Wait until my father hears about this.
His father worked in the aerospace industry in Bonn, building the latest satellites. After high school, the old man had immediately wanted Gunther to enter the industry. Gunther planned to follow his dad’s path, of course. There wasn’t a man alive he respected more. First, he wanted an experience of a lifetime. This was an exciting time to be alive. Father could see that. Yes… He supposed there was the specter of famine in the world.
Gunther shrugged, inhaling cigarette smoke. He’d been told that he was too young to understand things like famine and war. Probably his dad was right. They’d played countless board games together, and Gunther had usually lost. A man was only young once, however. This was Gunther’s time to risk and have a great and lasting experience.
The events he’d written about had impressed the older man. Gunther had heard the grudging acceptance of that in his father’s voice the last time they had talked.
Because of his technical expertise and placement, Gunther had the rare privilege of listening to high strategy in the making. He would sit at his spot near the big screen, drinking in the details as he monitored his equipment.
A door at the bottom of the control tower now opened. A bald-headed officer stepped out, with a purple birthmark shaped like a fist over his right eye. “Warrant Officer Weise!” the man shouted. “You’d better get in here. The screen is acting up, and the commander is back in the situation room.”
With his right-hand thumb and index finger, Gunther pinched the cigarette, taking a last inhalation. Then he removed the cigarette from his lips and flicked it toward the flight deck. The breeze would blow it overboard soon enough. The ashes and butt would tumble into the Atlantic Ocean. They were headed for America, toward New York City and the New Jersey shore. They were already one hundred kilometers beyond the Bahamas and moving fast.
The great event of his life was about to take place. Warrant Officer Gunther Weise strode for the control tower door. He was going to remember every detail today, so he could tell his son someday while the two of them played board games together.
WASHINGTON, DC
Anna Chen felt sick, as if she was going to vomit onto the great circular conference table down here in Underground Bunker Number Five.
The President sat slumped in his chair, staring at the main screen with wide eyes. He looked ashen, and he had not spoken for a time, almost as if he’d been struck dumb by the newest sight.
I think it’s happening. This is the thing too big for us to handle and it’s crushing him. It looks as if Alan was wrong. The Cuba-based troops did exist after all.
The door to the chamber opened. Without the Marine guard announcing him, Director Max Harold strode in. Behind him followed three larger men in black suits.
Anna watched them, and she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Then it struck her. The Marine guard hadn’t announced them and those three men had holstered weapons under their suits. They came to a meeting with the President while bearing arms. Only the Marines or Secret Service were supposed to be armed down here.
Then Anna noticed the guard closing the door. He almost seemed sheepish, quite unlike any Marine she’d ever seen before.
Those three are the director’s bodyguards. What are they doing with Max down here?
The director quietly took his place at the table. Behind him, where aides sat, the three bodyguards eased onto seats. They didn’t sit back and relax. No. They began to look around, and they eyed the people.
Am I being too paranoid? Anna asked herself.
General Norton sat in the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s chair today. He had been doing that ever since General Alan went to Syracuse to take over command on the ground.
Norton was medium-sized, a handsome man in his late fifties, with wavy dark hair. He must dye it. He looked like a movie star general, like a military man who could make fast and hard decisions. The funny thing was that’s exactly how he was. He didn’t have the greatest strategic breadth, but he could say yes or no when the President asked him a question.
General Norton now glanced at Max. Anna wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but the director nodded fractionally.
What’s going on here?
She remembered now that it had been Max’s idea to send General Alan to Syracuse. Max had said the country needed a firm hand to guide them in this desperate hour. For once, Max hadn’t suggested they use nuclear weapons to stop the Germans from running wild along the interstate.
What did General Norton think about using nuclear weapons? Had Max been angling for the man’s appointment as the chief military advisor down here?
“Sir,” Norton told the President. “This is one hundred percent reliable information we’re viewing.”
On the big screen, they all watched an immense GD armada steaming toward the United States. They came from Cuba, past the Bahamas and toward the New Jersey shore. Finally, it seemed as if the last piece of the puzzle was coming into place.
A high-altitude surveillance drone far out in the Atlantic Ocean gave them the imagining. Likely, the plane wouldn’t last long. While it did, the drone showed them the unbelievable extent of the GD armada. Many in here had said the Cuba-based troops were clever fakes: decoys to cause the American military to put garrison divisions along the Eastern seaboard instead of deploying them on the battlefield where the decision raged. General Alan had been the strongest proponent concerning the belief. It had been Alan’s argument that had swayed the President into letting the general move the XI Airmobile Corps from the coast and to Syracuse. Now it looked as if Alan and those who thought like him had been wrong.
The briefing officer had been showing them the extent of the infantry transports, tank carriers and amphibious landing craft. This was the real deal, and it was devastating.
The President leaned forward, putting tired elbows on the table. “They waited,” he said in a slow voice. “The Germans waited. They baited us first. We thought they were going to break through at Detroit and run crazy in Michigan and Ohio. No. That was misdirection. Then their surprise attack across Lake Ontario almost caught us flat-footed. It’s obvious now that they were going to do that. It should have been obvious they planned a greater amphibious assault on the Atlantic coast. They’re springing a giant trap on us.”
