by Phil Walker
Prologue
It was sunny and unusually warm for early spring in New York City.
On that beautiful morning, thousands of people went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral for Easter services. The cathedral, whose cornerstone was laid in 1868, can accommodate 3,000 people, is built of brick clad in marble, quarried in Massachusetts and New York. It takes up a whole city block, between 50th and 51st streets. The usual capacity was swelled by hundreds more who poured into the famous and iconic landmark.
The Mass was completed and the Bishop of the New York diocese stepped into the podium to deliver his Easter homily.
Suddenly, there was the sound of screeching tires outside the entrance to the church and four people, three men and one woman, stood up at widely spaced places in the crowd.
“Death to the infidels!” screamed one of the men. Then in unison, the four cried together, “Allah Akbar!”
Four huge explosions roared through the Cathedral. Simultaneously, a gray van crashed through the entrance to the church, and blew up in a tremendous blast.
For those on the outside St. Patrick’s, the entire cathedral seemed to disappear in fire, flying debris and smoke. It was clear for to see that the cathedral was all but vaporized by the explosions. Where one of the most beautiful churches in America had stood one moment, now was a complete ruin.
Essentially, all the 3,000 people inside the church were now unrecognizable fragments of body parts, soaked in blood.
The carnage was horrendous. The explosions had not only destroyed St. Patrick’s, but parts of several nearby buildings. Many, many people were killed outside the church from the blast.
As the news cameras began to record the blast sight, bulletins flashed on every network and gray-faced reporters began to describe what had happened. The story was immediately billed as a second 9-11. The fact it had occurred on Easter morning and was directed specifically at worshipping Christians made the story even more grim and horrible. A shocked nation stopped everything they were doing and watched with horror, the scene of the terrorist attack.
Almost immediately after the explosion that leveled St. Patrick’s and killed 3,000 people, ISIS began broadcasting that the Great Satan had finally been delivered a death blow, and that no one in the country was safe from attack.
As with Pearl Harbor, and 9-11, the people of America were seething with anger, and cries for immediate recrimination on the extreme Islamic terrorist organization which had been cutting a swath of death and destruction in a dozen countries around the world.
They got no such satisfaction from a feckless White House and an administration that had followed a path of air strikes and drone attacks on the surging ISIS savages for over a decade. The White House immediately began talking about how the Intelligences Services, the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and Homeland Security had fallen short of their jobs in preventing such an attack. It blamed Congress for failing to support their policies. In fact, the White House blamed everyone, except itself, for this horrific tragedy.
This time, the American people had enough. It was an election year, and the one term President, who had followed the eight years of a truly incompetent President, was swept out of office by a man who had been a consistent critic of the Administration’s policies. Moreover, every Senator and House member who had voted to pass the President’s blunder in passing the agreement with the Iranians in the previous administration were caught up in the wave of voter rage and lost their seats in Congress.
When the smoke cleared in November, America had a much more hawkish and determined government both in the White House and the Congress, who were determined to put America back on the track of the principles the Founding Fathers had imagined.
1
Branson, Missouri
Walter Sampson was halfway through his second term as President of the United States. He had stormed out of the field of candidates following the St. Patrick’s Cathedral massacre and was swept into office by one of the largest majorities in history.
Samson was the Governor of Missouri, and came back from Washington to be elected. He had served two terms in the House of Representatives and one term as Senator before declaring he was tired of the morass of the political life in Washington and didn’t think he was being very effective in the Senate. He said “I going back to Missouri, and see if we can’t get some real work done in my own state.”
He was a highly decorated Marine veteran, having served two tours in Afghanistan, and was regarded as a no nonsense administrator who was willing to take on the big problems. He was tough, fair, charismatic, and very well informed on all issues. In the Senate, he was regarded as an expert on foreign affairs.
As the time for the Presidential election drew near, candidate Sampson lead his party as a nominal Republican, and was in the process of winning the nomination even though nobody gave him much chance to unseat a sitting President. All that changed when St. Patrick’s was destroyed. After that, Sampson caught fire. His message of incompetence and appeasement from the White House was received eagerly by the voters, who wanted a tougher stance by America in the world, and an end to domestic social progressivism.
With the cooperation of a Congress, who were also of the same mind, and had been elected on the coattails of Sampson’s platform of political reform, a tremendous change swept through the country.
At the top of the agenda by Sampson’s administration was a modern, streamlined, properly funded and very effective Department of Defense. A new joint chiefs of staff were installed, and the Pentagon reorganized. It was restored to a powerful, force to provide security for the country. Reorganized to emphasize brigade sized commands which were highly mobile and reinforced with heavy weapons and air power, the military began carrying out lightning quick operations against ISIS and Al Qaeda Jihadist Terror groups. Sampson organized a coalition with the Europeans to clear Libya and northern Africa. He ramped up a coalition of African countries to wipe out the scourge of the Boka Haram.
