Phoenix

by Alex Lukeman

  "You could have been a little more diplomatic," Stephanie said.

  "It wouldn't have made any difference. That woman is a menace. The president is an idiot for keeping her in that position. If Rice were still president, I'd have his private number and call him. She made sure I didn't have that kind of access."

  "What do we do now?"

  Elizabeth stood and walked over to the row of windows overlooking the Potomac. It was a beautiful spring day outside. Sunlight sparkled on the waters of the river. The sky was blue and clear, a promise of fair weather and the pleasure of being alive. She turned back to Stephanie.

  "I can't get to the White House in time. We have to hope Freddie or the Pentagon get through to the subs before they launch."

  "And if that doesn't happen?"

  "Then we pray," Elizabeth said.

  In California, Nick and Selena stood outside the doors of the emergency room at the hospital where they'd taken Ronnie.

  "He's going to be okay," Selena said.

  "If those subs launch none of us are going to be okay." He looked at his watch. "Eleven minutes to go. I'm calling Harker."

  Elizabeth picked up.

  "Director, what's happening?"

  Elizabeth said, "I haven't heard anything, yet."

  "Did you tell the president?"

  "I didn't get a chance. Cartwright cut me off at the knees. DCI Hood is working on it, so is Freddie. The Pentagon knows what's happening. Where are you?"

  "I'm standing outside a hospital in San Jose," Nick said. "Ronnie took a bullet when we were inside Nicklaus' mansion. The doctor said he'll be okay."

  "What about Nicklaus?"

  "He got away. Last I saw, he was in an elevator. I fired as the door closed but I don't know if I hit him. We didn't see him when we left the building. With Ronnie wounded, we didn't wait around to look for him."

  Director.

  "Wait, Nick. Yes, Freddie, what is it?"

  I have reached two of the submarines. I have disabled the command sequences for launch.

  "What about the third?"

  I have been unable to reach the USS Alabama. I am still attempting to communicate with her.

  "Keep trying."

  Affirmative.

  "Nick, two of the submarines are safe. There's a third we're still trying to contact."

  "Not much time left, Director."

  "You think I don't know that?"

  "Sorry."

  Two uniformed police officers came out of the hospital and started toward them.

  "Director, I see cops coming. They'll want to know about Ronnie's wound. They don't look friendly. You may have to bail us out."

  "Don't worry, Nick. If we're still here, I'll take care of it."

  Elizabeth disconnected. She looked at the clock.

  "I'm going to call Lucas," Stephanie said.

  She got up and went into another room. Elizabeth stayed where she was, wondering what to do. The phone was still clenched in her hand. She looked at the clock again and called Hood.

  "Elizabeth. I was about to call you."

  "Freddie got through to two of the subs," Elizabeth said. "He hasn't been able to reach the Alabama."

  "Alabama carries twenty-four Trident missiles," Hood said. "If she launches, it means all out war. Nothing we could say would prevent it. China and Russia would retaliate."

  "What is Corrigan doing?"

  "I tried to reach him after I called Adamski but Cartwright blocked me. Adamski got through. Corrigan is on his way to Andrews and Air Force One."

  "You should get out of Washington, Clarence."

  "And go where? You know as well as I do there isn't a safe place within a hundred miles of here. If the balloon goes up, we'll have about twenty minutes before their missiles get here, maybe a little more. It's not enough time. There's a shelter at Langley. I want you to come here. If you leave now, you can make it."

  "I can't, Clarence. I can't abandon Stephanie. Nick and the others are in California. I can't leave them hanging."

  "Stephanie can come here. Lucas is here." Hood's voice held a note of desperation.

  "I'll ask her. She's in the other room."

  Elizabeth got up and went to the room where Stephanie sat on the edge of a bed talking to Lucas and gently moving the carriage back and forth.

  "I've got DCI Hood on the line," Elizabeth said. "He wants us to come to the shelter at Langley."

  "We won't make it in time," Stephanie said.

