“I think Washington just got hit.”

Penn glared at her from the rostrum. “You think? Based on what?”

“Based on war plans that have been in place for years,” she said. “Remember, Mr. Speaker, I was in the Air Force before I was a member of Congress. The White House, Pentagon and Capitol have had crosshairs on them for generations.”

“But they’re hardened, aren’t they?” Angela asked.

Lianne looked to the Speaker for guidance.

Penn’s instincts were to lash out at Leader Fortnight for not following the rules dictating how members were recognized to speak, but softened his approach. “I suppose under these extraordinary circumstances, we can loosen the rules a little. Let’s just make sure that we’re all having the same conversation, only one speaker at a time.” He nodded to the gentle lady from Delaware.

“None of the buildings in Washington are shielded from direct hits,” Lianne explained. “And certainly not from the strategic weapons we always assumed would be the primary package for major cities such as DC and New York. We called them city killers. Nothing can be hardened against those.”

Someone said, “I don’t think it’s helpful to speculate on things like this.” Penn didn’t recognize the voice. Probably from a freshman member.

Representative Holt continued as if not interrupted. “Remember how nuclear attacks happen. It’s not just a single warhead on a high-value target like the Pentagon, where they have God knows how many basements. They’ll hit it with several to make sure it’s really dead—and also as a safety in case the first bomb didn’t make it to target for some reason.”

“What about here at the Annex?” Angela asked. Her voice cracked with anxiety.

Scott Johnson answered that question from the top of the chamber. “We couldn’t survive even a smaller tactical warhead. And we’re a hell of a lot newer than any building in official Washington.”

Penn slapped the table with his open palm, making nearly everyone in the chamber jump in their seats. “Mr. Johnson, you do not belong here.”

Johnson kept going. “We have some deflection technology that’s designed to confuse incoming birds in hopes of sending them a mile or two off course, but if a warhead lands on our roof, we’re toast.”

Penn slammed the table again. “That’s enough, Mr. Johnson.”

“I just thought you should know.”

“Do you know why our communications are down?” asked Representative Jack Collins, of Montana.

Johnson said, “I believe the gentle lady from Delaware is correct. I don’t have proof of that, of course. Not yet, anyway. But the situation is consistent with Washington being no longer a factor.”