By the time the agents reached the Beast with the president, there were only two left standing. A cadre of police went to reinforce them. But a third wave of fire dropped almost all of them. The rest of the police were trying to control the crowd, which was climbing fences, rushing out of all the exits and screaming in terror as husbands grabbed wives and parents carried children as fast as they could from the nightmare scene.

Three more shooters dropped, their heads punctured by the federal countersnipers, who were now moving toward the president, but their progress was greatly impeded by the turbulent mob of citizens who only wanted to get away.

The second wave of fedayeen had commenced their attack, and more of the vehicles in the motorcade were now ablaze.

Carter Gray stood transfixed on the stage. Gone was his momentary astonishment at seeing Oliver Stone in the crowd, replaced by the horror he was witnessing right now. The president's wife was screaming to her husband, but her cries were lost in the noise of the crowd. Surrounding her, Gray and the chief of staff were three Secret Service agents, guns out. The unfortunate governor had stepped off the stage and gotten swept away by a crowd that was now almost as dangerous as the shooters or men on fire. Thousands of people were pushing against the stage in their panic to escape, and the supports holding it up were starting to groan under their collective pressure.

During the course of the speech Kate, Adelphia and the Camel Club had kept edging forward so that at the conclusion of Brennan's remarks they were only two rows back from the rope line. It was here that Reuben Rhodes was standing next to one of the first shooters. Yet he hadn't noted anything until the shot went off because his attention was on the giant TV screens showing the president shaking hands. When he did see what was happening, Reuben instinctively yelled, "Gun." And then he grabbed the man's arm and wrestled the weapon away. A moment later the man was killed as a supersonic round smashed into his head. Reuben dropped the gun and grabbed Adelphia's and Kate's hands and pulled them away. They and the rest of the Camel Club started to frantically push their way to the fence.

"Come on," Stone cried. "Just a little farther."

Kate looked behind her, up near the Beast. She was trying to spot Alex, to make sure he was all right. And then she was being shoved forward and had to turn back around.

Alex had reacted with the first wave of shots, his body operating on muscle memory. Pistol out, he pushed through to the small knot of agents now carrying the limp form of the president to the Beast. Alex instantly took the place of one agent who was. .h.i.t. They reached the Beast and thrust the president inside. Two agents followed. The agent a.s.signed to drive the Beast opened the driver's door and was about to jump in when he took a round and slumped to the gra.s.s.

Alex instinctively raced to the driver side, grabbed the keys from the front seat, started the car and hit the gas and horn simultaneously. Fortunately, much of the crowd had fled away from the motorcade and toward the other side of the grounds where there were more exits. Yet there were still people running everywhere. For an instant Alex had a sliver of an opening and he darted through it. Through the exit the enormous engine of the Beast responded when Alex smashed his size 13 shoe to the floor, and the limo hit the parking lot and tore across it toward the road. Alex weaved in and out of streams of people running for their cars. He clipped the front end of a truck but kept going.

Back at the dedication grounds other cars in the motorcade started up and began to race after the Beast. An instant before the first car in the line, a state trooper vehicle, reached the exit, the last fedayeen set himself ablaze and threw himself onto the windshield. The troopers jumped from their cruiser before it totally ignited in flames. Wedged right against the narrow entry and exit point to the dedication grounds, the fireball effectively blocked the rest of the motorcade from getting out. Normally, the remaining cars would have smashed through the fenced-in area, but they were stopped from doing so by the thousands of fleeing people.

At least the Beast had gotten away. At least the president was safe, thought one struck agent before he lapsed into unconsciousness.

The two agents in the back of the limo were examining Brennan.

"Get the h.e.l.l to the hospital. I think he's having a d.a.m.n heart attack," one cried out.

Brennan was writhing in pain, clutching his chest and his arm.

"Dr. Bellamy?" Alex asked.

"Shot."

And the ambulance has been blown up. Alex eyed the rearview mirror. There was no one back there. The twenty-seven-car motorcade had been reduced to one. He concentrated on the road ahead. Mercy Hospital was only ten minutes from here. Alex planned to make it in five. He prayed the president could hang on. Alex eyed the rearview mirror. There was no one back there. The twenty-seven-car motorcade had been reduced to one. He concentrated on the road ahead. Mercy Hospital was only ten minutes from here. Alex planned to make it in five. He prayed the president could hang on.

CHAPTER 53.

