by Mark Spaid
“I don’t know,” Louise Chen said sheepishly.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we need to act now so the world sees we have leadership in place,” Perry said. There were exchanged looks and a few eyebrows were raised.
“The Twenty-Fifth Amendment?” Haakon Meisner asked. Any legal question needed the attention of the attorney general. He wasn’t a legal scholar nor a Supreme Court Justice but he was the best available source and his opinion was important.
“Yes,” Valerie answered.
“But we don’t know the fate of the President,” Haakon reminded everyone.
“That is precisely the problem,” Defense Secretary Rojas pointed out.
“I’m not assuming the worst but we have to have someone in place making decisions of national security,” Valerie said.
“Military decisions?” Homeland Security Director Marcus Washington asked.
“Yes, if the need arises.”
“We’re not there yet,” Marty Ingersoll said.
“No and hopefully we won’t get there but what if Kapustin Yar starts launching missiles at us? Then what?” Valerie looked around the table and there was silence as looks were exchanged. “Well, let’s have it. Do you want us to just sit here while nuclear missiles are falling on our major cities including this one?”
“No, but once we start retaliating with missiles, there’s no turning back and it’s the…end, Madam Speaker,” Susan Rojas said.
“Yes, Madam Secretary, I’m aware of the finality of nuclear war,” Valerie replied and turned with a grunt.
“I think Valerie is right, we have to be prepared and having someone in charge sends a clear message to the Russians to take things slow,” CIA Director Fitzgerald stated.
“The problem being, the Russian government is not in charge. A band of suicidal crazies have their finger on the button,” Louise Chen pointed out.
“All the more reason for there to be someone in command,” Valerie said and it was hard to argue with her logic.
“You think this is the best course of action?” Marty asked.
“I do,” she said and glanced at Perry who nodded agreement.
“Look, folks, this action is not something anyone would relish. No matter what happens Valerie will be a pariah even in her own party but we have little choice,” Perry added. There were nods all around.
“I know the reservations that some of you have in this room right now. It’s a bold step and some will say it’s reckless but I believe it’s necessary. I would ask, however, that despite any misgivings that the vote should de unanimous. We can’t show any hesitation to our allies and adversaries nor to the American people,” Valerie stated clearly.
“I don’t like it and I wish you felt otherwise Madam Speaker but I will vote yes. We need to show a solid front,” Louise Chen said
“I second what Louise said,” Marcus Washington added.
“I understand that some of you and hopefully all of you have trepidations about a takeover and this is a takeover whether we want to call it that or not. The amendment was designed for dire circumstances, when there was no one in charge. I hope you believe me that I don’t like this either but I believe it is necessary,” No one spoke but there were many head nods of agreement. After a few seconds Valerie turned to Marty. The Secretary of State was the de facto leader of the cabinet in the absence of the President and Vice-President. He drew a deep breath and stood up.
“As the leader of this band of merry folks that are about to tread upon holy ground, I will ask for a motion to place the Speaker of the House, Valerie Jensen, in place as the acting President.” There was another period of silence as no one rushed to be the one that history would record as the motion maker that started the coup; and make no mistake about it…Constitutional or not, it was a legalized coup de tat. Susan Rojas rose to her feet.
“Mr. Secretary, I move that we invoke the powers of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and approve Speaker of the House Valerie Jensen as acting President of the United States until the return of President Ellen Lexington.” With the motion made there was no stopping now so, up stood Rita Fitzgerald.
“I second the motion,” Rita said then sat down.
“All in favor,” Marty said. There were loud and clear ayes all around. “The motion carries and I now yield control to Acting President Jensen.” He sat down and Valerie stood up.
“Thank you…I think. My goal is to wait until the President is back here in Washington then I’ll resign my seat in the House, pack up and go back to Michigan. But if there’s something that needs doing, I’ll do it and I’ll take full responsibility. None of you should be tarred by my brush.”
“That’s nice of you to say Madam Acting President but we’re all done for. All of our resignations will follow a few each month,” Louise Chen remarked.
“I would hope not,” Valerie said.
“It is the nature of the beast Madam Acting President,” Marty posed.
“Perhaps but on another note. Madam Acting President is getting old very fast. In public I’ll maintain the title but in here I’ll ask that you call me Valerie.”
“Very well,” Marty said. “So, Valerie, you need to make a statement acknowledging what we did here today.”
“You’re right. Wendy, set up a briefing for the press in half an hour.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“We need to do one more thing,” Marty said and they looked at him and wondered what…then it dawned on some of them.
“A designated Survivor,” Susan said.
“That’s right,” Marty said. “Someone has to be ready in case DC gets nuked.”
“Way to be optimistic, Marty,” Louise Chen said.
“Just being realistic. Right now, we’re in the crosshairs of a missile, probably two or three at Kapustin Yar.”
“I have the perfect candidate,” Valerie said.
“Who?” Haakon asked.
‘The rightful heir to the throne…Jonathan Red Cloud.” There was a pause.
