He introduced himself as Sabbir. He wasn’t a tall man, only standing 5’4”. He was covered in jet black hair, emphasizing his swarthy nature. His eyes were small and dark as night. He handed a small black bag to the general, who stuffed it under his coat before Alim could get a good look at it.
Alim and his counterpart were told to start climbing the steps. Sabbir locked the door behind him and he too started up the steps, with the general bringing up the rear.
The first floor was covered in artifacts and not much else. From the second landing, they could see the roof of the tower. With 300 steps, there was a long way to go still. Once at the top, three men gasped for air.
Only the general breathed with ease. His stance was rigid, arms crossed, staring at his host. Finally, Sabbir said, “Wel…welcome general. I I’m glad you could make it on such sh…short notice.” Alim did better on the translation, but not much. He was a scholar, not an athlete.
“Get to the point, Sabbir. I must brief the president tomorrow and I don’t have time to chit-chat.”
Sabbir forgot his guest wasn’t much for small talk. “Right, excuse me. The American plan went well, better than expected. We will continue that front soon. Now we must focus our attention elsewhere. Our benefactor would like a double strike on the United Kingdom. They’ve been too helpful to the Americans. I will handle the radiation again. Can you take out their electrical grid?”
By now, Alim had caught his breath but his breathing never normalized. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His eyes darted from Sabbir to the general.
“Of course. My men have proven themselves.”
“Good. We strike next week. Can you be ready?”
“Da.”
The two men nodded and opened their matching black bags. Inside each was a small caliber handgun equipped with a silencer. Without saying a word, each man put a single round in the temple of their translator. They dropped the weapons and made the journey to the bottom of the stairs.
The general got in the waiting taxi and said “aéroport” in perfect French.
A Long Two Months
Paul Peterson cleared his throat and began the meeting. "It's been a long two months, ladies and gentlemen. Don't expect the power to return anytime soon. It won't. The politicians are safe in their hideaways and the president is safe in his, all with power. The rest of us must fend for ourselves.”
“We were smart enough to prepare and have power, most people do not. Without air-conditioning, the heat is killing people all across the country.”
Jack wondered aloud, "How did people survive before air-conditioning?"
Paul cleared his throat again and continued his prepared remarks. "We are likely to be without power for the entire winter. Whatever the terrorists did to the power grid, it was devastating. This coming winter will see thousands die in the cold. Tens of thousands. We will not be among them, thank God.”
“Intelligence reports are saying Iran could be the culprits. But nobody is too sure yet. Certainly not enough to start a war yet.”
Nikki, a former Intelligence Specialist, jumped in and said "Iran can't be the culprits. They don't have the tech skills to pull this off. They have the money to back it, but not the skill. Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia might be able to pull it off. Of course, Russia backs Iran, so there's that.
Mark Wilson said, "The Saudi's are our friends, they wouldn't do this to us." Nikki's eyes sparkled, and she giggled. Nothing else needed to be said.
It was Jack's turn to speak. He oversaw the local affairs, and the national park was closest to his mind as he spoke. “FEMA's food drop didn't last very long. People are starving and have taken to hunting and fishing for whatever food they can find. Animals and plants are being taken daily. Not many have firearms, or enough ammo left, so the animals are faring better than expected.”
“After the firefight, some people did leave the park. They didn't want to be around all the gunfire. I can't say I blame them. It did take a little pressure off the rangers, but not much.
“What about everyone else?” Paul asked, hopeful for a peaceful end.
“The remaining people spread out over the area, claiming land parcels as their own hunting grounds. That's going to get tricky when we need to start hunting the park ourselves. We have to hunt animals and keep an eye out for people who might not like us taking ‘their’ food.”
“We may have some solutions to that, but I'll wait for my turn to speak,” Jason Keller replied, “Please continue.”
Jack blinked, not used to being interrupted, but gave a nod and continued.
“The rangers are still patrolling the park, I don't know why at this point. They should be home with their families. They're on horseback most the time, fully armed. They aren't going to get taken by surprise again. The Rangers were deputized by the Washington State Patrol a few weeks ago. I found out last week when I went to visit Ranger John. He's a good guy. I'd like to recruit him at some point.”
Finishing his remarks, he nodded to Nikki, who started talking about her houseguest. “Robin’s progress with firearms is going well. With a handgun, she's a natural. She’s working on rifles now. I can get her to 100 yards on my property, but for longer distances, we'll need to visit Paul.” She looked at him and winked. He nodded, signaling his agreement.
Nikki continued, “My hunch is she will excel at 300 yards, and we may have a new sniper on our hands. If Josh would show up, he might have an appropriate rifle and be able to further her training. I pray for his safety.”
