Sentinel Wakes

A telephone call at 3:00 a.m. tells John Washington III that an explosion at a naval munitions depot outside Norfolk has killed three servicemen, and that sabotage has not been ruled out. Marcus Webb cannot tell him it was not them. From Ruth Adler, John obtains the names the official story leaves as numbers: Ensign Michael Torres, 22; Petty Officer Second Class James Dunn, 24, married with a young daughter; and Seaman David Okafor, 19. By noon the newspapers are carrying the same planted phrase about Cuban-trained saboteurs, and John, a fired and disgraced former officer, recognises a story written before the fire was out. He is followed openly, and United Press reporter Claire Bennett begins asking about the sabotage angle. In a windowless Pentagon room, General Harlan Voss, Leland Marsh, and Whitmore, the President's chief of staff, call Norfolk a success, note that the polling on Cuba moved, and discuss accelerating Sentinel toward civilians - ordinary Americans the public will feel. They also name the Washington problem, and Marsh is told to solve him if he becomes one.

Book 3 of The Authorization series by John Washington III.