The most important coalition he was able to assemble was 60 countries, including many Middle-Eastern nations to sweep into Iraq and virtually destroy ISIS, as well as take down the government of Syria.
The world was learning that when America led the way, a lot of other countries were more than glad to join with the lethal Army and Marine brigades, supported by the Navy and Air Force.
As the land that had been captured by ISIS was retaken the scale of the atrocities of the militants was uncovered. ISIS, basically, was a fringe militant organization who hid their crimes under the guise of a form of Islam that had not been practiced since the 7th Century. Many of its leaders were captured and put on trial in a Nuremburg atmosphere at the International Court. Most of them were executed.
Many reforms came with a new America. Sampson called it the New Revolution, which became a new powerful political party of its own, and New Revolution candidates were swept into every important elected office in the country. A renaissance of social changes came with the movement. The states and Congress ratified new amendments to the constitution that set term limits for the House of Representative and Senate, and dictated that there would be an annual balanced budget.
The bloated Federal bureaucracy was drastically reduced. A simple flat tax replaced the behemoth of the IRS, and literally millions of Federal regulations were simply tossed out. The result was a tsunami of new businesses, new companies, and resurgence in enterprise that resulted in an annual growth rate of the GDP to over 7 percent in less than five years. The trillions of dollars in Federal debt started to just melt away.
A most satisfying element of social life in America was the overhaul of the education system. No longer were students coming out of schools with mere fragments of education, but the
schools from Kindergarten to Graduate schools were producing a bumper crop of smart, self-actuated, resourceful, and highly skilled students that quickly restored the United States to the premier education system in the world.
Following the standard set by a vocal Christian in the White House, church attendance went up and the divorce rate fell, as nuclear families, once again, became the standard for American life. The stability of the family resulted in a drastic drop in children born out of wedlock, crime, drug use, and homelessness. Abortion all but disappeared from society. People believed in God, trusted His wisdom, and worshiped His son, Jesus Christ, as the savior of lost souls.
There was a smile on the face of America. From the point of view of the average citizen, community citizenship, generosity to the less fortunate, and a firm belief that they were blessed by God, not from deeds, but from their hearts, were the principles of their lives.
Sampson had a beautiful home overlooking Table Rock Lake in Branson, and he retreated there as often as he could. Whenever he came to Branson, he always spent time in the famous animal park that had become a world renowned attraction because it was the only zoo in the world where animals lived in harmony, just as in nature, and humans were able to comingle with the animals to the great delight of all. Even for those who didn’t believe the Park was the prophesy of Isaiah come to pass which foretold the day would come when the lion would lie down with the lamb,
Not only was Sampson an enthusiast of the park; he was also a lifelong friend of Jacob Martin who owned the park, and ran it with his family. He loved spending time with the Martin family.
Jacob and Ali Martin were blessed with three children. The two older boys were as intelligent and as levelheaded as their parents. Both of them had graduated from the College of the Ozarks, plus graduate studies and other schools, Trinity Seminary in Chicago for Patrick, who was the oldest and had followed his father into the pulpit of the church, while Shane followed the family tradition of veterinary medicine.
The youngest member of the Martin family was a lovely blond-haired, blued-eyed beauty, who was the image of her mother in looks, and the equal of her father in piercing intellect. She was 22-year-old Arcadia. She also graduated ahead of time and with high honors from the College of the Ozarks. After that, she seemed content to work in the Park.
Arcadia was a complete mystery to her parents. She was incredibly articulate when she needed to be, demonstrated a finely tuned mind that Jacob could appreciate, but was certain there were layer after layer underneath that even he could not fathom, and Arcadia seldom showed.
The surface features were pretty obvious. Arcadia had a near perfect photographic memory. She was fluent in Spanish, German, French, and Mandarin Chinese. She seemed to possess an ability to assemble a body of facts, however unconnected, and project them to a conclusion that might not be obvious for months or even years. She was a happy, spirited, athletically gifted girl who attracted the opposite sex in droves. These did not last long, because the young men soon gave up because they were unable to keep up with her intellectually or, often athletically.
Perhaps most important of all, Arcadia loved God with all her heart and soul and viewed her life as a responsibility to seek to follow His will on a daily basis. It was as if all the choices she made in her life were filtered through God before they reached the ears of all the people who Arcadia touched.
The animals of the Park seemed to have a special connection to Arcadia. They flocked to her, and loved her. If it was possible for a wolverine to show affection, it could be seen when Arcadia was nearby.
More and more often, Sampson, who doted on Arcadia, as if she was his own, drew her into the advanced meetings with high government officials. He appreciated her understanding of the complexities involved in operating a country with 325 million people, and a world of seven billion who wanted them all dead, or at least not nearly as blessed and happy. Sampson was forever trying to lure Arcadia to Washington, where her sharp mind could be used more extensively. However, after a couple of years of trying and always given a polite “no”, he had to satisfy himself with visits and frequent phone calls.