THE BLACK CHOPPER SOARED over the Pennsylvania landscape. Tom Hemingway gave precise landing coordinates to the pilot even as he watched what was happening at the dedication on his satellite TV. Even though everything was going just as he had planned it, Hemingway still felt an immense pressure in his chest as the events unfolded in real time. Even with all the thought he had given this, all the planning, all the thousands of times he had visualized these very same events happening in his mind, the reality was far more powerful, far more overwhelming. He finally turned off the TV. He simply couldn't watch any more. over the Pennsylvania landscape. Tom Hemingway gave precise landing coordinates to the pilot even as he watched what was happening at the dedication on his satellite TV. Even though everything was going just as he had planned it, Hemingway still felt an immense pressure in his chest as the events unfolded in real time. Even with all the thought he had given this, all the planning, all the thousands of times he had visualized these very same events happening in his mind, the reality was far more powerful, far more overwhelming. He finally turned off the TV. He simply couldn't watch any more.

Djamila raced through the streets of downtown Brennan, turned left and then hung an immediate right. She then eased into the narrow alley as the kids chortled and laughed in the backseat. She eyed them quickly, then stopped and hit her brakes. She'd almost missed it.

The overhead doors flew up and the man motioned her in. Djamila swung the van into the garage and the doors were pulled back down.

A half-block up the street from Mercy Hospital a tractor-trailer pulled out from an alleyway, tried to make a turn heading west, and the engine mysteriously died. The driver got out and opened the hood. The truck was effectively blocking the street in both directions.

A few blocks away on the same street in the other direction, the Beast made the turn onto the road on two wheels, and then Alex floored it. He could've used at least one d.a.m.n police cruiser to clear his way, but apparently, there weren't any left. However, Alex presumed roadblocks were being set up on all streets leading in and out of Brennan as no doubt an entire army of law enforcement descended on the area.

The Beast flashed by a street corner behind which rose the antique Brennan water tower emblazoned with the Stars and Stripes. At this section of the street a work zone had been set up only a half hour before by a pair of men dressed in the brown uniforms worn by town workers. The orange cones and tape effectively cordoned off the sidewalks and directed pedestrians to a detour down another side street. No one knew what work was to be performed, but the few people left in town followed the directive. As soon as the Beast cleared the area, two explosive charges set into the water tower's front supporting legs detonated. The tower buckled and then fell directly across the street and burst open, disgorging about twelve thousand gallons of filthy water that still remained in it. Now this end of the street was as effectively walled off as the other.

Ten seconds later, up and down the avenue, smoke started pouring out of businesses, causing people to flee and fire alarms to be pulled. This was the result of the smoke bombs hidden in these establishments earlier by the Arab chemist and engineer. The few souls who had chosen not to attend the dedication were soon out in the streets wandering around in a panic.

Alex skidded the Beast to a stop directly in front of Mercy Hospital. The rear pa.s.senger doors flew open, and the two agents burst out carrying the president. They had barely reached the first step leading to the hospital when they were both hit and went down. The president collapsed to the sidewalk and lay there next to the Beast.

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h!" Alex screamed into his mike as he scrambled out of the car on the pa.s.senger side. "Snipers at the hospital! Snipers at the hospital! We've been set up. Repeat, we have been set up! Agents down! Agents down. Ravensclaw-" He paused. "Ravensclaw's . . . ," he began again, but didn't finish because he didn't know what the h.e.l.l to say about Ravensclaw.

He was frantically trying to spot the muzzle flashes. Alex knew he had to get Brennan inside the hospital. His gaze surveyed the street level and then darted upward. That's when he saw it: six flights up, apartment building directly across the street. No optics signature, but twin muzzle flashes, a deuce of snipers.

Alex pulled his gun even as he felt slugs slam into the tires of the Beast. As soon as the holes were formed, however, the punctures closed up again as the self-healing tires did their thing. Rounds. .h.i.t the limo front, back and on the side. One hit the gla.s.s but did not damage it. The Beast could survive a lot more than they were throwing at it. But the president of the United States was lying on the sidewalk, apparently dying. Protect the man, the symbol, the office. Protect the man, the symbol, the office. And Alex Ford was the only agent still standing who could uphold that mantra of the Secret Service. Yet as soon as Alex started up the hospital steps with the president, they'd be an easy target for the snipers who'd taken the high ground. Yet Brennan was breathing, his heart was still beating. That's all Alex cared about right now. And Alex Ford was the only agent still standing who could uphold that mantra of the Secret Service. Yet as soon as Alex started up the hospital steps with the president, they'd be an easy target for the snipers who'd taken the high ground. Yet Brennan was breathing, his heart was still beating. That's all Alex cared about right now. Not on my watch, sir. Not on my watch. Not on my watch, sir. Not on my watch.

He gripped the man under the shoulders, braced himself and then pulled. The president was now fully protected behind the steel and polycarbonate wall of the Beast.

"You're gonna be okay, sir," he said as calmly as he could.

"I'm . . . dying . . . ," the president managed to mutter back between moans.

