There was a burst of laughter from the Wolf. "I like you, Burns. I suspect you'll be a worthy adversary. By the way, is a Mr. Mahoney there in the room?"

The head of the Hostage Rescue Team and a friend of mine glanced at Ron Burns, who nodded to him to speak.

Ned Mahoney sat hunched forward in his chair, and he was giving the Wolf the finger. "Yes, I'm right here. I'm listening." He still had his middle finger extended. "What can I do for you?"

"You can leave now, Mr. Mahoney. I'm afraid that you won't be needed. You're too unstable for my tastes. Too dangerous. And, yes, I'm quite serious."

Burns motioned for Mahoney to go.

"There will be no need for the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team," said the Wolf. "If it comes to that, all is lost, I assure you. I hope you're beginning to understand how my mind works. I don't want HRT mobilized, and I don't want any further investigation. Call off the dogs.

"Are you all listening? No one is to try to find out who I am—or who we are. Do you really understand? Please respond if you do."

Everyone in the room called out, "Yes." They understood. Once again, it seemed that the Wolf was trying to make us feel like children, or maybe he just enjoyed humiliating the FBI, CIA, and Homeland Security.

"Anyone who didn't respond just then, please leave the room," said the Wolf. "No, no, sit back down. I'm just having fun at your expense. I'm what you might call a 'creative type.' But I am serious about Mr. Mahoney, and about there being no formal investigation. I'm deadly serious about it, in fact.

"Now, then, let's get down to today's business, shall we? This is an interesting juncture, actually. I hope someone is taking notes."

There was a pause of approximately fifteen seconds. Then the Wolf resumed. "I want you to know the targeted cities. It's time for that.

"There are four—and I would advise that these cities prepare for a worst-possible-case scenario. The cities should prepare for total destruction."

Another pause, then:

"The targeted cities are . . . New York . . . London . . . Washington . . . Frankfurt. These cities should prepare for the worst disasters in history. And not a word of this goes public. Or I attack immediately."

Then he was gone again. And he still hadn't given us any deadline.

Chapter 24

The President of the United States was up at 5:30 that morning. Unfortunately, he had already been in meetings for almost two hours. He was on his fourth cup of black coffee.

The National Security Council had been in his office since a little past 3:30. Those present included the heads of the FBI and CIA, plus several intelligence experts. Everyone was taking the Wolf seriously.

The president felt he was sufficiently briefed for his next challenging meeting, but he could never tell about these things, not for sure, especially when politics came into play in a real emergency situation.