It was almost time.
The president had been reviewing the latest draft of his speech, but now Bob Corsetti slipped him a handwritten note that read, “Nine minutes.”
MacPherson nodded, scribbled down a few last changes, handed the speech to an aide, and asked her to make sure the corrections were quickly entered into the teleprompter. Then he took the phone Corsetti handed him and joined a hastily arranged conference call of his National Security Council. More troubling intel was coming in, and the NSC was insisting on a quick conversation with the president.
As the president picked up, Corsetti slipped another sheet of White House stationery into his hands, listing the names of everyone on the call. These included Vice President William Oaks, from his summer home in Jacksonville, Florida; Homeland Security Secretary Lee James, from his hotel room in Boston; CIA Director Danny Tracker, from his office at Langley; FBI Director Scott Harris, from his car en route to Washington from Quantico; National Security Advisor Ken Costello, from the White House Situation Room; Secretary of State Marsha Kirkpatrick, from her office at Foggy Bottom; and Secret Service Director Jackie Sanchez, who was sitting with the president in the secure holding room underneath the main convention hall.
Corsetti picked up a second line and moderated the call. “Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t have much time, as you know. But over the past hour or so, we’ve had some fast-moving developments, and I know several of you wanted to brief the president before his speech—”
“Excuse me, Bob,” MacPherson cut in. “Where’s Burt Trainor?”
“The SecDef is flying back from Japan,” Corsetti explained. “They’re having some communications problems on his plane at the moment. The air force is certain they’ll have the issue resolved shortly, and he’ll join us as soon as he can.”
“Fine,” the president said. “Let’s just make this quick.”
“Yes, sir,” Corsetti continued. “Ken, why don’t you starT — just keep it tight.”
“Thanks, Bob,” Costello said. “Mr. President, at present we believe there are at least four, possibly five, high-value targets converging on the Los Angeles area. These are men suspected of being involved with terrorist organizations — some in Asia, some in Latin America. We believe each of them poses a clear and present danger to U.S. national security.”
“Do you have any idea what they’re planning?” the president asked.
“No, sir,” Costello said. “Nor are we certain that their movements are necessarily connected, much less coordinated, but it seems likely that they are.”
“And you’re certain they are in or near Los Angeles?”
“It would appear that way, Mr. President,” Costello confirmed, “though we don’t have a specific location on any of them.”
“How solid is the intelligence?” MacPherson pressed. “Is it all from Yemen?”
“No, sir,” Costello explained. “In the last few hours, intelligence directors from three friendly countries — Canada, Mexico, and Great Britain — have contacted us to share specific, credible information gleaned from a variety of human sources and telephonic and electronic intercepts.”
“Mr. President, this is Scott Harris at FBI.”
“Yes, Scott?”
“None of the intel directors knew the others were calling us. Yet all of their leads point to L.A., and all three calls came in today.”
“And you think someone’s trying to take me out,” MacPherson clarified.
“That’s a real possibility, sir,” Harris confirmed. “You or Governor Jackson.”
“What else?” the president asked, glancing at his watch.
“Mr. President, it’s Marsha at State.”
“Go ahead, Marsha.”
“It’s unrelated to this developing terrorist threat, but there’s something else you need to know about,” Kirkpatrick explained.
“Make it quick.”
“Well, Mr. President,” the secretary of state continued, “it appears, in the wake of all the devastation that has taken place in Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus, that Kurdish leaders in southern Turkey are planning to declare independence tomorrow and announce the formation of their own sovereign state.”
MacPherson turned to Corsetti, who looked as shocked as he was. “Madame Secretary, please tell me you’re kidding.”
“I’m afraid not, sir,” Kirkpatrick explained. “I just got word a few minutes ago. What’s more, we’re also hearing that the Kurdish province in northern Iraq is apparently planning to secede and join the new Kurdish state.”
“What will that do to the upcoming state visit?” the president asked.
“President Al-Hassani is absolutely livid, as you can imagine,” the SecState replied. “I just got off the phone with Khalid Tariq, his chief of staff. He’s threatening to call the whole trip off if we don’t intervene. Tariq says Al-Hassani is mobilizing his military and threatening to send 150,000 troops into Kurdistan in the next forty-eight hours. What’s more, he even hinted at a possible oil embargo against us if we were to recognize the new Kurdish state.”
MacPherson winced. That was all he needed in an election — oil prices spiking yet again, and gas and airline fuel prices with them.
“So what does the esteemed leader of Iraq want from me?” he asked, realizing his whole night was about to be consumed with another Mideast crisis.
“Tariq says they want you to send an unambiguous message to the Kurds that any attempt to create their own state or secede from Iraq will be met with an international economic embargo,” Secretary Kirkpatrick explained. “They want you to vow not to recognize an independent Kurdistan in any way, shape, or form, and they want you to call Secretary-General Lucente personally and demand a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning any such move by the Kurds under the terms of Chapter Seven.”
MacPherson glanced at Corsetti again. “The Iraqi president wants the world to go to war to stop the Kurds from declaring independence?”
“Either that or Iraq will,” Kirkpatrick said. “Tariq put it this way, sir: ‘Don’t make us take matters into our own hands.’”
The White House operator now beeped onto the line to announce the arrival of Defense Secretary Burt Trainor.
“Welcome, Mr. Secretary,” MacPherson said. “Please tell me you have some good news.”
“I’m afraid not, Mr. President,” the SecDef replied. “As you know, I’ve been meeting with senior defense and intelligence officials in Tokyo and Seoul. They tell me in the past few weeks they’ve been picking up disturbing signs that the North Koreans might be preparing for an invasion of the south.”
“Has the DPRK begun moving troops?” MacPherson asked.
“No, no, not yet,” Trainor was quick to clarify. “But they have canceled all military leaves. They’re pre-positioning additional fuel, food, medicine, and other supplies to forward areas. We’re seeing increased activity around missile sites and air bases. I’m transmitting a memo to Air Force One, laying out many of the specifics and suggesting several possible reasons for all this heightened activity.”
“Does Pyongyang have any planned military exercises coming up?” the president wondered aloud.
“Nothing official, not until early next year,” Trainor responded. “But two days ago NSA intercepted a telephone call from a North Korean general to the Chinese ministry of defense saying there might be ‘new activity’ soon near the DMZ.”
“‘New activity’?” the president asked. “As in war?”
“War games, we’re hoping, but honestly, sir, we don’t really know.”
“What’s your best guess, Mr. Secretary?”
Trainor paused for a moment. Corsetti, meanwhile, slipped the president another note: “Two minutes.”
“To be perfectly candid, Mr. President,” Trainor now answered, “I’m worried because the Japanese and South Koreans are worried. And make no mistake, Mr. President, these guys are very worried.”