking at her. I don’t know how they were able to determine how good looking she was under the billowing black clothes—and Lydia was a hottie by any rational definition, a little bit of JLo but with a Michelle Rodriguez badass bad-girl sneer—but every single man who passed us gave her a thorough up and down.

At one point, when we were alone, she murmured, “I can’t tell … are they undressing me with their eyes or wondering how I would look with another layer of clothes on?”

“Beats me, sister.”

“I can’t tell you how much I’d like to flash my boobs at them just to see them have total coronaries.”

“I think they stone you for that here.”

“Might be worth it.”

I grinned and we kept going.