Assured Response

1 DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Located twenty-five miles west of Washington, D.C., the sprawling airport and the inhabitants of the busy aerodrome were gearing up for the usual morning rush hour. Airliners and corporate jets were beginning to form long conga lines on the taxiways, while throngs of business passengers and vacationers were being packed into airplanes. Hardly an airline seat was to be had and, having exhausted their patience while clearing security, passengers' tempers were growing shorter by the minute. In the concourse used by British Airways, senior members of the Dulles management team were playing host to Brett Shannon, the U.S. secretary of state. His large entourage of State Department functionaries, Washington dignitaries, and a few close friends were receiving VIP treatment from the airport staff. Enjoying his late fifties, Brettford Earl Shannon had huge jowls that dominated his wide face. A large man, he was partial to tailor-made oversized business suits, brightly colored suspenders, and black wingtip shoes. Wire-framed glasses highlighted his long aristocratic nose. Shannon's sonorous voice boomed above the others as he held court prior to boarding a new British Airways Boeing 777. Secretary Shannon and his key staff aides, plus the chairmen and ranking members of select congressional subcommittees, a handful of Shannon's fraternity brothers, a sextet of security personnel, and a baker's dozen of well-known journalists, were about to depart for London's Heathrow International Airport. The mood was deliciously jubilant. Shannon's guests chatted and smiled as they mingled with the convivial crowd. Although the possibility of an airliner's being hijacked in the United States was greatly reduced since September eleventh, some members of the delegation were still uneasy about commercial air travel. Privately, they admitted their preference would have been their usual conveyance aboard a jet operated by the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base. Otherswho felt more confidence in the current airport and airline security systemswere taking their spouses on the historic trip. In London, Shannon would spend the night at the Dorchester and then sightsee and shop the next forenoon. After a casual lunch at the hotel, he and his group would board the new Cunard ocean liner Queen Mary 2, the grandest floating palace in the world. An authentic transatlantic liner, the unrivaled Cunard flagship featured British White Star Service and extravagant accommodations. The streamlined QM2 showcased the latest in shipbuilding technologies for the twenty-first century, including the powerful Rolls-Royce four-pod propulsion system. To a person, Shannon's guests were excited about the relaxing six-day voyage from London to New York City. Two couples from Shannon's college days even brought freelance cinematographers along to record the memorable experience. Secretary Shannon looked forward to holding a "floating summit" with fellow statesmen from major European and Middle Eastern countries, including their host, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Russian Federation, the Islamic State of Afghanistan, the French Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of Turkey. The stunning attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had created a global movement that had recently culminated in the development of the Terrorism Coalition Council (TCC). During their cruise, the U.S. secretary of state, along with the foreign ministers and other officials of the TCC, would focus on immediate measures to eradicate terrorism on a worldwide basis. Shannon had known that once the problem was under some degree of international coordinationWeber, Joe is the author of 'Assured Response', published 2003 under ISBN 9780891418429 and ISBN 0891418423.