“Before you leave, you will tell Mister Bruton who the others are.”

She knew that was an order.

The president left the room.

Bruton handed Dominique a pad and pen and watched as she wrote down the names of the others.

She handed the pad back to Bruton and said, “I will talk with Hashim. But we will never reach the level of evolution the tablet speaks of until everyone reveals the scope of their operations, and the heart and soul of how they think. That includes all of us.”

“It’s a good thing you kept that to yourself while he was here. We take this step by step now. It’s no longer just your odyssey.”

81

81

Catherine Book flagged a cab down on K Street when her mobile rang. She answered. Dominique told her of meeting with the president and that he’d asked for all the names of those involved for their protection. She asked if Catherine would be willing to use her cottage as a “safe house” for Jhana-Merise, Vincente, Arama, and Nazir.

Catherine was surprised Nazir would be with them.

“Is there a problem with that?” Dominique asked.

“No. Nazir had been staying at the cottage and left. He was afraid of putting me in danger. I didn’t want him to go. I’m glad he’s okay. I welcome them all. When do you need them there?”

“As soon as possible.”

“How’s tonight?”

“That’d be great. And you won’t mind if a few security guys rotate round the clock for protection? President’s orders.”

“I understand. Will you be with them?”

“At some point.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. There’s something I need to do.”

Catherine saw the cabbie’s impatient eyes staring at her in the rearview mirror waiting for her to tell him where she wanted to go. “Virginia Beach,” she said.

82

82

Moonlight made the buildings seem like a series of spooky triangular crop circles.

Dominique shivered looking out the small window of the government prop plane as it descended over the United States super maximum-security unit, known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies.

The plane landed in the middle of nowhere, on ground that shimmered with a skin of white snow. The landscape was set against the silhouette of a mountain range shaped like a hill of elephants.

ADX Florence Prison was in Fremont County, Colorado. The surface of Mars, with cylindrical turrets and razor wire fences, came to her mind as the plane landed. This was a place where dreams of rehabilitation were superseded by the architecture of control. ADX wasn’t designed for humanity. It was here Hashim had been brought. And here where Dominique would speak with him. She’d been told by the warden—in a cold delivery that was a perfect match for the arctic freeze of the place—that he was to extend all courtesy to her and that her conversation with Hashim would be private.