Free Fall

Sixty-Two

Washington, DC

The president sat at the center of the mahogany table, back to the Rose Garden, facing the vice president and other officials who’d been called to the Cabinet Room.

Eighteen people, including cabinet secretaries, members of the National Security Council, Defense, FBI, Homeland, FAA, CIA and NTSB were at the table, while two dozen other experts flanked the walls.

The Zarathustra situation was allotted thirty minutes on the White House agenda for assessment and action.

The meeting began with the president giving the FBI director five minutes to brief the table. The heads of the FAA and NTSB were each given three minutes. The president then opened the discussion, starting with the transportation secretary.

“Given the situation, we recommend a national ground stop followed by a global ground stop,” the secretary said.

“You want to ground all flights?” the commerce secretary asked.

“Yes, we believe that’s the prudent step to take.”

“I think under the circumstances it’s an overreaction,” the commerce secretary said.

“It’s the best safety measure,” the transportation secretary said.

“Yes, of course, but that hasn’t been done since 9/11. And with 9/11 we were under attack,” the commerce secretary said. “The economic impact of a ground stop today would be devastating, and I don’t need to remind this table how fragile economies are in some parts of the world now. We must consider other options.”

“Without this precaution, we risk lives until the suspects are apprehended and the threat is removed,” the transportation secretary said.

“I understand that,” the commerce secretary said, “but we haven’t identified a specific target, have we?”

“Nothing specific,” the FBI director said. “The two stricken aircraft had Richlon-Titan flight systems, and the suspects are linked to Richlon-Titan.”

“Have the manufacturer and airlines been advised, or asked to ground these aircraft?” the Homeland Security secretary asked.

“Those discussions with industry are taking place as we speak.”

“How close are we to arresting the suspects?” the president asked.

“We’re tracking two in Colorado now, and we believe we’re close. One is believed to be here in the Washington area.”

“Washington?”

“Yes. We’re going to make a public appeal shortly, with photos, and place them on our Most Wanted list.”

“Do we have conclusive evidence confirming the suspects interfered with the flights?” the president asked.

“No, but we have mounting evidence that points to that conclusion,” the FBI director said.

“We’ll move into a higher stage of readiness,” the president said. “I want the FAA to immediately put out alerts to the airline industry. In particular, advise commercial crews to be vigilant and to immediately report any anomalies. We’ll have NORAD and the National Military Command Center stand by. I want State to advise other countries of our situation through intelligence protocols.”

“What about a ground stop?” the transportation secretary asked.

“No ground stop will be undertaken at this point. We’ll allow law enforcement time to apprehend the suspects and remove the threat. If stronger evidence surfaces to confirm direct interference with the flights, we’ll take appropriate action.”

The president took a quick look around the table.

“Finally, I want to be kept abreast of any developments. Thank you.”