Blue Plague The Fall

by Watson, Thomas A.

  “They already have that. I’m not stupid son,” she said.

  “I never said you were, Mom, but all the ones on the Internet can be hacked; mine can’t. Well, not the first time. Maybe the second but not the first. So you can talk to someone, and no one else even knows that there is a video conference going on,” Jake said.

  “And why would you make a program like that?” she asked.

  “So Mr. Jacobs in computer class could not hack me while I was online,” he replied.

  Debbie just looked at him, not knowing if he should be in trouble or not. “Why is it such a big deal then?” she asked.

  “Because Homeland Security does not like anything that is encrypted on the Web, Mom,” he informed her.

  “Let me get this straight: If someone tries to hack this, they can’t see that a video chat is taking place?” Bruce asked.

  “No, actually they think the person is downloading porn from someone on the Internet. That’s what they see when they hack it,” Jake replied.

  “How did Stephanie know about it?” Debbie asked.

  “She saw me writing the code for it the last time she was here and thought it was great but asked me not to use because it might get me in trouble. I told her I wouldn’t,” Jake said.

  “Well, have you used it?” Debbie asked.

  “Only once, Mom. I had to see if it worked.” Jake said, sensing he was in trouble. “I used it the last week of school in computer class.”

  “Is that the porn that Mr. Jacobs was caught on his computer with by the school board?” Debbie asked.

  “Yes ma’am. He tried hacking me while I was online, and it downloaded on his computer. He thinks he is better than me on computers,” Jake said, looking down.

  Debbie started laughing. “Well, I guess he learned a lesson then, didn’t he?”

  “Okay, let’s get serious here,” Bruce said. “If Stephanie thinks she is being censored, then this is bad. We need to get her that program ASAP. Jake, go get a copy ready to send. I will take it into town and overnight it to her. Everyone else, get inside and go over the news sites until the president makes his announcement. How is that for everyone?” Bruce asked.

  “I think it sucks brother, and I will be the one to go into town, not you,” Mike said with determination. “You have been awake for over thirty-six hours, and you are bitchy. I will take Steve with me in case there are any problems, but the local news services have not reported anything in Shreveport or Bossier. Now that is how things are going to break down,” Mike stated.

  “Okay, but can I at least watch TV?” Bruce kidded with him.

  “Hell no. You are grounded, young man. Go to bed,” Mike said, laughing getting out of the water, and grabbing his weapon off the table beside the pool. Going inside, he turned and saw everyone grabbing weapons off the table and walking inside. He smiled to himself watching Debbie and Nancy picking up their weapons, slinging them over their shoulders in bikinis. Damn, that is sexy, Mike thought, scantily clad women with assault rifles. Turning to Bruce, seeing him stare also, Mike knew he was right. Well, boys will be boys.

  Mike went upstairs to get ready for the ride into town. The round trip would take two and a half hours, and he would have to hurry to get to the office supply store before it closed at ten to get the package off. He put on clean pants and a shirt, clipping his holster onto his belt and putting his XDM .45 on with two extra magazines just in case. Everyone laughed at him for carrying forty-two rounds, always saying shootouts rarely go over five shots. He always said better too much than not enough.

  Walking downstairs, he saw everyone in the game room around the big TV with laptops out, surfing the net. Mike walked around to everyone, saying good-bye as Steve walked in, dressed to go. He looked up at Mike, asking if Tonya could come. Mike said he did not care, but they had to leave soon, just as Tonya walked in with Jake.

  “Here is the program. I’m sending two flash drives. Each has the same programs because, as Dad says, ‘Two is one and one is none’,” everyone chimed in unison with Jake.

  “Well, at least I taught this family something,” Bruce replied from his recliner.

  As Mike left with Steve and Tonya, Jake said he and Matt were going into mission control. When Nancy asked them weren’t they going to watch the president, they replied they were, but on the Internet because it was better. The grownups just looked at each other, knowing they were way out of their league; one just found it hard to compete with the Web with the kids. Danny and Mary were spread out on the floor with their computers. David was at the coffee table with his. The adults were in recliners surfing the Web, not finding much good news on the Internet.

  The entire East coast was in turmoil. There were reports of National Guard troops firing on civilians in Boston. Miami was in full-scale riots now. Parts of Los Angeles were burning, and the LAPD was asking for federal help. Riots were reported in Seattle this afternoon. Mexico City was a war zone now. It was reported yesterday that small riots were in separate parts of the city, but now it was pure chaos and all flights were suspended today at 3 p.m. The only continent not reporting riots was Australia. It was being reported that the prime minister there was preparing to suspend all flights into the country. Japan was reporting unrest in Tokyo and several other cities but said the situation there would be under control soon. China was not reporting anything and had shut down Internet service inside the country. But they could not shut down the satellites. People there were reporting massive riots in Beijing and surrounding cities, and they were spreading. They were reporting the military was firing on the rioters with everything but nuclear weapons.

