The Shelter: The Aftermath

by Ira Tabankin

  “Cut the governors, we need to get to the shelter as quickly as possible. Their lives are at stake. The homes we just repaired are at stake. I don’t want to tell the Captain we had to bury them instead of assisting them.

  The LT orders his people to exit the road and cut across fields shortening the distance between them and the battle. They crash through fences, tear up fields, they even drive through a 200-year-old cemetery because it was the only clear path through groups of trees.

  After being bounced all over the inside their vehicles, the Army arrives at the edge of the farm, the attackers are closing on the trench. The LT shakes his head seeing so few of the defenders still at their positions, he assumes the rest have been killed or seriously sounded. He nods in satisfaction seeing the numerous bodies on the hill. John orders a retreat into the shelter, of the 34 manning the trench, only twelve are uninjured. They’re able to close the front door as the attackers reach the last mine field in front of the door. The mines kill 40% of those who almost catch the defenders. The attackers hear the approaching army vehicles, they place blocks of V4 plastic explosive around the shelter’s front door. They take shelter to the sides when the massive explosion rips the front door open, the attacker’s race in to find another door as the US Army pulls up behind them.

  The defenders wipe the sweat and dirt off their brows, many try to stop the bleeding from their wounds while waiting for medical treatment. John announces the US Army has arrived to save the day. Unknown to John, because their cameras were destroyed in the battle, additional El Chapo reinforcements arrived, they silently move into the evacuated trench, where they wait for the order to attack the US Army platoon.

  When the order is given, the fresh 300 men rise up from the trench, firing RPGs and automatic weapons, they hit the surprised army troops in their rear. The LT is surprised and shocked, he tried to order a counter-attack when he is struck in the face, instantly killing him. The army and the attackers close to point blank range, they fire at each other from the hip. The army is outnumbered and outgunned. They're killing three for every one of their own. The numbers favor the attackers. The highest ranking army soldier, a staff sergeant orders his remaining people to fight a holding position while he tries to get the shelter to open the door.

  Todd and John see the raging battle on their doorstep. They realize the army is going to get cut down, looking at each other they nod in agreement and flip the switch to open the remaining doors. The Staff Sergeant sees the doors moving, he orders his people into the shelter as the attackers swarm them. The remaining soldiers each toss a grenade into the mass of the attackers which stops them long enough for the soldiers to enter the shelter. They’re happy to be alive.

  @@@@@

  Jay drifts in and out of consciousness, no matter how hard he fights to find the light all he sees is darkness.

  “Dad? Are you here? Can you guide me? Can you show me the way back?”

  “I told you, the next time you arrived here, I wouldn’t be able to help you. You’re going to have to do it by yourself. I’ve done all I can for you.”

  “I can’t see the light. I don’t feel its warmth. I need help. Please show me the way, give me a hint which direction it is.”

  Jay hears a very soft sad voice, “I wish I could. Son, try, you can do it.”

  “I can’t if I don’t know which direction I’m supposed to go.”

  Softly in-between tears his father’s voice whispers “Then all is lost.”

  The nurse sitting with Jay hears before she sees the EKG flatline, the alarm sounds as Jay’s heart stops. She pushes on his chest while pressing the alarm button and calling for help on the intercom.

  Everyone in the shelter is shocked when the shelter wide intercom screams,

  “CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE. We’re losing Jay, Doctor, please hurry.”

  Look for The Shelter, Book 4, “The New World” Coming January 2016.

  The following is a snippet from the upcoming book, “The Impeachment of Barack Obama.”

  First edition

  Copyright October 2015

  Ira J. Tabankin

  Knoxville, TN 39720

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my wife and true love, Patricia.

  Thanks

  I’d like to thank the many members of the survivalistboards.com who helped me with their knowledge, comments and encouragement. With a special thanks to Amy, who edited my writing into a readable story.

  Work of Fiction

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Note 1:

  Please recognize artistic license is used throughout this story. Any tense disparities are the author's view of the story as it's written.

  Note 2:

  This is a politically incorrect novel.

  Forward

  Impeachable Offenses

  According to the US Constitution, Any elected official can be impeached for, "Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors." The exact definition of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors" is open to debate. Impeachment is usually reserved for serious offenses and abuses of power, and it is up to the impeaching body (House of Representatives) to determine whether or not an offense is impeachable. Impeachable offenses do not have to violations of criminal law.

  The Impeachment process

  If the House of Representatives votes to impeach the official, the actual trial will be held in the Senate. Senators are sworn in as jurors. When a US President is impeached, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the trial.

