By Order of the President (Presidential Agent 1)

“There’s more,” Betty Schneider said. “On the way up here, they stop at Tampa, go through customs there, drop off some flowers, and then come here.”

“As a domestic flight,” Castillo said. “Not an international flight.”

“Right.”

“And, obviously, there would be no questions asked when they topped off their tanks,” Castillo said. “Where’s Secretary Hall?”

“In the mayor’s office with the commissioner.”

“Get him on here, Betty.”

“I don’t think he or the mayor’s going to like be

ing interrupted. ”

“Go get him,” Castillo said.

XVIII

[ONE]

Office of the Mayor City Hall Broad and Market Streets Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1015 10 June 2005

“What is it that’s so important, Charley?” the secretary of homeland security said impatiently into the secure telephone, leaving unspoken the rest of the question: that you decided you should interrupt my meeting with the mayor?

Castillo knew what had not been said.

“The 727 is not in Suriname, Mr. Secretary,” Castillo said.

“You mean it’s taken off?”

“No, sir. What I mean is that the 727 stolen in Angola was never in Suriname.”

“The DCI obviously has information, including satellite imagery and a visual by his station chief, that you’re apparently not aware of.”

“The Air Suriname 727 at Zandery, sir, is a legitimate Air Suriname 727. The one we’re looking for, with a new identity, is somewhere in Costa Rica.”

“You have this from your friend the arms dealer, right?” Matthew Hall asked, half sarcastically, half sadly.

“Yes, sir,” Castillo said. “But Sergeant Schneider has just made the Philadelphia connection, which confirms what I’m telling you.”

“What did she do?”

“What Pevsner suggested—he’s in the process of finding out more—was that the Holy Legion of Muhammad plans to get through our security by substituting the airplane they have for an airplane that routinely comes to Philadelphia. Schneider found there is an airplane, owned by Costa Rican Air Transport, that flies fresh flowers to Philadelphia at least once a week. Lease-Aire sold them the airplane, and they service it when it’s in Philadelphia. This ties in with what Pevsner told me: that our airplane was at a private strip in Venezuela getting repainted as a Costa Rican Air Transport plane.”

Secretary Hall looked across the small room at Sergeant Betty Schneider, who was leaning against the wall. He was aware that Joel Isaacson, Tom McGuire, and Major H. Richard Miller, Jr., were looking at him, waiting for his reaction.

That means they know about this Philadelphia connection, and, if they let Miller burst into the mayor’s office, they believe it.

I would expect Miller to go with Castillo. They’re like brothers.

But Joel and Tom, too?

Jesus Christ! I just finished convincing the mayor that the National Security Agency’s satellites found the airplane in Suriname, that the CIA verified on the ground that it’s the airplane we’ve been looking for, and the president has ordered “all necessary steps be taken” to neutralize it, that that operation is already under way and the situation is under control and there’s no reason for further concern.

And now I’m supposed to go back in there and tell him, “Sorry, a little problem has come up”?

The first thing he’s going to do is order an evacuation of Center City and go on television to tell the people there is a genuine threat of an airliner crashing into the Liberty Bell.