  As much as they looked, the only countries that were not reporting riots were North Korea and a few smaller countries in the Middle East. Israel had shut its borders this morning and was in combat with the PLO, and Syria was threatening armed response if it did not open it borders for the Palestinians. Bruce could not believe what he was reading. The first case of the Congo virus reported out of the Congo was Friday in Paris. It was now Monday night, and it was everywhere. He hoped that this was people just overreacting like the swine flu, just much worse. For some reason, he just could not believe that people just lost their minds for no reason. Just then, the special message banner was on the TV. Bruce set his laptop to the side to see what the new idiot in Washington was going to say.

  As the president walked out to the podium, Bruce noticed that the man actually looked scared. Not good when you are the one leading America, thought Bruce.

  “My fellow Americans, I know many of you have heard the reports of riots over the country over the last seventy-two hours. Let me assure you that the government is doing everything in its power to bring order to the situation. On the advice of the joint chiefs and my advisors, I have declared martial law in the New England states and the state of California. Homeland Security is currently moving assets to the areas to assist the military in restoring order. I have just signed an executive order for all US troops stationed abroad to return to US soil as soon as possible. They will be leaving all heavy equipment in place. The Army will have all personnel back in seventy-two hours. I am suspending all flights into and out of the United States unless it’s for military purposes. All airlines are now under the Department of Homeland Security to assist in bringing all troops home. The Navy reports that all assets will be accountable in US waters by the end of the week.

  “Now about the Congo virus, the CDC has assured me that a vaccine will be available in ten to fourteen days. Those who are infected act with hostility to other people not infected. These are Americans who are sick and will be treated as such. Anyone seen shooting or harming a person who is infected will be arrested and charged as such. Not one of the infected have been reported to use a weapon, so I am saying that unless you can prove in a court of law that you were in danger of being killed, you will be held accountable. The virus is spread by contact of the infected bodily fluids. Infection rates vary from three hours to three days. I’m urging
Americans to please help one another in this time of crisis. I have deployed the military to the border of Mexico. The border is now closed; anyone attempting to enter will be viewed as hostile to America. We will not detain anyone trying to get into the country illegally. They will be met with fire from the military.” There was a lot of yelling at that from the press corps, but the president held up his hand for silence.

  “I, along with Congress, did not come to this decision lightly, but we must take care of Americans first. We can no longer allow another case of the Congo virus into America. Any person infected with the virus must be taken to local centers to be cared for by medical personnel. A list will be put out for each city by the Homeland Security. The CDC will be posting information on their Web site about the virus. I am asking all Americans if at all possible to continue on with their lives until directed by their local government to do otherwise. There will be no travel into any area that has confirmed Congo virus contamination by civilians. All interstate travel is suspended unless it’s for transport of goods. All public schools are to be closed until further notice by the Department of Education. All military personnel on leave are to report to the closest military base immediately. All prison systems are on full lockdown as directed by the Department of Justice. No prisoner will be let out of his or her cell until ordered by the Justice Department; any department found guilty of this will lose federal funding. Then the ranking official will be charged. The judicial process is suspended for the next two weeks. Any person detained will have to wait until this crisis is over before getting his or her day in court.

  “Let’s make one thing clear: This is a crisis like we have never seen before. A panic will help nothing. We will get this under control, but not with civilians taking the law into their own hands. Now, before I finish, I will take a few questions, but if there is not some semblance of order here, this conference is over,” the president stated, pointing to a reporter on the front row.

  “Mr. President, what of the reports that the National Guard fired on civilians outside of Boston?’” he asked.

  “The report I got from the governor said they were firing on a large group of people, shooting a group of infected that were walking on the highway and were not threatening the population in any form. They were protecting Americans that were sick and looking for help. This is not the Middle Ages, people. We will not ostracize those who are sick. We will not board them up in their homes or burn them at the stake. We will treat them with the best medical care available to mankind,” he replied. The president called to a young female reporter in the back of the room for her to ask a question.

  “Mr. President, what of America’s obligations to the rest of the world by pulling our troops out? Don’t you fear that our enemies will take advantage of it? And what about people trying to cross back into Mexico to check on loved ones there?” she asked, smiling at the camera that she got more than one question off.

  “I have been assured by the joint chiefs that we will need all overseas troops along with all reserve units to bring the crisis here in America under control. In the New England states alone, we need over two hundred thousand troops on the ground and at least that in the state of California. Not counting the hundred and twenty thousand along the border with Mexico. Then we will need troops in other cities as we bring this under control. As far as anyone wanting to return to Mexico, they can, but they will not be allowed back into this country until this crisis is over.” The president pointed to a famous reporter sitting in the front row.

  “Mr. President, what about our embassies and the staff? There have been reports that our embassy in France was overrun, and no one has heard from our embassies in Africa. And what of the reports that our embassy was bombed in China?” he asked very fast.

