Betty gathered her thoughts-not as completely as she thought she had-and began, "Well, when Charley called from Mexico:"

" 'Charley' being Major Castillo?" the president interrupted.

"Yes, sir."

"And what's he doing in Mexico?" the president asked, almost rhetorically.

"He was in Cozumel, Mr. President," Hall said. "At the moment, he's on his way to Costa Rica. Same purpose: Finding and neutralizing the airplane."

"Dumb question," the president said.

"How's he moving around?" Cohen asked. "I'm concerned about airspace, territorial violations."

"His family has an airplane, a Lear 45XR," Hall said. "He borrowed that."

"His family has a 45XR? No wonder he can afford to live in the Mayflower," Dr. Cohen said.

"It also probably has something to do with his Secret Service code name," the president said.

"Excuse me?" Dr. Cohen asked.

"Don Juan," the president said, obviously pleased with himself. Then he saw Dr. Cohen's face and that she was obviously not amused and looked at Sergeant Schneider and went on, "What about when he called from Mexico, Betty?"

"When Castillo told Major Miller and I to go to the airport and find out what airlines regularly flew into Philly from Costa Rica," Betty replied, "I played a hunch and got lucky and called Terrence Halloran, who owns Lease-Aire, who owns the missing 727, and asked him what he knew about Costa Rican airlines flying into Philly. He knew of one right away. He'd sold a to an outfit called Costa Rican Air Transport. They fly wholesale flowers, grown down there, into Philly at least once a week. They sell them in supermarkets."

"The Somalians are going to substitute the stolen airplane for a legitimate Costa Rican airplane?" Dr. Cohen asked.

"Right, Natalie," Hall said. "Castillo told me the Russian told him that the airplane was flown from Africa to a private field in Venezuela, near Lake Maracaibo, and given new numbers-Costa Rican numbers-there."

"Castillo's Russian is a virtual cornucopia of useful, reliable information, isn't he?" the president said, not at all pleasantly. "How nice if we could say the same about the CIA."

No one said anything for a moment.

Miller finally broke the silence. "There's more, Mr. President. They pass through customs at Tampa on their way to Philadelphia, which means when they move on to Philadelphia they're a domestic flight, not an international flight. And they'll have clearance to approach the Philadelphia airport."

"It's what we cops call circumstantial, Mr. President," Betty said, now having lost her nervousness. "No positive, concrete, take-it-to-the-bank proof, but everything fits:"

The president raised his hand in a signal to stop.

"Fred," the president ordered, "call off the invasion of Suriname."

"Call it off, Mr. President?" Secretary of Defense Beiderman asked. "A complete stand-down?"

"I don't want those F-15s shooting down a Surinamese airplane. I don't care what you call it, just see that it's done."

"Yes, Mr. President," Beiderman said and walked toward a credenza that held two telephones.

"Or the CIA blowing one up on the ground," the president went on as if to himself. He picked up a telephone handset from the coffee table, said, "Get me the DCI. I'll hold."

It took less than twenty seconds to get the director of Central Intelligence on the line.

"This is the president, John. Now, listen carefully, as I have time neither to repeat myself nor explain nor debate it. I want no action of any kind taken in Suriname. None. Period. I'll get back with you shortly and explain this, but, right now, I want you to call off whatever you may have planned. Thank you."

He hung up.

He exhaled, looked around the room, smiled at Sergeant Schneider and Major Miller, and then had another thought, which caused the smile to fade.

"And how did the mayor of Philadelphia react on being informed that we still have a little problem with the Liberty Bell?" he asked.

"I didn't tell him, Mr. President," Matt Hall said. "He would have immediately gone on TV and ordered the evacuation of Center City Philadelphia."

"Jesus!" the president said. "Well, he's going to find out sooner or later. How do we deal with that?"

"There's no reason he ever has to find out, Mr. President," Hall said.

The president's eyebrows rose in surprise and it was a moment before he asked, "Presuming we can neutralize the real airplane, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Worst-case scenario, the airplane leaves Costa Rica and makes it to Tampa, where we grab it on the ground," Hall said.

"That presumes they won't have a change of mind en route and fly it into a cruise ship parked in Miami Harbor, Disney World, or some other target that makes about as much sense. We have to do better than that, Matt," the president said.

"Shoot it down the minute it leaves Costa Rica," Beiderman said. "Over international waters."

"What we are going to try to do," the president said, "is quietly neutralize it on the ground in Costa Rica. I emphasize the word quietly. Is there any reason Gray Fox can't be trusted to do that?"

"Presuming we can find the airplane in Costa Rica, no, sir."

"Gray Fox is presently airborne on its way to Suriname, Mr. President," Secretary Beiderman said.

"I called the invasion of Suriname off," the president said, and now there was a very nasty tone in his voice. "Weren't you here when I gave that order, Fred?"

"Sir, normally we have instantaneous communication with a Gray Fox transport. But, at the moment, there's a glitch. It happens, sir. Sunspots: other things."

"You mean we are not in contact with Gray Fox?"

"For the moment, no, sir."

"How far is it away from Suriname?" the president asked.

"Several hours, sir."

"Between now and the time it gets to Suriname, Mr. Secretary of Defense, I want you to get word to General McNab that he is to divert to Costa Rica, there to await further orders in connection with his original mission. Jesus Christ, Fred, send F-15s after him and force him to turn around if that becomes necessary."

"Yes, sir. Where in Costa Rica, Mr. President?"

"General McNab is a resourceful fellow. Why don't we let him decide that?"

The door to the Oval Office opened.

"Mr. President, the Speaker is here," the chief of staff said.

"Well, for the moment we're finished here," the president said. "But I'd like everybody to keep themselves available."

"Why don't we all go to my office," Natalie Cohen said, "and have a cup of coffee and a Danish?"

[FIVE]

Office of the National Security Advisor

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C.

1150 10 June 2005

"I'm going to the situation room," Secretary of Defense Fred Beiderman announced. "I feel like a schoolboy in here, waiting to be called back to the principal's office. Maybe they've managed to reestablish contact with McNab. Anyone want to go with me?"

"I will," Secretary of Homeland Security Matthew Hall said.

"I thought I would take Betty and Major Miller to the executive mess for lunch," National Security Advisor Dr. Natalie Cohen said.

"Good idea," Hall said. "We'll meet you there."

"Secretary Hall," Major H. Richard Miller, Jr., said. "May I have a minute, sir?"

"Shoot," Hall said.

"Alone, sir. If you would, please, sir."

"You want to wait, Fred, or should I catch up with you?" Hall asked.

"Catch up with me," Beiderman said. "I'll walk slow."

He went through the door.

"I'll take Betty and leave you two alone," Dr. Cohen said.

"You can hear this, ma'am," Miller said. "I just didn't want Secretary Beiderman to hear it. I just realized he will anyway, so it doesn't make any sense:"

"Neither are you making any sense, Major," Hall said.