Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Trojan Headquarters
July
Pug reached to turn off the tape and the men in the room sat silent as they contemplated the information that had been provided in the audio and written transcript. Around the table were Pug Connor, Carlos Castro, George Granata, Director of the FBI, Paul Duffield, Deputy Director of the CIA, and President William Snow. The president spoke first.
“When was this meeting, Pug?” the president asked.
Pug glanced at his watch. “Seven hours ago, Mr. President.”
“George, have you or Paul uncovered any corroborative evidence to support this information?”
“No, sir,” Granata responded, “but we can’t afford to ignore it.”
“Granted,” the president nodded. “I want this given top priority, gentlemen. Pug, how confident are you about Strategic Initiative’s connection to the domestic attacks?”
“Mr. President, it’s all speculation at this point, but we can draw some valid assumptions. If only three cities were selected for the Domestic Tranquility pilot program, it seems coincidental that one of the ground attacks took place in one of those cities, San Antonio, and was thwarted, with no survivors among the terrorists. However, that’s pretty thin evidence to confirm their involvement. Mr. Castro has put two Trojan operatives on it and they’re checking with former military associates who now work for SI, supervising some of the troopers they have in the field. No information yet.”
“Do we have any reason to believe, I mean any reason, that the transfer of a nuclear weapon into the U.S. has occurred?” the president pressed.
The CIA director responded. “We’ve not had any intelligence to that effect, but again, we can’t afford not to take it seriously, Mr. President.”
‘Agreed. Take every measure you have to assure we cover every entry point. I know the difficulty. Thousands of containers arriving every day, tens of thousands of trucks on the road across the nation. Just find it, gentlemen. If it’s here, find it.”
“It may take care of itself, Mr. President,” Pug said.
The group went silent. Then the president nodded his understanding. “If SI is involved, they may find it like they uncovered the San Antonio attack to prove how well their program is working?”
“Yes, sir. But I agree with Mr. Duffield-we can’t afford to make any mistakes.”
“That will do it, gentlemen. I need to stay with Pug for a few moments.”
The other department heads left the room and the president took his seat again at the head of the EEOB conference table.
“Pug, I’ve had a heads up from DOJ about some court-ordered action that will transpire tomorrow. As you predicted, without any hard evidence of terrorist involvement, Jean Wolff is going to be released on Monday morning in Illinois.”
“I thought that might happen. I’ll handle it, Mr. President.”
“Do you need any further authorization?”
“No, sir. The Troy designation you gave for the initial capture covered all contingencies. We just need to be a bit more careful here in America.”
“Do you think he’ll leave the country immediately?”
Pug hesitated for a moment before answering. “No, sir. If he knows he was betrayed by Strategic Initiatives, he’ll be looking for payback. He’s not a foolish man, but he just might feel obligated to take revenge.”
“That’s in our favor, right?”
“I don’t know, Mr. President. It’s always helpful if two of our enemies decide to kill each other, but it’s rare. I’ll discuss it with Mr. Castro and my staff. But rest assured, sir, we’ll watch it closely.”