The Terminal List

Reece prepares for a “personal jihad,” dressing in a tweed coat and horn-rimmed glasses before heading to the mosque. He does not bring a pistol with him because he doesn’t know if he will be frisked before meeting with Masood.

Reece has a complicated relationship with mosques. While fighting in the Middle East, American troops tried as often as possible not to attack or kill anyone in mosques because they were fearful of political retribution. However, this allowed the enemy to use these religious spaces to plan attacks. Reece remembers one time when a senior officer took too much time deciding whether or not to approve Reece’s request to attack a mosque. The officer took too much time, turning what could have been a quick hit into a 40-minute gunfight. Reece admits that his mission tonight has nothing to do with the Islamic faith and is purely personal.

Reece enters the mosque and introduces himself as Draper Kaufmann, a graduate student who has a meeting with Masood after evening prayer. Following evening prayer, Reece meets Masood in his office. Reece asks if he knows Captain Howard. Masood pretends that he does not, but Reece confronts him, reminding him that Howard is the Judge Advocate General officer who worked with Masood to arrange the Taliban attack on Reece’s troop. Masood recognizes Reece and insults his family, saying that he is glad they will burn in hell.

Reece hid a tomahawk in the hollowed-out shell of his laptop. He lunges at Masood with the ax at the same time that Masood pulls out a gun. Reece disarms Masood but then experiences a terrible headache that causes him to black out.

Masood attempts to escape during Reece’s episode, but Reece stops him by driving the ax into his thigh. He then bludgeons Masood in the back, spine, and hand and kills him with a hit to the forehead.

No one heard the attack, so Reece gets to work beheading Masood. He does not enjoy the task but does not shy away from it. Outside of the mosque, Reece places Masood's head onto a spire and throws the black ISIS flag Ben Edwards gave him on top of the head before leaving.

Reece goes back to Ben’s home and studies the floorplans and videos that he took of the model apartment. Reece drives to Holder’s apartment in the middle of the night. He goes to pick Holder’s apartment’s lock, wearing night vision goggles. Because he had previously sprayed the door hinges with a lubricant, the door swings open without any sound.

When he enters Holder’s bedroom, he finds him asleep in bed. He locates his DOD-issued gun on the dresser. Reece struggled with how to kill Holder, ultimately deciding to use Boozer’s favorite gun to kill Holder, cleaning up his spent cartridges, and then leaving Holder’s gun on his chest with a round missing to make it look like a suicide.

While Reece is preparing to shoot him, Holder sits up suddenly. Reece pushes the gun into his mouth and fires it, killing him. He plants Holder’s gun on the bed before fleeing to his car.

Steve Horn stews in his office. He has done his private investigation into Agnon’s death and has no reason to believe it is anything but a drug overdose. Horn’s assistant comes into the office to tell him that Josh Holder died earlier that morning, supposedly by suicide. He calls Boykin to check on him but doesn’t reach him. When he Googles Boykin, he finds a news article about his death, leading him to order his assistant to call Tedesco immediately.

Mike Tedesco is on his way to see Admiral Pilsner. Wanting Reece to spare his family, he is willingly wearing a suicide vest rigged up by Reece. He gets through security with no problems and walks into Pilsner’s office despite not having an appointment, much to Pilsner’s assistant’s contempt. Pilsner welcomes him but is surprised when Tedesco’s phone goes off because cell phones are not allowed in the building. Tedesco hands Pilsner the phone, saying the call is for him.

After speaking to the admiral, Reece detonates the suicide vest, killing both Tedesco and Pilsner.

Howard had an orthodontist appointment to get braces, which made him arrive at the office later than usual. He learns that Pilsner is dead from a supposed terrorist attack. When he checks the news, he sees that Masood was murdered in an apparent hate crime. He calls his wife and instructs her to get their children and meet him at the airport. He tells her to pack warm clothes.

Following the explosion, Reece heads to Clint Harris’s private rifle range. Reece unpacks his car, including a bag with $100,000 from Marco. Clint takes Reece’s car, intending to destroy his prized Land Cruiser.

Clint takes Reece to meet Liz, who is flying in to pick him up in her boss’s plane. She lands the plane, and once the plane is loaded, Liz and Reece take off.

Horn meets via videoconference with Lorraine Hartley. Lorraine is furious with how the Project is going and is concerned with the sheer number of dead people involved. Horn tells her to calm down and instructs her to hold a prime-time press conference to discuss James Reece with the American public. Lorraine worries that Reece is already after them, but Horn assures her that this plan will work and they will soon make a fortune.

On their flight to Texas, Reece tells Liz everything, reflecting that he realizes he’s becoming an “insurgent” based on his mission and his bearded appearance.

Liz tries to assuage his guilt, telling him that he did what he needed to do to avenge his family and men. Reece thanks Liz for her help and apologizes if she gets in trouble for helping him. She says that she does not care because whatever happens will “be better than getting tortured and gang-raped by a bunch of jihadis in Iraq” (297), which is what her fate might have been if Reece had not saved her life. Liz reaffirms that the Reece family is her family and that she will do whatever she needs to do to help them.

