She stopped what she was doing, giving me a look of exasperation. “He’s just a lost boy. I found him on the trail. We need to take him to his mother.”
The comment was so crazy, yet so completely in character, I laughed out loud, sending a sharp pain through my shoulder.
She said, “What’s so funny?”
“Still saving the lost puppies.”
She finished with my thigh and said, “It’s the other way around. If he hadn’t been there, the Arab would have just carved me up. Because there were two people, he decided to tie us first, which gave me an edge.”
“How come I didn’t hear any gunfire?”
“Uhh… well, I had to keep the Glock hidden because of the boy. I didn’t get a chance to draw it.”
She saw me grin and cinched the sling on my left arm, causing a wince.
“What’s funny now?”
“He saved your life by being there, but if he wasn’t there, you could have used the pistol. Your lost puppies always seem to just barely break even.”
She finished and stood up.
“Not all of them. I’m still working on you.”
80
Kurt felt his phone vibrate and moved as unobtrusively as possible to a corner of the conference room. Even with the cacophony of voices, the president noticed him move away, and watched him like a hawk.
Since Pike had been released to go on his safari, the Oversight Council meeting had turned into a makeshift war room, with anyone who had any ability to help stop the attacks now plugged in with a laptop. As often happened in crisis situations, this little room had become the epicenter of the storm, regardless of the million-dollar suites specifically made to command and control just this type of contingency. Top advisors from across the political, law enforcement, and defense spectrum were crowded into the small space, all vying for the president’s attention with information that positively, absolutely needed to be heard right now.
Kurt turned into the wall, away from any ears. “Give me some good news.”
He paused for a second, then said, “Jennifer? Is that you?”
He quit talking as she began to give him a situation report. He listened for close to four minutes, hearing Jennifer end with a summary of Pike’s condition and what she was doing about it.
He said, “Don’t take him to a hospital. Get him to the Taskforce. If what you say is true, and it’s really a through-and-through wound, our physician’s assistant can handle it.”
Kurt listened for a second, then interrupted. “Jennifer, Pike’s welfare is what I
He hung up the phone, seeing President Warren still eyeballing him. He gave a small nod, and saw President Warren visibly relax. Kurt sat back down and waited on the official version of events at the nuclear plant to wind its way through the system. Ten minutes later, a call came in from the emergency response team at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant.
“We had an attack, but it was unsuccessful. They hit one of the domes, but then screwed up the daisy chain for the repeat attack to penetrate the concrete.”
Phil Spallings, the team leader deployed from the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team, took the call. “What happened? How sure are you that there’s no second attack?”
“Very sure. It wasn’t a diversion, unless these guys are way, way more dedicated than we think.”
Spallings said, “Assume they are, dammit! Don’t let down your guard. We don’t know the extent of the attacks. There could be others.”
The tone of the man on the phone caused Kurt to smile. Like soldiers throughout history, he was on the ground but being questioned by a pinhead miles away. The man remained professional, but the sarcasm crept out. “They had a misfire. One of the devices blew up, cutting a guy in half. The rest of the devices are here, now rendered safe. I suppose they could have planned to kill him in a spectacular manner so we’d let down our guard, but, in my
The men and women around the conference table collectively let out their breath. Spallings paused for a minute, apparently trying to think of something heroic to say, settling with, “Good work. Keep us in the loop.”
President Warren spoke to the scientist still on the VTC. “What’s the status of the grid?”
“We’re okay, for now. We get one spike, and we’re in trouble, but right now it’s contained.”
“What’s the assessment of the damage?”
“Well, it’ll take a few days to really sort out, but off the cuff, I’d say we’re looking at rolling blackouts in four states until we can replace the EHVTs. That, coupled with the loss of the Calvert Cliffs reactor until it can be certified as safe, will put a severe strain on production, but we can manage unless we get something else during that time, like damage from a natural occurrence. We can handle the load, but not if anything, and I mean
“Well, then, make sure that doesn’t happen. I’m counting on you.”
The scientist looked at the president in confusion, wondering how on earth he’d be able to prevent a lightning strike. He was about to say something to that effect when he realized he’d been dismissed.
President Warren spoke to the room at large. “Well, looks like we dodged a bullet here. Good work, everyone. Keep up a full-court press; make sure we don’t have anyone else out there.”
The director of the FBI said, “You got it. I’ll let you know if anything else spikes.”
President Warren nodded, and said, “If you’re not directly involved in this event, if you’re not law enforcement or with the power companies, clear out. Give the people who have real work to do some room.”
As the people directed to leave stood up, President Warren stopped Palmer, the national security advisor, and said something to him. Kurt watched Palmer thread his way through the people exiting and stop several, whispering in their ears.
Kurt trailed the cattle call of men and women out the door, then went left instead of right, following a much smaller group. When the door closed, the president said, “Let’s hear it.”
Kurt relayed what he knew, including the fact that Pike and Jennifer had found the leader’s cell phone, and that the owners of all the numbers within it were either dead or captured. The information caused everyone to visibly relax.
President Warren said, “Okay, that’s great news. What’s the damage to the Taskforce? Where do we go from here?”
Kurt said, “No damage that I can see. It’s contained. No need to throw Pike to the wolves.”
Secretary Brookings’ jaw dropped. “What? How can you say that? It’s a debacle. We’ve got three Taskforce members in the hospital, and Pike broke just about every privacy law on the books. Not to mention the murder of U.S. citizens. It’s going to get out. We need to burn him.”
When Brookings’ words sank in, Kurt snapped forward against the table, leaning over it until he was close enough for the secretary to feel the spittle off of his words. “Murder? You sanctimonious little fuck…” He backed off, realizing he wasn’t going to win by rage. “Pike broke some laws, that’s true, but if he hadn’t, the entire Eastern seaboard would be roasting hot dogs in their fireplaces. He stopped the damn attack. There’s no reason to crucify him. Nobody knows about the Taskforce involvement. Nobody can connect the dots.”
Brookings said, “Are you out of your mind? We commandeered the presidential helicopter to save two Taskforce members. You don’t think that’s going to make the news? You just told us about a fucking eight-year-old kid who saw the final action at the nuclear plant. You think he’s going to remain quiet?”
Kurt turned cold. “What are you saying? You want me to smoke the kid?”
Brookings looked like he’d been punched in the gut. Before it could turn more contentious, President Warren held up his hands. “Stop it. This isn’t helping.”
