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"Well, at least we have a few days before we have to cancel the damn thing," said Jones.
"We don't have a few days," Kennedy said firmly. "We're going to be lucky if we make it to noon." With a raised brow she added, "The press is going to demand to know where you are, sir."
Hayes understood. "Lying to them won't work and putting them off won't work. They'll just make wild assumptions."
"Logical assumptions," corrected Kennedy. "Why would the president, his cabinet, the supreme court, and the Congressional leadership all be evacuated from the capital in the middle of the night?"
"Only one reason I can think of," said the president.
"We might be able to buy a little more time by appealing to their patriotism," offered Jones weakly.
Hayes shook his head. "We'd be better off if I called the owners of the networks and papers and asked them personally to sit on it."
Kennedy viewed the entire enterprise as rather hopeless. Certain things had been set in motion, and no matter how much clout and power the president had, he would not be able to keep this story from the public. They were quickly headed to a juncture where only one move would calm the press and buy them time. It was a move that was fraught with risk, and one that she didn't dare mention unless it was a last resort.
* * *
Thirty-Six
Due to the high value of General Harley's mission, he was set up with a secure video teleconference facility so he could interface with his bosses back at Central Command, Special Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command, and even the Pentagon if needed. Rapp wanted to use the facility. Understanding all too well how Washington worked, and fearing that certain key points would be missed or improperly stated if he didn't contribute, Rapp told Kennedy that in five minutes he wanted to brief the National Security Council himself. Kennedy hesitated, only because she worried about Rapp's famous temper.
Rapp and the president got along well, and he had no problem with General Flood, Secretary of Defense Culbertson, or National Security Advisor Haik, but when it came to the president's chief of staff, the two hated each other. In addition, Rapp had no respect for the vice president, barely tolerated Secretary of State Berg, and did his best to avoid anyone who had anything to do with Homeland Security or the Justice Department. On one hand, having him brief the council could result in a major clash of egos and agendas. On the other hand, due to the gravity of the situation and the time constraints they were up against, Rapp had the potential to cut through all the bullshit and move the president to quick and decisive action.
This was what swayed her, ultimately. The president had publicly acknowledged Rapp's sacrifice and accomplishments, but it went much deeper than that. Rapp was the president's man. When Hayes really needed to get something done, he turned to Rapp. He had proven his worth and effectiveness time and time again, and if there was anyone who could get the president to move decisively and shut out the rest of the clamor it would be Rapp.
Instead of being divided in three the large screen at the front of Site R's command center was now split into six different pictures. Rapp in Kandahar had been added, and at Rapp's request, Skip McMahon and Jake Turbes at the Joint Counterterrorism Center and Paul Reimer at the Department of Energy's Germantown facility were all also included in the meeting.
Kennedy quickly announced the addition of the four new attendees and then told Rapp to begin.
Rapp's attire was strikingly different from the others involved in the meeting. Although no one had had the time to put on a suit or proper business attire, they were all dressed in civilian clothes, with exception of General Flood, whereas Rapp was wearing combat fatigues and a tactical vest. He also hadn't used a razor in more than two days and his face was covered with a thick black stubble.
"Several hours ago," Rapp started, "we were led to believe that a nuclear device was brought into the country yesterday by airfreight somewhere on the East Coast." Rapp paused and held up some documents. "In the face of contrary intelligence, the terrorist who gave us that information has since admitted this was a lie." Rapp wasn't about to get into the specifics of how he got Abdullah to admit this, and he doubted any of these people would want to know the gruesome details.
"We now have good intelligence that the device in question left Karachi, Pakistan, twenty-two days ago by container ship."
"Mitch," said the president, "please tell me this ship hasn't reached our shores."
"General Flood has the Coast Guard checking into that as we speak, sir, but I can tell you that according to the bills of lading we discovered, the ship is due to arrive at the port of Charleston sometime today. In addition," Rapp said quickly before anyone could interrupt, "there are three other ships that have us concerned. All of them originated from Karachi approximately three weeks ago, and all three of them are due to arrive today in Miami, Baltimore, and New York."
Before Rapp could continue, Secretary of Homeland Security McClellan cut him off and said, "Mr. President, we need to shut these harbors down immediately."
"I would agree," seconded Attorney General Stokes.
Rapp had met Secretary McClellan before. The former two-star Marine Corps general was the exact opposite of the notoriously indecisive civil war general whose name he shared.
"Mr. President," interjected Rapp loudly. "That is a terrible idea."
"Excuse me, son?" retorted a red-faced Secretary McClellan.
Rapp had wanted to handle this briefing for two reasons. The first was that he knew how important nuances got lost as information was kicked up the chain of command, and secondly he knew there would be those who would want to use a
bulldozer to do a job that required only a shovel.
"The worst thing we could do right now is lock those harbors down."
"I beg to differ," said McClellan. "Our first priority is to protect the American public."
Rapp wasn't even the slightest bit deterred. "And the best way to do that is by letting the NEST people and the FBI locate this device."
