Mark turned the phone on and inserted the antenna cable into the receptacle. They both watched the antenna indicator, which flashed red once, flickered green, then went off.

“No,” Gina said.

The phone’s LED flashed a bit of green. Then red. Then solid green.

Mark input the number sequence that would get them through to Langley.

“Operations.”

“This is Mark Bryan.”

The access tone warbled as he inputted his security code.

“Okay, sir, please go ahead.”

“Give me George Hammond.”

From the open stairway, there came a sound, a steady clicking.

“Um—let’s see—he’s not available at this time.”

“Do you know where he is?”

The sound got louder.

“Engaged in the field.”

Gina said, “Mark, we have visitors.”

“The director, then.”

He saw one of the snakes gliding across the floor. How it had got in he could not tell.

“Put him on!”

“Sir, he’s not available.”

Gina went toward the thing, moving warily. But could she manage a kill alone?

“Cosmic clearance most urgent.”

Another one was now coming in, this one even larger.

Gina sailed her knife like a boomerang, sending the blade whirling through the air, and the head of the second snake flew off.

It struck the side of a desk and slid toward Gina’s feet. As she reached up and caught her knife, she stomped down on it until it was smashed into a mass of blood and tissue.

“That was impressive,” Mark said.

The knife spun past his face and sliced the head of the second, smaller snake lengthwise. Mark caught it in his free hand, where the creature writhed with almost preternatural fury, coiling and uncoiling despite the damage to the head.

“This is the director of central intelligence.”

“My name is Mark Bryan, colonel, U.S. army.”

“I know who you are.”

Mark switched the phone to speaker. He and Gina both needed to hear everything.

“I know how to put a stop to this thing.”

“You do?” Gina whispered.

“I need two nuclear warheads. I need them now.”

“Where are you?”

“San Francisco. In the newsroom at TV station—” Mark looked to Gina.

“KFSF,” she said.

“We’re at KFSF-TV, at the station. We can’t stay here long.”

“We have no warheads anywhere in that area.”

“Yeah, you do. As many as six, assuming they’re still operational. I need to know their location and you have the means to detect them. I need you to use Gina Lyndon’s satellites to find them for me.”

“She’s coordinating a Delta Force strike in the Big Basin area. Not available. And she’s a casualty. She’s been wounded.”

“Wounded?”

“She’s been blinded.”

Gina grabbed his shoulder. Mark forced his voice to remain steady. He said into the phone, “She’s coordinating a strike and she’s blind?”

“She has support. George Hammond is there.”

Gina shook her head. Mark thought about it.