At the Robin news, Paul gave the group the news that there was a possible sighting of Robin’s husband and son in Morton. They've been running with a scavenger group, one that isn't too friendly. The father and son are never together. Always walking with a different group. In that other group, there is another man that resembles the description of the boss, but it's hard to tell. The boss was described as overweight. This man is thinner. It’s possible if they’re not getting too much to eat. Understandable in these conditions. Robin would be the only one who could confirm this, however.
Nikki confirmed she would break the news to Robin. Either her or Diane would be best to break the news, but it was easier for Nikki as Robin was still living with her.
Jack volunteered himself and Diane to take Robin to Morton. Mark and Jason also stepped up to help.
Paul called the meeting adjourned and a new one was confirmed two weeks out. Jack asked Mark and Jason to wait for him outside, they needed to coordinate. Then he asked Paul for a few minutes to chat.
“I need to speak with you about Diane.”
“What’s going on, Jack?”
“I’m worried about her casual attitude about killing the rapist. I mean, I get it, he was a bad guy. But I would think by now she would show something, but there’s nothing there.”
“Why do you think that?”
“It just seems natural. Talking about killing someone is easy, but actually doing so? That changes you. I don’t see that with Diane.”
“Everyone handles death differently, Jack. Some people take a week and a case of Jim Beam to rationalize. Others cry for a day.”
“But this is not normal…” Jack said.
“Diane may have internalized her feelings, or she may just not give a damn. You do know that some women are made of stronger stuff, right? They may not show it at first, but in a clutch, they become warriors.”
“Either way, at this point I wouldn’t worry too much about it. The guy she killed was never going to contribute to society. Thinking about him or her reaction to him is giving him too much credit. I think she’ll be fine.”
“You know, Jack, that killing was just the beginning. It may turn out to be a good thing if she can kill and not care. I don’t want to sound morbid, but things around here aren’t going to get any easier. When people start to starve, really starve, it will be you or them.”
“I understand that, and that’s something else that has me worried. I’ve never pointed a gun
at anyone. I don’t know if I have it in me. She did it with ease.
“Are you worried she’s going to show you up?”
“Not that. I’m afraid that when I need to pull the trigger, I won’t be able to.”
“Understood.”
“I’m also worried about winter, when people will be looking for shelter. I was really hoping the power would return soon.”
“That’s not going to happen. We’re lucky with the temperature staying in the mid 70’s. We don’t need the air-conditioning and can power most of what we need. Winter will challenge even us, however.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine, as long as we help each other, and we can keep people away.”
“That will be the test, Jack.”
“Thanks for the talk, Paul. You’re a big help, as always. We’ll be by in two days to borrow the horses. The intel from Morton says they should appear on Thursday. I want to travel on Wednesday and set up camp so there will be no issues on Thursday.”
“Good plan, Jack. I’ll see you Wednesday.”
Jack went outside and delivered the news to Jason and Mark. He asked them to be at Paul’s place by 9 am. It would be a long ride to Morton. Jack figured it would take 5 hours on horseback, plus breaks. Jason and Mark would ride ahead and scout. If they ran into any trouble, they would be able to help each other. The alternative is they would be in a group and possibly surrounded.
The three of them began their trek home and came up with contingency plans to pass the time.
Welcome Home
General Fedin stepped out of his car and looked at his house. He was happy to be out of the high-rise apartments. The electricity went out often and sometimes the generators didn’t start. Twenty flights of stairs, especially with a 5-year old daughter, would try anyone.
His house was bigger than most but still not too extravagant. As with all houses in former Soviet states, it was a square block made of cement. He had it painted a light blue, his daughter’s favorite color, to make it appear newer than it was.
He didn’t need a mansion with only him, his wife, and his daughter but someday he would like to upgrade. For now, they had the two bedrooms, an office for himself, and a playroom for his daughter. It was good enough.
He stopped at the door, took a deep breath, and smiled. Then he walked in. “Nastya!” he said. “Where are you?” A few seconds later a little girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes came bounding toward him. “Poppa Poppa! Prevyet Poppa!”
He bent down on one knee and she jumped into him for a big hug. She squeezed him as hard as her little arms could squeeze. “Did you bring me a surprise?”
“Of course, Nastya. I would never forget my favorite little girl.”
Even though he only made one stop in France, he didn’t forget his daughter. Before going to the gate, he stopped at a shop in the airport and found a teacup with a painting of the Eifel Tower on one side and Notre Dame on the other. That was for her collection. To play with, he found a spinning top with the French flag. A trinket, but he knew she loved such things.