  Two US Presidents have been impeached

  Andrew Johnson, Democrat/National Union, was impeached in 1868 after violating the then-newly created Tenure of Office Act. President Johnson was acquitted by the Senate, falling one vote short of the necessary ⅔ needed to remove him from office. The Tenure of Office Act would later be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States.

  Bill Clinton, Democrat, was impeached on December 19, 1998, by the House of Representatives on articles charging perjury (specifically, lying to a federal grand jury) and obstruction of justice. President Clinton was acquitted by the Senate.

  A snippet from the upcoming story.

  Mrs. Linda Anderson, aged 36, a single mother with two children, and with a master’s degree in computer science and another in mathematics, was a twelve-year employee at the NSA. She’d excelled at every task the agency assigned her to. Her personal file was filled with glowing recommendations and ‘gold stars.’ She was currently assigned to clean up old servers and prepare the way for a new NSA search program called “Ismael.” Linda smiled thinking whoever named the new search algorithm Ismael had a sick sense of humor. She remembered her Bible readings, something she never let on about at work. Any discussion or display of religion at the NSA was outlawed and grounds for termination. She remembered, Ismael, or Ishmael, was the son of Abraham and Agar, or Hagar. His history is told in Genesis 16-25 and the name means: "may God hear." Sarai, Abram's wife, was barren; she gave him, in accordance with the custom of the time, her handmaid, Agar, as concubine, in order to obtain children. Her son was named Ismael. God disclosed to Abraham the glorious future which awaited Ismael: "As for Ismael, I have also heard thee. Behold, I will bless him, and increase, and multiply him exceedingly: he shall beget twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation." Linda laughed to herself. Ismael was designed to spread from the NSA servers across the Internet, embedding itself in every computer connected to the Internet. Hence, it would be multiplied and become its own great nation of searchers listening for anything the NSA, the new God, wanted to know. Before Ismael could be installed, all of the old servers needed to have their existing files downloaded and stored in the NSA’s vault.

  Linda clocked into her lab at 6:58 AM w
ith a large cup of coffee she’d purchased in one of the captive Starbucks located in the NSA’s lobby. Her smartphone reminded her of the servers she was to download and clean today. She found herself looking at files from the third quarter of 2012. All she had to do was ensure the files were complete, update their names and transfer them to media which would be carried to the vault. Today was like her previous three weeks when a video file appeared on her screen. She closed the privacy screen around her work space. She held a Top Secret clearance with both Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and special access program (SAP) classifications. She had to undergo monthly polygraphs to maintain her clearance. The NSA was very careful who they gave top level security clearances to, especially since they’d been burned by Edward Snowden. After the Snowden debacle, they began a process of terminating third party contractors. They either converted them to employees or they were paid to stay home until it was determined that any classified information they’d learned had become stale. In twenty-one cases, the contractors met with deadly accidents. There was a major bus accident when a bus had a blowout and went over a bridge in Maryland, killing all fifteen people aboard the bus. A couple suffered heart attacks and two were mugged while jogging.

  Linda didn’t think anything was unusual about the video file; she’d already viewed over four hundred such files. This one started with an interview with an agent named Jason Abrams, which was held in the secure conference room in the fourth level basement. That alone piqued her curiosity. Only the most secure discussions take place underground and, under the mammoth structure, to rate a meeting on the fourth level it had to be about something very special. She was about to rename the file when she heard the word “Benghazi.” She placed the headset over her ears and listened to the audio track.

  “Recording number two of December 10, 2012. Recording being performed in NSA room four dash twenty-one. The interviewee is CIA field agent Jason Abrams. Agent Abrams, would you please confirm your identity?”

  “My name is Jason Abrams, I was born September 22, 1974, in Newark New Jersey. My CIA employee number is 1234-56-9901. I was stationed in Benghazi, Libya, from October first, 2012, to current.”

  “Agent Abrams, is it correct that you have voluntarily agreed to this interview?”

  “That is correct. I was recalled by the DDO and asked to bring the item in question to Fort Mead.”

  “Agent Abrams, for the record, DDO?”

  “Sorry, Deputy Director of Operations. He’s the person who runs all of the CIA’s field ops.”

  “Do you report to the DDO?”

  “Not directly. I report to the Director of Middle East Operations who reports to the DDO.”

  “Who issued you the recall notice?”

  “My manager, the DMEO.”

  “That’s the Director of Middle East Operations?”

  “Yes, I’m sorry.”

  “No problem. Agent Abrams, for the record, you’ve agreed to undergo a polygraph during this interview, is this correct?”

