He turned. "Yes, we are going to hit the most influential woman in America while she is with the richest of the rich. That way, the ordinary citizens will not feel threatened and rise up against us.""At least, not until our forces that are on their way here arrive on their sh.o.r.es," Kareem said.

"By that time, it will be too late for the Americans," Farrar said. "Our army will sweep across the country like a whirlwind, destroying everything and everyone before it."

Downstairs, after calling for backup, Coop and Jersey slipped through the front door of the apartment building.

They stood in the foyer, their backs against a wall, and pulled out their Uzis as they peered up the stairs.

"We better be careful, Coop," Jersey said. "These men may not be terrorists after all, just a couple of Arabs living here."

He shook his head. "Did you see that stack of new money they had?" he asked. "No one dressed as they were would have that much money on them, and if they did, they certainly wouldn't show it in public like that.

Not if they knew this country at all."

"You're probably right, but . . ." Jersey began, just as a man carrying a Kalashnikov machine gun over his shoulder walked by on the landing to the second floor.

Coop nodded at the man. "Satisfied now?" he asked.

Jersey jacked a sh.e.l.l into the firing chamber of her Uzi and nodded.

Coop put his finger to his lips and started up the stairs, 52.keeping his back to the wall. At the top, he peeked around a comer, then jerked his head back.

He laid his Uzi down on the floor and took his K-Bar a.s.sault knife from a scabbard under his coat.

As a small, thin, dark-skinned man with a rifle in his hands walked around the corner, Coop slipped his left arm around the man's neck and pulled his face tight against his chest as he slipped his knife up under the man's ribs and into his heart. The m.u.f.fled groan was barely louder than a gasp. Coop lowered him to the floor and whispered down the stairway to Jersey, "Scramble, the party's heating up fast."

Less than a minute later, Jersey skipped up the stairs, her Uzi c.o.c.ked and ready. Coop started to say something to her as another youth leaned over the stairwell above them on the third floor, saying, "Amal?"

His eyes widened when he saw them, and he began to shout as he reached toward his shoulder holster.

Jersey didn't hesitate. She leveled her Uzi at him and loosed a burst of five rounds, cutting him down. Coop bounded up the stairs, screaming for Jersey to cover her ears as he lobbed a stun grenade down the hallway.

Several doors opened and men began to emerge like ants from a disturbed anthill just as the grenade went off.The shock wave from the blast threw Coop backward down the stairs into Jersey, and they both ended up in a tangle at the foot of the stairs.

"Jesus!" said Coop, looking astonished when he realized he couldn't hear himself talk. He felt himself shoved aside and saw Jersey's lips move, but couldn't hear what she was saying.

The floor where he had been lying disintegrated in a hail of bullets and splinters as Jersey began to spray upward with the Uzi on full automatic, the gun bucking and jumping in her hands.

Coop jerked his Beretta from its holster under his arm, 53.53.and rolled over in time to see a man dance under the impact of the bullets and then topple backward out of sight.

Coop struggled to his feet once again, and scrambled back up the stairs just as another man appeared, blood running from his nose and ears, and opened up with a Kalashnikov machine gun. Coop crouched and put three shots in the man's chest, horrified as he saw Jersey picked up and thrown back against the wall as bullets tore into her chest, shredding her jacket.

Coop screamed incoherently and threw another stun grenade, then followed with a tear-gas canister. He didn't wait for the explosion, but ran back down the stairs and took Jersey in his arms, covering her body with his.

The door burst open and Harley and Anna, followed closely by Hammer and Beth, entered, their hands full of weapons.

Coop pointed up the stairs and shouted, "Terrorists, up the stairs-automatic weapons and probably grenades!"

Harley and Anna squatted, covering the stairway, while Beth and Hammer ran partway up, taking positions where they could cover the advance of the others.

In a matter of seconds Harley and Anna proceeded rapidly up the stairs.

Harley threw himself to the floor as a burst of automatic fire boomed ahead of him, while Anna began to fire as she ran to his side.

The noise was incredible, and soon the stink of cordite was joined by the irritation of the tear gas as visibility steadily decreased to zero.

Coop felt Jersey's neck for a pulse, and was astonished to find one.

He picked her up in his arms and staggered out the door and down the street, out of the way of any stray bullets. As he laid her down, he was grabbed from behind, his arms pinned, and he was thrown up against the brick wall of the building.

