Page 77 of Zero Hour

The CTD commander leaned forward. “I say we move. Take them down before this escalates.”

Pat nodded. “We’ll need snipers in place, tactical teams on standby, and mobile units to intercept anyone who tries to run.”

The Secretary drummed her fingers on the table. “What do we have on Al-Jabiri himself?”

Pat exhaled. “Not much. He hasn’t committed a crime—yet.The only thing linking him is his cousin’s shopping spree. The Waheed brothers, on the other hand, have been assembling materials consistent with IEDs, but we have no visual confirmation of the devices themselves.”

“So it’s all circumstantial,” Mercer murmured.

“Exactly.”

“If we wait, we risk a mass-casualty event,” Carmichael said. “We can’t afford another Vegas Strip bombing.”

The reference sent a chill through the room. That attack had been one of the deadliest in the country’s history.

The Secretary’s gaze hardened. “What do you propose, gentlemen?”

“We need to catch them in the act,” Mercer said. “It’s the only way to ensure convictions.”

Pat shook his head. “We’ve only ID’d two of the bombers—the Waheed brothers. The other four are ghosts. They’ve had no visitors, no known contacts, no movements that suggest a larger network. If we wait until they enter the arena, we risk missing them.”

“What about cell activity?” asked Garretson.

Pat sighed. “They use prepaid burners. We’ve intercepted nothing of value. Whenever they make calls, it’s outside, in crowded areas.”

Carmichael swore.

“We have to assume the remaining bombers are unknown assets,” Mercer said. “Independent cells. Could be new recruits, or imported assets we haven’t flagged yet.”

Silence fell.

Finally, Pat spoke. “There’s also Adam McCarthy.”

The Secretary nodded, but the others looked puzzled.

“Who the hell is that?” Carmichael asked.

Pat clicked to another slide, a photo of a middle-aged man in a lab coat.

“Adam McCarthy was a chemical engineer at the Defense Technology and Research Institute. Two months ago, Al-Jabiri’s men abducted him and forced him to construct an incendiary device. It’s unclear whether he completed it or not. A short time later, he was found dead at home. Apparent suicide.”

A heavy pause followed.

The Secretary folded her arms. “We could cancel the game.”

Mercer shook his head. “They’ll just reschedule. And we’ll have lost our only opportunity to stop them.”

Carmichael exhaled sharply. “Agreed. This is our one shot.”

The tactical commander leaned forward. “We tighten security at the arena. Every bag and backpack gets searched. We flood the crowd with agents, watching for any suspicious behavior.”

“We’ll have eyes on the Waheed brothers,” Mercer added. “We take them down the moment they make contact with their assets.”

“That still leaves four unknowns,” Pat reminded them.

The room went quiet.

“We catch them at the gate,” Carmichael finally said. “Anyone carrying a pack or acting suspicious gets stopped. If we ID a threat, we neutralize it.”

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