CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
2:17 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
The Situation Room
The White House, Washington, DC
They might as well watch the catastrophe unfold in real time.
Susan was past the point of embarrassment. She was past the point where she felt she needed to watch Stephen Lief in private, with only her closest and friendliest advisors in the administration, away from any other prying eyes and ears.
She could assume that Frank Loomis spoke for his masters at the Pentagon, and what they really wanted was war. Failing that, they wanted to demonstrate American strength and American will by showing America ready to sacrifice the lives of their friends to protect themselves. It was insane. Unless they were withholding information from her, they didn’t know—and couldn’t know—if the tectoni