“Their maneuvering was deceptive,” General Norton said in a crisp voice. “It’s easy to see something after the event, sir. We had no real idea they had gathered enough ships in Lake Ontario to make a huge amphibious assault like they did.”
The President stared at General Norton. David didn’t nod or change expression. He just stared.
He’s weary, Anna realized. He is deep down exhausted. He thinks he caused this by letting the Germans into Quebec. Maybe he did. But what else could he have done? We wouldn’t have stopped the Chinese otherwise. I wish someone else besides me would say that to him.
“We’re using everything we have trying to stem the Lake Ontario amphibious invasion,” the President said in his listless way, with a noise whistling through his nostrils. “We pulled our troops from the coast—the few we had there. We pulled them in the hope of plugging the gap between the Allegheny Plateau and the Adirondack Mountains. Because the XI Corps is gone, the GD will land unopposed on the seaboard. With these last armies, they’ll swing the gate shut and trap our forces. It’s clear what they planned. They must have decided to do this from the beginning.”
Director Harold cleared his throat.
As if on cue, General Norton sat down.
Max rose to his feet. He touched the top of the table with his fingertips. Slowly, he surveyed the chamber.
Does he feel stronger with three bodyguards present? Has he been maneuvering for this moment? Anna still couldn’t fathom the Marine’s behavior at the door. The Presidential Guard was incorruptible, right? So why had the Marine let the director’s men in while they were wearing guns?
“Mr. President,” Max said, “this is
the crisis we’ve all been dreading. It has arrived at last.”
David looked up at the Homeland Security Director. Exhaustion made the President look weak.
“We faced a grave crisis this winter,” Max said. “We faced it and overcame the challenge. This is America. We have always overcome our challenges. I believe that today is going to be no different, sir.”
“I…” David sat a little straighter, but his shoulders were still slumped. “I know what you’re going to say, Max.”
Max waited, with his face impassive.
“You’re going to tell me to launch ASBMs,” the President said.
ASBM meant Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles.
“We tried that once against the Chinese,” the President said. “We attempted to halt their Alaskan Invasion back in 2032 using ASBMs.”
David had been the Joint-Forces Commander in Alaska at the time.
“We failed to stop the Chinese eight years ago,” the President said. “Why do you think our ASBMs will do better against the more tech savvy Germans?”
Max stared David in the eyes. “Sir,” the director said in a strong, level voice. “Eight years ago, you used conventionally-armed ASBMs. I’m talking about using nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.”
“Nuclear?” the President asked in a soft voice.
“Yes, sir,” the director said. “The great crisis has arrived and we must rise to the challenge. It’s clear that we cannot move enough men into place to stop the GD forces from swarming onto New Jersey. If the Germans do that, they will have encircled a large portion of our military, cutting off—”
The director paused and glanced at the general.
“The GD will have cut off over one million men,” Norton said.
“That many?” the President asked in his strangely soft voice.
“We cannot allow the GD to land their soldiers, sir,” Max said. “I realize you have a reluctance to use nuclear weapons.”
“I… I…” the President seemed to grope for words. He seemed lost, dazed.
“I understand, sir,” Max said. His voice softened, too, almost as if he really did have compassion.
But Anna was not fooled. They planned this. Norton and the director are working together. Maybe someone bribed the Marine guards by finding out how to get to each one.
“This is a terrible moment in our history,” Max was saying. “The blows against our country have been staggering. You have staved off several grave defeats, sir. It would have drained anyone. Each time, you’ve summoned the resolve and refused to let our country’s enemies win. Unfortunately, the grim resolve needed to stave off these defeats has taken a grave toll of you, sir. I respect your service to our country. No one could have done more. However…maybe it is time for you to rest a while.”
The President blinked at Max, and a tired frown appeared on David’s face.
“Sir,” Max said. “I could order the nuclear strike for you, if you would give me the authority.”
“You would do this?” the President asked.
“We must stop them,” Max said. “We must use a number of our ICBMs while the enemy is still far enough away from our coast.”
“Uh…” General Norton said.
Max didn’t glance at the general, but he shook his head minutely.
The idea of their collusion and the possibility of corrupt Presidential Guards galvanized Anna. “Sir,” she said. “If you decide to launch nuclear weapons, I think you should give the orders and no one else.”
David moved his head on a seemingly rusty neck. He gave her a hurt look.
It stabbed her heart. He hated using nuclear weapons. It had grated on him giving such orders before, and it had caused him nightmares. Was she using him now because she didn’t like Max? Being President was a demanding job under ordinary circumstances. During war, it became much worse. Maybe the endlessly hard decision had rung David dry. Likely, no one in American history but for Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy had faced a moment like this. Costly, maybe even debilitating defeat stared them in the eyes.
Despite the hurt in her heart for him, Anna decided that she owed it to David to tell him the stakes.
