CHAPTER SIX
6:45 p.m.
United States Naval Observatory – Washington, DC
“Agent Stone, I’m Richard Monk, the President’s chief-of-staff. We talked on the phone today.”
Luke had come off the Naval Observatory helipad five minutes before. He shook hands with a tall, fit-looking guy, maybe late-thirties, probably right around Luke’s age. The man wore a blue dress shirt with sleeves rolled up his forearms. His tie hung askew. His upper body was scientifically muscular, like in an ad for Men’s Health. He worked hard and he played hard—that’s what Richard Monk’s look told anyone who would listen.
They walked the marble hallway of the New White House toward wide double doors down at the end. “We’ve adapted our old conference room into a situation room,” Monk said. “It’s a work in progress, but
