By the time Leo returned to his Pittsburgh office from Houston, it was already the early hours of the morning. The news broke at 3:17 a.m.
CBS's breaking news banner was the first to flash across the screen, followed by CNN, and then Fox immediately went live. All three networks simultaneously cut to live feeds from reporters stationed near the Pentagon against the backdrop of Washington's night sky. The anchors maintained a veneer of professional restraint, but their rapid-fire delivery betrayed their underlying excitement.
The US Army had launched a precision strike in the Persian Gulf. The targets were two underground facilities within Iran. The mission was completed in ninety-four minutes, with zero friendly casualties.
At six o'clock the next morning, the Secretary of the Defense Department appeared in the Pentagon's briefing room. Behind him hung a pull-down screen displaying blurred satellite imagery and operational schematics.
