Transfer of Power

ON THE EAST side of the White House, Lt. Commander Harris and his men were busy getting ready. The air under the tarp was soupy. Condensation had formed on the sides of the three vehicles, and rivulets of water were dripping to the ground. Every man was sweating profusely, but they all ignored it. They were used to working in conditions far worse than this.

Harris had already chosen his two men. The first was Nick Shultz, a thirty-eight-year-old chief petty officer. Shultz was an EOD-explosive-ordnance disposal specialist-who had been on the teams since he was twenty. Due to his natural knack for explosives, he had spent a fair amount of time as a basic underwater demolition SEAL instructor-for the grueling twenty-six-week course that all candidates must complete before they can become a SEAL. However, what made Shultz one of the very best experts was his steady, unflappable demeanor. The second man Harris had picked was Danny Craft. The choice was actually a foregone conclusion, since Craft was Shultz’s swim buddy. Craft was Shultz’s junior by ten years.

Where Shultz was calm and introspective. Craft was active and outgoing.

And where Shultz was plain-looking. Craft was boyishly handsome. Looking quite a bit younger than his twenty eight years of age. Craft had used his blue-gray eyes to woo college coeds on both coasts. There was rarely a free night that the young SEAL spent alone.

The two men were polar opposites, and as the older Shultz had expected, this worked to their advantage. Craft saw things that Shultz didn’t and vice versa. Over the last two years they had honed their skills and become a very effective duo.

As they prepared for their insertion, the two men stood side by side in front of a long folding table and checked their equipment one last time.

Besides their weapons and specialized tool kits, they were bringing one exceptional piece of equipment.

Laid out on the table before them was a mobile X-ray imager made by Safety and Security Instruments out of San Diego. The first two pieces of the unit were the RTR-4 X-ray Imager and the XR-200 X-ray Source. The two units worked in conjunction with a third piece of equipment, the RTR-4 control unit. This portable Pentium computer was mounted in a super sturdy gasket-sealed aluminum case with shock mounted components.

The active-matrix color flat-panel display on the control unit would provide Shultz and Craft with a real-time sneak and peek into the guts of aziz’s bombs Without the RTR-4, any attempt to open the outer casing of the bombs would be a game of Russian roulette.

Standing fifteen feet away, in the open doorway of the CIA communications van, Lt. Commander Harris was busy listening to General Campbell and Irene Kennedy back at Langley. Harris was waiting for an opportunity to make his pitch, but hadn’t found it. General Campbell was asking a lot of questions, as was Kennedy. When there was finally a pause, Harris made his move.

“General Campbell, I’d like to request permission to go in with my demo boys. I think-“ Campbell cut him off.

“Request denied. I want you with your team.”

Harris held the handset of the secure field radio to his ear.

He was not to be deterred so easily.

“I respectfully disagree, sir.

I think I would be more valuable helping conduct the recon of the building.”

“You are to stay put. Commander.”

The voice was not Campbell’s. It was General Flood’s.

Harris, slightly caught off guard, had not expected Flood to be listening in on the conversation.

The highest-ranking officer in the entire U.S. military continued by saying, “If things proceed well, there’s a good chance we’ll be sending you and your team in.”

“Yes, sir,” was the only reply Harris could muster.

“Now get your boys moving. Iron Man will be waiting for them on the other side.”