The National Security briefing had already broken up by the time Corrine and Slott finished talking with Ferguson. They followed the president and a knot of aides up to the Oval Office. Corrine felt almost sheepish, as if she’d snuck out of class to meet a boyfriend and gotten caught.
Slott felt as if he were in the middle of a painful dream. He still wasn’t sure he believed Park and the North Koreans were actually aiming at the Japanese. It was a wild theory but too dangerous to ignore.
Parnelles, who was with the president, saw them in the corridor. The CIA director whispered something to McCarthy, and the president’s voice suddenly boomed through the hall.
“I require a few minutes to discuss something with my attorney,” McCarthy told the others. “Miss Alston, if you could meet me upstairs please. Tom, why don’t you and Dan stand by, and I’ll take you right after her. Everyone else, please have a very good dinner.”
When they got to the president’s office, Corrine insisted that Slott and Parnelles come in and then made Slott say what they had found. McCarthy leaned back in his leather chair, one foot propped against the drawer of the desk.
“It is an incredible theory, Mr. Slott. Very incredible,” he said when Slott finished.
“It’s out there, sir.”
“And we’re checking it out?”
“We have an officer nearby. A coincidence.”
But maybe it wasn’t much of a coincidence at all, Slott thought as he said that. Ferguson always managed to get himself in the middle of whatever was going on.
“Lucky for us, Mr. Slott. Can we stop this aircraft?”
“I can try and get it on the ground, Mr. President,” Slott said. “I have the Special Forces component of the First Team offshore. I can get them into position to make an attack. With your permission.”
McCarthy did not want to accidentally start a war between South and North Korea, but even that paled against the possibility of Japan being attacked with a nuclear weapon.
“If the aircraft is there, do it. In the meantime, alert the air force.”
“Jon, if this is a defector,” said Parnelles, “we don’t necessarily want to shoot him down.”
“Better to shoot him down than risk Tokyo being obliterated.” McCarthy picked up his phone. “Jess, run and get Larry Stich before he leaves for the Pentagon, would you? And the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Round him up as well. And the secretary of state and Ms. Manzi. Tell them I have some new developments that require their input.”