“We are the only family left, all of her sisters and brothers have died, as have all the children they had. It was just us, and now it’s just me.” Karen said this in a stunned cadence that clearly indicated that she was on autopilot now. She extricated herself from the call with Susan and headed to see her rabbits, the only thing she had left that she could call family.
* * *
Jack pulled into the secured parking lot and it looked like a circus all around him. Since the flu scare was just that, the CDC had put a lot more personnel at his disposal. Currently, bees were being dissected with intensity, as the bee’s body was a lot smaller area to inspect than was a cow or a hog or even a chicken. So far nothing, not one trace of anything that could be considered a cause of death.
Jack observed the flag at half-mast, which it seemed to be perpetual nowadays. But today was the anniversary of 9/11 and it seemed to carry extra weight on this unprecedented day. Jack was late to work today, as he was sure a lot of people were. It was amazing the things that come out of seemingly ordinary men in times of crisis, and who knew that milquetoast, Walter Kessel, had balls of steel?
Christy was making his breakfast, which was the norm now, when she called out, “Jack, you have got to see this!”
And she was right; he did have to see it. President Kessel had essentially redeployed the entire Navy. He had recalled all of America’s fleets back to U.S. soil. There was so much turmoil in every nation that having a peacekeeping force was no longer practical, so the Navy had been redeployed as a ground force to protect high-rise buildings. President Kessel’s answer to this anarchy would go down as unprecedented, as thousands of Naval Officers and the sailors under their command, were now foot soldiers in a war against homegrown terror.
Jack could still picture the news video of the aircraft carrier, Enterprise, passing the Statue of Liberty on its way up the Hudson River, and finally berthing across from Governor’s Island in Brooklyn. Jack agreed with the President’s assessment that this was the time for all hands on deck, a phrase the Navy should be more than familiar with.
President Kessel was extremely upset that any person would violate the sanctity of another’s home in such a way, and he issued the stern warning that anyone caught lighting a fire on or near an inhabited edifice would be shot on sight. And he authorized the Navy to use that force immediately. Jack was assuming the fire in Chicago precipitated an over the top response from the President, one that conceivably forced him into grounding the Navy.
The news was impossible to watch at times, and whoever set the deadly apartment fire in Chicago had no means to their ends, as the building was not high rent, and no looting or thievery took place before or after, just a massive death toll. Jack turned his TV off as people were throwing their children out the windows hoping there was a fireman with a net below, which there wasn’t.
At the time of the Edgewood Apartments fire, the Chicago Fire Department was handling twenty-seven other separate fires, so no one came to this blaze until it was way too late. Six hundred and three people perished in what could only be described as the most horrific national scene since 9/11, and apparently the President had had enough.
Jack was pleased to hear this, although he never would have lived in a high-rise personally, for that very reason. Jack shuddered at the thought, as no one should have to feel threatened in his or her own home. He wondered how many people the CIA had working on the correlation between this event happening over the anniversary of our worst day in the last fifty years or so.
Jack just watched and watched as the whole world was being decimated, the Middle East included. As it turned out, though, of all nations on the Earth, the Islamic Nations were holding up the best, as their religion had taught them to have greater control, and to sustain themselves through fasting once a year. Jack had to hand it to them, because so far they practiced what they preached as far as the believing in the end game.
They truly did not seem to have fear, only more conviction and to Jack it was terrifying. He did respect them for their unwavering belief, if only they would become slightly more moderate as far as other people on the Earth went. He was tired of being told he was going to Hell Fire for believing in Jesus Christ. Maybe if they got off that message, he might hear them as a people.
Although atrocities were abounding worldwide right now, it had not been glossed over in their society that Europe had made a very critical mistake in not protecting the Muslims there. Jack just realized that the lack of the usual masses of people protesting and burning things there might not be a good sign. He now feared that a quiet anger was much more dangerous, only no one had the means to carry out major attacks now, as the normal channels in life had been invariably changed for everyone. It’s one thing to say one is going to place Jihad on a people, and it was a totally different thing to reach those people to pull it off.
It was nearly impossible for him to push himself out the door today, as the news was so filled with every kind of story imaginable, including one of the former beekeeper who had his honey reserves picked up by an armored transport and deposited into the bank. A smart move, Jack thought, as honey doesn’t spoil.
When asked what his honey was selling for nowadays, the man replied that he had sold only one jar this week, and that’s all he was going to sell from now on, one a week. When pushed by the reporter for a price, the man said the jar sold for one hundred thousand dollars. Double what he made last year he admitted, “But that was last year, this year it is one hundred thousand a jar.” Jack could still hear his words, and this was just the beginning. Who knew to what end all these crazy prices were heading for? How much would the last jar sell for?
He headed toward his office and could see people sitting outside. Right away his stomach dropped as he saw they were not appointments, but David Ho’s family. Indeed, he was of mixed descent as he noticed his mother was Caucasian.
