Draper led Fitch out of the Pentagon and had his driver take them to a nice Italian restaurant which was about ten minutes away.

They entered the dimly-lit restaurant, and a waitress led them to a large booth in the back.

Once seated, Draper spoke up. “I wanted to make sure that if any obstacle comes up, regardless of how small, you let me know. We need your facility operational ASAP. The big event isn't scheduled for another two and a half years, but I want you to keep expanding the site. Every additional sleeper we can cram in there is another life saved. Let me know what we can do.”

Fitch clasped his hands together on the table. “Sir, I'll keep things moving as fast as I can, obviously. Give me a few weeks and I'll have a better idea as to what we can offer.”

“Sounds good. Have any of your people figured out what's going on?”

“My immediate team are smart enough to know something is up. There's just no way with a construction of this size that they couldn't know that this isn't just a standby facility. They don't know the nature of the threat, however, or the date, but every day they're a little closer to figuring it out,” Fitch explained.

“I guess it's time. Bring Cowan and Travers up to speed. No one else though, and I want them signing a non-disclosure agreement. Make sure they know the consequences if they reveal anything – it will involve imprisonment.”

“Understood, sir,” Fitch responded. A sense of relief swept over him, keeping this to himself had been incredibly difficult and for all the work Travers and Cowan were doing, they deserved to know the truth.

Returning to the conference room after a pleasant meal of tortellini, washed down with a glass of Chianti, the two men took their seats at the table.

NSA Baker addressed the group first. “Gentlemen, we've collected a list of several candidates we want to review as a group. The person we select will be approached and given the opportunity to take command of the Sleepers.”

After a discussion lasting a little more than four hours, the group was unanimous in their decision to approach Doctor R. J. Anderson with the offer of the role of Sleeper Commander.

R.J. had formerly served in the US Army, after graduating at the top of the class at West Point. R.J.'s military career was excellent; achieving high marks in everything from leadership to marksmanship. R.J. had been on the fast track, and promotions were coming fast. After ten years though, R.J. surprised everyone by resigning from the army and returning to college to finish a doctorate degree in international studies. For the past eight years, RJ had been working with the United Nations and personally led disaster relief efforts on four different continents. A military background and proven leadership skills, along with the disaster relief experience, made RJ the perfect candidate.