24 Veto Power Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Don’t hang up on me again.”
    “Chew me out later,” Jack growled. “I’ve got something here, maybe. There’s some indication here that the Greater Nation was on to an Islamic terrorist cell here.”
    “The militia guys were working with Islamic terrorists?”
    “No, they were targeting them. Marks claims they uncovered a sleeper cell or something in Los Angeles. He says they reported it. The notes say three months ago. It also says here that these terrorists were planning something soon. Can you check the Domestic Security Alerts?”
    “On it. Call you back.”
    4:18 A . M . PST CTU Headquarters, Los Angeles
    In his office, Kelly pressed a button on his phone and Jack’s call vanished. He flipped the intercom line and said, “Jessi.”
    The voice of Jessi Bandison, the most capable of the gravediggers, came on. “Here.”
    “I need you to scan the tip sheets for me. Check Homeland Security’s DSAs for the last six months. Also the FBI logs from local and national.”
    “Kelly, I’m not cleared for—”
    “When you get to the logs, buzz me and I’ll code you through. I’m looking for anything about tips on terrorists in Los Angeles.”
    Jessi buzzed back quickly—she was good at her job—and Kelly half walked, half jumped down the stairs from his loft to the pit where the gravediggers worked. Jessi Bandison—mocha-skinned, curvy, and attractive in all the ways a fashion model was not— watched unblinking as lines of code flashed from bottom to top on her screen. “Nothing in our logs about Islamic terrorists. At least not here in L.A.”
    “Okay. Link up with Homeland Security and go through their servers and the FBI logs.”
    She did, and a moment later a password screen came up. Kelly typed in his i.d. and password, and a second later they were through to a new level of security.
    “So what is this?” Jessi asked.
    “The FBI puts out formal alerts to all departments associated with Homeland Security. But they also keep their own logs for internal use. It’s an ongoing intra-net brainstorming session set up after 9/11. Everyone and anyone doing field work or receiving data is supposed to log information of interest here.”
    Jessi looked pleasantly surprised. “That’s impressive.”
    “It’s bullshit,” Kelly said. He leaned over Jessi. There was a faint smell of jasmine on her neck. He was careful to stare at the screen. “It’s just a CYA gimmick. Everyone’s afraid to miss something, so there’s so much garbage poured into the log all the time that it’s impossible to study it in real time. All it really does is allow you to go back and see if anything was done in the past. That way, if the shit hits the fan, everyone gets sprayed.”
    “Thanks for that image.”
    At Kelly’s direction, Jessi searched for key words that included terrorist, Islam, Los Angeles, and militia .
    4:25 A . M . PST Greater Nation Compound
    At the Greater Nation compound, SUV engines were revving as the SEB unit prepared to take their prisoners away. Jack nearly missed the phone call.
    “Bauer,” he said.
    “Jack, we’ve got nada. No reports, no tips, no nothing. If your weekend warriors told anyone, it must have been the post office.”
    “Thanks.” Jack snapped his phone off and glared at Marks. “No tips. Truth is, that’s what I expected. You’re not the type to rely on the government.”
    Marks shook his square head. “You don’t get us, Jack. I don’t know why I didn’t see that. We believe that protecting our borders from terrorists is one thing the government should do. Of course I’d tip them if I learned something. But no one did a thing. The only difference between me and you is that you think if you can’t stop it, we regular citizens ought to just lie down and take it. Sorry, that’s not my style.”
    “Is that where Newhouse went? You told him to focus on a mission. Was this it?”
    Marks said nothing.
    “All right. You’re such a patriot, then tell me the plan. Tell