“I agree,” Marty said then everyone nodded and agreed with Attorney General Meisner’s choice.
“We need a secure location,” Valerie posed.
“There’s a bunkered location about twelve blocks away. He could run things from underground if necessary,” Rita Fitzgerald said.
“Good, get him there right away,” Valerie said.
“Do I get a vote in this?’ Jonathan asked.
“No,” Valerie said and Jonathan nodded reluctantly.
* * *
“Vladimir, what’re you doing?” Olga Berelenov asked as her husband paced the kitchen.
“I should be in Moscow under protection. Deniken suggested I do that in case the unthinkable happened but I wouldn’t listen to him.”
“Stop blaming yourself, what can happen here?”
“You’re joking I hope, Olga. We’re here in the country cut off from the world with two men guarding us.”
“Do you think there is anyone who would do us harm?”
“Not us, me.”
“Who?”
“Kulagin and his group of nutcases. Deniken is already a prisoner and they can’t risk me getting to Moscow. They’ll be here alright, it’s just a matter of time.” The Berelenovs had a country villa as a getaway from the city. He was a lawyer and she a zoologist from the University of Moscow. They spent time over the years in the villa as a retreat from the insanity that is Moscow.
“I hear something, Vladimir,” and it was gunshots from outside. Instinct was to run but there was nowhere to go so they stood holding one another in the kitchen when the back door flew open and four men came inside holding guns on them. Two disappeared to other parts of the house as two remained and kept Vladimir and Olga at bay with revolvers.
“The weapons aren’t necessary. We’re not armed,” Vladimir.
“Put your weapons down, you fools,” a voice commanded as a fifth man walked inside.
“The house is clear, Comrade
,” one of the two who had checked the house said.
“Good, now holster your weapons, take them into living room and tie them to chairs.” A man grabbed Olga roughly and the man in charge slapped the guy across the face knocking him to the floor. “Gently, you idiot. This is the Prime Minster and his wife and they’ll be treated with dignity.” Vladimir and Olga were tied up as the man in charge made a phone call.
“What did you do to our guards outside?” Vladimir asked.
“They’re dead; casualties of war,” the leader said and Vladimir lowered his head.
“What are you here for?” Olga asked.
“I can tell you my name is Andrei Nalkovitch. I am a representative of the new Soviet Union,” the leader said.
“Kulagin?” Vladimir asked but already knowing the answer.
“That’s right and by the end of the day Comrade Kulagin will be in control of Russia.”
“How?” Olga asked.
“There’s no support for Deniken and his appeasement ways. The people won’t let him give away The Crimea or anything else. They’ll not tolerate a treaty with the Americans.”
“What makes you so sure the people detest Deniken as much as you say?” Vladimir asked.
“You’re in the government. You do not hear the voice of the people. I’m a working man; I hear them every day and they hate Deniken and his ways. They’ll relish the end of the traitor president and welcome Comrade Kulagin as leader of the New Soviet Union!” The fervor in his voice and the look on Nalkovitch’s face indicated to Vladimir that these people meant business and there was trouble ahead. He also thought there was little chance that he’d come out of the whole thing alive.
* * *
“And you’re in control,” Kulagin said into a cell phone to Nalkovitch.
“Yes, Comrade.”
“Good, be vigilant and if there’s a rescue attempt then you know what to do.”
“I do, Comrade.” Kulagin ended the call and put the cell in his pocket.
“They have Berelenov?” A confederate asked.
“Yes.”
“What next?”
“We have to get to the floor where the Presidents are hiding,” Kulagin replied.
* * *
“Where are you?” Manatov asked another man by radio.
“The fortieth floor and nothing so far.”
“Keep going but be prepared. They might go on the offensive.”
“We’re prepared, Comrade.”
“Proceed?” A man asked.
“Yes, let’s go to the top.”
* * *
“They’re a couple of floors down, I can hear talking,” Trent said as he and Andy were on the forty-third floor waiting.
“What do we do?”
“Let’s go, follow me.” The two eased their way down the back stairs as quietly as possible, listening all the way. In a minute they were one floor above their enemy.
“Through this door,” they heard a man say in Russian. Trent was not fluent in Russian but he understood it well enough.
“Get down,” Trent said as he went to the other side of the door and waited. The door swung open fast and two men jumped through. Trent stabbed one in the neck and he fell to the floor. Andy froze and was shot in the left arm. Trent didn’t wait long as he grabbed the guy from behind and snapped his neck. When you train as a Green Beret, you never lose those skills.
“I’m hit in the arm.”
“How bad?” Trent asked as he looked through the door.
“Not bad, it’s near the surface.”
“Don’t wait the next time. We’re not here to talk. Kill any of them you see. The less there are the better chance the President has to survive.”
“Right.”
“Let’s go down this hall.” They moved slowly and quietly.
* * *
“What do you see or hear?” Vladimir Zhadanov asked his partner Gregori Retzlaf.
“Talking and movement one floor below us.”
“Are you ready?”
