In the midst of the chaos, Flynn Hallow rose, brushing his thin strands of hair across his forehead.

“Director Wolve,” he said. He looked over to Kate. “Senator.”

“Bring us up to speed, Agent Hallow. Everyone, continue your work, I want those people found,” the director said.

As the conversations continued at a much more subdued tone, Flynn walked through, brandishing an iPad.

Before he could begin to speak, Kate stepped forward. “Begin with where you think my nephew is at this very moment.”

“We believe with the same fanatics that took him in Little Rock.”

“How can that be, when you obviously blew up an entire hotel room to stop them?”

“Let me be clear that we are investigating at this very moment what caused the explosion, that it could very well have been these true believers—”

“Don’t bullshit me,” she said. “Spin it any way you want it to cover yourself, but don’t attempt it on me. While I wholeheartedly disagree with your methods, including the danger you put many innocent Tennesseans in, I have read the files. I understand that you believe this girl, even my nephew, pose some sort of danger—”

“Not some sort,” Flynn said.

“Agent Hallow, please explain to the senator what happened here,” Mark said.

“The car driving your nephew crashed and he is now missing. Three of our best agents were in that car.”

“How in the world did that happen?” Kate asked.

Flynn swiped the screen of his iPad, and turned it around. “The girl happened,” he said.

Kate covered her mouth at the sight of the photograph of two agents slumped over in the front seat of the smashed vehicle, their skin splotchy, their hair having fallen out in massive clumps.

“One of our agents survived, though. And verified what this video shows. There was a camera posted on the parking garage ramp.”

He swiped again, and surveillance video appeared on the screen. It showed the agents’ car suddenly speeding up and crashing into the side entrance. A white SUV pulled up alongside, and a man jumped out.

Kate held her breath as the man pulled her obviously disoriented nephew from the car and led him into the SUV. For a brief moment, a little girl could be seen reaching for William as the door shut behind him.

“An APB has been put out for that SUV,” Mark said.

“Only on private channels to law enforcement,” Flynn added. “We suspect they’ve already changed out the license plate, even though the agent who survived was unable to see it. But we’re monitoring cameras throughout the city, and social media. We are holding off putting it out to the media until we develop a next course of action.”