Leader. The president suppressed a chill. Could Shazad have known Houseman would be on that plane? He held up the paper.
“The Senator?”
Cayne nodded. “He was on his way to Washington from Texas.”
“And you think this was coincidence? That the one plane in the sky out of all the thousands of airbuses up there--that Senator Housemen just happened to be onboard?” Carmichael sounded edgy.
His chief advisor, Simon Davis, shook his head. “Of course not, Mr. President. It means that Shazad knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the senator’s flight and the plane’s precise course."
“They're that well-informed?”
“It would seem so, Mr. President. They were obviously aware of not only the senator’s schedule--some of which is publicly available, but his actual movements--which are not.”
"Could those be inferred?"
"We're looking into that, Sir, but the initial indications are that he somehow had access to the Senator's flight number in advance."
The president made a spitting noise and massaged the space between his eyes. “This just leads me to believe that the senator’s plane is only the beginning of what Shazad intends to do. I would hate to think what else he knows—although I sure as hell wish I knew what he plans to do next.”
Davis nodded in silent agreement. At length, Carmichael added: “Close all airspace nationwide. Any aircraft in flight are to land at the nearest available airport. That includes all airborne vehicles. Effective immediately.”
“Right away, sir.”
“I want nothing in the sky except our own units. Second, contact the Press Secretary and have him outline a dialogue that the senator’s plane went down, that authorities are currently looking into the cause. I want him to tell the nation that this is simply a precautionary measure until we get to the bottom of what’s going on. But before he speaks, I want to personally look over the verbiage to make sure it hits all the marks with nothing extraneous. I do not want to cause a nationwide panic due to mismanaged or misconstrued content originating from this office. What I do want is to brace them for what’s coming and to cushion the blow, if possible.”
“I understand, Mr. President. But do realize that the national psyche will once again become very fragile should you announce this prematurely. You run the risk of putting things in the wrong light.”
The president threw up his hands. “Prematurely? Wrong light? Seriously? Shazad has our goddamn balls in a vise, Simon! We don’t know where he is or what he plans to do next with these weapons that we can’t even begin to detect by radar. I will not ..." Carmichael pounded a fist into his armrest to accent the word..."sit back and allow a nation to fly blind until they find out that we knew all along about Shazad and his actions." He paused to make eye contact with the rest of his colleagues. "Open your eyes, people! We are under attack . And right now it seems we’re impotent to do anything about it.” And it was here that he considered a single thought: How can one man with so little cause a country like the United States to collapse into chaos?
As Marine One lifted and banked with its rotors turning in blinding revolutions, the White House quickly receded from view.
“Did you contact the Director at the Bureau?” he asked.
Cayne nodded. “Jenifer's on top of that.” Although President Carmichael thought his secretary of state to be stiff and emotionless, someone who moved about with the cold fortitude of a machine, almost to the point of insensitivity, she was extremely competent in her duties. When Jenifer Rimaldi took command of a situation, there was no need to worry. Unless that situation was a cocktail party, but that was another matter.
“Good,” he said. “When we get to Raven Rock,” he added, “give notice to those within the line-of-succession after the vice president—and I’m talking about the Speaker of the House, the President
“The Senator?”
Cayne nodded. “He was on his way to Washington from Texas.”
“And you think this was coincidence? That the one plane in the sky out of all the thousands of airbuses up there--that Senator Housemen just happened to be onboard?” Carmichael sounded edgy.
His chief advisor, Simon Davis, shook his head. “Of course not, Mr. President. It means that Shazad knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the senator’s flight and the plane’s precise course."
“They're that well-informed?”
“It would seem so, Mr. President. They were obviously aware of not only the senator’s schedule--some of which is publicly available, but his actual movements--which are not.”
"Could those be inferred?"
"We're looking into that, Sir, but the initial indications are that he somehow had access to the Senator's flight number in advance."
The president made a spitting noise and massaged the space between his eyes. “This just leads me to believe that the senator’s plane is only the beginning of what Shazad intends to do. I would hate to think what else he knows—although I sure as hell wish I knew what he plans to do next.”
Davis nodded in silent agreement. At length, Carmichael added: “Close all airspace nationwide. Any aircraft in flight are to land at the nearest available airport. That includes all airborne vehicles. Effective immediately.”
“Right away, sir.”
“I want nothing in the sky except our own units. Second, contact the Press Secretary and have him outline a dialogue that the senator’s plane went down, that authorities are currently looking into the cause. I want him to tell the nation that this is simply a precautionary measure until we get to the bottom of what’s going on. But before he speaks, I want to personally look over the verbiage to make sure it hits all the marks with nothing extraneous. I do not want to cause a nationwide panic due to mismanaged or misconstrued content originating from this office. What I do want is to brace them for what’s coming and to cushion the blow, if possible.”
“I understand, Mr. President. But do realize that the national psyche will once again become very fragile should you announce this prematurely. You run the risk of putting things in the wrong light.”
The president threw up his hands. “Prematurely? Wrong light? Seriously? Shazad has our goddamn balls in a vise, Simon! We don’t know where he is or what he plans to do next with these weapons that we can’t even begin to detect by radar. I will not ..." Carmichael pounded a fist into his armrest to accent the word..."sit back and allow a nation to fly blind until they find out that we knew all along about Shazad and his actions." He paused to make eye contact with the rest of his colleagues. "Open your eyes, people! We are under attack . And right now it seems we’re impotent to do anything about it.” And it was here that he considered a single thought: How can one man with so little cause a country like the United States to collapse into chaos?
As Marine One lifted and banked with its rotors turning in blinding revolutions, the White House quickly receded from view.
“Did you contact the Director at the Bureau?” he asked.
Cayne nodded. “Jenifer's on top of that.” Although President Carmichael thought his secretary of state to be stiff and emotionless, someone who moved about with the cold fortitude of a machine, almost to the point of insensitivity, she was extremely competent in her duties. When Jenifer Rimaldi took command of a situation, there was no need to worry. Unless that situation was a cocktail party, but that was another matter.
“Good,” he said. “When we get to Raven Rock,” he added, “give notice to those within the line-of-succession after the vice president—and I’m talking about the Speaker of the House, the President
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