  “That is correct.”

  “Excellent, let’s jump ahead to the morning you received the first contact about the item in question. How and who contacted you?”

  “One of my field agents texted me that he found something in the Consulate building the previous night. It was the night of a massive sandstorm. I tasked him with breaking into the consulate to look for anything that might have been missed by other teams or left behind.”

  “Did you do this on your own or were you ordered to have this search performed?”

  “I was ordered by the DMEO to have the search made.”

  “Why did you select the recruit you did?”

  “He lived very close to the consulate.”

  “Did you send his request for a face to face meeting to Langley?”

  “Yes, they ordered me to meet with my contact and his wife. I was to retrieve whatever they found, then terminate the recruit and his wife. Then hand carry the object to Langley. They sent me here.”

  “Yes. Did you terminate your recruit?”

  “Yes, I did. Do you want to know the details?”

  “No, we have no need to know. I assume you carried out your training in regard to the termination?”

  “Of course, their bodies will never be found.”

  “Excellent, then we can move on to the object which was recovered. Do you know what the object was?”

  “Yes, it’s part of a cell phone circuit board.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I was trained to know that and what other circuit boards from other products look like.”

  “Was there anything unusual about the circuit board?”

  “It had two complete chips on it. I believe they were RAM chips.”

  “You know that from your training?”

  “Correct.”

  “Agent Abrams, my next question is very important, did you make any attempt to retrieve the information on the memory chips?”

  The polygraph needles start swaying and moving on the chart paper.

  “Agent, I remind you, you are under oath.”

  “An oath of what? It’s illegal to use a Bible in Government buildings.”

  “Not in legal matters.”

  “What do you mean legal matters? I was told this interview was a new part of the AAR.” (After Action Report) procedure.

  “It is. This is also a legal disposition.”

  “Maybe I should ask for my lawyer to be present.”

  “Does your lawyer hold a TS clearance?”

  “No.”

  “Then, I’m sorry, he wouldn’t be able to attend the interview. Now, Agent Abrams, let me repeat the last question: “Did you make any attempt to retrieve the information on the memory chips?”

  Looking around the gray, windowless room, Jason nods.

  “Agent, I’m sorry, but I don’t hear a nod, could you please verbalize your nod?”

  “Yes, I attempted to retrieve the information stored on the memory chips.”

  “Why did you do so?”

  “Because I’m a field officer with the CIA. If the memory chips held information about an immediate potential threat to the country, I was going to have to make sure the warning reached the right people as quickly as possible.”

  “Agent Abrams, can you, on the record, describe what you found on the memory chips?”

  “Sir, I was told the information was classified Presidential level release.”

  “Agent, you are correct. Here is a signed order from President Obama authorizing you to inform us what you discovered on the chips.”

  “I assume you’ve already downloaded the information. I don’t know why you need me to tell you what I found.”

  “Because we need it to complete our investigation. You are under orders to cooperate with us. I’ve shown you a Presidential signed order. For the record, are you going to decline to follow a signed Presidential order? The repercussions of not following it are termination for cause at the CIA, loss of all benefits, loss of your security clearance. You’ll be placed on the no-fly list, which as you know means you’ll never fly on an airplane again. You’ll lose the right to ever own a firearm and every electronic communication you touch for the rest of your life will be screened. What is your decision?”

  “Alright. I’ll agree. I discovered a series of recordings of phone conversations.”

  “Do you know who the conversations were between?”

  “Yes, one was between Ambassador Stevens and Hillary Clinton, then the Secretary of State; two were between the Ambassador and the Pentagon. One was between the Ambassador and his chief of security and one was between the Ambassador and the Secretary of State with a forwarded message from the President.”

  “President Obama?”

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “What was the summary of the conversations?”

  “Ambassador Stevens placed the first call to the Secretary of State when the attack on the compound started; he asked for
help. She turned him down saying it was most likely a few rabble rousers and nothing to be alarmed over. The next was a call from the Ambassador to the duty officer at the Pentagon, requesting assistance. The duty officer told the Ambassador he’d have to get back to him, but he would issue an alert notice to the fighter wing in Italy to prepare for combat. The Ambassador called back ten minutes later; he was told by the duty officer that the NCA turned down the request and ordered a general stand down for forces close to Libya. The last call was to the Secretary of State; she forwarded a message from the President telling the Ambassador the he was sorry, but he couldn’t send forces because he couldn’t allow the reason the Ambassador was in the consulate to become public. The President said he was sorry to the Ambassador.”