Although Jack now occupied the office, the only thing he had touched was the terminal, the inbox/outbox he brought in and a file cabinet. He had left the office as kind of a shrine to David, but also in the back of his mind he had this scenario playing out, and these people deserved so much more than someone handing them a box of his belongings.
Jack walked up to the group and picked out whom he suspected the patriarch to be, sheepishly asking, “Mr. Ho?”
The Chinese man with the sad face answered, “Yes, I am Allen Ho.”
“I’m Jack Zarifis, I worked for your son. He was my mentor.”
His face lightened slightly, “No matter what was happening in the world with my son, every Sunday night, our family ate together as one. David had spoken about you many times, Jack.”
Jack blushed slightly at the compliment, and then informed him, “They have me operating out of his office, but I touched nothing. Please allow me to open it up to you, I will work from my old desk today.”
The man nodded, and then said, “Thank you, Jack, we honestly expected to come and pick up a box or two of his belongings.”
Jack finished the exchange by stating, “Your son meant so much to me, and every minute of every day I look for him to be here to guide me.” In a hushed tone, Jack added, “I was thrown into this role very abruptly, and most of the time, I don’t think it was a good move on their part. If David weren’t my mentor, there would have been no way I could have done this. That is for sure.”
His mother had been silent, and remained so, but she hugged Jack before he left, as did David’s sister. His two brothers, both as tall as David, remained somber. There was no way Jack was going to his desk though, as it faced that tragic situation, so he headed to a conference room only he had access to. There was a TV in there; he didn’t like going into the lunchroom anymore . . .
* * *
The Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting was starting in five minutes, and Walter could already feel the tension. His Joint Chiefs of Staff had called for an emergency meeting as an evaluation of actions by himself, the Commander in Chief. Apparently, not everyone was i
n approval of his actions, but they waited until the day after 9/11 to make their move. As Walter looked over to Sid, he knew it was they who had better be afraid.
Army General Maxwell Morss was the current Head of the Joint Chiefs, and he was spearheading this move for his old friend, Rear Admiral William Johnson. The arrogant bastards were actually trying to coerce him to come to the Pentagon for this meeting, like he was being called to the boss’ office. Once Sid Langston heard that, he flipped out and issued an order from the President’s office for them to gather in the White House Cabinet room, immediately.
Once the meeting began and all the salutations were out of the way, it was General Morss who spoke first. He was fit and in his early fifties. His hair was still naturally brown, and his stomach was still flat due to will power. He ate very little. Walter knew this as it came up an inordinate number of times during luncheons and such. “Mr. President, this move is madness. Why would you weaken us so much for no apparent reason?”
Given his natural look to the opposite, Walter was quite incensed by that brainless remark, and it showed on his face, “No apparent reason, General? Are you serious? Give me an option right now that will solve this as expeditiously as my solution? As a matter of fact, I am going to freeze all discussion right now until you do. The world is in total chaos, Max, and every interest we have is under such duress right now, there is no chance of helping them. I am not going to attempt to fight a multiple-front war, General Morss. You know what happened in Korea, how can you expect this not to happen worldwide?”
It didn’t take long for the General to reply, “Sir, just because some third world army threw in the towel and gave up on being tyrants doesn’t mean that we don’t need to hold our presence in the world.”
Before Walter or his Cabinet could respond to that, Vice President Sid Langston blurted out with authority, “What world?”
General Morss tried to respond, but Sid cut him off, “You mean the civilized world in Brazil, India, or Vietnam, General?” The man tried to speak and Sid cut him off again, “Mexico City, Paris, or the Korean Peninsula? Take a look around, General, as the United States, China, and Russia are the only ones capable of containing their populations through military force.”
Snidely, almost to the point where he was correcting his boss, the General said, “You left out the Middle East.”
Vice President Langston was about to get to the Islamic States, and was further annoyed by the interruption, “The Middle East is not controlling their population by force; it’s more like their people have held self-control throughout, but still, how many uprisings are you planning on stopping? India and Pakistan still have not re-opened their borders.
“Face it people, America is a person with a stab wound walking to the ER for help. If we stop along the way to help anyone else, then we will die.”
President Kessel interjected, “I agree with that assessment one hundred percent, Sid, as self-preservation takes precedence over a global strategic naval presence, and I have no intention of being Nero and watching America burn. Or having some historian later point out what I said before, “This is all hands on deck, there is no tomorrow if we don’t get today under control.”
Joint Chief of Staff Rear Admiral, William Johnson, decided to enter the fray, “Well, we all better hope that your new-found friends do not see this as an irresistible chance to erase our Navy.”
Sid went to defend Walter like a faithful dog guarding his fence line, but Walter called him off with a wave of his hand, then looked at his detractors and said, “Four hundred and fifty.”
General Morss was first to take the bait, “Four hundred and fifty what?”
President Kessel waited for a few seconds for effect, “Gentlemen, we currently have four hundred and fifty land based ICBMs pointed at Russia. I did not dock our nuclear submarine deterrents, as they’re still out there. Russia has to know this. So, I say again, I have four hundred and fifty reasons why Russia will not view this as a move of weakness. Unless you are saying that our nuclear deterrent is defective somehow? If not, then we should be alright.”