One morning the phone rang and Jacob talked to the President.
“I understand, Walt. Even when you give them everything you reasonably can, it’s never enough.” He pushed the button to allow Arcadia to hear the President’s response.
“We have a million Peace Corps workers in the field all over the world. Many people are getting help and they appreciate it. The problem is that every mullah in every mosque in the world is telling their congregations that the only reason the United States is providing this aid is so they can convert every one of their faithful to Christianity. The problem with that is it’s working. The number of Muslims becoming Christians is growing. Some of the more radical Shia countries like Iran are executing the people they catch. It’s a ghastly business.”
“The problem is worse than that,” said Arcadia. “Ever since the worst President in American history signed off on that disastrous deal that caved in to the Iranians, and dropped the economic sanctions and left their nuclear program intact with only their agreement to halt development on a nuclear weapon, for 15 years, the Iranians have become bloated with money and influence. They continue to destabilize the entire Middle-East and although we’ve wiped out ISIS, terrorist bombings continue, throughout the world.
“And the time of that halt in their program is now just a couple of years away,” said Sampson. My intelligence people say that their breakout time to develop nuclear weapons is weeks, not months.”
Arcadia wasn’t satisfied, “Look it doesn’t have to be big bombs on top of rockets. They probably already have the capacity to put together a half a dozen smaller bombs. Any one of them could take out a whole city.”
Sampson laughed, “I should have you running the CIA, Arcadia. You think of every angle.”
“Have they actually looked at the big picture,” asked Arcadia?
“I guess I don’t understand what you mean,” said the President. “Arcadia, honey, I’ve known you all your life and I’ve learned you have better instincts than half the people who work for me every day. Is your super horse sense telling you something we’ve missed?”
“I beg your pardon, Mr. President,” said Arcadia. “Please remember that you’re from Branson, and until you became President, you were just Uncle Walt to me. I didn’t mean to question the way you’re doing your job. As far as I’m concerned you’ve done a wonderful job.”
Jacob sat back in his chair and lit his pipe. He knew his daughter kept up to date on current events from all over the world and frequently had insights that others missed. He was interested in the analysis that Arcadia seemed about to deliver to the President.
“Under your leadership,” began Arcadia, “after you restored a hollowed out military, and used it with overwhelming public support to lead the world in destroying the abomination that was ISIS, you began the bigger job of putting our country back on a paying basis. You used the advantage of the advanced students coming out of the new school system and installing them in critical places within the government. You now have the most efficient bureaucracy in the world. From top to bottom, you have the best first team of administrators and a bench of support people that is deep and talented.”
“Your emphasis has been on two main fronts. First, you greatly expanded the Peace Corps and put workers into the field around the world to provide aid and assistance to third world countries. Their expertise in farming, water systems, construction, and administration made a big difference for millions of people. Most countries welcome the aid.”
“Moreover, your economic policies have set our economy on fire. Just a few years ago, the labor participation rate was 62 percent, the lowest ever. Now it’s risen to over 90 percent. The U.S. is producing and exporting a wide range of new products and innovations throughout the world. Our exports are ten times our imports and the money flowing in has gone a long way to reduce our Federal
deficit. American products are so well built and turned out by automated systems they undercut the marketplace. It gives the country a competitive advantage over countries, like China, who still pay their workers a fraction of what Americans receive.”
The problem with providing all these services, products, and aid, is that a lot of the Americans who deliver them are motivated by their beliefs of service to God and seeking to do His will. This makes them natural missionaries and they aren’t hesitant to share the “Good News” with people. Wherever the work of Americans and American companies overlap with countries, with substantial Muslim populations, there are problems. A tragically large number of Americans have died, for no other reason than the fact they existed as Christians.”
“Whenever the incidents are more than isolated and American lives and property destroyed, you have reluctantly told the country receiving the aid, that the United States would simply withdraw its people and services. Very often, the leadership of that country, particularly the poor third world nations sided with us to keep the vital aid flowing. This has infuriated the Muslim leaders who keep up a steady rant at every mosque, telling their faithful that the hideous Christians are infidels who do not follow the truth faith of Allah, and should all be killed immediately. And the worst and most dangerous of the bunch are the Iranians.
There was a long pause on the phone. Jacob spoke up, “Still with us Walt?”
“Yes, unfortunately Arcadia is right. We have a very sophisticated intelligence system that monitors cell phone, email, and radio chatter on a global basis. We get regular reports for our agents all the time; the picture that’s emerging is a little scary. We’ve increased our surveillance on all the people, and products that are coming into the country. We intercept a lot of dangerous people and potentially deadly plots against the country, all the time. No more St. Patrick’s massacres. I even asked the CIA, FBI, and NSA to evaluate their success in stopping the threats and I can tell you I was a little disconcerted to learn the number is not 100 percent.”