“Put your teacup away and play with your new toy. Poppa will join you in a few minutes. I have to check my messages, ok?”
“Ok poppa.”
General Fedin kissed his wife and went to his office. After his computer was ready, he checked his email. He scanned the messages and saw one from “Old Friend” and opened it right away.
“Welcome home. Meet me at the park at noon.” He looked at his watch and was disappointed. He had thirty minutes to be there and wanted more time with Nastya. The general shut down his computer and got up.
“Nastya, it’s a nice day. Walk with me to the park.” The city had lots of parks, but he knew where to go.
“Yes Poppa!”
He explained to his wife that work called, and he could not ignore it.
∆ ∆ ∆
When Fedin and Nastya reached the park, the general started to look for his old friend. The email didn’t lie, the two had been friends since childhood. Both men followed the same career path and were generals in the army. He spotted his friend on a bench near the fountain.
As he approached, his friend stood and said, “Nikita, old friend. How are you?”
“I’m well, Sasha. How are you and Anna doing?”
“Everything is good, and how is my favorite God-daughter?”
Sasha bent down and took Nastya’s hand. He made a great show of giving her a gentle kiss on her fingers.
“I’m fine,” she said. Her blue eyes dancing with laughter.
Nikita pulled a few coins from his pocket and handed them to his daughter. “Go play at the fountain, honey. Take my coins, make a good wish!”
Nastya ran to the fountain and the two men sat on a bench. They spent a few minutes catching up. After a brief pause, Sasha breathed deep and exhaled. “The president would like an update. We will meet with him in an hour. He’s interested in how your meeting with Sabbir went.”
“We had a short discussion, it went as expected. We walked here, I hope you drove. We need to leave in a few minutes.”
“Let her play, she’s having fun. My driver is waiting. You really should take your own driver, Nikita.”
“I like to drive. It lets me wind down from work and return to my family with a smile on my face. If I had a driver, I’d have to keep up appearances.”
The men laughed.
∆ ∆ ∆
The driver drove to the back of the primary administration building. His three passengers were on an unofficial visit and didn’t want to be seen. The passengers exited the vehicle and approached a little used back door. Sasha made a phone call. The corridors would be cleared so they weren’t seen inside.
Before entering, Nikita put on his stern face and said, “Nastya, this is a serious place and we must be serious. Show me your serious face.”
Nastya loved to play this game! She put her theater lessons to good use and made her best serious face. Her eyebrows scrunched, and she pursed her lips.
She over-did the expression but Nikita said, “Maladyets, Nastya! Your acting lessons are not wasted. Let’s go. Serious now.”
They entered the monolithic building and made their way to the elevator. This was an old Soviet-era building, the walls were made of cement and painted a soft green on the lower half, white on the upper half. The elevators were older than the two men but somehow still worked.
Nastya pushed the button, as fascinated by elevators as any child. The doors opened, and she said, “Me me me!” Her father lifted her up and told her to press number ten.
On the top floor at the far end of the corridor, was their target. They entered the office and met the secretary. She started entering their names in the log, but Nikita stopped her with a shake of his finger and head. “We were never here,” he told her.
“Understood,” she said.
She went to another office door, knocked, and entered. When she returned, she told them the president was waiting for them.
“Nastya, tell the nice lady your favorite story about the dolphin aquarium. I will be out soon.”
Her eyes grew big and she said “Ok!” with a big smile.
The two generals entered the office and were directed to sit down. The president said, “So, General Fedin, how was your trip?” The general knew this wasn’t a personal question and left out the pleasantries.
“Our benefactor has made a new request, sir. Our cyber-attack team is to hack the UK’s power grid next week. I’ll get a message for the day and time.”
“Yes, I was expecting this. The UK has been helping the American government. It was only a matter of time before a strike was ordered. No matter, we have them chasing ghosts all over the world. They’re easily distracted by fake messages and phone calls. They will never attack until they can be sure they have the right culprit. We use their sense of justice against them.”
“Yes, Mr. President. That part of the plan has been working well. Sabbir will need more material for his teams. W
e will launch a simultaneous attack this time.”
“Very good. Sasha, do you have anything to add?”
“No, Mr. President. I’ll handle the logistics again. The computers will be in place when needed. I think we’ll launch from Algeria this time.”
The president furrowed his brows. “Why there?”
“We give the American’s what they’re expecting and keep their eyes off us and our benefactor. We’ll need a new translator, however. I think we’ll need three for this. They speak mostly Arabic in Algeria.”
Aftermath of Disaster: Books 1, 2, and 3 Bundle + Bonus Book: When Jack Met Diane Page 9
