Markhaus grunted, and shook his head.

"The question is," the woman next to her spoke up, but in a quieter tone. "Why did they know so much, and no one else seemed to?" She eyed Kerry briefly. "I didn't mean to be rude."

Kerry altered her body posture, removing her hands from her hips and sticking them in her pockets instead. "Well," she said. "It's called Information Technology for a reason. Knowing what's going on is what my business is. We have a good communication plan, we all speak the same language, and we're used to passing data to each other without the constraints of different agencies, different politics, or different chains of command."

Markhaus grunted. "Probably got a point there," he admitted. "I just heard the police and firemen in Manhattan couldn't even talk to each other because their radios were incompatible."

Everyone got quiet again.

"Did you hear, on CNN earlier, those sounds?" the woman asked. "All those chirps, from the firefighter's pagers they said."

Kerry let her eyes drop to the ground, as the silence lengthened after that. She jerked a little then when her cell phone buzzed softly, and she looked up in apology before she removed it form her belt. "I'm sorry, excuse me."

Mark's cell phone. "Hey." Kerry kept her voice low. "What's up?" She moved away from the now whispering Senators, and turned her back to them.

"Hey." Mark sounded subdued. "Listen, I was just listening in on the bridge. They found our big guy in NY."

"Bob? Where?" Kerry murmured.

Mark hesitated. "He's um--he didn't make it."

Kerry's heart sank. "Damn." She exhaled. "Does Dar know?"

"She was on the bridge," Mark said. "She went to go tell the big cheese. The NY people are pretty slammed."

"Damn it," Kerry sighed. "He and Alastair were good friends."

"Yeah," Mark murmured. "How's it going there?"

"I'm about to kick box a few senators and get my ass thrown in jail," Kerry admitted. "Tell Dar to bring cash."

That got a tiny laugh out of Mark. "Hey, listen. Good news is they got the Newark E up. Birds are synced, and I'm doing some bandwidth hacking while I wait for power here."

"Good job, Mark." Kerry sighed, and glanced over her shoulder. Some of the people were moving toward the door, and she realized the session seemed to be over. "Let me wrap this up, and I'll get back to you. The boss said she'd be heading out here tonight."

"Woo fucking hoo. I'll be glad to see her," Mark said.

"Me too," Kerry agreed. "Me too," she repeated, closing the cell phone. She turned and walked back to where her mother was standing, talking to Senator Markhaus. "Sorry."

"Is everything all right, Kerry?" her mother asked. "You look upset."

Kerry gazed past them. "One of our people in New York was killed in the attack," she said. "They just confirmed it."

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry." Cynthia put her hand on Kerry's shoulder. "Was it someone you knew well?"

"No." She shook her head. "But we've been trying to support our people there, and it's very hard news for them." Her eyes flicked to the door. "Are we done here?"

"For now," Senator Markhaus said. "Nice bit of fencing, by the way. Quoting your father back at me." He studied her coolly. "Wonder what he'd say if he'd heard you do that."

Kerry stared right back at him. "He'd tell you not to piss me off." She glanced at her mother. "Excuse me. I'll wait outside." She eased past them and made for the door, twitching her jacket across her shoulders as she cleared it and went out.

"Was that called for, Alan?" Cynthia asked. "Please don't expect me to ask Kerry to come in here again."

Markhaus put his hands in his pockets, regarding the now empty doorframe. "Interesting kid," he said. "Turned out more like him than he ever dreamed," he said. "He'd have popped a button listening to her tell us off like that."

"Kerry has quite a temper," her mother agreed. "But in this case, I agree with her. She did our country good service, and was rewarded with accusations and your mean tongue. Why not turn that on your dear friends in the administration instead? Is it just so much easier to yell at a young woman?"

Markhaus gave her a sour look.

"Perhaps Roger was right." Cynthia straightened up. "We are ruled by fools and cowards. Fortunately for me, my daughter is neither." She turned and marched out, slamming the door with a resounding bang behind her.

DAR SAT QUIETLY in the chair in Kerry's office, listening to the quiet conversation on the speaker phone. Across the desk from her, Alastair was crouched, leaning forward toward the phone with his head resting on both fists.

She'd had to deliver bad news more than once in her lifetime, but usually it was bad news of an impersonal sort. Telling Alastair about Bob's death had been anything but impersonal. It made her feel sad, and angry all over again at the senselessness of it all.

