be silent among friends. After shifting in his wheelchair several times, Herbert finally spoke.
'When I was a kid, I saw a movie called Sink the Bismarck'' the intelligence chief said. 'I don't remember whether the movie was accurate or not, but there was this one scene that really stuck in my mind. The commander of the British naval forces was running the search-and-destroy operation from his underground HQ in London. After he gets word that the Bismarck has gone down, he looks at his watch. It's six o'clock. He's been working for days straight. He goes out for dinner and realizes it's actually six A.M. Time got totally screwed up for him down in the bunker.'
Everyone was silent for a long moment.
'Are you saying that you're totally screwed up, Bob?' Lowell Coffey finally asked.
'No,' Herbert said. 'What I'm saying is that perceptions get warped when you're in a crisis situation. We're sitting here, cut off from other stimuli. No windows. No news about the
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world. No phone calls from friends or family. I don't know if that's a good thing.'
'Whether it is or isn't, what choice do we have?' Coffey asked.
'I don't know, but we should talk to Liz about that,' Herbert replied. 'She should come up with some sort of activity or music or some feng shui decor that helps us keep perspective.'
'Like floral pattern wallpaper,' Hood said.
'I wouldn't go that far,' Herbert cautioned.
'I tried taking my mind off things once by playing blackjack against the computer,' Hood said. 'I lost. It didn't make me feel any better.'
'Losing at anything is not supposed to make a person feel good,' Herbert pointed out.
'You did have one consolation, though,' Rodgers said.
'What was that?' Hood asked.
'There was a Reset button on the game,' Rodgers said. There was a whisper of bitterness in his voice.
'I don't think any of this is relevant,' McCaskey said. 'We have perspective, and we have direction and resources. What we don't have is a goddamn resolution. That's what makes a person nuts.'
While McCaskey was speaking, Rodgers's cell phone beeped. He punched it on and simultaneously glanced at his watch. As he did so, Rodgers carefully noted the time.
'Yes?' Rodgers said.
'Good news,' Aideen said, 'we've got the priest, and we're on our way back to Maun. Dhamballa is also with us.'
'That's great!' Rodgers said. 'How is the team?'
The general saw McCaskey lean forward intently. meCaskey briefly put his forehead against his folded hands. Then he leaned back and looked over at Mike Rodgers.
'Everyone is fine here,' Aideen told him.
Rodgers felt his chest grow lighter. He gave McCaskey a thumbs-up. The FBI liaison shut his eyes, threw back his head, and laughed.
'We just heard shots,' Aideen went on. 'We can only as-
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sume it's Leon Seronga. He stayed behind to cover our retreat.'
'What about Father Bradbury?' Rodgers asked.
'He's a little shaky and says he could use a bath, but we think he's okay,' Aideen replied.
'Did Dhamballa come willingly?' Rodgers asked.
That brought a surprised look from the others.
'He's with them?' Herbert muttered.
Rodgers nodded.
'Seronga convinced him that he had to leave,' Aideen said. 'I don't know what Dhamballa's plans are, though.'
'Do you think Dhamballa will seek immunity?' Rodgers asked. He snapped his fingers at Coffey.
'I think he wants to stay here and try to relaunch his crusade,' the woman replied.
'Just in case, I'll put Lowell on it,' Rodgers said. 'We'll have the process in motion.'
Coffey nodded. He got out his cell phone.
'What is the status of the Brush Vipers?' Rodgers asked.
'When we left, they intended to go deeper into the salt pan,' Aideen told him. 'The idea was to lead the helicopters away from us.'
