CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
7:05 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
The Oval Office
The White House, Washington, DC
“Susan, we have that preliminary report.”
She looked up. She was sitting in a high-backed chair in the sitting area, oddly enough, with General Kirby and Haley Lawrence. They were all sipping tea from an antique tea set. All except Susan—she was drinking black coffee. From an outsider’s point of view, the little gathering in this beautiful office must look very, very pleasant.
But it wasn’t. It was the farthest thing from pleasant. Pleasant would be lounging in an infinity pool overlooking the Indian Ocean with Agent Luke Stone. In a parallel reality, where there were no wars and no nuclear weapons.
This? No. Not pleasant at all.
A Secret Service man had opened the door and Kurt had
