Midnight Sun (124 page)

The
president
’
s
motorcade
pulled
into
the
park
at
five
minutes
before
eleven
a.m. 
Immediately
behind
the
presidential
convoy
came
several
limousines
and
a
half
dozen
Suburbans
carrying
the
p
resident
of
South
Korea,
the
p
rime
m
inisters
of
Japan
and
Canada,
and
the
f
oreign
m
inister
of
the
United
Kingdom.
 
The
p
resident
and
his
entourage
made
their
way
across the lawn
to
ward
the
stage.

Chapter
2
7

Delaney Park Strip

Friday,
June
24th

08:33
a.m.

Steven
Farrah
stepped
lightly
across
the
crowded
green
,
scanning
the
length
of
the
park
as
he
moved
through
the
throng
of
people
making
their
way
toward
the
stage
area.
The
faces
around
him
glowed
expectantly,
hoping
to
catch
a
glimpse
of
the
most
powerful
man
in
the
world
and
his
international
peers.
Farrah
fingered
the
small,
round
Audi
starter
fob
in
his
pocket.
He
looked
into
the
face
of
a
soldier
standing
nearby.
The
soldier
nodded
a
polite
greeting.
 
Farrah
smiled
in
return
,
imagining
the
soldier
torn
to
bits
in
the
coming
chaos.

A
minimal
application
of
makeup,
change
of
hair
style
and
color,
and
modified
wardrobe
had
done
the
trick
to
get
him
past
the
watching
eyes.
Bits
of
silicone
skin
applied
to
the
eye
sockets,
nose
,
and
jaws
altered
his
features
just
enough,
enabling
him
to
walk
past
any
hidden
facial
recognition
scanners,
or
human
eyes,
that
may
be
focusing
on
him.
They
would
eventually
ping
on
his
face,
but
the
changes
meant
it
would
take
time
to
search
the
databases
and
he
didn't
need
to
keep
hidden
forever.
Farrah
would
try
to
escape,
but
he
did
not
expect
to
survive.
He
only
wanted
to
accomplish
the
mission. Vengeance
was
within
his
reach.

News
crews
ringed
the
crowd
and
television
cameras
sent
digital
signals
to
satellites
hovering
at
the
far
reaches
of
the
atmosphere,
prepared
to
beam
live
feeds
around
the
world.
They
would
get
an
eyeful
indeed,
the
absolute
best
in
television
news,
an
attack
unrivaled
since
9/11.
Farrah
would
watch
the
horror
on
the
faces
of
these
world
leaders
as
they
witness
ed
the
kind
of
destruction
their
own
bombs
rain
ed
down
on
other
nations.

He
found
a
space
in
the
crowd
just
ten
meters
from
the
stage.
To
one
side
,
a
family
of
obese
people
shifted
on
their
feet,
sweating
and
uncomfortable
in
the
already
-
hot
morning.
The
husband
and
wife
both
looked
like
they
weighed
well
over
three
hundred
pounds
,
and
the
child,
who
could
not
have
been
more
than
eleven
or
twelve,
was
at
least
two
hundred
pounds.
They
smelled
like
old
cheese.
 
On
his
other
side
were
a
man
and
woman
whose
appearance
was
the
polar
opposite
of
the
fat
family.
Tall,
muscular
.
and
chiseled,
adorned
with
designer
clothing
that
seemed
out
of
place
in
the
A
rctic,
they
looked
like
they
both
stepped
out
of
a
Swedish
fashion
magazine
and
carried
themselves
with
the
haughty
air
of
cold
Nordic
deities.