Capitol Conspiracy by William Bernhardt Read Free Book Online Page B

fill the huge surge in demand for news about the tragedy. “At any rate, I’ve been instructed to provide updates to all my offices twice a day now, so here I am. Is Senator Kincaid around?”
    “Uh, no. He’s still…sick. But I’ll pass along any information you have.”
    “I know. It’s just that I’ve been told to speak directly to the senators.”
    “Jimmy.” Christina placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. There were not many people who worked in this building who were younger than she, but happily, he was one of them. “You’re talking to the senator’s chief of staff, not to mention his wife. Isn’t that good enough?”
    He smiled a lopsided, somewhat goofy twenty-something smile. “I suppose.”
    Christina guided him to the nearest chair in the lobby. She did not mince words. “Have they caught the bastards who did this?”
    Jimmy sighed. “That’s always the first question. No, they haven’t caught anyone.”
    “Do they know who’s behind it?”
    “Several groups have taken credit—more than a dozen, in fact. It’s hard to know who to believe.”
    “Surely it must be terrorists. Maybe al-Qaeda?”
    “We don’t think so. The intelligence community is investigating several other satellite Middle Eastern groups, especially one called Saifullah.”
    “I don’t think I’ve heard of it.”
    “Who has? The name is a religious reference, naturally. Means ‘sword of God’ in Arabic.”
    “And the Feds think they were behind the attack?”
    “They sent the President’s Office an e-mail that provided a lot of details about the attack. It’s possible they’re just good guesses, but the intelligence community is taking their claim seriously. And they’ve made a list of demands.”
    “Like what?”
    “Oh, everything you would expect. Complete withdrawal of U.S. and UN troops from the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Shutting down all U.S. military bases in the region, including those in Saudi Arabia. Turning over all oil operations, including pipelines, to native businesses. Promising not to invade sovereign nations unless we’re attacked first or demonstrably threatened. Allocating funds to needy Middle Eastern nations matching those provided to Egypt and Israel. Publicly declaring that Islam is a great and sacred religion.”
    “Pretty standard stuff.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Every Middle Eastern terror cell known to man has been making the same demands for decades. Do they ask for anything specific? Release of a prisoner, maybe?”
    “No. We’re not aware that we have any members of Saifullah in captivity. But frankly, we barely knew anything about the group.”
    “That seems incredible.”
    “Bear in mind, we didn’t know that much about al-Qaeda while their members were buying box cutters and taking flying lessons in Florida. Took 9/11 to put them in the public consciousness.”
    “So maybe that was the real point of the attack. To put themselves on the geopolitical map? To make them players?”
    “It’s not impossible.”
    Christina laid her head back against the sofa cushion. “High school kids want attention—they spray-paint a bathroom wall. Terrorists want attention—they kill the first lady.”
    “The first lady was collateral damage. But still—” Jimmy lowered his head. “Yeah. Same mentality.”
    “Surely the Feds have found some useful forensic evidence,” Christina said. In the past, she had worked with Ben on any number of cases where eyewitness testimony proved dubious, but carefully analyzed forensic evidence solved the case.
    “Not that I’ve heard.”
    “Computer facial recognition? DNA? Eyewitness? Fingerprints?”
    “Not so far.”
    “The combined force of the entire United States intelligence community has come up with nothing?”
    “As of my last briefing.”
    “Not even a weapon?”
    “After he took out Nest One, he used their weapon.”
    “He?”
    Jimmy stopped, as if he had reached a piece of information so horrible,