Corrigan looked up from the console.
“They’ve got him!” he yelled. “Ferguson is alive! They’ve got him!”
Tears began to stream from Corrine’s eyes.
“Aircraft is under their control,” added Corrigan, almost as an afterthought. “We have the bomb. The Marines are inbound!”
Corrine looked down at the communications panel controlling her headset and pushed the button to connect with Slott.
“You heard that, Dan?”
“Yes.”
“I think you should be the one to tell the president.”
“We should both tell him,” he said. “Corrigan?”
There was a light pop in the headphones.
“You’re on the line with the White House situation room,” said Corrigan.
Corrine waited for Slott to say something.
Slott, waiting for her, remained silent.
“I hope there is nothing wrong with this line,” said the president finally.
“Mr. President,” said Slott. “The First Team has stopped the aircraft. We are in the process of securing the weapon.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good work, Mr. Slott. How long will it take before the bomb is secured?”
“We’re going to use a marine helicopter to airlift it out,” said Slott. “We want to bring it to one of our assault ships offshore. It will take a few hours.”
“I would imagine that securing that weapon is a tricky thing.”
“Yes, sir. One of our people has experience with that,” he added, referring to Ferguson. “But, uh, every weapon is different.”
“Are the North Koreans in a position to stop us?”
“We don’t believe so at this time. We’re monitoring the situation closely. There are no units nearby. There’s a great deal of confusion in the capital.”
“You will tell me the moment the weapon is in our complete control aboard our ship,” said McCarthy.
“Yes, sir, I will.”
“We will keep a careful watch until then, and do nothing to alert either country.”
“I can’t guarantee we can keep this a secret,” Slott said.
“Then we had best move as quickly as possible,” said McCarthy. “Miss Alston, are you on the line?”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
“Job well done to you as well.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said, cringing as she heard Slott click off the line.