  "I know," Elizabeth said, "but I had to ask. Clarence, we're not coming."

  "Please, Elizabeth."

  In the background behind him, Elizabeth heard a recorded voice directing all personnel to the underground shelter.

  "Clarence, we can't get there in time. You need to go to that shelter and keep your people calm. There's still a chance this can be stopped."

  She heard him let out a long sigh.

  "Elizabeth there's something I need to say. You know I don't find it easy to say what I feel." He paused. "I care about you. I care about you a lot. I wish I'd told you earlier. If we get through this, would you consider marrying me?"

  Elizabeth was stunned. She'd never dreamed she'd get a doomsday proposal of marriage. Her thoughts swirled. She thought about the intimate dinners with him, the quiet conversations, the few nights she'd shared his bed.

  "I...don't know what to say. Yes. If we get through this."

  "Good. Good. Then we'll hope this all works out."

  Elizabeth looked at the clock. "We'll know in a few moments," she said.

  "I have to go. Tomorrow, we'll have dinner. We'll talk."

  "Yes," Elizabeth said. "Tomorrow."

  CHAPTER 60

  Air Force One lifted away from Andrews in a steep, hard climb. The vice president was in Texas, hustled away to an Air Force base shelter. The only cabinet member on board was the Secretary of the Interior. The other passengers included Corrigan, Ellen Cartwright, the National Security Advisor, the Speaker of the House, General Adamski, General Bowers from the Strategic Air Command, and Vice Admiral Miller. Miller was in charge of the Navy's submarines. As the plane reached altitude and leveled off, a flight of F-22 fighters joined up to provide escort.

  Corrigan called everyone together in the conference room at the front of the plane. The room was equipped with soundproofing against the noise of the engines, a long conference table, comfortable leather chairs, and a fifty inch plasma TV. From here the president could talk to any of America's military commanders. If he wanted to, he could address the American people on television and radio. At the moment a public address to America was the last thing on his mind.

  Sitting quietly on a chair against the wall was an army colonel, his hands folded in his lap. At his feet was a large briefcase known as the "football." It contained the nuclear codes required for a full launch.

  "General Adamski," the president said. "What the hell is happening?"

  "Sir, the Alabama is not responding. Kentucky and North Dakota have acknowledged and shut down their weapons systems. There is no possibility they will launch."

  "What's the problem with the Alabama?"

  "She's stationed one hundred and eighty-five kilometers off the China coast. Her orders are to maintain strict radio silence. She's in full dark mode, communicating only on a preset schedule. She would acknowledge any transmission with the proper coding, but so far has not responded. She's probably hiding in the thermocline layer, deep. It makes it hard to reach her unless she comes up."

  Admiral Miller brushed a bit of lint from his immaculate uniform and cleared his throat. "Mister President, I think we need to consider the possibility she cannot be contacted before launch. If that turns out to be the case, I recommend we follow up with a full strike."

  In his blue Air Force uniform, General Bowers was the perfect picture of a professional military man. Four silver stars glittered on his shoulders. A board of ribbons covered the right side of his jacket. Bowers was a hawk. No one was surprised by what he
said next.

  "I agree," he said. "Hit them hard, before they hit us."

  Adamski said, "The Chinese will retaliate immediately. They are not going to want to talk, once Alabama launches. I agree with Admiral Miller and General Bowers. We need to hit them with everything we have or we're going to suffer serious losses on the homeland."

  "What kind of losses?" Corrigan asked.

  "With what we know of Chinese capability, I would project a minimum of one hundred million dead, possibly more."

  "Sir," Admiral Miller said, "are we certain this information we have is correct? That the launch systems on Alabama and the others have been compromised?"

  "DCI Hood was adamant," Corrigan said. "The computers on the submarines have been compromised, like they were on our destroyer and the Chinese dam."

  "Mister President," the Speaker said, "I can guarantee support for a decision to strike first. This is clearly a situation of maximum threat. Congress will back you up, once the facts are known."