"Let's see some ID-fast!" said a man holding a pistol to 54.Coop's head. He was dressed all in black, and Coop knew immediately the man was with the FPPS."Okay, okay, but first get an ambulance for the lady," gasped Coop as he reached in and pulled out his wallet.

The man looked down and muttered, "One's on the way, should be here any minute." He quickly scanned Coop's ID, then lowered his gun and released Coop's arms.

"Want to tell me what the h.e.l.l's going on here, and what a medical team's doing firing off automatic weapons and getting shot in my city?"

Before Coop could answer, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics rushed to Jersey's side. Coop squatted down as the paramedic asked what her injuries were.

"She took several hits from a Kalashnikov in the chest and a blow to the back of the head. She's been unconscious for about ten minutes."

The paramedic took Jersey's pulse and blood pressure and looked up with a frown on his face. "I don't understand it. Her pulse is steady and her pressure's fine."

He tore her jacket open to examine her wounds and found a Kevlar vest, with five 9mm bullets embedded in it, but no blood. He whistled softly.

"The wonders of modern science. Boy, is she lucky. Couple of inches higher and she'd be history."

He ran his hands lightly through her hair, examining the back of her head. "Oh, here's the problem. She's got a knot on her head the size of an egg. That accounts for the unconsciousness."

As he and his a.s.sistant lifted Jersey up on the stretcher, he told the FPPS officers that he was going to have to take her to the hospital for tests to see if she had a skull fracture.

Coop turned to the FPPS man and said, "You have my ID ... can I ride to the hospital with her? I'll wait there for you and answer any questions you might have."

The officer shook his head, "d.a.m.n right you will. Bui- 55.55.letproof vests, automatic weapons, hand grenades . . . you've got a lot of explaining to do, mister."

Just then, Harley and the rest of Coop's team walked out of the door of the building, Uzis slung over their shoulders.

The FPPS man shook his head. "Oh, s.h.i.t, not more of you?"

Harley walked up to the man, holding out his ID. "I'll explain it all to you later, sir, but for now could you call for some more men? The terrorists ran out of the back of the building."

"Terrorists?" the FPPS man asked.

"Yeah, they plan to kill the president," Harley said, causing the FPPSman's eyes to widen and his face to pale in the light from the flames consuming the building down the street. : 56 Seven Abdullah El Farrar and Mustafa Kareem led their men out of the back door of the apartment building, and across an alleyway and around a corner to a second building he had rented for just such an occasion.

Farrar, long hunted by the forces of the U.N., was no stranger to having to change locations at a moment's notice. He always had a bolt-hole nearby to go to ground in, stocked with extra weapons and ammunition.

As the men spread out, covering various windows in case of pursuit, Farrar and Kareem sat and made plans for the future.

"How many men did we lose in the attack?" Farrar asked.

"Three dead, two wounded slightly," Kareem answered quickly.

"Then we are still in good shape to go through with the a.s.sault on the president?"

"Yes. We should have no problem in that regard."

"But you are worried about something else?"

"Yes. How did the authorities know of our presence here? And how did they find us?"

Farrar shrugged. "Mustafa, we have over fifty thousand troops and mercenaries on the way here by various means. It is impossible to keep such an undertaking secret, with so many people aware of it."

57.57."But, my leader, how did they locate us here in the city?" Kareem asked, his face a mask of worry.

"Perhaps it was mere luck," Farrar answered. "After all, our men have been allowed to go out among the Americans often. It might be they were seen, or acted in some way as to bring attention to themselves."

Kareem nodded, considering the possibility.

"In that regard, inform the men they are no longer to venture out of the building ... at least, not until after our attack later this week."

"Yes, sir," Kareem said, rising to give the men the message and to take care of the wounded.

The FPPS men loaded the rest of the team into a van and followed the ambulance to St. Martin's Hospital in downtown Indianapolis. Coop rode in the back of the carrier with Jersey, holding her hand as the ambulance sped through the streets.

Jersey's eyes flickered once, then opened and stared around the interior of the ambulance. After a moment, they drifted down to look at Coop'shand in hers.

She gave a wry grin. "Don't get any ideas, Romeo," she croaked through dry lips. "Just 'cause I'm unconscious doesn't mean you can take advantage of me."

Coop gave a derisive laugh. "That'll be the day," he said. "From what I hear from your many man friends, you make love like you're unconscious most of the time anyway."

