SITUATION ROOM
THE WHITE HOUSE
The president studied the countdown clock on the wall:
00:10:47
Dellenbaugh’s face was drenched in sweat. He looked calm but nervous. He caught Calibrisi’s attention.
“Is Dewey even alive?”
“We have no way of knowing,” said Calibrisi. “He and the SEALs are in the tunnels. There’s no way to know if they’ll make it to the palace. He has more than a mile of tunnel. It’s guarded, and they probably know he’s there.”
Dellenbaugh smiled.
“It’s Dewey,” the president said. He looked at Phil Tralies, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “He has until the three-minute mark. That leaves us plenty of time.”
“But Mr. President,” said Tralies, his voice rising. “We’re cutting it too close! If anything goes wrong—if our calculations are off—we risk the possibility of a nuclear bomb destroying Los Angeles or some other city.”
“What is the status of our missile defense systems?” said Dellenbaugh.
“All defense systems are hot,” said Arnold, the secretary of defense. “All tracking protocols are live and the entire THADD battery is unlocked and loaded. But, Mr. President, it’s not a fail-safe option. I can’t guarantee we can take it down.”
“Understood,” said Dellenbaugh. “Dewey has seven more minutes.”
“Mr. President, waiting any longer is unacceptable,” said Tralies. “We—”
“The last time I checked, General, I was the commander in chief,” barked Dellenbaugh, cutting him off, leaning forward, throwing him a brutal look. “He has until the three-minute mark.”
“Very good, Mr. President,” said Tralies.