“Any idea who’s responsible?” Alex asked David.

Derek answered, “We’re just in the early stages of tracking that down, and so is everyone else.” He pressed a key on one of the laptops and the wall screen behind him lit up, showing a set from one of the major cable news channels with four pundits discussing what was happening.

Amy turned to watch, even though the same scene was playing on the laptop. At the bottom of the screen, a banner displayed the headline COLORADO SILENT: TERRORIST ATTACK? followed by a clock showing elapsed time.

“That can’t be right,” she observed.

“No,” Derek said, still looking at the laptop, “that matches what we know.”

Amy faced Alex, whose intent expression told her that he saw the same thing. “How much did you tell David about what happened?” she asked him.

“Nothing,” Alex answered, “I just asked him to be on the lookout for any sign that someone might be trying to sabotage communications and electronic infrastructure.”

Derek turned off the cable feed’s sound and stared at his sister. “What happened?”

Amy recounted the main events, beginning with the drone attack, with guesses about their timing. Alex nodded occasionally when she described what they had been through together.

“That’s impressive,” David said.

“That’s Amy,” Derek said, with a crack in his voice that made her shiver, “a mind like a calendar.” He turned to Alex. “What did the Air Force tell you?”