"Swordfish is my code name with the Secret Service," Laird explained almost sheepishly.

"Electric motor," commented Sandecker on the silent running of the bus.

"More efficient than building a complicated ventilation system to draw off the exhaust fumes of gas engines," explained Laird.

Sandecker stared at the side entrances leading off from the main tunnel in which they were traveling. "There's more to underground Washington than most people imagine."

"The system of passages and thoroughfares beneath the city form an intricate maze well over a thousand miles in length. Not exactly public knowledge, of course, except for tunnels built for sewage, drainage, steam and electrical wiring, but there is an extensive network in daily use for vehicular transportation. It spreads from the White House to the Supreme Court, Capitol building, State Department, under the Potomac to the Pentagon, the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, and about a dozen other strategic government buildings and military bases in and around the city."

"Something like the catacombs of Paris," said Gunn.

"The Paris catacombs pale in comparison to Washington's underground web," said Laird. "May I offer you gentlemen a drink?"

Sandecker shook his head. "I'll pass."

"Not for me, thank you," answered Gunn. He turned to the admiral. "Did you know about this, sir?"

"Mr. Laird forgets that I've been a Washington insider for many years. I've traveled a few of the tunnels from time to time. Because they run below the water tables, it takes a small army of maintenance people to fight the invading damp and slime to keep them dry. There are also the derelicts, drug dealers and criminals who use them for warehousing illegal goods, and the young people who get a high partying in dark and eerie chambers. And, of course, reckless daredevils driven by curiosity and a lack of claustrophobia who find sport in exploring the passageways. Many of them are experienced cavers who find unknown labyrinths a challenge."

"With so many intruders wandering in and out, how can they be controlled?"

"The main arteries crucial for government operations are guarded by a special security force which monitors them by video and infrared sensors," Laird said by way of explanation. "Penetration into critical areas is next to impossible."

Gunn said slowly, "This is certainly news to me."

Sandecker smiled enigmatically. "The President's chief of staff neglected to mention the escape tubes."

Laird covered his surprise by pouring himself a small glass of vodka. "You're extraordinarily well informed, Admiral."

"Escape tubes?" Gunn asked mechanically.

"Shall I?" Sandecker asked almost apologetically.

Laird nodded and sighed. "It seems government secrets have a short life."

"A script straight out of science-fiction movies," Sandecker continued. "Until now, saving the President, his Cabinet and the military Chiefs of Staff during a nuclear strike by whisking them away by helicopter to an airfield or an underground operations center was a fallacy almost from the beginning. Submarine missiles fired from a few hundred miles out at sea during a surprise attack could rain down on the city in less than ten minutes. Not nearly enough time to carry out an emergency evacuation."