  “The State Department has ordered all embassies closed and for all American personnel to return home except our embassy in Australia. We lost contact with the embassy in France Saturday night and have not heard anything about their well-being. Nor do we know what happened to six embassies we lost contact with in Africa. We did dispatch military personnel to try to get our people back but have not heard from them. The team in France was overrun by infected people, and I ordered all further attempts to find them suspended for now. Our embassy in China was hit by a bomb dropped from a plane trying to bomb a riot in progress. The Chinese government apologized and sent in troops to pull out all American personnel. Only two Americans were killed and seven injured in the attack. The Chinese government assured us it was an accident, and we accepted that, considering reports from the ambassador of how many Chinese troops were killed evacuating the embassy. We did inform the Chinese government that these people were sick and needed help, not military action, but our request went unheard. Now let’s all pull together to help our fellow Americans so we can then help the world,” he said, walking off the stage amid a torrent of questions.

  Bruce just stared at the TV along with everyone else. Bad did not even compare to what was happening. What the hell was this virus? How could it spread so fast and make the world go insane? For the first time, Bruce was scared. If countries were falling, how could he and the family hope to survive? Well, he would worry about that later; the family was still staring at the TV. The “experts” were now on, giving their opinion about what was going on.

  “Well,” he asked, “what do you think, Debbie?”

  “I think the son of a bitch knows a lot more than he was saying. He looked as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs,” she said.

  “Yeah, as always, they withhold information that we might need,” Bruce answered.

  “Pulling all of our troops home is a huge move. If they think it will take the entire might of the military to put this down then they are scared or are trying to turn us into a communist state. You can’t tell people they cannot protect themselves and then suspend the right to a trial until they are ready for it. Then what is this shit about blocking the border of Mexico? Hell, the virus is here. What good will it do?” Nancy asked.

  “Valid points on all. I think the Mexico thing is to draw attention away from the rest of the country. With him just saying if you cross our border, we will kill you, there will be lots of fighting along the border, drawing attention from the rest of the country,” Bruce said.

  “Daddy, Mary and I have decided that if any infected try to get us here, the hell with him, we are going to bust a cap in their ass,” Danny stated.

  “As will we all, princess. We have the scrap pond out back to get rid of the evidence. It may very well come to that, so be ready you two,” Bruce told her.

  Just then Jake came running into the game room. “The president has left the White House. They just reported that he was being transported to an undisclosed location with the outbreaks of riots in DC.”

  Well, that seals it, Bruce thought. They think this is bad if they are moving the leaders out of DC. He wished Mike was here so they could talk about this. The family all moved to mission control to talk about what they thought. At 11:30, they started to get worried about Mike and called him. He told them that he was almost home and that Shreveport was going crazy. Traffic was backed up from people running out to get stocked up. On the radio, the announcer called for all police to report for duty. Bruce hung up after telling him to hurry home and relaying what he said. Thirty minutes later, they saw Mike’s truck pull on the parish road heading home. They followed his progress from one camera to the other. The boys had hooked a fifty-inch LED TV up as the main screen, and every time a camera activated, it moved to the big screen.

  After Mike got home, everyone but Matt came into the kitchen to discuss the situation. Matt listened in on a conference line, putting in his thoughts. Mike said that he got the package off and was assured that it would be in Atlanta tomorrow afternoon. He had it sent directly to the CDC to Stephanie’s office. Everyone said a prayer for family and friends. They knew if it went bad, they could not help everybody, and hard choices would have to b
e made.

  Bruce called for everyone’s attention. He was calling for level three and for Nancy and Debbie to work out a week-to-week schedule for watch. Matt and Jake said they would take tonight. Matt in the fort and Jake in mission control, they said they wanted to put monitors up there. Bruce gave the go ahead for the two to get ready. Those on watch must be armed at all times. He asked David to somehow rig up an alarm system to wake those asleep upstairs without setting the alarm on the house off. Bruce was worried he was overloading Jake and Matt with geek task. David said he could do that tomorrow in about two hours. Bruce informed everyone that the fort was the project tomorrow. He wanted to make it more defensible and harder to see. He told everyone to get some sleep; for better or worse, they could only prepare so much. The family was ready.

  Chapter 19

  Bruce woke up about 4:30 and got dressed in tiger-striped BDUs for today. Each member of the family had four different types of BDUs to rotate out of. Bruce did not like to limit the family to only one type of uniform. Everyone would wear the type of camo on the roster for the day, changing it from day to day. If someone put the house under surveillance, then they would see different types of uniforms everyday walking around the property. It would be hard to get an accurate count of the number of people here. And looking at people in BDUs, it was real hard to figure out if they were male or female. Every member of the family had at least a dozen sets of each pattern of BDU.

  Bruce put on his tactical vest and headed downstairs. He made his way to mission control and saw Matt there. Looking at him with a questionable look, he asked where Jake was. Matt reported that at 3:30, they had changed positions because he had to take a dump, and Jake wanted to work on the monitors out in the fort. Matt assured Bruce that he came into the house, and after he finished, he watched Jake head out to the fort on the cameras. Well, this did point out a problem with the fort that would have to be addressed. They needed some way for the guard to take a crap while on duty in the fort.