20
THE SCARRING OF METAL
NSA Headquarters. October 16, 8:21 a.m. EST.
Shock waves rattled the intelligence community as similar conversations about the incident with the submarine USS Colorado unfolded in two places. One, in the White House briefing room, where the president himself was said to be intensely concerned; the other in the Joint Operations Readiness Center located inside the headquarters of the National Security Agency in Maryland. There, top officials from the NSA, CIA, FBI, and military intelligence met early each morning to assemble daily briefings to be given to the president.
Today’s meeting disturbed even Uncle Bill Tarleton, who under normal circumstances displayed little emotion. After the meeting broke, Bill walked into his command center and gathered his troops.
