Chapter 230

Eric did not need to tell me any more. The mall attack was not an isolated attack; it was only one of many more to come. Strategically planned from a central location or by a close nit group of planners - the one I had stopped in Annapolis was most likely the first one.

They were pissed off that their big event was ended before it started and they did not get the type of headlines they wanted. Their first instinct was revenge.

Then cooler heads prevailed; getting revenge ran the risk of another mistake and possible exposure. Every operation left more forensic evidence and sooner or later the police always got the big break. Instead plan another much bigger one that would make up for the first.

That was why the phone went dead. The next time it would be used was as a trigger for a remote bomb. It could be against me or one of the girls or as a trap. Just turn it on, make a random call or two so the number showed up in the system and when the feds showed up, and use it to set off the bomb.

I knew I was daydreaming about the possible scenarios, but to me they made sense. This had been the first attack of this type in the area, the first in the US that I knew of and at Washington's back door. What a way to make a statement.

The FBI and Homeland did at least have an edge to go on. The three explosive vests should give them plenty of clues, plus there were the guns they were carrying and even the clothes they were wearing. By having complete bodies and undamaged clothing to work with it was just a mater of time until all the pieces came together. Forensics should have a folder full of information.

After I had these conversations in my mind I felt a little better. I knew the agencies were making progress even if they could not tell me anything. We needed to be extra careful, make no mistakes and let the Feds do their thing.

With that thought I started an in depth review of today's enrollments at the sites, starting with Rochester. It was taking 30 minutes per student to enroll them - that led to today's backlog. I wondered why it took so long.

We had plenty of people working long hours with 10 of my people and 10 from the agency working the office doing the actual computer work.

Kelly and one other person were delivering a presentation to groups of students. Those student groups were being sent to security to cause the backup. There was nothing that security could really do unless student resources reduced the size of the groups, which was unlikely.

If the hour wait times during this rush caused minimal complaints we would just have to put up with it. With 4000 students, to them this was a time effective way to handle the four day enrollment rush.

Jenny and Marcy wanted to put together the list of foods we were going to have for our Labor Day party on Sunday. Some of the things needed to be pre-ordered like the steamed crabs.