“Yes,” and before he got out the words the door to the stairway flung open and three men charged in all holding pistols. Vladimir shot one in the head then tackled another. Gregori lunged to stab the third but was shot in the chest first. He fell to the floor motionless. Vladimir stabbed the second man then turned to face the third. Though it was close range the shot fired at Vladimir somehow missed and he had the guy down on the floor instantly. There was a struggle but Russian security agents are well-trained and a quick jab to the throat rendered the guy dead. Retzlaf was moaning and Vladimir turned him over to see a large wound to the center of his chest. It was a fatal wound and before Vladimir could say anything Retzlaf was dead. The two men had worked together for five years and though agents are encouraged to forego friendship, there is a connection. Vladimir hung his head for a moment then got up and slid Gregori’s body in the corner by the stairs and continued the search for more enemies. It was a cold business but agents on both sides know that when they sign up and the life of the agent means nothing…only the life of the President matters. Right now, both President Lexington and President Deniken were alive and unhurt but there were many well-armed and dangerous men who could change that.
* * *
“What do we do?” Julieta asked as she followed closely behind Tatiana while they slid along the hallway on the forty-fourth floor.
“Kill the bad guys,” Tatiana responded nonchalantly.
“Yeah, I forgot.”
“Shh,” Tatiana said as she turned and put her finger to her lips and pointed to the corner they were approaching. They stopped and Tatiana listened to men talking then she put two fingers up and whispered something to Julieta who recoiled but a look from Tatiana indicated that Julieta must do what she was told. The two men came around the corner to find two women standing there with hands together at their waist and simpering looks on their faces. The two men looked at each other and Tatiana said something in Russian and the men smiled and chuckled. Both women put their arms out in a help me posture and the men put their guns away and approached the damsels in distress. Tatiana had said they were running from the Russian agents and needed someone to help them to safety. It achieved what Tatiana wanted and when the men were ten feet from them, she pulled out the .38 from her back and shot them both in the head. Julieta jumped back.
“How do you do that?”
“Instinct, we kill them or they kill us. Always be the first to strike if you can. Do it before they have a chance to react. You know the environment where I grew up and you know my past. Killing is nothing to me. You’ve never experienced that but you are now so, I’ll say it again…don’t think...just kill.” Julieta nodded then looked down at the two dead men and sighed. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”
* * *
“How are you doing, Ma’am?” Dave asked Clarice who’d been shot in the arm.
“Not bad, the pain has subsided.”
“I wish I had something for the pain besides these headache pills.”
“I’ll survive,” Clarice said and laid her head on a pillow and rested. Dave went to see Johnny Rodriguez.
“How’s the pain?” Dave asked.
“Still there.” The bullet nicked the lung and breathing was painful.
“I wish I could do more,” Dave said.
“Me too.” Dave patted Johnny’s knee and went to Little Wolf.
“Feel like dancing?” Dave asked and Little Wolf grinned.
“Maybe tomorrow.” Dave examined the wound.
“The bullet is still in there.”
“I know.”
“How?” Dave asked.
“I can feel it moving.”
“That’s it then, it has to come out.”
“It could move to the artery I take it.”
“Yes, so we don’t have a choice.”
“Can you get me into surgery?”
“Yes, you’re the only one waiting.”
“What about the others?”
/> “The woman has a flesh wound and the bullet may have passed through. In any event, at worst it’s near the surface and the agent has a bullet in his chest and maybe in the lung. I can’t do anything here. He needs a real surgeon in a hospital.”
“I see, well what do you have to work on me?”
“I have an Exacto knife, tweezers and a bottle of whiskey.”
“Needle and thread?”
“Yes.”
“Anesthesia?”
“Of course, and we’ll have you prepped for surgery right away and the anesthesiologist will be here in a moment to discuss things with you.” Little Wolf chuckled then got serious.
“You need to tell Mom.” Dave nodded.
“Jozette,” Dave said and she came right away.
“Yes.”
“I need to get the bullet out.”
“What can I do?”
“Have you ever assisted in surgery?”
“I sell real estate, Dave.”
“Good, you’ll do.”
“We could lay him on that table.” After laying Little Wolf down Dave sterilized the “instruments” as best he could with whiskey.
“You should take a few swigs of this before I start,” Dave said.
“No, thanks, Mr. Dave, I don’t drink.”
“This is hardly a party, Little Wolf.”
“I understand but I’ll bear the pain.”
“Okay but you’ll need to bite down on this,” Dave said and handed Little Wolf a washcloth. Little Wolf took the cloth rolled it up and looked at Dave.
“Good luck,” Little Wolf said and laid his head down. Dave washed the wound with whiskey, which had to burn but Little Wolf never flinched. Dave picked up the knife sighed and looked at Jozette who nodded. Slowly he cut into the wound then poked with the tweezers looking for the bullet. There was no way to tell where it was without an X-ray. Was it near the surface or deep, close to the artery? He proceeded very cautiously. He was nearly two inches in and nothing so he stopped and thought for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” Jozette asked.
“I can’t find it.”
