Memorial Day

Eighty-One

WASHINGTON, D.C.

As they had pla

National Security Advisor Haik didn't say a word, and their bosses were also silent, but by the looks on their faces they'd just gone through one hell of a tongue-lashing. Attorney General Stokes sat next to the president, and although he wasn't talking, he looked extremely disappointed that two men who should clearly know better would be so reckless. The president for his part was clearly angry. His tense jaw and the fact that he made absolutely no effort to rein in the two screaming women on the other side of the table told the whole story.

Rapp actually enjoyed it. Knowing what was coming next allowed him to do that. To make matters even more interesting, he was begi

Rapp waited for a pause and then asked in a confident, nonemotional tone, "Are you done?"

The ma

Stealey must have felt left out because she picked this as the moment to glare at McMahon and shake her head in disgust. "I would expect more from a man who has put in thirty years at the Bureau, a man who has sworn to uphold the law."

"It's a foregone conclusion," yelled Jones. She looked right at Director Ke

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"Well," Jones said to Ke

"Okay," a

The president slapped his hand down on the table and yelled, "Damn it, Mitch, I have had enough your reckless antics. I don't care what you've done in the past, I can't protect you any longer. You have become a major liability, and your irresponsible behavior can no longer be tolerated."

"Do you haveany idea what the media is going to do to us over this?" asked Jones.

"Do you have any idea that al-Qaeda has smuggled a second nuclear weapon into the country?" Rapp leaned forward, placing both hands on the table. "That's right, Mr. President, so before you get rid of me, please allow me to save your ass one last time. While you've been busy listening to these two idiots," Rapp pointed at Jones and Stealey, "chatter in your ear about the ills of the Patriot Act, and the upcoming election, and how good a ru

"Earlier this evening, we received a call from the CDC down in Atlanta. A local hospital had called to inform them that they had an out-of-state truck driver who had just died from Acute Radiation Syndrome, an illness that is very rare. The CDC, DOE, and FBI located this man's truck and trailer and found that they were contaminated with Pu-239, which is the isotope used in the production of weapons-grade nuclear material. We found out the truck driver picked up a load in Mexico and crossed over the border on Wednesday morning headed for Atlanta."

Rapp turned his attention on Stealey. "Atlanta, if you will remember, was also the destination of Imtaz Zubair, the missing Pakistani nuclear scientist. It also happens to be the home of Ahmed al-Adel, who was arrested in Charleston this week. The same man you decided to prosecute rather than deport and hand over to the CIA."

Stealey stood so she could face Rapp eye to eye and started to lecture. "You have no idea what you're talking about. We can't simply deport American citizens and hand them over to the CIA for torture."

Rapp cut her off with a booming voice that was almost a full-blown yell. "The debate portion of the evening is over. You are an idiot! You have no idea what you are talking about, and you have no idea what it takes to wage this war. Now sit down, and don't interrupt me again or I will throw you out of this room by the scruff of your neck." Rapp pointed his finger at the president's chief of staff and said, "And that goes for you too, Valerie."

Stealey slowly sat back down and Rapp continued. "As I was saying...considering the gravity of the situation, I took it upon myself to interrogate Ahmed al-Adel, who has refused to talk to anyone except his lawyer, and who has proclaimed he is a patriotic American. Before anyone tries to get back on their constitutional high horse, I'd like to remind all of you that this was the same man who tried to pick up a twenty-kiloton nuclear weapon, which would have killed upwards of 100,000 people and destroyed this building and most of the city.

"After just five minutes of persuasive questioning, Mr. al-Adel admitted that he was in fact part of a terrorist cell that was pla

The room was dead silent for at least five seconds and then the president, concern and embarrassment represented equally in his voice, asked, "Do we have any idea as to the location of the second bomb?"

"Yes," said Rapp, "but I'm not going to tell you. Not until you're on board Marine One with the British prime minister, the Russian president, and your wives, and on your way to Camp David."

The president started to protest, but Rapp shook his head firmly. "Not until you're up at Camp David. I know the time and the specific target of the attack. The only chance we have of stopping them is to make everything appear as if it's business as usual. That is why your press secretary is going to a