“Copy National Security Agency. Langley Birds moving in.”
“Langley Birds closing. Andrews fighters in the air headed directly for the city.”
“Langley — Langley to Northeast Command: leading F-16 pilots have Flight 62 on visual now heading north across Charles County, Maryland.”
“Herndon to Northeast Command:
The president replaced the receiver. “Arnie,” he said, “we got a couple of F-16s right on ’em heading north up Charles County. ”
“Both armed?”
“Yup. Air-to-air missiles. That was Langley, I guess checking once and for all that I wanted the aircraft obliterated. ”
“Before it obliterates the government of the United States, right?”
“You really think it will?”
“Either that, or it’ll take a swerve at the White House, and I gotta say that doesn’t have much appeal. At least, not right now.”
“Arnie, I followed your advice. Almost three thousand people died on 9/11 because of indecisiveness. That’s not going to happen again. You heard me just say
“I did.”
“That was in answer to the question,
“That’s a good decision, Paul. You may get some flak about being a little hasty. But nothing like the flak you’ll get if that sonofabitch drives straight through those ten-ton bronze doors to the Capitol and blows up the largest legislative chamber in the world.”
President Bedford shook his head half in bewilderment, half in disbelief.
“C’mon, Paul,” said Admiral Morgan. “Our first president, General Washington, laid the foundation stone for the Capitol over two hundred years ago. It’s your privilege to be the president who saved it.”
“Northeast Air Defense Rome to Air Force North: Combat Command, Florida, we’re tracking Flight 62 right now — two F-16s out of Langley, one mile astern and closing, positioned port and starboard. Permission requested for pilots to open fire at will?”
“Air Force North Combat Command, Florida, copy that, permission granted.”
“Northeast Air Defense to Herndon: did Flight 62 just make a slight course adjustment?”
“Herndon, is she still out over the river?”
“Yessir. Right over the widest part where the stream splits into the wide estuary heading northeast up Occoquan Bay. Right here we got width seven miles.”
“Northeast Air Defense, we’re gonna take her out right now. Over and out.”
The four Sidewinder missiles dropped from the wings of the two pursuing U.S. Navy aircraft. All four ignited, accelerating forward. They flashed into their heat-seeking mode, leaving fiery trails as they cleaved through the clear skies, straight toward the massive engines of the 737.
All four hit, blasting the engines to smithereens, blowing apart the wings of the big passenger jet, which lurched forward for perhaps four hundred yards and then turned turtle and plummeted out of the sky. Thunder Bay Airlines Flight 62 twisted and turned in a ball of fire until it plunged, with a thunderous crash, into the Potomac River less than a mile below.
“Herndon to Northeast Air Defense—1257—Flight 62 disappeared from all screens. Last known fifteen miles south of Washington, D.C., making course north 4,000 above the Potomac River.”
“Jesus Christ, Arnie, they splashed it!”
“Mr. President, like we say back home in Texas, sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”
“Well, I agree that that’s a phrase heard more often in the Wild West than in Virginia, but, hell, this is going to raise all kinds of havoc in the media.”
Admiral Morgan looked quizzical. Then he said, “You mean there’s some kind of imperative, weighing down upon us, to make this all public? So far as I know, some charter flight company from north of the border misjudged his instructions from the tower to head inland, and crashed his ole Boeing 737 straight into the goddamned ocean. Lightly loaded, thank God. None of ’em Americans.”
“You mean we make some kind of a false announcement to the press?”
“Certainly not. We make a very sinister announcement about the Boston bomb. Then we allow the flight- control guys to issue a press release revealing that an overseas flight apparently ditched into the Atlantic several hours later. Bit of a coincidence really. Same day and everything. But the United States government will be making no statement until more facts are known.
“The air traffic department of Public Affairs should mention that there may have been a hydraulic problem in the 737, and the pilot was flying in a prohibited area off the coast of North Carolina, east of the Outer Banks, less than fifty miles from a U.S. Navy exercise.
“He ignored all our advice and then disappeared from all screens. No wreckage has yet been located. The military will of course say nothing, know nothing, and suggest nothing.”
“How about people who may have seen the missiles hit the aircraft over the Potomac?”
“Unlikely, Paul. The plane came down in one of the widest parts of the river, almost seven miles across. And it was certainly on fire on impact. There may be a very few claims to have seen something, but in the end it’ll be like a sighting of a UFO: interesting, but unproven.”
“Kinda like that TWA flight that went down off Long Island twenty years ago — there were a few reports that something hit it, but nothing ever was accepted as a fact.”
“You got it, Paul. And before Henry comes back, we have to do a few things — first, get the military and flight control on the same page. Then someone’s got to brief the CIA. We can leave that to the National Security Agency. Meanwhile, have Alan Brett call the Defense Department and get the Navy moving on lifting that wreck out of the river. Top secret, obviously. Last, make sure the damned towelhead has been moved out of Mass General and into
