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would’ve had to get in through a TSA checkpoint or alternate means of security screening, for example a gate to the airfield. Since the note mentions lives being lost, I favor the latter. A public area with a concentration of passengers—for example when they’re congregated at a gate just after arrival or before departure, or in security screening lines—would be my guess.”

      “Makes sense,” Logan said.

      “Do we have any reason to suspect it would be a domestic or international area?”

      Ariana gave the question some thought. “Not that I can think of.”

      “Anyone else?” he asked.

      When no one had other thoughts, they quickly reviewed the airport plans to establish a strategy.

      “Should we begin to evacuate the airport? Even partially?” Max asked.

      “That’s not my call to make,” Logan responded. “If you want my opinion, we don’t have enough to go on at this point. The likelihood of a major event is low but the consequences, if it happens, are significant. We have no corroboration that the threat is credible. We have no location. Without a known or suspected location, with a full-scale evacuation, people might get injured because of the hysteria that could result. Our dogs are trained to search with members of the public present and with distractions. It won’t compromise their effectiveness. We should reassess if we learn more.”

      Again, Logan’s comments were in line with Ariana’s own thinking.

      “All right, let’s get going. We have no idea how long we have if this isn’t a hoax. We need to work fast, and our best chance is our explosives detection dogs.”

      Ariana’s breath hitched at the mention of dogs—plural.

      Logan gave her a quizzical look. “I have two more dogs and handlers coming in to cover the areas as quickly as possible. Rick Vazquez and his dog, Nitro, are on their way. You’ll remember meeting Rick,” Logan said with a small smile. “So is Shannon Clemens, and Darwin. She was here the other day. We’ll work with Boomer and Nitro off-leash, for maximum speed. Is that a problem?”

      Ariana forced her head to turn side to side.

      “Good. The airport is too large to cover in any reasonable time otherwise. To keep passengers calm about a couple of dogs running around, I suggest you make an announcement that we’re conducting a drill. Let people know that they shouldn’t be afraid of or interfere with the dogs.”

      “Of course,” Ariana said, her voice tight, trying not to think of two big dogs off leash and a third one, leashed or not, likely in close proximity to her.

      At the sound of people and dogs approaching, Logan turned to the doorway. “Great. Thanks for coming in,” he greeted Rick and Shannon. “Sergeant Rick Vasquez works narcotics mainly but his dog, Nitro, was an explosives detection dog before he was retrained for drugs. Nitro’s smart and fast. He’s worked the airport previously. Officer Clemens is new to the K-9 Unit as is her dog, Darwin. They’ll assist us,” he said to everyone in the room.

      Both dogs were sitting between Ariana and the door. Including Boomer, Ariana now had three dogs between her and her escape route from the boardroom. She gulped some air. She knew her best defense against panicking was to breathe deeply and distract herself enough to let the fear subside.

      She had a bomb threat to deal with, and this one carried more weight than the ones they experienced periodically. She wouldn’t let her phobia get in the way of doing her job.

      Although Ariana managed to hold off the anxiety attack, she breathed easier when everyone present, the three dogs included, left the boardroom.

      Logan slapped Rick on the back, before they headed in opposite directions at a run. Logan and Boomer took Terminal 1. Rick and Nitro, with Shannon and Darwin assisting, Terminal 2.

      FSD Stewart showed up just as they were heading out. He was out of breath and disheveled. He grabbed Ariana’s arm as she was rushing past. “What’s the status?”

      “Go with the captain,” Ariana told Trevor. “I’ll follow when I’m done here.” She had no choice than to provide a brief overview to Angus. Ariana excused herself as quickly as possible so she could catch up to Logan, leaving Angus and his subordinate, who’d stayed back after the briefing, to notify other area airports as they deemed appropriate. There was no way of knowing if it was an isolated threat or others might be targeted, too.

      Ariana’s priority was her San Diego International.

      Before long, the airport was swarming with law enforcement officers. The FBI rapidly assumed leadership of the investigation along with the Department of Homeland Security through FSD Stewart and TSA. Although detection dogs were the best, if not only, line of defense in this type of situation, the TSA didn’t have any to deploy on short notice. As such, Logan and his team retained primary responsibly for sweeping the airport for explosive devices and associated components. They hadn’t wasted any time starting the process.

      Ariana found Logan near Gate 8 and fell in step beside him. He glanced at her without slowing. “What are you doing?”

      “Sergeant Vasquez has Max to give him access to restricted areas. I’ll do the same for you.”

      “Trevor’s with me. We can manage.”

      She’d debated leaving Trevor to do it. Then she wouldn’t have to be near the dog, possibly in confined spaces. But this was a serious matter and it was her responsibility. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—delegate it.

      They both fell silent as they listened to the announcement over the public address system, advising passengers that a security exercise was under way. With no time to waste, they carried on. Boomer was already hard at work and, with little guidance from Logan, moving at a rapid pace. He was thorough, checking passengers, goods, luggage and storage spaces.

      Ariana walked toward a children’s play area and came to an abrupt halt. A young mother was holding her infant on the seat of a small seesaw, while a toddler grasped a monkey bar and bounced up and down with a happy gurgle. It terrified Ariana to think that someone could be so depraved as to set an explosive specifically targeting children. She did a careful visual inspection of all the components, forcing a smile for the young mother. For an instant, she second-guessed herself if she should have ordered an evacuation of the airport, as a precautionary measure.

      No. Based on the intelligence they had, it wasn’t warranted. Everyone present had agreed.

      All seemed to be in order, but Ariana was still relieved when she saw Boomer approaching. She stepped back so the dog could clear the area. Boomer was oblivious to the children, who squealed excitedly at seeing the animal.

      “He’s a police dog,” Ariana told the anxious mother. “He won’t hurt your kids. We’re running a drill.” She repeated what had already been communicated. Even with the added assurance, the mother lifted the infant and, taking the other child by his hand, led them to a seating area.

      Ariana rejoined Logan and Boomer. They were inside a retail shop when there was a loud rumble and an unmistakable vibration, strong enough to cause the glassware on the shelves to rattle.

      Logan’s arm shot out in front of Ariana to bring her to a stop.

      It was eerily silent for a few heartbeats, before panic ensued.

      People were yelling and running. There was general chaos.

      In near unison, they yanked out their phones. Ariana called Trevor. “Do you know what just happened?”

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