"...We will not let this cripple us. Tomorrow, everything will begin to become normal again. We will find out who guided that plane down and who they were working for. We will not fail the people who died in Times Square and as President, I will not fail you," President Russ said, finishing off his press conference only twenty-five minutes after the crash happened.
Russ immediately left the podium and began walking briskly through the corridors with several of his aides. "Sir, Air Force One is ready. However, our experts are advising against this flight and going to New York so soon after the...incident."
"With the unexplained explosion in Philadelphia and now this, the American people are going to expect action not cowering in some bunker in an undisclosed location!" Russ demanded. "We're going to New York."
Landsman and Orr walked down the corridor toward the room where Devon, Raymond and Adolph were along with Brenda, Elliott and Molly. Orr forcibly opened the door and stepped in. "Misters Grummett, Huxley and Jalali, I have just come from Times Square bearing gifts."
Orr's booming voice and abrupt entrance startled the Landsman kids but the immediately perked up when Landsman entered the room.
"Daddy!" they shrieked and ran to hug him.
Brenda slowly stood up with tears in her eyes and went over to her husband and hugged him. "Matthew, I am so glad you are okay," she cried.
"I'm glad you are okay, too," Landsman looked at his family. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"All right," Orr spoke up. "I brought the prodigal son here. What do we do next?"
"We get to D.C. and begin bringing down the Coalition," Devon said. "We can get ready tonight and start in the morning."
"How are we going to bring down an organization that flew a plane into Times Square?" Orr asked.
"It's time for President Russ to reveal to the world that the earth is flat," Raymond said.
"Crashing Down"
Dylan Freeman, clad in a gray suit, approached a man at a hangar at JFK Airport. "Is the President here yet?" he asked.
"Not yet. What's up?" the man asked.
"We have information on who is probably behind the plane crash in Times Square."
The man was surprised. "That was fast. Did someone take responsibility for it?"
"No. In fact, this was masterminded by an American. I am from the FAA--Dylan Pierce," he flashed a badge quickly and then it was gone "and we've just determined who paid for the tickets for the terrorists who brought that plane down," Dylan handed the man a stack of papers and pictures.
The man sifted through them. "Matthew Landsman?" the man asked. "He used his own credit cards? That seems kind of strange."
"We think that's an alias," Dylan lied, "but we did find a picture of Matthew Landsman so we're hoping to broadcast this face everywhere within the next twelve hours. We just wanted to get this information to the President so that he knows what's going on."
"Well, I think that's him now," the man pointed to a low-flying aircraft aimed at the airport. "You should be able to tell him momentarily."
"Excellent," Dylan smiled.
The next morning, the Landsmans were preparing to leave for Washington when Devon, Adolph, Raymond and Orr came in. "We've had a change in plans," Devon said.
"President Russ has left Washington and he's currently in New York," Raymond revealed.
"Well, that's good, right?" Brenda asked. "We're already here."
"Yes, that's good. But that's not the problem," Devon sighed.
"Something happened last night while we were sleeping," Orr turned on the TV and changed it to a news channel which had Landsman's face plastered on the screen. "Matt has been turned into public enemy number one--well, number two after Bin Laden," Orr said.
"So now what are we supposed to do?" Landsman asked.
"We still go. Hopefully with Orr's influence we can quickly get to where the president is staying and tell him that it's time," Adolph said.
"What if we can't or he won't see us?" Landsman asked.
"Then we may have to go to Washington anyway and see the Vice President," Devon said.
Next:
Landsman will return in January. The Ptolemy Group attempts to see the President but are caught in another attack.
