Fremont nodded.

"Mr President, you can wait."

"No, I'm not going to wait. Ryan, you know what they did, you know why they did it. It was an act of war -"

"An act of terrorism, sir."

"State-sponsored terrorism is war - your own position paper from six years ago said that!"

Jack had not known that Fowler'd read it, and being hoist on his own petard came as a surprise. "Well, yes, sir, I did say that, but -"

"That holy man tried to kill - did kill thousands of Americans, and tried to trick us and the Russians into killing two hundred million more! He almost succeeded."

"Yes, sir, that is also true, but -" Fowler cut him off with a raised hand and continued to speak in the placid voice of a man whose decision had been made.

"It was an act of war. I will reply in kind. That's decided. I'm the President. I'm the Commander-in-Chief. I am the one who evaluates and acts upon the safety and security of the United States. I decide what the military of this country does. This man slaughtered thousands of our citizens, and used a nuclear weapon to do it. I have decided that I will reply in kind. Under the Constitution, that is my right, and my duty."

"Mr President," van Damm spoke. "The American people -"

Fowler's anger appeared, but only briefly. "The American people will demand that I act! But that's not the only reason. I must act. I must reply to this - just to make sure it never happens again!"

"Please think it through, sir."

"Arnold, I have."

Ryan looked over at Pete Connors and Helen D'Agustino. Both concealed their feelings with marvelous skill. The rest of the room approved of Fowler's purpose, and Jack already knew that he was not the one to reason with the man. He looked at the clock and wondered what would come next.

"Mr President, this is General Fremont."

I'm here, General."

"Sir, we have re-targeted a Minuteman-III missile in North Dakota for the target specified. I - sir, have you thought this through?"

"General, I am your commander-in-chief. Is the missile readied for launch?"

"Sir, the launch sequence will take about a minute from the time you give the order."

"The order is given."

"Sir, it's not that simple. I need an ID check. You've been briefed on the procedure, sir."

Fowler reached for his wallet and removed a plastic card, much like a credit card. On it were ten different eight-number groups. Only Fowler knew which one he was supposed to read.

"Three-Three-Six-Zero-Four-Two-Zero-Nine."

"Sir, I confirm your identification code. Next, Mr President, the order must be confirmed."

"What?"

"Sir, the two-man rule applies. In the event of an overt attack, I can be the second man, but since that is not the case, someone on my list must confirm the order."

"I have my chief of staff right here."

"Sir, negative on that, the rule is that to be on the list you must be an elected official or one approved by Congress - the Senate, that is - like a cabinet secretary."