“I don’t have time for this.” The President handed over his ringing phone.
Drake glanced at the screen, grimaced, then answered.
“Hello, Clarissa. Drake Nason here. I’m so sorry to hear about Clark.” He kept his voice low enough that the boat driver wouldn’t be able to hear.
“Is the President safe?”
“Yes, President Cole is fine and currently en route to a secure location.”
“Good. Good. We, uh, had chatter about a threat. Regrettably, neither the NSA nor my people were able to decrypt it in time. Moments before the crash, there was a transmission about ‘burning the fields’ but that’s all we have so far. Please let me know if the President needs anything.”
“Will do. Again, my condolences.”
“Uh, thanks.”
He hung up the phone and handed it back to the President. “Christ, that is one co
