President?” The aide's voice sounded hollow and tinny coming from the room’s intercom. “Yes?” “Permission to dispatch a live audio/video transmission to Raven Rock from the White House, Sir. Its point of origin is unknown. But the requestor --we think it's Shazad--is demanding a conversation with you regarding the 'state of the nation'.” “How do we know it's Shazad?” “When asked to identify himself, he said: 'five Reapers and twelve remoras'.” President Carmichael examined the faces of his team sitting at the table, each registering their certainty that this was Shazad, who was specifying the objects taken from the JBAB to confirm his identity, since the exact inventory of stolen hardware was only known to those at Raven Rock. “Patch it through.” On the far wall was a series of high-definition flat-screens that were pieced together to create a single massive screen.