Even with the Beast shielding them, Alex instinctively put his body between Brennan and the snipers. Millimeter by millimeter he edged his head over the rear of the Beast. He ducked back down when a shot sailed his way. He immediately sent back a few rounds with his SIG, but he wasn't going to waste ammo; it'd take a miracle shot to even nick one of the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds at this distance and trajectory.

When he glanced toward the hospital, he saw a security guard and shouted, "Get down! Get down! Snipers across the street."

The man immediately ducked back inside. Then two seconds later he burst out firing at the upper floors of the apartment building, hurtled down the steps and rolled to a landing next to Alex as gunfire hit all around them.

"d.a.m.n!" Alex said. "You got some kind of death wish?"

"Is this the president?" Adnan al-Rimi asked breathlessly, nodding at the prostrate Brennan.

"Yeah. And we need to get him in there fast," Alex said, pointing with his gun at the hospital. "Because the next closest hospital's in Pittsburgh and he needs help now now."

"Are you the only security?" Adnan asked in an incredulous tone.

Alex nodded grimly. "Looks that way."

"We saw on TV what happened."

Alex glanced at the man. "You the only security here?" Adnan nodded. "What kind of gun you have?"

"Piece-of-s.h.i.t .38."

"Great." The president moaned loudly and Alex quickly said, "What's your name?"

Adnan answered, "Farid Shah."

"Okay, Farid, I'm hereby deputizing you."

Alex opened the rear door of the Beast, pressed a b.u.t.ton on the panel on the back of the pa.s.senger chair, and it came down. Behind it was a cache of weapons, including a shotgun, an MP-5 machine gun and a sniper rifle. Alex pulled out the MP-5 and grabbed an extra mag for it. He turned back to his newly deputized colleague.

"Farid, you look like a pretty strong guy."

"I am very strong."

"Good. You think you can lift the president and carry him up those steps and into the hospital?"

Adnan nodded. "Easily."

"Okay, when I count to three, you're gonna do just that. I'm gonna put this gun here on two-shot bursts. That'll give you maybe ten seconds to get up those steps. And, Farid?"

"Yes?"

"You gotta do one thing for me, man."

"What?"

"I'm going to be between you and the president and the snipers. To get to you, they gotta kill me first." Alex paused and swallowed hard. "But if I go down, and I probably will, they're gonna have to go through you you to get to get him him. That means you gotta carry him in front of you so that at all times there is a body between the president and the snipers, you got that?" Adnan said nothing. "You got it!" Alex snapped.

"Yes!"

"Good luck." Alex waited for him to pick the president up. Then he turned and said, "Okay, one . . . two . . . three!" three!"

Alex jumped up and opened fire, sweeping the two windows where he'd seen the muzzle flashes with his MP-5.

He wanted desperately to glance back and see the rental cop's progress, but that wasn't an option. Finally, his mag empty, he pulled his pistol and emptied that too. As shots rained at him, he dropped back down, reloaded and turned. He expected to see that the pair was safely in the hospital. But they weren't. In fact, the rental cop seemed to be taking his time getting up the steps, as though he were in no need of . . .

"s.h.i.t!" Alex screamed. He lined up the man's broad back in his gun sight.

"Hold it!"

The man instantly turned, and Brennan was now between him and Alex. Adnan backed slowly toward the hospital as Alex tried desperately to find an opening for a kill shot that had absolutely no chance of hitting the president. Unfortunately, there was no such opening, and the pair disappeared into the hospital.

Alex screamed into his wrist mic. "They've got the president. Repeat, they have abducted Ravensclaw at the hospital. We need to shut the whole d.a.m.n town down."

Alex was just about to sprint up the steps, fully expecting to be gunned down, when good luck finally landed on his side. Police reinforcements appeared on the scene. Alex waited another minute as the lawmen engaged the snipers and then raced up the steps to Mercy Hospital. With gunshots splattering all around him he launched himself through the gla.s.s doors, shattering them in the process.

A split second later he heard a bomb go off inside the hospital.

CHAPTER 54.

REUBEN LIFTED KATE AND Adelphia over the fence and then joined the other Camel Club members there. As terrified people ran screaming past them, they took a moment to catch their breaths and collect their wits. Adelphia over the fence and then joined the other Camel Club members there. As terrified people ran screaming past them, they took a moment to catch their breaths and collect their wits.

"My G.o.d," a very pale Kate said, looking around frantically for Alex Ford.

"It is horrible," Adelphia moaned. "It is like Poland and Soviets."

Stone was surveying the dedication grounds where the bodies of the fallen lay. The gra.s.s was red with the blood of the gunmen. The federal countersnipers had control of the situation and were now securing the area, moving from body to body, ensuring that the Arab terrorists were actually dead. However, even from the perimeter Stone could see that there was no life left in the lumps of flesh on the ground.

Every one of Captain Jack's men lay dead; many of the fedayeen were burned beyond recognition.

