"I know, Dr. Reed," Palmer said, cutting her short. "The Nevada Test and Training Range is about forty-six hundred square miles, Area 51 is just a tiny section of the entire complex."

She nodded, unperturbed by the Senator's apparent rudeness. "The dry lake bed is clearly visible from the air, and you can see both operating runways."

"I see three runways," Palmer replied.

"The one on our right has already been decommissioned. It's been neglected for so long it's no longer suitable for operations."

The aircraft descended then, until they were below the peaks of the Groom and Papoose Mountain ranges that surrounded the valley. Finally the wheels b.u.mped once and the aircraft braked, engines whining shrilly. They landed in a cloud of sandy dust. The aircraft powered down and taxied to a small concrete building squatting in the sun.

"We've just arrived on the main runway, built in the 1990s," Megan Reed explained.

Palmer bit back a response. The demonstration had not even begun and already Palmer was tired of Dr. Megan Reed's endless explanations.

The "fasten seatbelt" light went off and the air steward popped the main door. Hot, dry desert air flooded the air conditioned compartment.

"Come along, Senator," Megan Reed said, rising and straightening her skirt. "Corporal Stratowski should be waiting on the tarmac with a Hummer. He'll drive us over to Hangar Six where the demonstration will take place..."

4:42:40 p.m. PDT Senator Palmer's suite Babylon Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas Sherry Palmer had just returned from an intimate luncheon with the mayor's wife and twenty-two of her closest female friends - wives of party leaders, community board members and large donors, mostly. It was an unglamorous and exhausting affair, but necessary for building useful bridges to help her husband triumph in this state's primary, and later in the national elections.

Sherry had kicked off her shoes and was rubbing her tired feet when the suite's phone rang. She nodded and Lev Cohen answered for her.

"It's Larry Bell," Lev said a moment later, his hand covering the receiver.

"Tell him David isn't taking any calls," Sherry replied.

"He doesn't want David. He wants to talk to you."

Sherry took the phone, her expression doubtful. "h.e.l.lo, Larry."

"Sherry," the Congressman purred. "How was your luncheon?"

"About as charming as that impromptu press conference this morning," Sherry replied, her hackles rising at the memory.

She heard a chuckle. "What's so funny?" Sherry demanded.

"That was just a little demonstration I cooked up," Bell replied. "I thought you'd appreciate it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sherry, you and I both know your husband is running for president..."

"That hasn't been determined yet..."

"Cut the c.r.a.p, woman. He hasn't announced yet, but he's caught the fever. I can see it. You forget that I've known David almost as long as you have."

"What's your point," Sherry snarled.

"Now I can be a good and loyal ally and help David reach his goal, or I can be a friendly - or even a not so friendly rival. It's really up to you."

Sherry eyes narrowed. "What are you angling for, Larry?"

"For now, I only want you to meet a friend of mine. He's a businessman with very deep pockets, who's interested in David's political career."

"And later?"

Sherry could feel Larry's smile across the wires. "The House of Representatives is a very crowded place. Very crowded," he said. "It's hard for a man of my aspirations to shine. A better fit for me would be a cabinet position in the Palmer Administration, don't you think?"

Bell fell silent for a moment. Sherry's knuckles strained as she clutched the receiver, her self control slipping.

"My friend is in the hotel. Why don't I fetch him, bring him up to that luxury suite of yours right now, and make the introductions."

There was a long pause before Sherry replied. "I'm willing to listen," she said at last.

"Great." Bell's tone was triumphant. "See you in ten."

The line went dead and Sherry dropped the receiver into the cradle.

"What did he want?" Lev asked.

"He wants to be in David's cabinet."

Lev jumped to his feet. "What?"

Sherry shook her head, slipped her heels back on. Then she rose and, faced her husband's chief of staff. "We're going to have a visitor," she announced. "I want you to stay and listen to what this man has to say. This could work out very well for David's campaign, but only if we play our cards right."

"You're scaring me, Sherry," Lev replied, his ruddy face suddenly pale. "You can't buy and sell cabinet positions."

"Don't panic, Larry. Nothing's been decided yet," Sherry replied. "What Larry Bell wants and what he gets are two entirely different things. And if the esteemed Congressman thinks he can buy himself a cabinet position in my husband's administration, he better know that it's going to cost him and his deep pocket friend a lot of money and a lot of influence..."

4:47:15 p.m. PDT Tunney and Sons Quality Tool and Die Browne End Road, Las Vegas Curtis Manning had used the abandoned factory to stake out Bix's operation several times before. A shattered front window commanded a perfect view to the entrance of Bix Automotive, just across street. Better still, because the deserted tool and die works was completely boarded up, no one suspected the building could possibly be occupied, even by a homeless vagrant.

