"Maybe you should have closed down Z-3 too."

"We discussed it," Keller said. "But there has to be at least one safe haven in case of nuclear attack. It was decided that the alternative vulnerability wasn't acceptable. We sent security teams to Z-3 to check for any possibility of sabotage, and it came up clean as a whistle." He opened his briefcase and drew out two documents. "Here's the bunker itself." He spread out the first diagram on the desk. He pointed to a solid rock wall. "It's built into the side of a mountain. Five-foot thick steel doors and an elevator that goes down seven stories. It was the last bunker built, and we learned a lot from Arapahoe and Plummock Falls. Not that the other two bunkers weren't perfectly safe. It's just that the new technology we installed at Z-3 made it absolutely impregnable. The clearing where the helicopter lands is about two-thirds of a mile away. The helicopter has to go through this pass to land. The aircraft has to fly low and would be almost on the ground before anyone could get off a shot." He handed Andreas the second sheet of paper. "And this is the personnel list, sir. The list of volunteers is at the top."

Andreas smiled crookedly as he scanned the names. "Betworth. No surprise there." His smile faded. "Life in those bunkers isn't exactly luxurious. It was my understanding it was hard to get volunteers from the higher echelon. But here's Ellswyth, Johnson, Cornwall, Waterson. It reads like a fraternity of Betworth's cohorts. He stacked the deck with a powerhouse of his own players. Nolan, Thorpall…" He glanced up. "Shepard? I thought he was going to go to Plummock Falls in case of any problems. He was changed after the mine explosion?"

"No, after Arapahoe Dam. Z-3 was the stronger facility and more secure than Plummock Falls." Keller paused. "But Danley agreed it would be safer for the Vice President."

"Interesting."

"And Shepard did come to me and suggest that he'd feel better about a change to our strongest facility." He paused again. "Which might mean nothing, sir."

"And it could mean a hell of a lot," Logan said. "Where's

Shepard now?"

"I'll find out." Keller pulled out his phone.

"It would fill in the missing blank," Logan said. "The rea son why Betworth would instigate a chancy conspiracy like this."

"Don't push, Logan. I have to think about it." Andreas moved across the room to the window. It had been a bitter cold night and the glass was frosted. He felt cold and hollow himself. It wasn't every day a man found out he was scheduled to die in a little more than twenty-four hours. "You say this man, Morgan, is at Z-3?"

"So I understand from Galen."

"And is he good at what he does?"

"Yes, the best," Logan said. "No one can say he's a team player, but Galen trusts him."

"Mr. President."

Andreas turned to see that Keller was off the phone. "Well?"

"Vice President Shepard is presently at Z-3. It's his sched uled time to spend a few days at the bunker." "How convenient. Safe and sound and away from nasty suspicions."

"You believe Shepard is involved in the conspiracy?" "If there is a conspiracy."

"What can I do to convince you?" Logan asked. "There's not much time. Any number of things could set Betworth off. Hell, if they discover we knocked out that tech van, that may escalate-"

"I told you not to push," Andreas said. "Okay, Shepard is a possibility. He's been grabbing the limelight frequently, taking my place at functions and acting more aggressively than I've ever seen him. That doesn't necessarily link him to-"

"The Homeland Infrastructure bill," Keller said suddenly. "What's that?" Logan said.

"It's a bill Shepard's been pushing for the last year," Andreas said. "It's aimed at improving and shoring up vulnerable areas and infrastructure that might be targeted for sabotage or in danger from natural disasters. It's a general bill, nothing to send up any red flags, but the Arapahoe Dam disaster made Shepard look very smart."

"And presidential?" Galen asked. "You're probably the most popular President we've ever had. Shepard had some work to do to make himself over into your image. Betworth not only stocked Z-3 with his own crew and planned to destroy the rest of the bunkers, but he used their destruction to set up Shepard."

"You say the bomb was supposed to have been smuggled into the White House, Logan." Andreas shook his head. "That's almost unbelievable. Everyone who enters is searched thoroughly."

"Except you, Mr. President." Logan turned to Keller. "And you wouldn't insult the Vice President either, would you?" "It's possible he could do it," Keller said cautiously.

"And if he brought it in piece by piece and Betworth sent a man in to assemble it later…"

"It's also possible he could have been instrumental in the other two attempts on my life," Andreas murmured. "Talk about an inside man. But you were too good, Keller. You made sure that every aspect of my life was impossible to penetrate without detection. They must have gotten nervous about getting caught and decided to go a different route."

"You believe us?" Logan asked.

"Shepard would take over the presidency if I was killed,"

Andreas said. "The presidency is the ultimate power, and Betworth has wanted it for years. And I'd judge Shepard a man who can be controlled by someone as clever as Betworth. Shepard takes over the presidency, has Matanza to blame for the assassination, and initiates a crusade against terrorism that immediately sends his approval rate soaring. In the meantime, Betworth is behind him pulling all the strings, with a nice little pocket of puppets in the FBI and CIA already in place. Matanza gets the glory, Shepard gets the presidency, Betworth gets the power." He grimaced. "And I get dead. I can't say I regard that as an acceptable scenario."

"It's supposition, sir," Keller said.

"Then I suggest you get on the phone and call your Secret

Service people in charge of protecting Shepard and see if there's been any increase in contact between Betworth and Shepard in the last six months. I want a tap on Betworth's and Shepard's phones immediately. And get a tech van out to Betworth's place on the double to monitor and record any calls."

"The bomb first," Logan said, and then added politely, "sir."

Arrogant bastard. He did like him. "Start a search, Keller. But discreetly. Very discreetly. We don't want the son of a bitch to get suspicious and set it off ahead of schedule." He turned to Logan. "Satisfactory?"

"Splendid. Caution is good."

"I'm glad you approve. But it's what I'd have done anyway.

What you've told me may be bull, and I'm certainly not disturbing the people of the United States with as little proof as you've given me. They've gone through too much already during these last years." He shook his head wearily. "And if we have to arrest Betworth and Shepard for this crime, it will be one more horror for them. They don't need their trust in their own government shaken."

"They don't need a bomb going off in the White House ei ther," Logan said dryly.

"Anything else, sir?" Keller asked.

"Hell, yes, make sure you tell your men in the field to get my wife and children to a secure place." He headed for the door. "Now."

She could hear him behind her. Alex shinnied up the tree and crawled to a nook cloaked in pine branches. It was daylight now, and she needed all the cover she could get. Pray that no bird or animal would fly out of the tree and give her position away. Don't make a sound.

Don't even breathe.

He was right below her.

No, he had moved on down the hill.

She was afraid to let out a sigh of relief. Stay here for a little while until she was sure she'd lost him.

Fifteen minutes passed.

Twenty minutes.

Twenty-five.

She climbed down from the tree.