Admiral Johnson could not contain himself, and the blurt shot out uncontrollably, “If that is true, then how come you have tried to have those very bombs mothballed more than once?”
The President absorbed the accusation, “I’m not going to lie, as I did previously make that move based on political pressure from my backers, which didn’t really align with my own personal opinion. It is an unfortunate part of politics, but at this point politics are out the window. Our nuclear deterrent has served us well throughout the years, and we will rely on it to safeguard us in the future.”
That took half the wind out of their sails, and Sid Langston took the rest, “We’ll send one into the Kremlin itself if we have to.”
No one had noticed that The President’s Chief of Staff, Gary Salisbury, was missing, until he came back in the room and took control of the video display. It was showing a news report from the North Korean and Chinese border, where, like the day before, over a quarter of a million people just started filing up to the border. And like yesterday at the South Korean border, once the crowd was in full force, an armored vehicle made its way through the crowd and proceeded to knock down the border gates. Then the human flood began.
It looked like a suicide mission at first because the Chinese shot and killed a lot of the first wave. Soon though, the throng was too massive to hold off and the North Koreans flooded into China, stepping on and over their dead or fallen brethren like they weren’t even there. Gary pointed out to the room, “We found out yesterday why they came through the border with such intent, as the North Korean Government told them that anyone who came back would be shot on sight. In fact, one man that had relatives in the south connected to the Government says that they were told if they stopped or moved in the wrong direction, even one step, then they would be shot. Then they killed a few people to get it moving.”
Taking the sidebar like a handoff in football, the President asked, “To what goal is this move?”
Walter could tell that Gary was really relishing a moment without having to share any spotlight with Sid Langston. Even though he would never admit it, Gary Salisbury was green with envy, as he was Langston’s biggest detractor coming in, claiming that Sid wouldn’t be worth a damn other than grabbing the senior vote. So when he began to answer, it was to best an opponent in a subdued rivalry that only Walter and he knew existed. “We really don’t know. The CIA speculation is they were already starving before this even began, so rather have all these people starving and then eventually rioting in their country, why not send them to one’s enemies?”
Walter’s Secretary of Defense, Elaine Ihram, blurted, “Maybe we can do that with Mexico. I can just see their faces.”
A small needed laugh came out, but it was replaced by the sobering reality of the conversation, and the President addressed the room, “Generals, I understand your concern with my unorthodox approach to this situation, but like I have stated to you previously, I have no problem using our nuclear deterrent in the manner it was designed, and God help any nation that tests me on this. Now, as Commander in Chief, I am ordering you to carry out my orders from the top down with the respect my position must hold—especially at a time like this.
“I know that there are a lot of rumblings out there, and it is up to you, my staff, to make sure that confidence in this administration is emanating from all our pores. We are trying to calm people down, not show them that the leaders of their own government are at odds with each other. Now if you take an honest look at this situation, you will see there are too many things going on for us to be any kind of an effective force out there. There’s no host governments left to be able to run a joint venture with us anymore, and truthfully, we come first this time. America needs to be selfish.
“So get on board, or do the country a favor and pull yourself out, because the last thing in the world they need out there is to find out there is dissention i
n here. Our focus should be on preserving our way of life and finding a solution for this problem that is threatening all of us, and nothing else. Hopefully you will all walk out of here today on board with my message, as this is not time for pundits or naysayers—this is a time for solidarity.”
With that the President called the meeting, as he had heard enough, and if his word and logic did not affect these two men, then nothing ever would. If they did not capitulate, then he would deal with them like disobedient children, which as far as Walter was concerned, they were.
* * *
Gordy Hammel was enjoying the sunny California day. He was relieved to discover that the flu epidemic, which had recently gripped the nation in fear, was, in fact, an isolated incident; the second case being nothing more than a head cold. Otherwise, he would not be enjoying one of the only outdoor activities that had not been cancelled indefinitely.
He set his newspaper down in the adjacent seat, as it was empty. Even though the flu epidemic turned out to be a false alarm, people were still not coming out in normal numbers yet. The fact that over twenty million people had died worldwide may have had something to do with it.
The racetrack decided that enough was enough though, and they opened their doors. And that was a great move as far as Gordy was concerned. He looked over at the headline on the paper and felt a twinge of guilt for trying to be normal when so much of the world was burning. And literally burning it was. What the world had been taught so far was, when the shit starts to go down, do not live in a high-rise.
He looked at his paper and there was a picture of troops surrounding Hong Kong’s elite in their ivory towers. China, like every other country with high-rise buildings, had followed America’s lead in sending massive security forces to protect these structures.
As far as Gordy was concerned, President Kessel was the only reason America had been able to hold it together. Los Angeles, as with New York, had finally calmed down. Chicago was now the city with the most problems, but the Navy arrived there yesterday and it was expected it would have the same calming effect there as it did in the other two major cities.
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