Jersey's eyes flashed. "Bulls.h.i.t! Number one, none of the men I know would stoop to talking with someone like you, and number two, if they said that they'd be lying through their teeth."

The attendant leaned over and took Jersey's blood pressure. "You'd better let her rest," he said, a slight grin on his face. "You're driving her blood pressure through the roof."

58.Later, after the doctor on duty had cleared Jersey, letting her go with a warning to take it easy for a few days, she and Coop joined the others in a conference room at FPPS headquarters on the Benjamin Harrison Army base on the outskirts of town.

When they entered, Harley gave them a sly wink and went back to talking to the lead investigator, who was sitting at the head of a long conference table surrounded by several other agents.

"As I was saying, Mr. Pearson," Harley said, "we were in the process of scouting the building for people who needed inoculations against the plague, when some men carrying automatic weapons tried to take us prisoner."

Pearson looked skeptical. "And, of course you and your team were unarmed at the time?"

"Certainly," Harley said with a straight face. "We're a medical team, not commandos."

"And in spite of that, you were able to take the weapons away from these men and defend yourselves . . . and in the process kill three of the terrorists?"

"That's about the size of it," Harley said, leaning back in his chair and trying to look innocent.

Pearson leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "I take it then that you and your team have had previous military experience."

"Of course," Harley said. "As you may or may not know, Mr. Pearson, everyone in the SUSA serves in the military. It is part of our duty as citizens to help defend the country when needed."

Pearson nodded, but it was clear from his manner he didn't believe a word of what Harley was saying. "We have had a warning from your country that your intelligence people have heard terrorists have threatened to a.s.sa.s.sinate President Osterman. Do you think these are the men who were sent to do that?"

Harley shrugged. "I have no idea, sir," he said. "All I59 59.know is we stumbled across a group of Arab types who were extremely well-armed and who seemed to have no hesitation in using their weapons.

However, if that is what my country told you, I'd sure believe it."

"After all the trouble between our countries, why would Ben Raines try to help President Osterman?" Pearson asked.

"Sir, I know Ben Raines personally," Harley said, "and I've heard him say on numerous occasions he hopes President Osterman wins your upcoming election. He feels she is just what your country needs in the coming years."

Pearson grinned and chuckled, shaking his head. "Mr. Reno, if tha

is your name, I think you are as full of s.h.i.t as a Christmas goose."

When Harley started to protest, Pearson held up his hand. "However, as far as I can tell, your men and women did nothing wrong other than try to defend yourselves. You are free to go ... but I warn you, the FPPS is going to be keeping a sharp eye on you and your activities."

Harley stood up. "I would expect nothing less, Mr. Pearson. Thank you for your consideration."

Pearson gave a wry grin. "And thank you for what you're doing to help our citizens in our fight against the plague," he said, and then he turned and left the room.

When they got back to the hotel room, the team gathered in the conference suite.

"I guess we'll spend another couple of days here; then we might as well pack it up and head back home," Harley said.

"You're just going to let those terrorists get away?" Coop protested.

"We don't have a lot of choice, Coop," Harley explained. "With the FPPS sticking to us like fleas on a hound dog, we won't be able to do much more looking. Besides, they've been warned and they've seen the evidence that terrorists are 60.in the area and are heavily armed. If they can't manage to protect their president, we sure as h.e.l.l can't do it for them."

"Well, I for one am ready to get back to the SUSA and some good food.

I'm wasting away on this diet of poorly cooked pasta without any real meat," Jersey said.

Coop glanced at her. "h.e.l.l, Jerse, you can afford to lose the weight.

What about me? I'm losing muscle ma.s.s."

"Muscle ma.s.s my a.s.s!" Jersey said. "All you're at risk of losing is that potbelly you call a stomach."

Coop looked at his abdomen, sucking it in as he looked back up. "Whatpotbelly?"

61.Herb Knoff knocked, and entered President Claire Oster-man's private apartment off her office without waiting for a reply.

He smiled and spread his arms at the sight of her in front of a mirror, checking her new dress out, turning and staring at herself over her shoulder like a model on a catwalk.

"Claire, you look wonderful," he said, walking across the room to embrace her.

She stared at him, her eyes soft. "You really think so, Herb?" she asked, as coquettish as a schoolgirl.

"Yeah," he replied, standing back and looking her up and down.