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By Root 1596 0

to be made. Two complete medical floors would be cleared and tooled up for possible Ebola arrivals. The director of emergency medicine was even now assembling his staff for a lecture. Two of Alexandre's people were on the phone to Atlanta, getting updates on the total number of known cases, and announcing that Hopkins had activated its emergency plan for this contingency. It meant that Alex hadn't been able to go to his office and change clothes. Cathy was wearing her lab coat, too, but in her case it was over a normal dress. He'd been wearing greens-his third set of the day-for the meeting, and still was. Cathy told him not to worry about it. They had to wait for the rotor to stop before the Secret Service allowed their protectees to board the aircraft. Alex noted the presence of a backup chopper, circling a mile away, and a third circling closer in. It looked like a police bird, probably for security, he imagined.

Everyone was bundled aboard. Katie-he'd never met her before-got the jump seat behind the pilots, supposedly the safest place on the aircraft. Alexandre hadn't ridden in a Black Hawk in years. The four-point safety belt still worked, though. Cathy snapped hers right in place. Little Katie had to be helped, but she loved her helmet, painted pink, with a bunny on it, doubtless some Marine's idea. Seconds later the rotor started turning.

This is going a little fast, Alex said over the intercom.

You really think we should wait? Cathy replied, keying her microphone.

No. And it wouldn't do to say that he wasn't dressed for seeing the President. The aircraft lifted off, climbed about three hundred feet, and turned south.

Colonel? Cathy said to the pilot in the right-front seat.

Yes, ma'am.

Make it fast, she ordered.

Goodman had never heard SURGEON talk like a surgeon before. It was a voice of command that any Marine would recognize. He dropped the nose and brought the Black Hawk to 160 knots.

You in a hurry, Colonel? the backup chopper called.

The lady is. Bravo routing, direct approach. Next he called to BWI Airport to tell the controllers to hold arrivals and departures until he'd passed overhead. It wouldn't take long. Nobody on the ground really noticed, but two USAir 737s had to go around once, to the annoyance of their passengers. Watching from the jump seat, SANDBOX thought it was pretty neat.

MR. PRESIDENT?

Yes, Andrea? Ryan looked up.

Your wife is inbound from Baltimore. She needs to see you about something. I don't know what. About fifteen minutes, Price told him.

Nothing's wrong? Jack asked.

No, no, everybody's fine, sir. SANDBOX is with her, the agent assured him.

Okay. Ryan went back to the most recent update of the investigation.

WELL, IT'S OFFICIALLY a clean shoot, Pat. Murray wanted to tell his inspector that himself. There hadn't been much doubt of that, of course.

Wish I could have taken the last one alive, O'Day remarked with a grimace.

You can stow that one. There was no chance, not with kids around. I think we'll probably arrange a little decoration for you.

We have anything on that Azir guy yet?

His driver's license photo and a lot of written records, but aside from that, we'd have a hard time proving he ever existed. It was a classic set of circumstances. Sometime Friday afternoon, Mordecai Azir had driven his car to Baltimore-Washington International Airport and caught a flight to New York-Kennedy. They knew that much from the USAir desk clerk who'd issued him the ticket in that name. Then he'd disappeared, like a cloud of smoke on a windy day. He doubtless had had a virgin set of travel documents. Maybe he'd used them in New York for an international flight. If he'd really been smart, he would have caught a cab to Newark or LaGuardia first, and taken an overseas flight from the former, or maybe a flight to Canada from the latter. Even now agents from the New York office were interviewing people at every airline counter. But nearly every airline in the world came into Kennedy, and the clerks there saw thousands per day. Maybe they would establish what flight he'd taken. If