They could all hear sirens in the distance. A few minutes later a fire engine appeared on the scene followed by several others. They quickly attacked the blazing cars with their hoses, and black smoke billowed into the air.

Stone continued to watch as the wreckage of the police cruiser was cleared so that the presidential motorcade, at least what was left of it, could start streaming out. Mrs. Brennan and the chief of staff were swept into the second Beast and whisked away. The bruised and battered governor of Pennsylvania had been recovered and driven off in a van.

Stone felt a big hand on his shoulder and turned to find Reuben staring at him.

"We should probably get the h.e.l.l out of here," he said. "d.a.m.n cops might start shooting stragglers and ask questions later."

Stone looked puzzled. "Reuben, you grabbed one of the gunmen's weapons. Did you notice anything unusual about it?"

Reuben thought for a moment. "Well, I didn't want to hold on to it too long, or else my head would've probably been exploding too. But now that you mention it, it did feel kind of funny. Lighter than I would've thought." He looked at Stone. "Why'd you ask that?"

Stone didn't answer. He looked again at all the dead Arabs.

Seconds after Adnan had entered the hospital, he placed Brennan, who was still moaning continuously, on a gurney that he'd left just inside the front door. The gunfight outside had driven everyone inside the hospital away from the front entrance. Adnan saw a group of nurses, doctors and aides staring fearfully at him from farther down the hallway.

"What's going on?" one of the doctors shouted as he edged forward.

Adnan didn't respond to this query, but he did nod at the man who'd just appeared next to him. It was the hospital's newest staff physician who'd earlier expressed concern about the need for security guards at Mercy Hospital.

"A wounded man," the doctor called out. "I'll take care of him."

"Stay away from the front doors," Adnan warned. "People are shooting."

The doctor pulled a syringe from his pocket, uncapped it and injected the president in his arm; Brennan slipped into unconsciousness. Then the doctor placed a sheet over the president and strapped him to the gurney and pushed it down the side hallway. He got on the elevator there and took it down one floor to the bas.e.m.e.nt. Adnan waited until this had happened and then turned back to the group of hospital personnel.

"Hey!" another doctor yelled at Adnan. "Who was that man on the gurney?" They now all started moving toward him.

Adnan reached inside his jacket, pulled out a gas mask, put it on and started walking toward the oncoming group. Then he pulled from his pocket what looked to be a grenade and held it up.

"Look out," one of the nurses screamed as the group turned and ran in the other direction.

"Call the police," another doctor yelled as she scrambled away.

An instant later Adnan reached the fourth tile across from the center of the nurse's station and threw the cylinder against the wall. It exploded, and the hall was immediately filled with thick smoke that was driven in all directions by the hospital's air circulation system. A split second before the smoke bomb went off, Adnan heard gla.s.s shattering, but he couldn't see the source. He couldn't know this was Alex Ford throwing himself through the gla.s.s doors, but the Arab knew he had to hurry. He turned back toward the front of the hospital and counted off his steps, navigating in the dark solely through memory from his constant practice. As he neared the front entrance, Adnan felt something b.u.mp his leg, but he kept going.

An instant later the timed explosive device he'd placed in the hospital's electrical room went off. All power to the hospital was now gone; everything went dark.

Adnan made his turn, walked down the pa.s.sageway, stopped at the exit door, opened it and went through. He grabbed a long metal bar that he'd earlier hidden behind a steam pipe and wedged it through the closed door's push bar. Then he began to run.

As soon as the bomb went off and smoke filled the halls, Alex dropped to the floor and slithered forward on his belly. It was like being far underwater, and the fumes were making him gag. Then he b.u.mped into something, and that something was flesh and bone. He made a grab for it, but then it was gone. He swiveled around and started heading the other way, following the sounds of the footsteps. They were measured, steady. How the h.e.l.l could anyone be walking so calmly through this c.r.a.p? And then it suddenly dawned on him: because that person had a mask. And the steady tread? The person was leading himself through the smoke by counting steps. Alex had practiced that very same tactic in the dark at the Secret Service's Beltsville training facility.

Alex crawled forward as fast as he could. The footsteps suddenly grew fainter and he redoubled his efforts, whipping his body back and forth like a serpent closing in on its prey. Thankfully, the footfalls picked up again. He hit another hallway, turned and belly-crawled down it. He heard a door open and then close. He slithered faster, pushing himself to the right and feeling for the wall. When his hand hit metal, he reached up and grabbed the handle, but the door refused to open. He pulled his gun and shot at the door at waist level. One of the slugs. .h.i.t the push bar, collapsing it, and the metal pole bar Adnan had wedged there fell free. He wrenched open the door and flung himself through. The smoke wasn't as bad in here, but the power to the hospital had obviously gone out because there was no light.