“Crap,” Maltz said. They watched in silence as the truck moved inexorably forward, slowing incrementally like a knife carving through butter. It hit the Jersey barrier on the shoulder of the bridge. For a second it appeared as if the concrete might hold, but the weight of the truck plowed through it. The cab suddenly vanished from view as the float pitched high in the air.

“Stay low!” Syd said, diving into the backseat.

Maltz spun the wheel in a tight turn, flipping them around. Their tires got caught in the loose gravel on the side of the road and spun helplessly.

“Maltz, get back here! It’s too late!” Syd grabbed at his arm, trying to drag him into the backseat where they’d have more cushioning.

He didn’t respond, just ground down on the accelerator until the SUV jerked free and fishtailed, spitting pebbles. He gritted his teeth as he floored it. Syd instinctively braced herself against the back of the seat. In her heart she knew it was already too late.

Everything seemed to slow down. Maltz shouted something and her cell phone emitted tinny sounds from the front seat, but Syd couldn’t make them out. Her hands covered her ears, her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for what seemed like forever.

Then a flash so bright it penetrated her closed lids, followed by a roar of sound and a wave of heat, and the world vanished in a roiling cloud of darkness.

“Syd? Syd!” Jake shouted into the phone. He spun around. “The call got dropped. I’m redialing, tell dispatch to hang on…”

George and Rodriguez were staring at him, dumbfounded. Jake had been relaying Syd’s information to George, who conveyed it to the police dispatcher in Phoenix. There was a burst of chatter from the receiver. George looked at it; his arm had dropped to his waist when Jake started yelling. He raised it back to his ear. An expression of horror spread across his face. After listening for a minute, he squeezed his eyes shut and said, “All right. Good luck.”

He hung up. Jake stared at him. “Jesus Christ, George. Why’d you hang up? Syd will-”

George shook his head. “The bomb went off, Jake. Dispatcher had to go, they’re mobilizing special teams to the area.”

It was hard to speak, but Jake forced the words out. “How bad?”

George sat down hard. “They don’t know yet. They’re sending in a crew to check for radioactivity, but…”

His voice trailed off. Jake shook his head. “Damn it, Syd. What did you do?”

Leonard glared down at the ground. “Why the hell are we still circling?” He motioned one of the other agents to the cockpit. The agent walked up the aisle hunched over, his head brushing the ceiling.

Kelly watched Leonard tap his heel restlessly against the floor. They were in a private jet, commandeered from an oil tycoon who apparently owed the government a favor. Shame that given the circumstances she couldn’t enjoy the trip. Contrary to the depiction of countless TV shows, there wasn’t a private fleet of planes available for FBI agents. They nearly always flew commercial, in coach.

The agent returned from the cockpit.

“Well?” Leonard asked.

The agent leaned over and said something in a low voice. Kelly strained to hear. He had gone completely pale, which she took as a bad sign.

“Jesus Christ,” Leonard hissed.

“What?”

“It went off,” he said bluntly, digging out his cell phone. “They’re not letting any planes in or out. Whole city has gone into complete lockdown. Governor called in the National Guard, and the Phoenix field office is scrambling.”

“Oh my God,” Kelly peered out the window. The smog appeared denser to the south, but there was a nearly impenetrable layer everywhere. She pictured gamma rays coursing out in all directions, invisible but deadly, sliding over the sleek face of office buildings and skimming across benches in playgrounds and parks. “How many dead? Are they evacuating the city?”

“I’m about to find out.” Leonard finished dialing and settled back in his seat, looking blankly out the window. Kelly could see other airplanes circling at various altitudes, waiting to be redirected. She caught herself chewing her lower lip, an old habit from when she was a kid, and forced herself to stop.

After a clipped conversation, Leonard hung up. “Explosion was caused by a crash on the I-10. Thankfully they were still on the outskirts of town, so collateral damage is limited. Not many houses, mostly office buildings that closed early for the holiday. The initial blast zone…” He shrugged, raising both palms faceup. “Hard to say. They’re guessing no more than a hundred casualties. Took out a section of the highway, emergency crews are waiting to go in.”

“And the radiation?” Kelly asked.

“We should know the levels soon. Luckily we had a mobile unit driving around already, and some readers installed on government buildings downtown. National Guard is setting up mobile decontamination centers. They’re telling people to stay in their houses unless they were in the immediate blast zone, which will have to be evacuated. Not much wind, which helps.”

“What the hell made it go off?” Kelly wondered, gazing out the window.

Leonard’s face hardened. “Damned if I know. Maybe something spooked the bastards.” His eyes flicked over to her before shifting back to the window. He still seemed suspicious. Kelly tried not to take it personally. “It’ll be a while before they sort things out. Right now they’re focusing on treating victims and keeping the public calm. The rest we deal with later.”

“So are we landing?” Kelly asked.

“No point now. I doubt he planned on triggering all of them in Phoenix.”

Kelly shook her head. “No, that wouldn’t make sense. If he wanted to create panic, it would be good to spread it out. And if other cities were involved, the link to Burke would be less obvious.” She rubbed her eyes, suddenly exhausted. They had arrived too late. And despite Leonard’s proclamation that it could’ve been a lot worse, it was bad enough. Up to a hundred people, possibly more, were already dead. “Has Burke made a statement yet?”

Leonard shrugged. “I have no idea. Even if this was part of the original plan, he’d have to wait a few hours to make it look good.” He jabbed a finger at her. “If he was involved, and I’m still not conceding that he is.”

“He is,” Kelly said sharply.

“Fine. Any idea where he sent the other bombs?”

“No one’s turned anything up?” Kelly asked.

Leonard shook his head. “They’ve found property owned by Burke everywhere from Albuquerque to Little Rock. Parades in every major city in between. They’re sending teams to check each site, but like you said…”

“The building might not even be connected to him this time. He only needed the space for a few days, so he could have paid rent, or they might be using an empty building for the setup.” Kelly was suddenly immensely relieved that Jake was still in Houston. With a concentration of agents from every department with an acronym, it was probably the only city safe from an attack.

“He might even be considering New York or Chicago,” Leonard said.

Kelly shook her head. “I don’t think so. If he’s trying to galvanize a base, he’d target people who are already concerned about immigration. Those other cities are at too much of a remove.”

Leonard’s cell rang again. He picked up and listened to a stream of chatter on the other end. “He’s sure?” He asked after a moment. It was hard to tell whether it was good or bad news. “Fine. We’ll join them.” He snapped the phone shut. “A California state trooper recognized the photo we put out on the wire.”

“Dante Parrish?”

Leonard nodded. “Routine agriculture stop on Route 8. Dante was a passenger in a semi. Cop remembered because they checked their cargo. Said something seemed off.”