“I was about to say the exact same thing.” This voice came from Cameron, the boss with the big voice. “You, sir, are forgetting whom you’re talking to. I suggest you read the materials you’ve been given, and then gather in the House Chamber to await the arrival of your colleagues.”

“May I see my quarters?” Penn asked.

“If you wish,” Cameron said. “If you go to that door over there”—he pointed to vented double doors at the far end of the big hall—“Mr. Cohen will be happy to take you to your quarters.”

“Me too?” Arlen Strasky had just wandered up, his manila envelope in hand.

“You need to put your badge on, sir,” Cameron said.

Strasky looked a little startled. He pinched the metal closure on the envelope, then opened the flap.

Penn did the same. He puffed the mouth of the envelope open, peered inside, and retrieved the two-inch by three-inch laminated badge. The upper left corner featured a color official photo, and the rest showed gibberish—computer code, Penn figured. The outside border of Penn’s badge was gold, while that of Arlen’s was red.

They clipped the badges to the flap of their shirt pockets.

“You don’t have a room, Mr. Strasky,” Cameron said. “You will be in one of the staff bunkrooms. Your specific bunk assignment is coded on your badge. Mr. Glendale, as Speaker, you will share a room for two people. Your roommate will be the Senate majority leader.”

“Dennis Laraja?” Penn asked.

“Sure,” Cameron replied. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have some new arrivals.”

Penn turned to see a crowd of perhaps forty men and women streaming into the main hall. None looked comfortable in their new attire. Three of them, whom Penn saw in a glance, still had wet hair.

“This is the most surreal thing I’ve ever witnessed,” Strasky said.

“No argument from me,” Penn agreed. “Now that members and senators are arriving, we need to get organized. We don’t want to lose focus on the work we have to do here.”

“Mr. Speaker!” a voice called from off to his left. It was Scott Johnson, and he approached with a smile. He closed to within a few feet and said, “I understand that my staff hasn’t impressed you thus far.”

“No, I wouldn’t say that I’m unimpressed,” Penn said. “They’re just very matter-of-fact.”

“These are nervous-making times, sir,” Johnson said. “We’ve been drilling this scenario for years, but I don’t think any of us really expected it to happen.”

“Nothing’s happened yet,” Strasky said. “CRIMSON PHOENIX was launched strictly out of an abundance of caution.”