On one of the early reconnaissance missions, Curtis found a back entrance known only to a nest of rattlesnakes he was forced to quietly eradicate before taking sole possession of the property. After he'd found the broken window with the strategic view, Curtis set up a bent steel chair behind an ancient desk and used them for his observation post.

In the beginning, Curtis Manning believed Jack's goading of Hugo Bix was both reckless and a waste of CTU resources. While it was known that Bix was a powerful player on the local crime scene, there was no evidence the man was connected with the stolen military technology. Now Curtis knew differently, and he was man enough to admit it to anyone who asked, especially his boss, Jack Bauer.

Manning had several years' experience as a member of CTU's tactical team, but this was his first real covert operation. Because of his inexperience, Curtis looked to Jack for instruction and Bauer was proving to be a very very good teacher. good teacher.

Today, Jack had provided Curtis Manning with a dangerous new challenge. Every other time he had infiltrated this property, he'd done so at night. This time Curtis would have to slip into the old factory in broad daylight, which meant taking special precautions. First he parked his car many blocks away, in an alley behind an apartment building on Pena Lane. Then Curtis crossed two yards, three empty lots, and climbed two chain link fences to get behind the abandoned factory without being spotted. Weaving his way through a gauntlet of dozens of dented and forgotten Dumpsters, Curtis finally reached the rear of the abandoned tool and die factory.

The back door was blocked by an old steel grate, but Curtis had found another way in - a hole in the wall masked by a sheet of plywood lodged in a pile of debris. He tossed the wooden panel aside and stepped through the ragged gap. Once inside the building, he used shafts of afternoon sun streaming through holes in the collapsing roof and broken windows to guide his way through the factory's gloomy interior - right to the battered desk he'd placed near a hole punched in the grease-stained front window.

Curtis had hidden some bottles of water under a pile of wooden boxes and was relieved to see they were still untouched. After checking for scorpions, he grabbed a plastic container and sat down at the desk. Curtis no sooner unscrewed the cap on the water and focused his CTU issue mini-binoculars on Bix's establishment, when a white panel truck arrived at the gate. Curtis recognized the man behind the wheel, too. It was Drew Hickam, one of Bix's goons.

Curtis dutifully recorded the event on his PDA. He noted that the truck was a Dodge Sprinter, late model, and that the vehicle was sporting dealer plates. He tapped in the numbers, sure they were fake, and noted the time in the log. A garage door opened and the truck drove through. The door immediately closed again, but before it did Curtis noticed plenty of activity inside. Yet the place was shut tight. Odd on a day like this. So many people working inside, no one drifting out for a smoke, a break. Something big was going on, big enough for Bix to hide his activities from prying eyes.

Curtis had only been at it for twenty minutes, but already the afternoon heat was oppressive. In a few hours the sun would go down and it would become cooler - maybe even cold. But for now, Curtis stripped off his jacket, then the Kevlar vest underneath, draping them both behind his rickety chair. He loosened his shirt and rolled up sleeves already damp with perspiration. He left the shoulder holster carrying the fully-loaded dock in place.

Manning spotted another truck pulling up to the gate a few minutes later. This one was driven by Frank "Fat Frankie" Toomes, a high stakes gambler closely a.s.sociated with Hugo Bix. Curiously, the white panel truck was also a current year Dodge Sprinter with dealer plates. The truck soon disappeared inside the bowels of the Bix Automotive garage. He wondered if the arrival of two trucks of the same make was some kind of weird coincidence. He doubted it. In fact, Curtis Manning was almost certain something more ominous was going on.

4:56:40 p.m. PDT Senator Palmer's suite Babylon Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas "Mrs. Senator David Palmer, I'd like you to meet Mr. Jong Lee."

Larry Bell arrived inside of ten minutes, as promised. He wore a Fendi suit and a look of satisfied triumph. For her part, Sherry Palmer acted suitably contrite.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lee," she said graciously, extending her hand. "And please call me Sherry. Can I offer you something. Coffee or tea, perhaps a drink."

"No, no, I can only stay a moment. I do not wish to waste your valuable time"

Sherry directed her attention to the woman beside Jong Lee. "And who is this beautiful creature?"

"Her name is Yizi," Jong said. At the mention of her name, the woman bowed deeply. "Alas, she speaks no English."

"I'd like you to meet the Senator's Chief of Staff, Mr. Lev Cohen."

Cohen's handshake was perfunctory.

"A pleasure," Jong said in flawless English.

