“Phone’s out,” Timkins said, placing the receiver back into the cradle of the phone set.

“Then try it AGAIN!” the Senator roared. “I absolutely have to speak with the Joint Chiefs of Staff regarding the proper procedure! We vote on this piece of crap tomorrow, and for all I know, we could be dropping an H-bomb on ourselves!”

Timkins resisted the urge to retort and obediently did as he was told. Still nothing. He did not tell this to the Senator, who was nervously pacing around the room, chewing a toothpick. Whatever had gone wrong with the phones was serious. He dialed again. Still nothing. He dialed again. Still nothing. He dialed again. Nothing. He dialed again…