Her guts were in knots. She could see how upset Alastair really was, though his expression was merely somber and his voice even as he spoke into the phone to the devastated New York office.

"They're sure, John?" Alastair said.

"Yes, boss," a somber voice came back. "I got a call from St. Vincent's. They thought they were going to get swamped, but they didn't. Only a few--ah. Anyway, one of the doctors there knew him."

"Damn it."

"Most of the people here are in the big room. They're pretty upset. I came in the conference room to talk to you," John Brenner added. "I think we're all still in shock."

Alastair sighed. "Has anyone called his family?"

"No sir."

Dar watched her boss's face tense into a grimace, and she felt a wallop of sympathy for him. She'd known Bob in a casual way, met him once or twice, and argued with him extensively, but Alastair had been a personal friend.

"All right. I will," Alastair said. "Damn, I'm sorry to hear it. John, is there anything I can do for the folks there? I know they must be taking it hard."

John Brenner sighed. "We all hoped everyone made it," he said. "After people started showing up today, we all thought, hey, we'll get through this and it'll just be getting things moving again."

"Yeah, I know," Alastair murmured. "We all hoped that."

"He stopped to help some people. It must have taken too long, I guess."

Alastair glanced across the desk, watching Dar's somber eyes watch him. "Sometimes I'd rather our people be a little less heroic," he said. "But he did what he had to. "

"Yes, sir. He did."

"All right. Whatever the folks there need-people, alcohol, whatever-make sure they get it John," Alastair said. "I'll get hold of Mari here and see if we can get a counselor down there."

John hesitated. "I think we'd appreciate it," he said. "It would be good to have someone to talk to," he admitted. "I'll call you later, boss, if we hear anything else. I'm going to go back inside with the rest of them."

"Okay John. Take care." Alastair exhaled, reaching forward to release the speakerphone. He then settled back in Kerry's chair and gazed across at Dar. "Goddamn it."

"Sorry," Dar murmured. "I know he was a friend, Alastair."

"He was," her boss said, in a sad tone. "His family are old friends of mine for a couple generations back, matter of fact. My Granddad and his Great Granddad were business partners." He shook his head. "What a damn shame."

"Yeah," Dar nodded quietly. "They were all down there Alastair. The odds weren't great in our favor to begin with."

Alastair gazed past her. "How many times in bad odds did you bring us out without a scratch? Maybe I got used to thinking we were just lucky that way."

Dar didn't know what to answer to that, so she just sat there quietly, wincing at the upset in her stomach.

"Damn it," Alastair whispered. "Damn it, damn it, damn it."

Dar jumped a bit, as her cell phone rang. She unclipped it and checked the caller ID, then opened it. "Gerry," she warned Alastair, before she answered. "Dar Roberts."

"Hello, Dar. Gerry Easton here," the General said. "We've got you all set up. They want to grab you in a helo. You have space for that there?"

Dar's brows creased. "Ah--a helicopter?" she asked. "Gerry, we can drive to the damn airport. I'd have to clear half the parking lot to get one in here unless it was the size of one of those traffic copters."

"Well, hang on a minute." Gerry put her on hold.

Dar looked across at Alastair and shook her head. "Helicopter. Jesus."

Alastair pressed his fingertips against his lips. "Y'know Dar," he said. "Given the news, I think I'd better renege on my offer to go with you."

Dar's eyes opened wide. "What?"

"I think I'd better get Bea to book me to New York tomorrow morning," Alastair said. "Those people need support. Bob's family needs support. The government can wait."

"Hello, Dar?" Gerry came back on. "They'd rather pick you up. Got their pants on fire, now they're scuttling I guess. Man said he can put the chopper down near by you. Fifteen minutes," he said. "Hate to push the point, Dar, but we've got several hells in hand baskets around here and everyone's in a rush."

Dar studied her boss. "I'll be ready," she said. "See you soon, Gerry."

"Well done. Good job," the General said. "Talk to you later."

He hung up. Dar closed the phone and held it in her hands, her expression thoughtful. Then she opened the phone again and dialed. "Dad? Hey. Last minute crap. They want to helo me out of here in fifteen. Can you--ah, you are. Okay, see you in a few."