Harry Muller listened as the five men discussed the final details of Project Green and Wild Fire.

Somewhere, deep down in his heart, Harry Muller agreed that 122 nukes exploding across Sandland might not be a bad thing. It was the 4 nukes in America that really bothered him, and it seemed to be bothering Wolffer, Hawkins, Dunn, and Landsdale, too. But they were dealing with it. He heard Madox say, “If I could have picked our time, I’d have liked to nuke LA during the Academy Awards.”

Actually, Harry thought, Madox is dealing with it too well.

General Hawkins returned to the happier subject of Wild Fire and said almost wistfully, “Coincidentally, at about the time of the Academy Awards, the huge lake behind the Aswan High Dam would be at full flood level.”

Bain Madox nodded and said, “Well, thanks to Mr. Muller, we don’t have the luxury of picking our time.” He looked at Harry, then continued, “Even though the stars, the moon, and the planets will not be aligned on Tuesday, I think that Mr. Muller’s arrival here was a sign from God that we needed to shit or get off the pot.” He warmed to his subject and said, “Things don’t have to be perfect to launch a hundred nukes. The nukes themselves create their own perfect world. They are transcendental. Divine.”

Scott Landsdale asked Madox, “Bain, before you were rich and powerful, did anyone ever use the word crazy in the same sentence with your name?”

Madox poured a glass of water while he stared at Landsdale. Finally, he said, “Sometimes I get carried away on the subject of Wild Fire. I mean, it’s not often in the history of the human race that an overwhelming problem has a simple solution. It’s even more rare when fate has put that solution into the minds and hands of a few good men. This excites me.”

No one, not even Scott Landsdale, responded.

Madox continued, “A few more operational details. First, you should all plan on leaving sometime tomorrow. The rest of the club members will leave Monday, as planned. I’ve arranged transportation for church services tomorrow morning-”

Harry said, “I’d like to go to church.”

Madox looked at him and said, “You’ll be sleeping late.” He paused. “It goes without saying that no one here will discuss the agenda of this closed executive session of the Board with any other members. You must act natural and look normal. As you may know, Steve Davis lives in San Francisco, and Jack Harlow and Walt Bauer live in the LA area. Do not look at any of them like they’re about to die.” He added, “Actually, none of us knows yet what two cities we’ve chosen, so that should help you.”

No one said anything.

Madox suggested, “If your acting ability is not up to the situation, say that we were talking about the coming war with Iraq, which is indeed worrisome. And please watch your drinking. Understood?”

Everyone nodded.

Madox continued, “As for communication, we all have untraceable cell phones, just as the drug dealers have, and we’ll use only those phones. Plus, as you know, I have my own cell relay tower here with a voice scrambler. But call only if and when I need to hear from you.” He added, “Most of what I need to know about Project Green, I can see on an all-news station.” He thought a moment, then went on, “Sometime around the dinner hour, every radio and TV station in America-except for those in the two cities-will become part of the Emergency Broadcast System.”

No one said anything, and Madox continued, “About an hour later, I expect to hear a news flash about the American nuclear response to the nuclear attacks on America. Is that right, Paul? Ed?”

Ed Wolffer replied, “Yes, Wild Fire will be announced to the nation and the world. There’s no reason to keep it secret since it’s hard to keep a massive missile launch and one hundred twenty-two nuclear detonations a secret for very long.” He added, “At some point during the evening, the president will address the nation from his secure location and reveal the existence of Wild Fire. Hopefully, this will have a calming effect on the country. If nothing else, it’s good for national morale.”

“Well,” said Bain Madox, “it’s good for my morale. After 9/11, everyone was depressed when we didn’t respond immediately, but this time, Americans can’t accuse the government of being overly cautious.”

General Hawkins responded, “True, but this time we’ll get a lot of flack for overreacting.”

“This time, Jim,” Madox said, “the world and the media will sit in awed silence. You won’t hear a peep. Not a fucking peep.”

The Board members nodded, and so did Harry.

Madox said, “It should be an interesting night. I’ll stay here, obviously, to send the ELF signal that will detonate the devices.” Again, he went to the suitcase standing upright on the floor and put his hands on the black leather. He stared at each man and said, “I, gentlemen, will push the nuclear button, which will devastate two American cities with four nuclear devices, and when I do that, I will ask God’s forgiveness. You will see to it that Wild Fire is launched as a retaliatory response.”

General Hawkins asked, “How long after Tuesday will you stay here, Bain?”

Madox returned to his seat and replied, “I don’t know. Why?”

“Well, understand that there will be a lot of panic in America when the nukes detonate in the cities. People will figure, if the enemy has a few nukes, he might have more. The cities will start to evacuate, which will cause chaos and, unfortunately, some injuries and deaths. Our family members and friends are at some risk… and I can’t and won’t be calling people I know all over America telling them to stay put and remain calm. We can only hope that the retaliatory strike-the obliteration of Islam-will calm people down. But in the meantime-”

“Jim, what’s your point?”

“Well… now that the hour has actually arrived… I’m thinking… and I guess we’re all thinking of the reality of what’s going to happen.”

Madox replied, “I know this is all so sudden, Jim, but it’s the kind of thing you needed to think about after 9/11 when we began planning Project Green.”

“Yes, I know. But I’m thinking now of you staying up here in God’s country while we four are in Washington, and our friends and family are scattered all over the country, which is in a state of chaos. Where will your family be?”

“Wherever they are, they are. I’m not making any calls.” He added, “My children don’t return my calls anyway.”

“That’s your decision. But I think you need to get back to New York as soon as possible after this happens.”

“Why?”

Hawkins replied, “To share the experience, Bain.”

“All right… I’ll do my best to get into New York as soon as possible. But I do need to destroy and dispose of the ELF transmitter, just in case anyone shows up here with a search warrant. That’s my job. Your job, gentlemen, is to stay in Washington-or the designated secure location-to influence events. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded.

Harry again scanned the faces around the table. It seemed like reality was starting to sink in. Again, he was reminded of the radical groups he’d investigated over the years. They bullshitted everything to death because, deep down inside, most of them really didn’t want to risk their lives to plant a bomb, shoot a cop, rob a bank, or kidnap anyone. Now and then-when they had a Bain Madox in charge-some of their bullshit turned into action. And in half those cases, someone in the group ratted out the plan to the cops, or turned himself in after the crime to work out a deal.

Harry looked at each face around the table. Maybe, now that the time had come, one of these guys would come to his senses before Tuesday. The president’s adviser, Dunn, looked a little shaky, and he might blow the whistle. The general was a little shaky, too, but Harry knew the type-he’d go along, then maybe blow his brains out afterward. The defense guy, Wolffer, was committed to the program, and he wasn’t going to budge.