  "I appreciate that, Tom. That would certainly be a change."

  Nervous laughter filled the room.

  "Admiral Miller, will Alabama surface to launch?"

  The Admiral was a large man, easily two hundred and fifty pounds. His face was a florid pink color.

  "No, Mister President. If she launches, it will be from keel depth, about fifty meters."

  "Will the captain ask for confirmation before he fires?"

  "Yes, sir. That's SOP. He'll raise an aerial."

  "Then we can stop the launch."

  "Not necessarily, sir. If this is the same kind of sabotage that affected our destroyer, he may not be able to override the command."

  "But he will make contact."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Then we'd better hope he can shut it down. General Adamski, go to DEFCON 1."

  "Yes, sir."

  Adamski's phone was automatically patched into the state of the art communication system aboard Air Force One. Now he took out the phone and gave the command.

  American bases covered the globe. On every one of them, alarms began sounding the call to war.

  CHAPTER 61

  Nick and the others sat in the cafeteria of the hospital, drinking bad coffee and waiting for Ronnie to get out of surgery. Nick had told the cops who they were and given them a partial explanation of Ronnie's wound. He'd shown his credentials and they'd reluctantly gone away.

  "Man, this coffee really sucks," Lamont said.

  "There's one good thing about it," Selena said.

  "What's that?"

  "We're still alive to drink it."

  "We haven't heard from Harker," Nick said. "There could be missiles headed this way right now."

  "Not much of an optimist, are you?"

  Lamont toyed with his cup. "I guess there are worse ways to go. One big flash and that's all she wrote."

  "I wonder if I got Nicklaus," Nick said.

  "I hope so," Selena said. "What a sick bastard."

  "Ever notice how the people who think they know what's best for everyone are all tin pot dictators at heart? They all believe the end justifies the means and they always end up screwing the little guy. Nicklaus thought it was okay to burn up the whole world to create his new society. Reminds me of that joke about doctors."

  "What joke?"

  "The one where one doc says to another, 'the operation was a success but the patient died.'"

  Lamont groaned.

  Nick's phone rang.

  "It's Harker," he said. "Yes, Director."

  "It's over," she said.

  Her voice was relieved. Nick gave the others a thumbs up. Elizabeth continued. "They got through at the last possible minute. The captain of the Alabama had to destroy the firing system to stop the launch. The damage forced him to surface. The Chinese swooped in on him and the sub is being escorted toward China. There are going to be some nasty repercussions, diplomatically speaking."

  "Better diplomatic repercussions than nukes falling on Beijing and Washington," Nick said.

  "How's Ronnie?"

  "He's still in surgery, but they said he'd be okay."

  "Good. As soon as he's fit to travel, come home."

  "Copy that. I'll tell the others." He disconnected.

  "Well?" Selena asked.

  "Guess I'll have to finish painting the nursery after all."

  "It's over? They stopped the launch?"

  "They did."

  "All right." Lamont pumped his fist in the air.

  "As soon as we know Ronnie is good, I want to go back to that mansion."

  "You want to look for Nicklaus," Selena said.

  "I want to be sure he's dead and I want to try and find out if anyone was helping him. If war had come and he'd survived, he couldn't have built his new society by himself. There must be others who knew what he was doing. He said as much."

  "You think there's a conspiracy?"

  "Maybe a group like AEON, a secret society. Or maybe he was living in a fantasy. Either way, I want to find out if he's still in that elevator."

  CHAPTER 62

  Elizabeth had been summoned to the White House. She was about to go out the door when Freddie's voice stopped her.

  Director.

  "What is it, Freddie? I'm leaving for the White House."

  I have discovered something.

  "You know he won't tell you unless you ask," Steph said.

  "What have you discovered?"

  There is a spy working for the Russian Federation in the White House, what you call a mole.

  Elizabeth and Stephanie looked at each other.

  "A mole? You're certain?"

  Probability is one hundred percent.

