What was it that bothered him? Why couldn’t he put his finger on it?

He knew from experience these things never came when you wanted them. He needed to focus on the task at hand and hope the inspiration arrived serendipitously in the process.

“Mr. Swinburne,” Cartwright said, “we are ready to hear your closing remarks. Members of the cabinet, please play close attention. As soon as these two advocates are done, I will poll you, and there will just barely be enough time afterward for whoever is in charge to take decisive action. In simpler terms: your vote may well decide the future course of this nation.”

The noise was considerably louder in here, Seamus realized, although it sounded much like any office in any other place. A little talking, a few mechanical beeps, keyboards clicking. Nothing out of the ordinary.

He used the long row of silhouetted machinery for cover and inched forward, still careful to keep watch on all sides.

The first face he saw was that of a woman, dark-haired, dark-skinned. She was wearing an earpiece and typing into a computer terminal. Someone was hovering over her shoulder, a man in a white shirt. He looked more like a college professor than a terrorist. Another computer geek? Or some other kind of scientist? Neither of them looked managerial. They were employees.

Seamus could see the tops of at least five other heads. They all seemed glued to their screens. Who was running this show?

He tiptoed a few steps forward, trying to obtain a better view. It was basically three tiers of seriously complex-looking computers, including one master. If it wasn’t a Blue Gene/L-the IBM supercomputer with a peak processing speed of 596 teraflops-it was something very near. There were a few overhead monitors and one large dish-probably capable of transmitting signals to that deadly satellite in the sky. Probably would attract too much attention if they put it on the roof, but it seemed to function where it was. It all seemed familiar except for a large red button at the base. He didn’t even want to think about what that might do.

Seamus supposed they had everything they needed to make this missile hijack work. Still, he would like to have some confirmation…

Then Seamus saw him.

Seamus’s spine stiffened. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

The supervising figure who had just entered his line of sight was the man from the Washington Monument. The man with the scarred face.

The man who’d made off with the nuclear suitcase.

So he was involved with this missile hijack as well. Which meant Colonel Zuko was also involved in the Arlington suitcase heist. The dictator now had not only the East Coast missiles but a nuclear weapon.

This was bad. End-of-the-world bad.

“Tell me what is happening out there!” Scarface bellowed to the woman in the white shirt. She didn’t look entirely comfortable working with him. Seamus guessed she was more likely hired technical help than a true believer.

She mumbled something in reply that Seamus couldn’t hear. Whatever it was, it didn’t appease her boss.

“That’s not good enough!” he shouted back at her. “Will you be ready to launch when I give you the signal?”

“Of course I will,” she said. “Everything is in place.”

“When the colonel calls, he will want us to take action immediately.”

“And we will!”

“Make sure that we do!” And with that, he raised his hand to strike her.

Seamus instinctively surged forward-then checked himself.

Scarface stopped his hand just inches short of her face. She flinched, then turned her head away. Tears trickled out the corner of her eye. “I’ll be ready. I promise.”

“See that you are. We must be strong. Though thousands may die, Kuraq will live!” He stomped off. The woman-and everyone sitting near her-seemed intensely relieved.

Seamus bit down on his lower lip. He would love nothing more than to knock that SOB down again-this time well enough that he didn’t get up again. But that wasn’t the smart play. He needed to contact Zira. Call in the troops. Then get Arlo out of here and let the boys with the big guns take over.

He lifted his phone and took a quick photo, then sent it to Zira. Moving like a ninja, he tiptoed back to the door and turned the knob.

Still no one seemed to notice. He was having a charmed day. This was the downside to bullying your employees. They tended not to be distracted by their surroundings-even when they should.

He eased his way through the opening, the same way he’d come in, and closed the door behind him. Now all he needed to do was make his way back to the stairs leading to the roof, or maybe just walk through the back door…

And that’s when Seamus saw the guard. Who also saw him.

“Stop!” The man yelled.

Seamus bolted. The problem was, he had nowhere to go. The guard stood between him and his destination, and the computer ops base was behind him. So Seamus moved laterally, working toward the east side of the building.

Another guard heard the cry. A few seconds after that a third one zeroed in on Seamus. Where were they coming from? Had they all been on a coffee break a few minutes ago?

He reached for his gun, but they reacted by doing exactly the same. Mistake. He couldn’t outdraw all three of them. He withdrew quickly and threw both hands up in the air.

“Sorry about that,” he said amiably. “Didn’t mean to scare anyone.”

“What are you doing here?” the first guard barked. The three of them surrounded him.

“Sorry. No cause for alarm. Health Department.” He pulled out a wallet and quickly flashed a badge-not his real one. “Just doing inspections on the abandoned property in the area. Had no idea anyone was in here.”

“How did you get in?” Guard One had a serious and sullen expression. He was trying to look tough, but Seamus suspected it was more a case of a tough guy with a swagger being forced to actually do something for the first time. He would’ve probably been perfectly content to go on guarding for the rest of his life without ever encountering any trouble.

“Through the roof.” In this case, honesty was the best policy. The doors might be wired to an alarm, and the windows were not broken. “We’re allowed to do that. It’s in the city charter.”

“What do you want?”

“Just to make sure everything’s clean and safe. Sometimes these abandoned buildings can become dangerous. Attractive nuisances. But I didn’t realize anyone was working in here. Did you take out a lease?”

“I’ll ask the questions!” the guard barked back. His two companions looked more relaxed. If Seamus worked it hard enough, he might be able to pull off this health inspector charade.

“Are you alone?” the guard asked.

“Yes. Look, if you have any questions about this, call my supervisor. She’ll straighten the whole thing out.”

He hesitated. “She will?”

Was he actually buying it? Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. “Of course. Her name is Zira. Just give her my name and she’ll tell you that I’m legitimate. You can use my phone if you want. I don’t mind.”

“Well… I suppose it won’t hurt to call.”

Fabulous. Zira could think fast enough on her feet to carry this off. And if not, he’d knock them down while they were distracted by the phone. He punched the number on his cell and handed it to Guard One. “Here. Talk to her. She’ll be able to give you a complete-”

“You! You!”

Seamus’s eyelids closed briefly. He didn’t have to turn to know whose voice that was.

A moment later, Scarface appeared before him.

“You were at the Washington Monument! You hurt me! You killed my comrades!”

The guards tensed. All at once, Seamus had three guns pointing down his throat.