"In other words, you have nothing." Whittaker said. "What has the FBI been doing for the past twenty years? After Oklahoma City you knew what these people are capable of."

"We've been investigating, Jane." Boling despised the president's chief of staff, as did most of the cabinet. She wasn't especially bright, and whatever he said would go in one ear and out the other. He looked over at General Anthony, who like most of the others was avoiding looking directly at anyone.

"We've got forty-four thousand people, over half of them are field agents. They've been working on domestic terrorism non-stop ever since Oklahoma City, and we're on top of over three hundred cells of suspicious actors. And every tip that comes in is thoroughly investigated, even the crackpots.

"Since the first transmission towers went down and the railroad bridges were blown, we've detained over two hundred fifty suspects..."

"Four weeks." Whittaker said. "And nothing? Even if they're not talking you should be able to trace their movements. Where they've been, what they bought, what's in their computers. You mean you don't have a clue?"

The Homeland Security director broke in.

"We suspect the planning and preparation was done long ago." he said. "Someone was waiting for the right moment to strike."

"There must be a trail, at least of recent movements." Whittaker said.

"These people are by nature secretive." Jordan said. "They're out there in the open country, living in small towns and rural areas. They use burner phones, prepaid debit cards and cash, private mailboxes. They're partly, in many cases mostly, off the grid."

"That should have been dealt with long ago." Whittaker said. "There's no need for anyone to be using cash for anything. And phones and cards that can't be traced, who ever thought that was a good idea?"

Balance of Power (Enak Nomolos)