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Tyson said. She had a pleasant face that wasn’t quite beautiful and a million-dollar smile when she was in a good mood.
    â€œWell, the fat’s in the fire this time,” President Hanson said.
    â€œI’m afraid it’s even worse than that,” Dr. Tyson replied.
    The president glanced at Brad Stein. “I’ll be real glad when people around here stop saying that.”
    Coffee service had already been brought in. Pam served the president. Carolyn Tyson and Stein helped themselves.
    â€œWe have an hour and a half before the others start showing up,” the president said. “I want to know what the hell is going on and why I wasn’t warned about this earlier.”
    â€œWe didn’t know ourselves until it happened,” Carolyn Tyson said. “But we suspected that they were going to try something radical at Kharan. We thought maybe it might be a cruise missile, which is why I sent a team over there to look.”
    â€œThey’re at Kharan?”
    She nodded. “We’ve temporarily lost contact with them because of the post-blast atmospherics, but that should clear soon.”
    â€œThe genie is out of the bottle,” Pam muttered. She looked at the president. The thermonuclear genie. The nuclear-countdown clock to Armageddon had just started ticking again and they all knew it.
    â€œMr. President, Scott is over there. He’s the team leader.”
    The president’s eyes narrowed. His lips compressed as if he were biting off a reply. When he spoke it was in carefully measured tones. “My brother is in Pakistan? At Kharan?”
    â€œYes, sir,” Carolyn Tyson said. She did not look away; she held his gaze. “We talked when I became the DCI. Scott was either going to be allowed to do the job he was trained for, the job for which he was hired, or I was going to terminate his employment with the Company. You agreed that it was his decision.”
    Presidents did not like to be reminded of things they might have said in the past. “What are we doing to get them out of there?”
    â€œNothing for the moment, Mr. President. Not until we reestablish contact. In all likelihood they’re just fine. Surprised, but okay. They’re professionals, and Scott is one of the best. He has a good head on his shoulders, and the right training and background for the job. It’s why the operations officer picked him for the job and that’s why Howard and I both signed off.” Howard Nelson was the Agency’s deputy director of operations.
    The president took a moment to recover his composure. “Very well. Meanwhile New Delhi will want to make a preemptive strike on Islamabad and the Joint Chiefs’ headquarters at Chaklala. I can’t say as I blame them.” Hanson was considered to be the most intensely moral president since Truman. A man’s word was his bond. Pakistan and India had agreed to an uneasy truce under what was known as the Malta Declaration, where it had been hammered out two years ago.
    But eighteen months ago, one of India’s top nuclear scientists had been reported missing when his light plane went down on a flight between his home in Ahamadabad and New Delhi. Neither his body nor any wreckage had been found. There were rumors, however, that Pakistani rangers working a rogue operation had forced the scientist’s plane down, killed the crew, and whisked him across the border.
    If he was behind the new development, India would be even more rabid to even the score.
    â€œWe’ll have to convince them not to do it,” Carolyn Tyson said. “Pakistan has never tested a new weapon unless they had others already operational. Even though this test was probably not sanctioned by Islamabad, whoever is running the program is following their established protocol.” She looked at the others around the Oval Office. “They’ve tested one hydrogen bomb in the three-megaton range. City busters,