As Air Force One headed east toward Washington D.C., the flight path had taken it over the northern portion of Idaho and the western portion of Montana. If everyone onboard, including those few members of the press, hadn’t been so busy with discovering how and why the attacks could have happened, they would have enjoyed a marvelous view. The mountainous terrain, both vast and rugged, towered beneath the plane with early snows having blanketed the higher reaches of them. Those views had changed drastically however, as the current position of the jumbo jet was over a section of the country that transitioned from mountainous terrain to that of the Great Plains.

While conferring with members of his staff, various reports from each of the three academies began to trickle in. Then an aide entered the conference room and reported, “Mr. President, the communication center on board has received a message from the FAA. They believe that there has been a sighting with regard to those who attacked the Air Force Academy. According to the report of a Major Fenton, the attack was perpetrated by a group of individuals who were picked up by a camouflaged military helicopter.”

Understandably in a foul mood, President Harwell replied, “Well we already know that. Their escape by air is what made the attack different from those of West Point or Annapolis.”

“Yes sir.”

“So who is this Major Fenton, and why is he reporting information that is already known to us?”

“Major Fenton has identified himself as the principal aide for General Vickers, the commandant of the academy. And sir, he may be in shock and unaware that we already have that information.”

After a deep breath, the President replied, “Alright, that’s fair enough I suppose. But why didn’t General Vickers report directly?”

“The major has informed us that the general and the joint chief were both killed during the attack, so he is from an administrative standpoint in temporary command.”

Agent Bishop noticed that the President was clenching and unclenching his left hand again after receiving that terrible news, but was unaware that General Brooks from the joint chiefs of staff had been ordered by President Harwell to attend the game. Then after a sorrowful exhale, the President said, “Alright, we will have to deal with their loss at a later time. Now, you were mentioning something about the FAA contacting our communications center.”

“Yes sir. Based on their communication, we now have a lead on the helicopter.”

After several long seconds of silence, his reply was sharp. “Well don’t keep me waiting, what has been discovered?”

“Yes sir. The FAA claims they have an eyewitness report that such a helicopter landed at the Fremont County Airport in Canon City Colorado.”

“Where is that? And more importantly, do we and the FAA consider the eyewitness to be a reliable source?”

“By air it’s roughly fifty miles southwest of the academy sir. And yes, she works in the control tower of the regional airport so we believe her to be reliable.”

“Alright, so has anything been done to capture those responsible for the attack?”

“Not exactly sir. The eyewitness has informed the FAA that the helicopter landed without identification or clearance on the most distant few feet of the runway from the tower, but then things got weird. Just moments before the unexpected landing, she had given clearance for two small Cessna jets to taxi out toward that end of the runway. One was already in position to take off, while the other was pivoting from the taxiway.”

“Is that somehow relevant to the helicopter?”

“Yes sir it is. She reported seeing through her binoculars from the tower that each of the jets opened their doorway, and that several people ran over from the helicopter to climb inside both aircraft. When she attempted to contact the pilots to ask what was going on, they took off immediately without proper clearance. She further reported that while tracking their outbound course on radar, she warned a few other private planes in the area to be on the lookout for the jets as she had no idea of their intended flightpath. While focused on that safety measure, the helicopter suddenly lurched and became engulfed in a huge ball of smoke and fire. Apparently her airport fire crew and that of the community were attempting to contain the blaze when she contacted the FAA, but they were having little success.”

“Alright, she sounds like somebody who really knows how to do her job. Does she, or anybody else, still have the jets on radar?”

“Yes sir. The planes are both moving fast in a southerly direction, and based on their radar signature, they must have remained within visual contact of each other. The pair has already entered airspace over New Mexico, and it would appear they are headed for somewhere south of the border.”

“Can we get somebody up there to stop them before they enter Mexican airspace?”

“Yes sir, we can scramble some fighters. But unless you order the pilots to shoot them down, they will be out of the country very quickly.”