“Senator,” she had to force her voice to steadiness, “I think everyone in this room realizes how serious the situation is. Fortunately, we’ve obtained a very solid lead on the terrorists you came here hoping to trace. We have several of their henchmen under arrest and are fully informed as to the Ansar Majlis’ plans. My chief of security has men acting on this information right now, sweeping the station to arrest several of the Ansar Majlis’ key ringleaders, who arrived through Primary today.”
Caddrick’s eyes shot wide. “You have information on their plans?” he echoed, voice flat with surprise.
“Yes, we do. Several of the station’s resident down-timers discovered the plot and fought a pitched battle against the terrorists, subduing them. Thanks to the down-timers, we have enough information to arrest the entire Ansar Majlis operation.”
Shock detonated behind Caddrick’s eyes. “My God! Why, that’s—that’s incredible! But that still doesn’t tell us where Jenna is.” Shock gave way to calculating hostility.
“No, it doesn’t,” she agreed, stalling for time while thinking fiercely, Shag your butt, Benson, I need you up here, and played what she hoped would not prove to be her final trump card. “Because we’re dealing with international and inter-temporal terrorism, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to call in an uninterested third party. To oversee the investigations which will have to be launched. I certainly don’t want to give the impression this station has anything to hide. And I’m certain you don’t want the investigation to take on the appearance of a personal vendetta.”