so I always take the metro.”
“So you didn’t actually see the explosion?” asked Gross.
“No, I wasn’t facing the park, obviously. When the guns started firing I instinctively ducked and ran. Hell, everybody did.”
“Did you have any sense of where the gunfire was coming from?”
She thought for a few moments. “It all happened so fast. I was just trying to get low and out of the way. It was somewhere above me, at least I think so.”
Stone said, “Did you look back toward the park when the bomb exploded?”
She nodded.
“What did you see, exactly?”
Friedman sat back, furrowed her brow again and pursed her lips in concentration. “A lot of smoke, some flames shot up, really high. It was near the Jackson statue in the middle of the park. It was hard to tell at night and because of the trees in the way, but at least that’s where it seemed to be.”
Chapman asked, “Did you see anyone running away from the scene?”
“Like I said, everyone was running once the gunfire started up. And they ran faster when the bomb went off. There were a couple of cops and a dog I remember seeing. The dog was barking and the cops pulled their guns and I think they headed toward the park. I couldn’t swear to that because I was going the other way, fast.”
“And the man in the suit?” asked Gross. “He must’ve been somewhere close to you at that point.”
“He might’ve been, but I never saw him.”
“Okay, anything else?” asked Stone.
“I felt the ground shake a bit. It must’ve been a very powerful bomb. It seems ridiculous that with all the police down there no one noticed an explosive somewhere in the park. I mean, how did that happen?”
Gross sat back. “What did you do after that?”
“Grabbed a train home. I got lucky. I heard they closed the metro station a few minutes after I got on.”
Gross rose and handed her a card. “If you think of anything else let us know.”
After she left Gross looked at the other three. “Well?”
“She didn’t add much to what we already knew,” said Stone.
“What a simpering sot,” snapped Chapman. “I was surprised she didn’t pull her bloody dress up over her fake blonde hair.”
Stone ignored this barb and said, “Okay, we have gunfire that should have never happened. A bomb that shouldn’t have gone off. And a target that wasn’t even there.”
Gross’s phone rang. Ten seconds later he clicked off. “Okay, this sucker just got even more complicated. A group in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack.”
CHAPTER 21
T HE NEXT DAY S TONE WATCHED on TV along with Tom Gross from the latter’s office as the media reported that a group based in Yemen had opened fire on Lafayette Park and also set off a bomb there. It was done to show that it could reach inside the very heart of the American government. At least that’s what the loose translation of the group’s message released to the Western media had implied. Afterward there was a brief press conference at which the FBI director spoke, and then the ADIC answered a few questions from the media, without really telling them anything at all.
Stone asked, “Are we sure the Yemen message is authentic?”
Gross nodded. “Whoever called it in had the proper authorization codes.”
Stone added, “But that just authenticates the group making the statement. It doesn’t prove they actually did it.”
“That’s true. And they sometimes lie.”
“I don’t suppose they gave any helpful details on how they managed the guns and the bomb right under our noses?” asked Stone.
“No. What scares the crap out of me is that if they can hit Lafayette Park successfully, what’s next? What place is safe? It’s like they said, it’s symbolic. And you know every American is right now thinking the same thing.”
Stone said, “And can the terrorists hop across the street and hit the White House?”
Gross nodded. “That possibility is on the mind of every person in this
“So you didn’t actually see the explosion?” asked Gross.
“No, I wasn’t facing the park, obviously. When the guns started firing I instinctively ducked and ran. Hell, everybody did.”
“Did you have any sense of where the gunfire was coming from?”
She thought for a few moments. “It all happened so fast. I was just trying to get low and out of the way. It was somewhere above me, at least I think so.”
Stone said, “Did you look back toward the park when the bomb exploded?”
She nodded.
“What did you see, exactly?”
Friedman sat back, furrowed her brow again and pursed her lips in concentration. “A lot of smoke, some flames shot up, really high. It was near the Jackson statue in the middle of the park. It was hard to tell at night and because of the trees in the way, but at least that’s where it seemed to be.”
Chapman asked, “Did you see anyone running away from the scene?”
“Like I said, everyone was running once the gunfire started up. And they ran faster when the bomb went off. There were a couple of cops and a dog I remember seeing. The dog was barking and the cops pulled their guns and I think they headed toward the park. I couldn’t swear to that because I was going the other way, fast.”
“And the man in the suit?” asked Gross. “He must’ve been somewhere close to you at that point.”
“He might’ve been, but I never saw him.”
“Okay, anything else?” asked Stone.
“I felt the ground shake a bit. It must’ve been a very powerful bomb. It seems ridiculous that with all the police down there no one noticed an explosive somewhere in the park. I mean, how did that happen?”
Gross sat back. “What did you do after that?”
“Grabbed a train home. I got lucky. I heard they closed the metro station a few minutes after I got on.”
Gross rose and handed her a card. “If you think of anything else let us know.”
After she left Gross looked at the other three. “Well?”
“She didn’t add much to what we already knew,” said Stone.
“What a simpering sot,” snapped Chapman. “I was surprised she didn’t pull her bloody dress up over her fake blonde hair.”
Stone ignored this barb and said, “Okay, we have gunfire that should have never happened. A bomb that shouldn’t have gone off. And a target that wasn’t even there.”
Gross’s phone rang. Ten seconds later he clicked off. “Okay, this sucker just got even more complicated. A group in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the attack.”
CHAPTER 21
T HE NEXT DAY S TONE WATCHED on TV along with Tom Gross from the latter’s office as the media reported that a group based in Yemen had opened fire on Lafayette Park and also set off a bomb there. It was done to show that it could reach inside the very heart of the American government. At least that’s what the loose translation of the group’s message released to the Western media had implied. Afterward there was a brief press conference at which the FBI director spoke, and then the ADIC answered a few questions from the media, without really telling them anything at all.
Stone asked, “Are we sure the Yemen message is authentic?”
Gross nodded. “Whoever called it in had the proper authorization codes.”
Stone added, “But that just authenticates the group making the statement. It doesn’t prove they actually did it.”
“That’s true. And they sometimes lie.”
“I don’t suppose they gave any helpful details on how they managed the guns and the bomb right under our noses?” asked Stone.
“No. What scares the crap out of me is that if they can hit Lafayette Park successfully, what’s next? What place is safe? It’s like they said, it’s symbolic. And you know every American is right now thinking the same thing.”
Stone said, “And can the terrorists hop across the street and hit the White House?”
Gross nodded. “That possibility is on the mind of every person in this
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