McClellan pointed toward a set of stairs carved into the ground between two enormous flowering bushes. Klein could feel an uncharacteristic film of sweat forming between his palm and the handle of his briefcase as he descended toward an unlocked steel door.

The basement beyond was dim and only partially finished, a fittingly clandestine place for this particular piece of business. President Sam Adams Castilla sat alone at a folding table next to the wall, gazing into the crystal glass in his hand. He didn’t acknowledge his old friend’s arrival and Klein understood. The man was under almost unimaginable pressure. And it was about to get worse.

“I understand the negotiations are going well,” Klein said, deciding to try to start the meeting on a positive note.

“Doesn’t matter,” Castilla replied, continuing to stare at the two fingers of bourbon in his glass. Generally, the man was a force of nature. Now, though, something fundamental had changed. For the first time since they’d known each other, Castilla looked…broken.

Klein sat and slid a thick file marked “President’s Eyes Only” across the table.

“I don’t have the energy, Fred. Just hit me with the highlights.”

Castilla had given him a detailed account of his meeting with Takahashi and asked him to evaluate the man’s claims. As far as Klein knew, no one else was even aware that the meeting had taken place.

“In a nutshell?” Klein, said, reaching for the bottle of Black Widow and pouring himself a short glass. “Assuming thirty-plus years of research and development focused on the systems Takahashi told you about, my people think it’s largely doable.”

Castilla let out a long breath.

Klein opened the folder so he could go over the points in order. “Obviously, we know that the nanotech exists. We still aren’t sure that the control systems are robust enough to make it a viable weapon, though.”

“But you’re telling me they might be. That it’s potentially deployable.”

“I believe so, yes.”

Castilla took a healthy slug of his drink and then topped it off from the bottle. “Where do your people stand on tracking this thing down?”

“Randi is working on options, but they’re limited.”

“So you’re nowhere.”

Klein hated to fail his old friend but there was just no sugarcoating the current situation. “I’m sorry, Sam. My top man has been captured and I’m up against a brilliant general who’s been laying these plans since you and I were in school.”

“I’m not blaming you or your people, Fred. No one could do more. I know that.”

Klein gave a short nod, though the vote of confidence made him feel even more powerless.