She snatched her robe from the hook on the door and walked over to her bedside table. Without her glasses she struggled to read the small display. She made out the first word and decided it was the CIA's Global Ops Center. Kennedy grabbed the handset and in a tired, but composed voice said, "DCI Kennedy."

The voice on the other end sounded somewhat scratchy and far away. "Irene, it's Mitch."

Kennedy looked at the bedside clock. It was nearing ten in the evening, which meant it was almost six in the morning where Rapp was. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah..."

"Where are you?"

"We're on our way back across the border. Listen, I don't want to alarm you, but we found some serious intel in this village. I need you to get the Southwest Asia CTC people back into the office, and call the station chief in Kandahar and tell him to give me complete carte blanche on anything I ask for, especially translators."

Kennedy's brow furrowed. "Just how time sensitive is this stuff?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then what's the big rush?" Kennedy didn't like going into action without a solid reason.

"Just trust me when I tell you we have to move quickly on this stuff."

Kennedy sensed something in his voice. "Mitch, you sound a little ruffled. What's going on?"

Rapp didn't answer right away. "Listen, I don't want to alarm everyone until we have a chance to look at everything more closely, but we found a room under the target house."

"What kind of room?" Kennedy was now standing.

"It was filled with files. Most of it in Pashtu, but some of it in Arabic. There were also several computers and a few maps."

"And?" asked Kennedy knowing there had to be more for Rapp to make this urgent call.

There was a long pause and then Rapp said, "One of the maps was of D.C. and it showed the effects of a nuclear blast."

"Jesus Christ." Kennedy sat back down, her thoughts turning to her worst fear.

"Irene, do what you need to do to cover your ass, but give me a few hours to look into this before everyone flies off the handle and gets in my way."

Kennedy's head was swimming with possibilities, none of them good. There were the financial movements of last Friday, the intercepts that something big was in the works, and now this. "I don't know if I can sit on this, Mitch, even for a minute."

"All I'm asking for is a few hours." Rapp knew what was going through her mind. He had seen the plans for what they called continuity of government. It involved alerting thousands of people in the first hour alone. "Once this genie's out of the bottle there's no putting her back. Just give me some time to study our take, and find out if it's all a fantasy, or if they've actually got the goods."

Kennedy had stopped listening, her mind stuck on the fact that the president, vice president, speaker of the House, pro tem of the Senate, secretary of state, and secretary of the treasury were all in town. Some people needed to be moved.

"Irene, it's a Tuesday night. You know how these guys work. They want maximum exposure. If they do this, it'll be during broad daylight when downtown is filled with people."

Kennedy pinched the bridge of her nose. "You might be right, but I can't take that chance." There were plans in place, protocol to be followed.

"If they have a bomb, our number one priority should be to make sure they don't detonate it. To do that I need some time. Just hold off on doing anything crazy for a few hours. That's all I'm asking."

His voice was less than clear, but she could still hear his pleading tone. Finally, she said, "You'll get everything you need, Mitch. Just work fast, and call me as soon as you learn more. I need to go."

Kennedy held on to the handset and disconnected the call. Her mind was racing, trying to factor in everything she'd just heard with the information she already knew. She was reminded of a similar situation where very powerful people in Washington missed all of the signs that an attack was imminent. Tragically, their inaction led to the deaths of thousands. The director of the CIA reached her tipping point, and decided on a course of action. She was about to walk a very fine line, but given the circumstances she saw no other way.

The president's private study was located on the second floor of the Executive Mansion. President Hayes had his shoes off, his feet up, a drink in one hand, and a book in the other. An early riser, he was looking forward to finishing his drink and heading off to bed.

There was a firm knock on the door, but before Hayes could answer, it opened. Beth Jorgenson, the Secret Service agent in charge of the shift detail, walked in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but something has come up." Jorgenson strode purposefully across the room to the president's desk and picked up his secure phone. She handed Hayes the handset and said, "Director Kennedy needs to speak with you."

Hayes was still holding on to his book and drink, and didn't move at first. Something out of the ordinary was happening, and he had the peculiar feeling that is was not good. He set the drink down slowly and took the phone. "Irene."

"Mr. President, we have a situation that you need to be aware of." Kennedy relayed the intel Rapp had given her and repeated the information that she'd briefed the president on the morning before.

When she was done, Hayes didn't answer right away. After some hesitation he stated the obvious, "This doesn't sound good."

"No, it doesn't, sir." Kennedy paused. She knew the president would not like her next suggestion, but she had to make it. "As a precaution I would like you and the First Lady to spend the evening in the bunker."

The president thought about the cement tomb underneath the Executive Mansion. He'd spent a dismal few days there once before and had no desire to set foot back in the place. "Slow down a minute, Irene. One map doesn't give us a whole lot to go on."

"No it doesn't, sir, but it's more than just the map."

Three more Secret Service agents entered the room and Hayes began to get the idea that something was already in the works. "Irene, before you get ahead of yourself, please tell me you haven't authorized any evacuations."

"No, I have not, sir, even though I have the authority to do so without seeking your approval." Kennedy chose her words carefully. She had the power to implement a continuity of government plan that would evacuate certain key decision makers from the city. The implementation of such a plan was not to be undertaken lightly, for it was widely agreed that shortly after it went into effect, the press would be all over the story and nationwide panic might follow.

"What are you saying, Irene?"

"Sir, I'm saying that as of yet I am not prepared to implement Operation Ark, but I think it would be prudent for you and the First Lady to go downstairs and spend the night there."

"Irene, I think you're moving too fast."

Kennedy was not to be deterred. "Sir, we have a real problem. Both you and the vice president are in town, as well as the speaker of the House, the president pro tem of the Senate, and your entire cabinet with the exception of the secretary of the interior."

"Oh...I see." If a nuke took out DC, the secretary of the interior would become president, and although he was a decent enough fellow, he was not the type of man who would instill confidence in a time of national tragedy.

"Sir, I agree that it might be premature to start pulling people out of restaurants and beds. Mitch tells me he'll know more in the next couple hours. Until then, I would feel much better if I knew you were less of a target." She intentionally chose the word target.

After an uncomfortable silence Hayes responded in a tone that left no doubt that he was in charge, "I'm going to wander down to the Situation Room and keep an eye on this."