whoosh of air, and then KA-BOOM! The explosion felt like it went off inside Judd’s head. The vehicle jerked violently to the right and Judd whiteknuckled the handle and shut his eyes. “Hold on!” shouted the security agent in the front seat. The heavily armored SUV skidded hard, paused for a moment, and then slowly toppled over, coming to a stop on its right side. Judd’s hand slipped and he spilled down the now-vertical back seat, sprawling onto the ambassador’s lap.
“IED!” shouted the agent into his radio. “Eagle One, Code Alpha!” Through a cloud of dust and the spiderweb of a cracked, but still intact, ballistic windshield, Judd could see the legs of uniforms running around. His ears were ringing, but he could make out lots of shouting, much of it in the local Bambara language.
The agent, still buckled firmly in his front seat, turned around and, with steely calm, asked, “Ambassador, are you hurt?”
She coughed and covered her ears. “Shit, I don’t know. I think I’m okay,” came the muffled reply from Larissa, now pinned below Judd.
“Dr. Ryker, how about you, sir?”
It took Judd a second to understand the question.
He’s talkingto me?
Am I okay? I can’t feel anything.
Then finally, a nod. “Uh-huh, I think so. I’m alive. I’m not sure I can move my legs.”
The agent turned back to the radio. “IED explosion, Eagle One, Code Alpha. Both principals with me. I repeat, two of two alive. But the nest has been penetrated. We need medical response.”
Then, to the back seat: “Ma’am, security and medical backups are both on the way. I’m going to assess the perimeter. Don’t move. Stay in the vehicle no matter what happens.”
“Okay, Frank, we won’t go anywhere. Judd, you’re staying here with me.”
“Yes, of course.”
Hell yeah, I’m staying here.
“Are you really hurt? Can you feel your legs?”
But Judd didn’t reply. All he could think about was Jessica.
8.
S/CRU DIRECTOR’S OFFICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, D.C.
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
MONDAY, 10:25 A.M. EST
Judd speedwalked down the hallway. When he arrived back at his office, Serena was standing guard again. Judd didn’t slow down as she opened and held the door.
“Ambassador James is wired up and ready to go,” she said.
“Good. Is she alone?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And we are secure?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks, Serena. No calls while I’m on the Tandberg.”
On his desk was a dark gray videophone with a ten-inch screen: the Tandberg.
Straight out of
The
Jetsons
.
On the screen was Larissa James, sitting in her office in Bamako. The defense attaché and the CIA station chief were gone. In the upper left corner flashed TS/SCI . TOP SECRET/SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTALIZED INFORMATION . The call was scrambled and secure. They could talk freely on this line.
Judd hit the button.
“Hey, Larissa. Jesus, what is going there?”
“Judd, this is definitely a coup. I’ve seen it before. Sorry to have to pull you off the beach. What a mess.”
“This is why I’m here. This is why I gave up tenure track at Amherst and almost got killed visiting you. I’m supposed to be the rescue guy, right?”
“Lucky you.”
“Yeah. I thought I’d be, you know, making U.S. policy during crises, but I see I’m now the designated babysitter for the task force.”
“You’ll have to keep them busy and feed the beast upstairs with regular reports. That’s the only way to keep control. You know that, right, Judd?”
“Sure. I’m going to need your help to figure out what’s really going on if we are ever going to fix this.”
“I’m ready.” Larissa smiled for the first time.
“You and I are going to reverse this one if I have to come down there and walk Idrissa out of the palace myself. It’s got to be Idrissa, right?”
“Colonel Houston and Cyrus, the station chief, say they don’t really know for sure, but that’s our assumption, too. Cyrus should know more later today after he gets
“IED!” shouted the agent into his radio. “Eagle One, Code Alpha!” Through a cloud of dust and the spiderweb of a cracked, but still intact, ballistic windshield, Judd could see the legs of uniforms running around. His ears were ringing, but he could make out lots of shouting, much of it in the local Bambara language.
The agent, still buckled firmly in his front seat, turned around and, with steely calm, asked, “Ambassador, are you hurt?”
She coughed and covered her ears. “Shit, I don’t know. I think I’m okay,” came the muffled reply from Larissa, now pinned below Judd.
“Dr. Ryker, how about you, sir?”
It took Judd a second to understand the question.
He’s talkingto me?
Am I okay? I can’t feel anything.
Then finally, a nod. “Uh-huh, I think so. I’m alive. I’m not sure I can move my legs.”
The agent turned back to the radio. “IED explosion, Eagle One, Code Alpha. Both principals with me. I repeat, two of two alive. But the nest has been penetrated. We need medical response.”
Then, to the back seat: “Ma’am, security and medical backups are both on the way. I’m going to assess the perimeter. Don’t move. Stay in the vehicle no matter what happens.”
“Okay, Frank, we won’t go anywhere. Judd, you’re staying here with me.”
“Yes, of course.”
Hell yeah, I’m staying here.
“Are you really hurt? Can you feel your legs?”
But Judd didn’t reply. All he could think about was Jessica.
8.
S/CRU DIRECTOR’S OFFICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
WASHINGTON, D.C.
EIGHT MONTHS LATER
MONDAY, 10:25 A.M. EST
Judd speedwalked down the hallway. When he arrived back at his office, Serena was standing guard again. Judd didn’t slow down as she opened and held the door.
“Ambassador James is wired up and ready to go,” she said.
“Good. Is she alone?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And we are secure?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thanks, Serena. No calls while I’m on the Tandberg.”
On his desk was a dark gray videophone with a ten-inch screen: the Tandberg.
Straight out of
The
Jetsons
.
On the screen was Larissa James, sitting in her office in Bamako. The defense attaché and the CIA station chief were gone. In the upper left corner flashed TS/SCI . TOP SECRET/SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTALIZED INFORMATION . The call was scrambled and secure. They could talk freely on this line.
Judd hit the button.
“Hey, Larissa. Jesus, what is going there?”
“Judd, this is definitely a coup. I’ve seen it before. Sorry to have to pull you off the beach. What a mess.”
“This is why I’m here. This is why I gave up tenure track at Amherst and almost got killed visiting you. I’m supposed to be the rescue guy, right?”
“Lucky you.”
“Yeah. I thought I’d be, you know, making U.S. policy during crises, but I see I’m now the designated babysitter for the task force.”
“You’ll have to keep them busy and feed the beast upstairs with regular reports. That’s the only way to keep control. You know that, right, Judd?”
“Sure. I’m going to need your help to figure out what’s really going on if we are ever going to fix this.”
“I’m ready.” Larissa smiled for the first time.
“You and I are going to reverse this one if I have to come down there and walk Idrissa out of the palace myself. It’s got to be Idrissa, right?”
“Colonel Houston and Cyrus, the station chief, say they don’t really know for sure, but that’s our assumption, too. Cyrus should know more later today after he gets
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