Lhey sat around the central table. Jong with Yizi on the couch. Sherry on the lounge chair. Lev Cohen remained standing, a drink from the bar in his hand.

"Mr. Lee is a Taiwanese chip manufacturer who holds many defense contracts with the United States military. That means Lee here has a stake in who wins the next presidential election," Bell explained.

"More than that," Jong declared. "Your government has been my nation's greatest ally, since the dark days of the j.a.panese invasion, since our present government was established in 1947. I and many of my compatriots know that it is only America's military might and our own resolute spirit that keeps Taiwan, the Republic of China, safe from those bandits in Beijing."

"Excuse me for being blunt," Sherry said, "but I'm not sure I understand why you're here, exactly."

"Of course," Jong said with a nod. "Senator Palmer is head of the Senate's Defense Appropriations Committee. In his position, he has made it a point of sharing American defense technology with Taiwan. I merely want to make certain your husband will continue to support my nation when he becomes president. "

"Unfortunately my husband has not yet been elected," Sherry replied.

Larry Bell threw his long arm around Jong's shoulder. The cultured man winced at the familiarity of the gesture. "Don't worry about old David," Bell said with a laugh. "He's one guy who knows how to win."

"I would like to make his victory even more certain," Jong said.

Larry Bell rose and glanced at his watch. "Look at the time," he cried with all the conviction of a high school thespian. "I really have to go. There's so much to do before tonight's gala event."

With a curt farewell, Bell departed. Sherry focused her gaze on Jong Lee.

"You were saying?" she prompted.

"I was merely suggesting that I would like to make a generous monetary contribution to Senator Palmer's presidential campaign fund." Jong said with a crooked smile.

Lev Cohen spoke up. "We have a committee for such things, Mr. Lee. Contact them and they'll tell you where to mail the check."

Sherry Palmer silenced the chief of staff with a touch of her hand.

"What Mr. Cohen means is that there are many barriers against my husband's campaign accepting foreign donations. There are limits to the amount one can give, and much scrutiny. If they wished, our political enemies could use such contributions against us."

Jong smiled again. "I understand perfectly, Mrs. Palmer..."

She raised a finger. "That's Sherry."

"Ah, yes... Sherry. I would, however, prefer to give much more than the allowable amount, and also avoid such scrutiny."

"Just how would you do that?" Lev Cohen demanded.

Again, Sherry silenced the man with a gesture. "I'm not sure I understand."

Jong frowned. "Then I must be even more blunt. I am prepared to contribute five million dollars cash, today, in exchange for one piece of information."

Lev Cohen paled. Sherry smiled knowingly. She'd been waiting for this shoe to drop since Jong Lee entered the suite.

"I know why your husband is here in Nevada, Mrs. Palmer," Jong continued. "I know that even as we speak, he is witnessing a demonstration of a brand new weapons system at Groom Lake Air Force Base less than fifty miles from this spot."

Lev choked on his drink.

Sherry blinked in surprise, then quickly recovered. So that's where he went, So that's where he went, she mused bitterly. she mused bitterly. And the worst part about it is that I had to hear the truth from a defense contractor from Taiwan! And the worst part about it is that I had to hear the truth from a defense contractor from Taiwan!

"I'm not free to discuss such things, Mr. Lee," Sherry replied coolly.

"No need to. Though the information is top secret, I know this because the chips I manufacture are vital components in the system being demonstrated."

Sherry's eyes narrowed as she studied the man.

"You see, I require information that only your husband can provide," Jong continued. "I need to know whether or not today's demonstration was a success, and whether or not the program will continue. It is a very expensive proposition to retool my factories. With this advance knowledge, I will know whether or not to proceed with the retooling process, or move on to more lucrative opportunities."

Sherry nodded. "And for that information?"

"I will pay five million dollars, cash."

Sherry's mind reeled. Five million dollars would nearly double David Palmer's campaign chest. And since it was cash, the money need never be declared on any campaign budget statement or election board. It would be a secret fund, used at her discretion, if and when the need arose.

"I am always glad to help a political ally," Sherry declared. "Therefore I accept your very generous offer, Mr. Lee. In the name of my husband."

Cohen's eyes went wide and he turned beet red. But he knew better than to speak up.

Jong rose and bowed. "Here is my card," he said. "My cell phone number is there. Call me with the information I ask for, and the money is yours."

Sherry raised a manicured eyebrow. "Oh, I'll call you, Mr. Lee. But it's Mr. Cohen here who will accept the money. You understand why I can't... And why this conversation never took place."

Jong grinned. "I understand completely..."