The Metro comes to a stop at Union Station a few blocks from Capitol Hill. One man gets off and takes the escalator to the main floor of the restored Washington train station. A cacophony of sounds usually bounce off the marble floors and ninety-six-foot barrel-vaulted ceilings all day long when commuters, shoppers and diners pour through the doors and jam the gate areas. With over one hundred shops and restaurants, it’s a hub of noisy activity.
But not around midnight.
Now the janitors sweep up the detritus of thousands of travelers. A couple of teenagers with backpacks sit on gray plastic chairs waiting for an overnight train. And a night manager locks a restaurant off the main lobby and disappears through the revolving doors to the street.
The man walks past the news stands with their metal grates pulled down, the empty shoe shine booths, and TV monitors listing the train arrivals and departures. He heads to a bank of pay phones next to Gate G, checks his Tag Heuer watch, leans close to the phone on the end and waits. He was somewhat amazed that there still were pay phones available these days. Then again, he decided that travelers must use them, and while he wasn’t exactly a traveler at the moment, he might be one soon.
No one notices when the phone rings. The call is generated from an STD/ISD booth thousands of miles away. He grabs the receiver and says in a low voice, “Yes, I am here.”
“When will Magellan arrive?”
“The explorer will be ready within a few days.”
“And the boomerang will be next?” It wasn’t so much a question but a command.
A slight hesitation. “It will take more time.”
“We have very little time. We are in an emergency situation here. You must improve the timetable.”
“I know. I have heard the reports. I know about the attack. Will there be retaliation?”
“It is being discussed right now.”
“I shall do my best.”
“We can count on you?”
“You have my word.”
“For the Motherland.”
“For the Motherland.”
“Desh Bhakti, my friend.”
“Desh Bhakti.”
He hangs up the phone and walks out into the station, his footsteps echoing down the nearly deserted hallway. He takes the escalator down to another waiting Metro car, gets on board and heads for home.