“I know, but it’s such a tempting target.”

Landsdale reminded him, “Think like a Muslim terrorist. I say Miami, with its large Jewish population. The city has some economic importance as a port and a tourist destination, but we can do without it. Also, we can make a preemptory strike against some of those confused electoral votes, before the next election.”

Someone laughed, then Paul Dunn said, “There’s a large Cuban population in Miami that is very supportive of… some of the administration’s policies. They’ll be helpful when we address the Cuba problem.”

Everyone nodded, and General Hawkins suggested, “Disney World. Haven’t there been Islamic threats against Disney World?” He looked around the quiet table and continued, “It’s a perfect target. No industry, no vital economic or military value. Far from the population centers…”

Bain Madox stared at General Hawkins. “Are you suggesting that we kill Mickey Mouse?”

Everyone laughed.

Madox continued, “Minnie, Goofy… who else? Jim, that’s just… cruel. Not to mention the children.” He added, “We’re not monsters.”

Harry Muller wasn’t too sure about that. Yet, these guys didn’t fit his criminal profile of psychopaths, sociopaths, or just plain crazy and violent men. It began to dawn on Harry that these guys were mostly normal, educated, and successful guys with good jobs, families, friends, and people who looked up to them. The closest he could come to getting a handle on these guys was to compare them to Irish Republican Army men he’d had dealings with. Mostly normal, but filled with hate and all charged up for their cause. So, nothing they did was wrong-like the IRA guy he’d interrogated once who ordered a tuna fish sandwich for lunch because it was Friday during Lent. And back in Belfast, he’d shot two policemen in cold blood. Guys like this were scarier than street criminals.

Bain Madox was speaking. “Chicago is also too vital to the U.S. economy, and it has no special significance to an Islamic terrorist. Look, let’s cut to the chase. I have three excellent candidates-Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. Sodom, Gomorrah, and… what?”

Landsdale said helpfully, “Babylon.”

“Thank you. First, San Francisco. Some economic importance, but that’s outweighed by the fact that this city is a festering, pus-filled boil on the ass of America. A left-wing loony hotbed of sexual deviancy, anti-American values, political correctness, defeatism, and pacifistic appeasement.”

Landsdale said, “Why don’t you tell us what you really think of San Francisco?”

Madox ignored him and asked, “Can anyone here make a case for not putting San Francisco on the target list?”

Edward Wolffer replied, “Well, I can. For one thing, my daughter lives there, though I can get her to fly out tomorrow on the pretext of an illness in the family. But also, it’s a… well, an architecturally beautiful city. And I think, in the new America, San Francisco can either be redeemed or, if not, just looked at as a curiosity-sort of a social laboratory. It would be interesting to see how that city reacts to two other American cities being destroyed, followed by the destruction of much of the Islamic world.”

Everyone thought about that, then Madox said, “I’m not interested in their reaction or redemption. I’m more interested in their vaporization.”

Paul Dunn warned, “That’s a very egotistical and prejudiced attitude, Bain. This is not about your personal opinion of San Francisco, which would not be a high-priority target for Islamic extremists. There have been no specific threats against that city-”

“Why should there be?” snapped Madox. “If I were an Islamic terrorist, or a Marxist, or Osama bin Laden himself, the last place in the world I’d threaten is the friendly city of San Francisco.”

“That,” said Wolffer, “is exactly why this city should not be a target.”

Madox seemed irritated that his own arguments were being turned against him, and he slapped his hand on the table and said, “San Francisco goes on the short list.”

Landsdale asked, “Bain, are you chairing this meeting, or taking it over?”

Madox took a deep breath and replied, “I apologize for my management style. But this isn’t a government committee. It’s an Executive Board meeting that needs to make some quick, hard, and final decisions. Your contributions are valuable, and your actions on Tuesday will be invaluable to the success of Wild Fire. While I need a consensus, we also need direction and clarity.” He added, “As Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, ‘The most common form of human stupidity is forgetting what one is trying to do.’”

Landsdale said, “Thank you. I think we know what we’re trying to do-start a one-sided nuclear war by giving the illusion that we were attacked. This shouldn’t be too difficult.” He added, “If you recall, many people in Sandland accused us of attacking the World Trade Center and the Pentagon so we could retaliate against them. They get the concept, even if they were wrong that time. This time, they’re going to be right. But we need to pick the targets that are just right so that hopefully no one-at least for a few hours-will believe that we did this to ourselves so that we could do it to them. So, let’s be rational and smart about the targets.” He smiled. “That’s what Nietzsche would say.”

Bain Madox ignored this and continued, “The next two cities to consider are Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Let’s look at LA first. It’s an economic powerhouse, but the city is so huge that I don’t think two five-kiloton nuclear devices will cause much more damage or dislocation than one of their periodic earthquakes or riots. Therefore, I’d like to specifically target the area of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Do I need to give my reasons?”

General Hawkins said, “I think we’re all on the same page with this one.”

Madox nodded. “And keep in mind that there have been very specific threats and public statements made by the Islamic jihadists against Hollywood. They seem to think the place is a cesspool of moral corruption. That’s not very liberal minded, and I’m embarrassed to admit I agree with them.”

A few men chuckled.

Madox glanced at a note on the table and said, “A gentleman named Suleiman Abu Ghaith, an official spokesman for bin Laden, has said, quote, ‘America, with the collaboration of the Jews, is the leader of corruption and the breakdown of values, whether moral, ideological, political, or economic corruption. It disseminates abomination and licentiousness among people by way of the cheap media.” Madox added, “There may be something lost in the translation, but I believe he was speaking of Hollywood.”

Again, there were a few chuckles.

Madox hit some keys on his console, and a map of Los Angeles appeared on the screen. He said, “This is a sprawling urban area, and if we focus in on Hollywood”-he enlarged a section of the map and continued-“and nearby Beverly Hills, we see that the blast radius of our two nukes would barely overlap. Which presents the problem of this getting back to us if one of the nukes doesn’t go off. But I believe we need to take a risk here because the rewards are so great.”

Paul Dunn spoke. “Somehow, I think this will get back to us, one way or another. Bain, we’ll have one or two ground zeros that can be identified as hotels, and sometime down the road, the FBI will obtain a list of everyone who was staying at those hotels. Eventually, the guest lists of those four hotels will reveal the names of your four pilots, and further investigation will reveal their flight plans and landings at the airports of those cities. I don’t believe the FBI-or the CIA-is going to think this was a coincidence.”

Madox thought a moment, then looked at Harry Muller. “Harry, what do you think?”

“I think you’re out of your fucking minds.”

“We know that. I’m looking for a professional opinion.” He added, “Please.”