The naked edge

19

On the TV monitors, the crowd got bigger.

On one of the screens, a woman carried a large, heavy purse. She hid an object in her hand and periodically looked at it.

"Part of the radiation detection team," someone in the communications room explained.

On another screen, a man held what looked like a smart phone: a pathogen detector.

"Two hundred members of the Homeland Security team are out there, weaving through the crowd, scanning it. But how many diseases can they program their detectors to test for? They can't possibly scan for everything," someone said.

"How big is the crowd?"

"Fifteen thousand."

"And getting larger," an agent said. "What difference does it make if the conference was postponed? As long as they think it's happening, there'll be a riot."

"And maybe worse," Rutherford murmured.

Next to him, Cavanaugh said, "Right now, somebody needs to send agents into that crowd. Make them act like the protestors. Tell them to spread the word, sounding pissed off that the conference was cancelled."

Mosely's gaze was icy as he turned toward Cavanaugh. "And I bet you're dying to get out there and show us how it's done."