“Mr. President,” Anna said.
“I think you should quit talking,” Max told her. “You’ve said enough.”
“Mr. President,” Anna said, ignoring the director.
Max made a small gesture with his left hand. The three bodyguards rose ominously from their chairs.
“You are the Commander-in-Chief,” Anna told David in a rush. “You should not relinquish your authority unless you’re willing to step down as President. Are you ready to do that, sir?”
David blinked at her.
“Ms. Chen,” Max said. “You are out of line.”
“This is the terrible crisis, sir,” Anna said. “You faced such a moment in Alaska when you fought in 2032. Do you remember that time?”
Ever so slowly, David nodded.
Max cleared his throat, and he looked angry.
Anna didn’t want to say her next words, but she forced them out of her mouth before it was too late. “Are you folding up under pressure, Mr. President? Is that’s what happening here?”
David stopped blinking, and he grew ashen.
“That is quite enough,” Max said. “In fact, I deem it as treasonous to try to break the President’s resolve at a time like this. I will not stand by and do nothing. Men,” he said, half turning to his bodyguards. “Would you please escort Ms. Chen from the chamber?”
The three big men in suits started toward her.
“Mr. President,” Anna said, speaking faster than ever. “I think you should summon your Marine guards.” If the Presidential Guards were corrupt, it was all over anyway. But if Max had barged his way past the door guard through force of will, then maybe David still had a chance.
The President watched her a moment longer. Then he seemed to notice the bodyguards advancing around the conference table. Something came over his features, a mulish stubbornness perhaps.
David Sims stood, and he rapped his knuckles against the table. “Sit down,” he told the three big men in suits.
It seemed as if they hadn’t heard or refused to hear the President.
It was then the Director of the CIA—Dr. Samuel Levin—scraped back his chair. He was Anna’s old boss, and Levin was a wizened figure, with uncombed, thick white hair jutting in disorder. He sat nearest the door to the chamber.
The bodyguards glanced at the CIA Director. With his hunched left shoulder held in its crooked way, Levin started for the door. His left foot slid a bit. Anna remembered hearing about a stroke some time back. It must have been worse than she’d realized.
The three bodyguards finally stopped. They stared at the President. Then they half turned and regarded Max.
They want a confirmation of the order, Anna realized.
Levin didn’t stop his slow walk, and his right arm reached for the door handle.
It was a pregnant moment. Would Max order the bodyguards to draw their guns? If he did, the Director of Homeland Security would have to order them to fire and kill people, if he hoped to keep his position, perhaps even keep his life.
Before Levin turned the handle, Max asked the President, “Would you like Ms. Chen to stay, sir?”
Then Levin pushed open the door, and he stared into the outer room. Something in his eyes must have awoken the Marines there. Three of them wearing white gloves and holding rifles entered the inner chamber.
“Ms. Chen stays,” the President said, with his voice strengthening.
The director’s three bodyguards weren’t stupid. Likely, they were sensitive to leadership and the sway of the wind. Maybe they could sense it like dogs. They must realize what was at stake. Either they had to draw their guns and shoot, or they’d better back down. But if they were going to draw their guns, they should have already done so. A coup took decisiveness and a whole lot of stones. To Anna’s relief, the three bodyguards headed back for their cha
irs.
Without a word, wizened Dr. Levin headed back to his seat.
Seemingly on their own initiative, the Marines took up station near the door, and they watched the three bodyguards sitting down.
Anna found that her hands were shaking. She couldn’t believe what was happening. Had Max just attempted a soft coup, losing his nerve right at the end? If so, this didn’t seem like the time to push the issue. They needed to meet the GD emergency right now.
“General Norton,” the President said. “What do you think? What is your recommendation?”
“Sir?” Norton asked, in a scratchy voice.
“Concerning a nuclear attack?” the President asked.
It took two blinks before the confident General Norton returned. “We have no choice but to go nuclear, sir. We must launch the ASBMs. I mean ICBMs. We must annihilate the GD armada or we’ve lost this round to the enemy. And if we lose this round, this campaign…I’m not sure we can recover to win the war.”
The chamber grew still as those present absorbed his words.
Max sat down, and he avoided looking at Anna or Levin.
She wondered what went on behind Max’s skull. The man had asked to wield Presidential authority. Did he truly aim to take over? Then why hadn’t his men drawn their guns just now? Had she misjudged the situation? Or had Dr. Levin’s act saved David’s Presidency. Was history made through such chance decisions?
“I cannot let the enemy land those troops on our shores,” the President said. “You gentlemen are right. And you’re right, Anna. It is time to take the terrible step. We’ve lurched toward nuclear war on two separate occasions. But we managed to keep it small each time. This time we have to take out everything. Yes… How many ICBMs do you suggest, General?”
“Ten of the intercontinental ballistic missiles, sir,” Norton said. “They’re MIRVed, so that will be more than enough warheads. We also want to keep enough ICBMs in reserve, sir. As you know, we don’t have as many nuclear missiles as we used to.”
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