"James Rollins - Sandstorm" - читать интересную книгу автора (Romeyn Henry)

But still disaster had found her.

Her hands trembled. She had to grip one in the other to fight another attack. She fancied nothing more
than to crawl back into bed and pull the comforter over her head.

Billie stared at her, eyes reflecting the lamplight.

тАЬIтАЩll be fine. EverythingтАЩs okay,тАЭ Safia said quietly, more to herself than to the cat.

Neither was convinced.

02:13 A.M. GMT (09:13 P.M. EST)
FORT MEADE, MARYLAND

THOMASHARDEYhated to be disturbed while he worked on theNew York Times crossword puzzle.
It was his Sunday-night ritual, which also included a neat snifter of forty-year-old Scotch and a fine cigar.
A fire crackled in the fireplace.

He leaned back in his leather wingback chair and stared at the half-filled puzzle, punching the nub on his
Montblanc ballpoint pen.

He crinkled a brow at 19 down, a five-letter word. тАЬ19. The sum of all men.тАЭ

As he pondered the answer, the phone rang on his desk. He sighed and pushed his reading glasses from
the tip of his nose up to the line of his receding hairline. It was probably just one of his daughterтАЩs friends
calling to discuss how her weekend date had fared.

As he leaned over, he saw the fifth line was blinking, his personal line. Only three people had that
number: the president, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and his second-in-command at the National
Security Agency.

He placed the folded newspaper on his lap and tapped the lineтАЩs red button. With that single touch, a
shifting algorithmic code would scramble any communication.

He lifted the receiver. тАЬHardey here.тАЭ

тАЬDirector.тАЭ

He sat straighter, wary. He did not recognize the otherтАЩs voice. And he knew the voices of the three
people who had his private number as well as he knew his own familyтАЩs. тАЬWho is this?тАЭ
тАЬTony Rector. IтАЩm sorry for disturbing you at this late hour.тАЭ

Thomas shuffled his mental Rolodex. Vice Admiral Anthony Rector. He connected the name to five
letters: DARPA.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The department oversaw the
research-and-development arm of the Department of Defense. They had a motto:Be there first. When it
came to technological advances, the United States could not come in second place.

Ever.