45
Brigadier-General Phillip Peterson, U.S. Army (retired), waited impatiently outside the office of Gail Henderson. He knew that the Secretary of State was a busy woman and he was lucky to be granted an audience on such short notice. They were old friends. He had been the Defense Intelligence Agency’s White House liaison while she was still the National Security Advisor, and they had worked closely together for many years. He realized that it was the only reason she had agreed to see him at all, and tried to calm himself down.
Of course that was easier said than done. His two boys were at the mercy of a madman thousands of miles away in Africa.
Suddenly her door opened and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs strode out. The five-star General gave him a sympathetic nod before continuing on
