Midnight Sun (115 page)

“They've got a pro from New Zealand, and two dudes from Hawaii on their team,” said another of the jersey
-wearing
men. “We really need the practice to beat these guys.” Several of them held up their professional
-
grade Frisbees and nodded vigorously as punctuation to the statement.

The officer held his hands up, palms forward in placation of their complaint
.
“Sorry
,
fellas, nothing I can do.
The
strip
is
closed
so
we
can
get
ready
for
the
p
resident's
visit.
Try
Kincaid
Park
or
Valley
of
the
Moon
instead.
”

“
But
Team
Thor
is
practicing
at
Kincaid,
our
rivals
with
the
bloke
from
New
Zealand.
We
can't
practice
on
the
same
field
as
them.
”

“Try Valley of the Moon park,” the officer said.

“
Valley of The M
oon
is
too
crowded
with
little
kids
. I
t’s
not
safe
for
us
to
fling
these
bad
boys
around civilians, man
,
”
He
held
up
the
heavy
-
duty
professional
disc.
Noticeably
larger
and
thicker
than
a
kid's
Frisbee,
thrown
from
a
strong
player's
hands
it
could
break
a
child's
bones
or
cause
an
even
more
serious
injury
if
it
hit
them
in
the
head.

“
Nothing
I
can
do
,
fellas
. P
lay
elsewhere
—I’m
not
making
any
exceptions.
Unless
you
want
to
bring
it
up
to
those
guys
.
”
H
e
pointed
to
the
top
of
an
office
building.
The
players
glanced
up
and
their
mouths
dropped
open
as
they
watched
an
FBI
sniper
team
set
their
rifle
on
its
bipod
and
scope
out
the
area.

“
Whoa,
dude,
”
said
one
of
them
,
squinting
toward
the shapes moving on the roof
,
“
is
that
for
real?
”

“
You
really
want
to
find
out?
”
asked
the
officer,
a
smirk
on
his
lips.

“
Just
like
Call
of
Duty
Urban
Warfare®,
”
another
said
.

“
Yeah,
”
the
officer
said
,
“
except
this
ain't
a
game
,
and
if
you
screw
up
,
there's
no
respawning
for
a
do-over.
”

“
Let's
try
West
High's
football
field,
”
their
leader
said
.
“
It
shouldn't
be
too
busy.
”

“
Good
thinking,
”
the
officer
said
with
a
wink.

As
the
young
men
made
their
way
to
a
Jeep
parked
in one of the spaces that ringed the periphery
of
the
grassy
park
,
they
noticed
for
the
first
time
just
how
many
police
officers,
dog
handlers
,
and
men
in
black
suits
and
sunglasses
milled around,
checking
and
re-checking
seemingly
every
corner
of
the
field,
the
houses
and
buildings
next
to
it
. One of them pointed to a pair of officers coming out of a small brick hut that led to
the
underground
accesses.

Unknown
to
them
as
they
moved
away
from
the
Delaney Park Strip
and
left for
the
West
High
School
football
field
was
the
consternation
of
those
in
charge
.
The Frisbee team glanced back toward the open space and noted a group of men in suits and uniforms near the half acre rose garden. The seriousness of their demeanor seemed to mar the quiet beauty of the manicured green bushes, their red flowers making the team leader think of blood. One of the men in the group was pointing at something then turned his head and shot a look at the team. The tall red-haired man’s expression seemed to be a not so subtle encouragment to keep walking.

Caufield and his Secret Service and law enforcement counterparts
stood around a table next to the rose garden.
Birds chirped and sang from within the thorny tangles that walled off the semi-private area of the park.
The area
was frequently used to
host weddings
, formal parties
or other ceremonies
. T
oday it was their temporary command post as the park was being setup for the President. The men and women in the group
were
acutely
aware
of
the
threat
and
all of them were equally
frustrated
by
their
seeming
inability
to
turn
up
any
clue
as
to
its
embodiment.
No
explosives
had
been
found.
No
unexpected
electrical
signals
appeared
on
scanners.
No
suspicious
radio
frequencies
came
up
in
the
tests.
Were it not for the fact that the mere presence of both Kharzai and Farrah were evidence of
a likely and
imminent threat on its own strength, Caufield would have dismissed the whole thing as ludicrous.
As he listened to a National Guard captain detail the positions of Military Police stationed around the outer perimeter of the field, Caufield’s eyes followed a large, bright yellow butterfly as it fluttered past, landing on a rose flower and extending its proboscis into the center of the
Everything
seemed
just too peaceful.