“What about Cho’s family?” he asked.

“We’ve got agents on the ground in Bethesda and Oakland,” Burns told him. “They’ll have a full security detail within the hour — Mrs. Cho, both of their sons, and Secretary Cho’s mother.”

“I’ll want to speak with Lottie directly.”

“Of course, sir. We’ll also have the Joint Chiefs in a video conference once we’re away,” Tiefel said. “And after that, the same CIA work group as before, if you care to sit in. It might be a good idea.”

“Of course it’s a good idea,” said the president.

“That’s the group with Alex Cross, isn’t it?” Mrs. Coyle asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Burns anticipated her next question. “He won’t be asked to change focus.”

“Good,” she said. “Thank you.” It was no secret by now that the First Lady had handpicked the well-known police detective for the kidnap investigation. Nobody was going to tell her no on that one.

“The world’s watching us, Ron,” the president said. “Especially our country’s enemies. We need to get this in hand, once and for all. I want hourly reports, and I want a briefing on a full range of options. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mr. President. Completely. We all do.”

“I mean a full range.”

“Of course, sir.”

“I’m not going to fuck around with this anymore.”

“Ed —” The First Lady slid a hand up her husband’s arm.

“Sorry,” he said. “Sorry. But this ends here. Now. Whatever it takes.”

The president sat back. Out the window, he could see one of four other identical choppers flying alongside, a standard protocol to reduce the risks from a possible ground attack. Anything seemed possible right now. Their departure from the White House had gone smoothly enough. Now the convoy headed southeast, toward Andrews, eleven miles away.

After that, Edward O. Coyle, the most powerful man in the world, had no idea what to expect. Hell, he could be dead in the next few minutes. The unthinkable was no longer unthinkable.

CIA HEADQUARTERS WAS lit up like a fluorescent box when I got there late that night. The powers that be had decided to share what they knew with our de facto advisory board. What they told us was a mindblower. An unnamed informant was claiming the entire line of succession to the presidency as Al Ayla’s new target list.

Secretary of State Cho’s murder was a testimony to how seriously we needed to take this new threat.

The symbolism of the day’s attack was devastating to all of us. Not only did Cho represent the United States to the world, but Al Ayla was clearly using this incident as their foray onto the international stage. Statements claiming responsibility had come in through Al Jazeera, indicating the organization by name for the first time. Every news outlet from Jakarta to Madison, Wisconsin, had picked up the story.

Al Ayla, it seemed, was ready for its close-up. What was worse — so far they were winning.