Reece and Liz land at her employer’s ranch, and they drive to Liz’s cabin. Ben has sent Reece a string of numbers and letters that Reece realizes is Howard’s location: Florida Keys. This is a logistical nightmare, primarily because there is just one road in and out of the area. Reece finds it ironic that the best way to get there would be by sea, but he doesn’t have access to any boats. He realizes that he will need to rely on Marco for ground transportation and Liz for air transportation.

Liz and Reece leave in the morning and land. They make a plan about when to leave once Reece has killed Howard, and he takes Marco’s car and heads down to the Keys.

While Howard is taking an afternoon stroll on the beach, Reece tackles him and drags him into a swamp. He puts Howard into a boat and takes him to an island deep in the swamp where no one else will be. Howard tries to talk his way out of dying, pretending that he doesn’t know anything about Reece’s men’s deaths in Afghanistan. This enrages Reece, leading him to slice Howard down the middle of his abdomen, causing his intestines to come out of his body. He then forces Howard to walk around a tree, looping his intestines and tying himself to the tree. Howard begs to be set free, promising to tell Reece anything he needs to know. Reece tells him that he knows everything and that his death will serve as a warning to the rest of his conspirators. He tells Howard that he hopes he dies before the animals eat him alive.

While trying to avoid speeding, Reece is cut off by a car, causing him to rear-end another car. He realizes that he needs to talk his way out of the accident so that the cops aren’t called. Reece tries to calm down the driver but is unable. The driver threatens to shoot Reece, and his girlfriend calls the cops. Reece punches the driver, breaking his jaw and disabling him. Reece gets back in his truck and takes off. He knows that he must get out of the car, so he gathers his belongings and jumps off a nearby overpass, landing on the Metrorail below. No one notices him as he climbs onto the Metrorail platform and then an incoming train.

Reece sends a message to Liz, updating her on what’s happened, and she responds that she’ll come up with some new plan. They agree to meet at the Okeechobee station, where Liz will be waiting for him in a black minivan. He gets off the Metro and into Liz’s car without drawing any attention.

The two drive back to the airport. Liz complains about the traffic and accelerates through a yellow light that unfortunately turns red as she passes. A police car turns into their lane and begins to follow them.

The police officer pulls the minivan over, causing Liz to panic. She decides to flirt with the officer, pulling her shirt down to reveal her cleavage and acting confused about the traffic laws. She explains that the car is a loaner from the airport and that she’s picking up her client (Reece) in it before they head back to the airport. The officer checks her registration before letting her off with a warning. The officer asks Reece why he has no luggage with him. Reece explains that he has flown down to look at some real estate and all his luggage is at the airport. The officer believes this and lets them go.

They are both relieved to have gotten past the officer. Liz is embarrassed and pulls her top back up.

Generals Lewandowsky and Stuart sit in a secure conference room in the Pentagon. Lewandowsky is a laid-back man who is currently the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which is the most senior group of military leaders in the United States and who often advise the president on various military issues. Stuart is the opposite of Lewandowsky; the opinionated man is currently in charge of the Joint Special Operations Command, which handles all the operations for special military units such as the SEALs.

The men are waiting to speak to Lorraine Hartley. Lorraine is 15 minutes late to the meeting and brings an electronic device, something that is not allowed in a secure room. Neither man corrects her faux pas. She is dressed in all-black designer clothes, something that has become her trademark and earned her the nickname “The Undertaker.”

Lorraine explains to the men that Reece is behind the attack on Pilsner and demands that Navy SEALs assassinate him in New Hampshire. Stuart refuses, citing the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits active-duty military from carrying out civilian law. Lorraine yells at him, but he continues to refuse, saying that it violates the Constitution. Lorraine continues to berate him, telling him that he will either give the order or she will fire him and find someone who will.

This chapter takes place at a redacted, unknown location. Senior Chief Fred Strain gathers his team for their next mission. He tells them that it is starting to look like a Navy SEAL, James Reece, has perpetrated the attack on Pilsner. One of the younger SEALs doesn’t believe that it could be Reece because he was known for his strong character and leadership.

The troop assumes that Reece has fled overseas, which is why they are being called in to track him down. However, Strain tells them that the Secretary of Defense has waived Posse Comitatus, allowing them to operate in the United States. The Secretary of Defense has told them that Reece has set his eyes on the president as his next target. Strain explains that they will go to New Hampshire to take out Reece. The information about Reece’s location came from just one human source (this is later revealed to be Ben).

Lorraine Hartley addresses the American people in a prime-time press conference. She names James Reece as the perpetrator behind the attacks at WARCOM and other murders, including Masood’s and Howard’s. She announces that she has asked the president to sign an executive order allowing for emergency measures to be enacted to catch Reece.

When taking questions from reporters, she additionally says that Reece killed his wife and daughter, most likely due to the effects of PTSD. She calls on the scientific community to develop some kind of solution to the PTSD crisis.

Katie watches the press conference from her brother’s house, realizing that Lorraine is lying, especially when she labels Reece a “xenophobic fascist.” She gets to work writing a story to challenge these claims.