  Freddie had never said something was one hundred percent.

  "Who is it?"

  Elizabeth listened while Freddie explained what he'd found.

  "I don't believe it," Stephanie said. "How could that happen?"

  "I don't know how it happened," Elizabeth said, "but it makes sense, when I think about it."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "I'm going there now. It should be an interesting meeting. I want you to do something for me as soon as I leave."

  After she'd explained what she wanted, Elizabeth went out to where her car and driver waited for her. On the ride over to the White House, Elizabeth thought about how to tell the president what she'd learned. She'd have to improvise.

  At the entrance to the West Wing she handed over her weapon to the Secret Service agent on duty, clipped on her visitor pass, and was escorted to the Oval Office.

  President Corrigan was behind the desk. His predecessor had preferred a desk used by Thomas Jefferson, but Corrigan had brought back the desk made from the timbers of the HMS Resolute, a gift from Queen Victoria to Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880.

  "Please be seated, director," Corrigan said.

  Ellen Cartwright, General Adamski and Hopkins, the national security advisor, were there before her. DCI Hood came into the room as Elizabeth took a seat on one of the couches. A Secret Service agent stood silently by the door. There was always an agent in the Oval Office when the president was present, unless he was sent from the room. They heard everything. Elizabeth sometimes wondered how the agents handled the knowledge of what they'd heard.

  "Hello, Elizabeth." Hood sat down across from her.

  "Let's get started," Corrigan said. "General?"

  "Yes, sir. I'm glad to say that there is no longer an immediate danger of a nuclear confrontation. The Chinese are being difficult about Alabama, but we can resolve that with diplomacy."

  "I understand damage to the vessel was extensive," Corrigan said.

  "Yes, sir, it was. Unfortunately, she was unable to remain submerged and escape detection. The Chinese escorted her into harbor and ordered the evacuation of her crew. We can be certain they are picking over every inch of the ship."

  "The captain should have resisted," Cartwright said.

  General Adamski looked offended.<
br />
  "Captain Emerson had no alternative. He had to give up the vessel to them. If he'd resisted, the Chinese would have boarded by force. It's likely many of the crew would have been killed. It's even possible the sub might have sunk. He should be held blameless in this incident."

  "Cartwright," Elizabeth said, "Don't you realize that if Captain Emerson had resisted, we would now be at war with China?"

  "Nobody's interested in what you have to say, Director."

  "Oh? I'm sure the president will be interested to learn you've been feeding information to Moscow."

  Cartwright jumped to her feet. "That is an outrageous accusation. How dare you accuse me of a treasonous act!"

  "I'm glad to see you at least recognize it as treason," Elizabeth said.

  "Wait a minute, Director," Corrigan said. "Are you accusing my Chief of Staff of spying? You'd better have proof to back it up."

  "I want her out of here," Cartwright said. She was seething with anger, her face red and ugly.

  "Be quiet, Ellen," the president said. "I want to hear what she has to say."

  "But..."

  "I said, be quiet. Sit down." Cartwright sat. "Well, Director?"

  "Shortly before I left for this meeting, I learned that we'd intercepted several encrypted communications from the White House to SVR headquarters in Yasenevo. It wasn't until today that the encryption was broken and the content understood. With everything that's been happening, we had other priorities. As you know, we were able to reach North Dakota and Tennessee in time by using the capability of our AI computer."

  "This is ridiculous," Cartwright said. "Mister President, this woman has consistently tried to interfere with me and with this office. Anything she says about me cannot be trusted."

  "I won't ask you again to be quiet," Corrigan said.

  Cartwright struggled to restrain herself. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry, Mister President."

  "Go on, Director."

  "A hard copy of the conversations has been sent to DCI Hood, NSA, the director of the FBI, and to you, sir. The gist of it is that Ms. Cartwright has been relaying the content of privileged conversations within this office to the Russian foreign intelligence service. She's been keeping them informed about discussions regarding China and the Federation. Her codename is ACHILLES."