"Arrange for me to see the President immediately, immediately!"
When Sullivan met Claire, the latter had just disembarked from the plane, and in spite of crossing time zones over a dozen hours of intercontinental flight, had rushed to the Presidential Palace without even time to adjust, clearly there was an urgent matter.
Claire's original travel plans included going to India to discuss manned spaceflight cooperation, but now those plans would definitely have to be delayed or someone else assigned.
However, Sullivan knew the reason for his sudden change of itinerary and understood completely.
"Please follow me."
The two walked quickly and quietly into John's office, where four or five other people were seated, all of whom were officials whom John frequently contacted and trusted.
The first thing Claire said after sitting down was:
"We are five years behind."
