Keller was all for a strong military. He felt there should be a fierce American response to the Barrett girl’s kidnapping and what looked like her inevitable death. He could even see the logic in taking advantage of the situation to move some pieces forward on the board.

Mark Baylor, on the other hand, was prepared to ignite the Apocalypse. And it didn’t seem clear that anyone in this room was prepared to stop him. If anything, General Stark was even more eager for it than Baylor.

Keller looked around the conference table in the center of the room. People seemed nervous. But they were careerists who wouldn’t rock the boat, or were junior advisers who would speak only when spoken to. In a few cases, they were people who didn’t have an original thought in their heads. It would never occur to them that advice coming from someone at the Pentagon could be wrong. They didn’t make it to this table by questioning things.

Keller glanced at the young aides and assistants lining the walls. They offered no hope. They were here to do exactly as they were told. Not one of them could stop this unfolding train wreck even if they wanted to.

No. If this was going to stop, it was going to fall on Keller himself. The ultimate political animal, the sly operator, was going to have to put his own neck on the chopping block. He didn’t relish that thought.

On the screen at the front of the room, there was a large map of the Middle East. General Stark stood in front of it with a laser pointer. He indicated various spots of interest with the pointer.

“We have B-2 bomber sorties, along with fighter escorts, flying at the limits of Iranian airspace over Iraq, over Turkey, and over Afghanistan. They are prepared to make deep runs into Iran at a moment’s notice. We’re also flying fighter patrols at the edge of Iranian airspace in the Persian Gulf. We are coming into contact with Iranian fighter planes, but no provocations have happened as of yet.”

The red dot of his pointer made a squiggle on the Persian Gulf, then settled on the narrow Strait of Hormuz.

“American destroyers and aircraft carriers in the Gulf are at a high state of readiness. We are prepared to engage Iran with a massive, overwhelming attack that will significantly degrade their ability to respond, and will set their infrastructure back decades. We can also call in a targeted decapitation strike aimed at their leadership in Tehran.”

“What do you recommend, General?” Mark Baylor said.