Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

people check the tapes for anyone acting suspicious near the recycling bins. We may not have gotten them planting the bombs, but maybe we can see them activating them.”
    Harry arched his eyebrow.
    Yeah, Harry, I’m a smart guy. Don’t underestimate me . Jack still couldn’t believe that he had to put Harry Tharp in as Homeland Security chief. Harry was a blowhard, a know-it-all who had worked his way up through FEMA. He still didn’t think that “skirts” should be in any positions of power. But during his watch at FEMA, he had led an impressive response to Hurricane Karen in Florida. His leadership proved to be so successful that most Floridians even started calling him “Hurricane Harry.” If he wanted a leg up on securing Florida’s twenty-seven juicy electoral votes for his reelection campaign, Jack had no other choice than to promote him.
    Damn the politics .
    “What’s the current status of the Metro system?” Jack asked him.
    “Whole thing’s still shut down, sir. As of this minute, no other stations or buses have been affected.”
    Jack tried rubbing the stress out of his neck and then looked over at his chief of staff. “Any thoughts, Simon?”
    “Just my usual. Stay on message. Vigilance and caution are the words. Remember the London underground bombings in ’05. They were a hell of a lot more severe than this, and things got back to normal pretty quick. We are in a new age, Mr. President.” Simon glanced at Harry before continuing. “These disruptions are part of it. We address them but then move forward—with vigilance and caution.”
    Vigilance and caution. Jack repeated the words in his mind several times. He would be repeating them endlessly to the media over the next few days.
    There was a familiar knock on the door that led to the foyer.
    “Come in,” Jack yelled.
    Vanessa Dempsey entered in red blur. She glided over to the president and handed him a note. Jack unfolded it and read the message.
    “Tell the networks to hang tight. We go forward as planned.”
    “Yes, sir.” Vanessa tapped her watch. “You’ve got the Mazoka meet and greet in ten.” Jack nodded, and Vanessa was back at her post in the foyer in a matter of seconds.
    “The TV honchos worried about the State of the Union?” Simon guessed.
    “They want to know if I’m still planning on delivering it Sunday night.”
    Harry huffed. “They want to know if they can run Titanic for the hundredth time or something?”
    Simon cleared his throat, signaling to Jack that he had this one. “Actually, they’re fishing for a scoop. News of the president canceling the State of the Union would get them licking their chops for more information on what we’re thinking about this event and terrorism in general.” Harry pursed his lips as he nodded. He didn’t think like Simon and Jack did. Inside the White House, it was all about the message, working the words. That’s why Jack had instructed Vanessa even before he took office to interrupt whatever he was doing when any of the news outlets had their panties in a twist.
    “Maybe we need to start some folks thinking about the consequences of moving the State of the Union,” Simon said. “This attack is awfully close, Mr. President.”
    “Absolutely not. There are too many important items on the docket. The American people have waited long enough for their new leader to tell them what the hell their government will do to earn its keep for the foreseeable future. Increase security if you have to, have the skies over the district filled with F-16s, ring the greater metro area with the National Guard for all I care, but the State of the Union will proceed as planned—with caution and vigilance.”
    Jack looked at both of them. He realized that he had subconsciously ratcheted his volume up more than a few notches. “Okay,” Jack stood, signaling the end to their meeting. “Obviously this attack is top priority. Feel free to yank me from anything whenever we get something new.”
    “Don’t you think we need to increase the terror alert, sir?” Harry responded as he stood.
    Jack hated that useless thing. It reminded him that their government treated its citizens like two-year-olds. “Americans are intelligent, Harry. They don’t need someone to change a color to know that they need to stay on their toes. Oh, sorry. Let me rephrase. To proceed with caution and vigilance.”
    Simon smiled at his boss getting comfortable with the message he had crafted. Both men