<strong>Arlington County, Virginia</strong><br/><br/>The Gulfstream taxied to a stop at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.  Buddy Sanders stood with his hands clasped in front of him next to the black limo.  He smiled as the door of the Gulfstream opened and Dominic poked his head out.  Dominic descended the few short steps and headed towards Buddy.<br/><br/>"Buddy!  How the hell are you?"<br/><br/>"Good.  Here...let me take that."  Buddy reached for Dominic's laptop bag but Dominic waved him off.  "I've got it."  He switched the bag from his right hand to his left so he could shake hands with Buddy.  "How is your wife?"<br/><br/>"She is good.  The doctor wants her to take it easy, but you know how she is."  Dominic nodded.<br/><br/>The two of them talked casually in the car on the way to the capital.  It was a short drive to the capital mall.  It actually took Dominic longer to get through security than the drive.  Dominic waited outside of Senator Lieberman's office until a secretary showed him in.<br/><br/>"Dominic, come in, come in."  The Senator grabbed Dominic's shoulder and shook his hand.  "Please, sit down.  Something to drink."<br/><br/>"No thank you, Senator."<br/><br/>The Senator nodded.  "Straight to business then?"  He walked back around to the opposite side of this desk and sat down.  He pushed several newspapers across the desk to Dominic.  Everyone one of them headlined the appearance of 'awakened' individuals.  Dominic glanced down at the pictures and surmised what it was the chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wanted to talk about.  "What do you know about these 'awakened' individuals?"<br/><br/>Dominic shifted uneasily in his chair.  Despite his best efforts, he knew very little.  That was something Dominic was not used to.  "Honestly, Senator, I have not been able to learn much.  We have been unable to determine a cause or even track down a common denominator among them.  No two 'awakened' seem to display the same power."<br/><br/>The Senator nodded but looked a little disheartened.  "We are going to need more than that when we go to the public.  Some of these people pose a real threat.  The American people are going to want to know that the government is going to protect them."  Dominic nodded.  There was already plenty of fear mongering going on.  The Senator continued, "In the short term, we need some kind of team with the capabilities to stop one of these 'awakened' from causing too much damage."  The Senator looked into Dominic's eyes.  "I would like to tap you to put together an assessment.  What would be needed.  How much it would cost.  Who should be on the team."  He waited a few minutes to let Dominic mull it over.  "Are you up for it?"<br/><br/>Dominic had an idea this was coming eventually.  He had an extensive network of friends and it was only a matter of time before one of them was going to call in a favor.  His position in Northrop Grumman also allowed him access to technologies that would most likely be needed.  Finally, Dominic knew it was better to be involved on the inside of an operation like this rather than collecting intelligence from outside.  He had made the decision before Senator Lieberman had even asked the question.  He paused simply so as not to seem overly eager.  This was exactly where Dominic wanted to be.<br/><br/>"Yes, Senator.  I will see what I can put together for you."  Lieberman smiled, glad to have at least one of his priorities taken care of.  "Excellent.  I expect a report within a week."