Threat Level Black

Howe pressed the button to talk to his secretary. “I need to get ahold of the unit responsible for air traffic over New York,” he told her. “I want to talk to the commander personally, right away. And then I need to have one of our planes at Andrews readied for a flight: Iron Hawk. You can get me the numbers I need, right?”

“Yes, sir, but-”

“But?”

“It’s almost five.”

“We’ll pay you overtime,” snapped Howe.

“I meant you better let me call over to Andrews right away,” said the secretary. “Because otherwise the ground people may go home before you get to them.”

Part Six. The Final Four

Chapter 1

Madison Square Garden was neither near Madison Avenue nor appreciably square, and the last time anything approaching a garden had been on the spot, the local Indians were unloading swampland on the Dutch.

Which made it the quintessential New York landmark, if not the essence of New York itself.

“You’re being kind of hard on the place, Andy,” said Macklin as they walked across Eighth Avenue. Ordinarily that would have been suicidal, but the area had been blocked off for the game. Traffic snarled through the rest of the city, but the streets around Madison Square Garden were a veritable island of peace and tranquillity.

Except, of course, for the troop trucks, Humvees, Stinger antiaircraft missile batteries, two tanks, and upward of five thousand National Guardsmen, soldiers, and police officers.

“You’d think they’d’ve let a pretzel guy inside the barricades,” said Fisher.

“Well, well, Cassandra showed up in person,” said a voice from behind a phalanx of approaching soldiers.

“Kowalski, it’s about time you got here,” said Fisher. “Did you find the UAV yet?”

“I have half the damn Air Force flying overhead, Fisher. You sure as hell better be right.”

“Only half, Kowalski? I thought you had pull.”

“Yeah, yeah, wiseass. Real funny. How are they getting the gas into the place, anyway? Did you think about that?”

“I thought about it, but I couldn’t figure it out,” admitted Fisher.

“We have the ventilation system guarded,” said Macklin. “And the backup generators. Everything’s been checked and rechecked. Power goes off, we’ll have it back on in a jiff.”

“Unless they blow up the bomb overhead, right?” said Fisher.

“Well, yeah.”

“Or within five miles.”

“Or more, depending on how good the bomb is,” said Macklin. “But if they don’t, we’re fine.”

“That’s what I like about you, Michael: You’re always looking on the brighter side of things.”

“Maybe I should get more batteries,” said Macklin.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” said Kowalski. “I think this is all just the product of Fisher’s wild imagination. Even the maestro of conspiracy falters once in a while.”

“Don’t lie, Kowalski,” said Fisher, taking out his cigarettes. “I get it wrong all the time. Want one?”

“I wish I did smoke,” said Kowalski, shaking his head. “What a fuckin’ nightmare. I don’t know whether to hope you’re right or wrong.”

“Wrong’s better,” said Fisher. “What’s the latest on the florist trucks?”

“NYPD’s got a good handle on it,” said Macklin. “They have an exclusion area and they’ve already searched beyond it. There are no vans within ten blocks.”

“Oh,” said Fisher.

“Oh?”

“Stop the trains.”

“Which trains?”

“Anything that goes anywhere near Penn Station.” He threw his cigarette away and began running toward the nearest police command post. “Amtrak, LIRR, New Jersey, subways-everything.”

“Andy?” yelled Macklin.

“Just do it!”

Chapter 2

Faud huddled near the end of the passage, sipping the last of his bottles of water. He did not know exactly when the time would be. He knew only that he was to wait until the lights blinked off.

The journey across the tracks had been an ordeal-a train had come just as he opened the panel-but it was past. The rest now was easy.

When the lights went off, he would put on the heavy coat and the hat, pull up the two tanks that looked like an oxygen pack. He would need the goggles to see. He had a light, but it was better to use the goggles: The light would give him away.

Faud would carry the pistol in his hand.

Several times he had thought of dressing and being ready, but the weight of the gear dissuaded him. He also had been instructed to keep the tanks in their insulated case for as long as possible.