Harry hesitated, then said, “If I were working the case, it would take me less than a week to put all this together. You start with the scene of the crime-the hotels that are ID’d as ground zero-then you go to the guest lists kept on a reservation computer someplace else, then you work the lists twenty-four-seven, until something starts to connect.”

Madox asked, “Would it make a difference if my pilots check into the hotels with false names and bogus credit cards?”

“Yeah… but-”

“Well, that’s the plan, Harry. That’s the plan, Paul. I’m not that stupid.”

Harry, trying to introduce some element of doubt, asked, “Is it a coincidence that you have two aircraft in the cities that are nuked, and that you’re missing four pilots after the attacks?”

“Do you know how many coincidences there were in the Twin Towers?” Madox replied. “The risk, if any, of this being traced back to us, with a million dead, is insignificant and acceptable. And you know what? If the FBI does come knocking on my door, they’ll probably be there to congratulate me.”

Harry replied, “You'll all end up in jail.”

Madox ignored that and continued, “And if the FBI, or anyone in the government, concludes that the Custer Hill Club had something to do with these attacks on America that led to the launch of Wild Fire, do you think they’re going to announce this to the world? What will they say? ‘Sorry, we made a little boo-boo.’ Followed, of course, by an expression of regret for the two hundred million dead Muslims, and a sincere apology to the shell-shocked survivors, along with a promise that it won’t happen again.”

That seemed to make sense to everyone, and Madox said, “Let’s continue. I’ve done some work on targeting Los Angeles, and I’ve determined that the best hotels for the pilot and co-pilot to check into would be the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.” He explained, “I will reserve a room for them in each hotel with a bogus credit card, and request a room on the highest floor, which offers the best view and, not incidentally, the best altitude for detonation. Also, the higher up you go, the less likely it will be for a roving NEST team to pick up any gamma rays or ambient neutrons.” He looked at Harry and asked, “Correct?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Bain. The NEST teams are useless anyway. Remember?”

Landsdale laughed, but no one else did.

Madox seemed about to say something unpleasant to Harry, but instead he continued, “If I calculate correctly, and if the nukes yield their maximum power, the rings of destruction should overlap. The area of complete and partial destruction in Beverly Hills will rid us of a good number of untalented movie stars, overpaid studio executives, and various other limousine liberals.” He asked, rhetorically, “How good is that?”

Landsdale commented, “I hope Demi Moore doesn’t live in the area.”

“I’ll get you a Hollywood star map, Scott. Okay, the second area of destruction, Hollywood, encompasses several moviemaking facilities, including Paramount Studios, Warner Studios, as well as the ABC-TV studio. And as an extra bonus, we get the headquarters of the Screen Actors Guild.” Madox said, “I think we’ll all be watching old DVDs and reruns for a while.”

A few men smiled politely.

Paul Dunn said, “Los Angeles is one of the most vitally important cities in the country, with a metro area population of over fifteen million people. If you detonate two nuclear devices to destroy Hollywood and Beverly Hills, it will cause chaos and panic in the city. Millions of people will attempt to flee, and the results will be catastrophic.”

Madox replied, “Paul, you put a pessimistic spin on everything. Be positive. Think of this as solving the problem of undocumented aliens. They all know which way Mexico is.”

Dunn pointed out, “That’s a racist remark.”

Madox made an expression of mock contrition and said, “Terribly sorry. And I do see your point. In fact, I own extensive oil storage and refining facilities in south LA. But I’m optimistic that things will be back to what passes for normal there within a year. More important, the Islamics really want to destroy Hollywood. So, this target goes on the short list.”

Everyone nodded.

Madox continued, “Last, but not least, Las Vegas.” He hit a few keys, and an aerial view of Las Vegas at night appeared on the screen. Madox said, “To me, this is the perfect target. A drug-infested den of iniquity, and a moral wasteland, populated by scam artists, godless men, loose women-”

“Hold on,” Landsdale interrupted. “Some of us like loose women.”

Madox replied, “I’m giving you the Islamic viewpoint.” He returned to his subject. “This is a one-industry town, and while I’ve been known to engage in casino gambling, I can find someplace else to lose my money. In any case, I see no downside to leveling a piece of this place. It’s far from other population centers, and it’s at the top of the Islamic hit list, so it should be at the top of ours.”

The four men nodded.

Madox motioned toward the view of Las Vegas, an oasis of sparkling lights surrounded by dark desert and black hills. He said, “Actually, there may be an economic upside to nuking this place. The city is growing too fast, and it’s using too much electricity and too much scarce water.”

No one responded.

Madox continued, “What I propose is one suitcase bomb in a tall hotel along the strip-maybe Caesars Palace, right in the center of the strip-and another in the downtown area. This should take out all the casinos but leave the surrounding suburbs intact.” He pointed out, “The suburbs happen to be heavily Republican.” He smiled, hit a key, and the screen went blank.

The room lights brightened, and Madox said, “So, I believe we have three candidates for two positions. Shall we vote?”

Paul Dunn answered, “I think it would be difficult for us to… to actually choose the two cities that will suffer nuclear devastation. I mean, we’ve chosen three… but it may be easier for us if we just draw ballots for the final two.”

Madox looked at each man, and each nodded in agreement. He tore off three strips of paper from the legal pad in front of him and wrote the names of each city on the strips, then held up the names so everyone could see them, and said, “So you don’t think I’ve written San Francisco twice.” He grinned, folded the papers into quarters, then put them in an empty coffee mug. He slid the mug down the length of the table and said, “Harry, you’re God. Pick Sodom and Gomorrah.”

“Go to hell.”

“Then let’s do it the other way-pick the city that won’t get nuked.” He added, “God will guide your hand.”

“Eat shit.”

Landsdale seemed impatient and picked up the mug. He drew two ballots, then lit them with his cigarette lighter and threw the burning papers in his ashtray. Everyone stared at the burning ashtray, then Landsdale said, “Those are the two losers in the National Nuclear Lottery.” He drew the last folded ballot out of the mug and said, “The city that will escape nuclear destruction is-”

“Don’t look at it,” Madox instructed. “Put it in your pocket and show it to us later. I don’t want anyone to be disappointed, disconcerted, or distracted during this meeting.”

Landsdale put the name of the city that would be spared in his pocket and said to Harry, “Now you won’t know until it’s over.”

Harry didn’t think he’d ever know.