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"In that case," Lucas said, "itsomeplace besides the Situation Room The press constantly monitors the White House They'd be on us like locusts if the heads of state suddenly converged there at this ti

Sound thinking," Greenwald replied He paused a moment, then said, "Make it the Observatory"

"The Vice President's residence?"

"Press cars are almost never in evidence there"

"I'll have everyone on the premises as soon as possible"

"Oscar?"

"Yes"

"Very briefly, what happened?"

There was a slight hesitation and then Lucas said, "They all vanished from the presidential yacht"

"I see," said Greenwald heavily, but it was clear he didn't

Greenasted noup and hurriedly dressed On the drive to the Observatory his stomach twisted into knots, a delayed reaction to the catastrophic news His vision blurred and he fought off an overwhele to vomit

He drove in a h the deserted streets of the capital Except for an occasional delivery truck, traffic was nearly nonexistent andon a cautious yellow

Too late he saw a city street sweeper utter His windshield was abruptly filled with the bulky white-painted vehicle In the cab the driver ju screahts

There was a lass

The hood bent double, flew up, and the steering wheel rae