Kill Them Wherever You Find Them (41 page)

"Good evening, Bill. You can see behind me
ambulances pulling up to the main synagogue of the city. It is
packed with worshippers for this first night of the High Holidays.
Our cameraman is zooming in on the chaos behind me, and all media
and crew are being kept at a distance from the scene until we have
more information."

Framed in one of the many wide screen
monitors fixed to the wall, the President was sickened to see
bodies piled one atop the other, completely covering the steps and
wheelchair ramp of this venerable old synagogue. It appeared as if
people attempted to climb over their already fallen fellow
worshippers in a desperate bid to escape the invisible
assailant.

Among the bodies O'Patrick discerned was at
least one uniformed policeman as the camera panned over the scene.
From the angles of the arms and legs, and a quick zoom-in of a few
faces before the focus returned to the reporter again, the victims
appeared to have died in abject pain that caught them in total
surprise.

"Damn the media." President Mason thought.
"They are hell-bent on creating a panic."

Marsha continued, "We are getting similar
reports all over Bill. From what we have learned from other sources
. . . "

"Thank you, Marsha." O'Patrick cut her off.
"Our affiliate in Los Angeles is standing by. Jason, what do you
have?"

"Chaos, Bill, utter chaos. If you recall some
months ago a building here in L.A. was attacked with similar
symptoms, though for no apparent reason. After several inquiries by
our station, citing the Freedom of Information Act, we were never
provided any realistic information in the press briefings handed
out by various governmental agencies. It appears that this attack
is similar in every way, except it is no accident. It's horrible
Bill."

Jason paused briefly, a barely contained look
of fear betraying the reporter's desired dispassion, then
continued, "I'm told this same attack - natural or otherwise - is
being witnessed in a number of different places throughout the
city. Hospitals are overwhelmed, more so the city morgue with
people dying before they can be transported to area hospitals.
Making matters much worse is the fact that the city's response plan
is totally unprepared for an emergency of this magnitude. The
number of gas masks, or whatever else is being used to protect our
first responders is totally insufficient. Most medical emergency
crews are being held back for the simple fact that they are
defenseless from whatever is happening to the victims. Bill, we are
getting reports from local hospitals that all medical workers and
support staff are reporting to their stations and that vaccinations
are being distributed to doctors, nurses, and emergency crews on
the ground. I can now confirm . . . "

The reporter's eyes rolled up into his head
as he dropped to the ground with a thud, out of camera view. Nearly
the same moment the scene shown from the perspective of the camera
angled wildly, then dropped as the cameraman went down. Before the
transmission could be cut, an out-of-focus view of a husky man, in
all probability the cameraman, transmitted to the mortified viewers
his mouth foaming, eyes also rolled up, body quaking, fully rigid
aside from powerful muscle spasms.

"I don't know what just happened. I apologize
to our viewers." Again Bill looked as if he were paying assiduous
attention to the studio lights, holding a hand to his ear.

"Folks, our switchboard is flooded with
reporters associated with the WOLF cable network trying to get
through. It appears that each is filing a similar report. These are
not isolated incidents, our nation is under attack. We are
attempting to get a response from Homeland Security or any other
Federal agency. As further information becomes available you will
hear it first, here on the WOLF. We'll continue to show scenes from
around the country. In the meantime I would urge . . . "

The national Emergency Broadcast System broke
through, warning all citizens of the country to stay home, this was
an emergency - not a test. The verbal and written message also
requested that people limit car traffic so that emergency teams
could reach the affected areas.

At the order of the President, having invoked
his emergency powers - instantly approved by Congress - all
television and radio media broadcasts were replaced with the
Emergency Broadcast System warning. The Internet, however, remained
a problem with individuals sending photos and video feeds to the
popular social networking sites. Spontaneous riots were occurring
everywhere, homes and businesses looted and set ablaze, often with
people still in them. All of this captured and uploaded to the
Internet.

Though the Jews seemed to have been the
target of these attacks, they were nonetheless being taken out to
the streets and murdered by mobs as if they were the enemy - not
the victims of racial genocide. Not just Jews but everybody who had
the slightest Middle Eastern appearance, including Sikhs, were beat
and killed. Originating in India, the Sikhs were a religious and
cultural group, having nothing to do with the Middle East. But due
to the beards worn by the men, coupled with their accents and
turbans covering the men's heads, they made for easy targets of the
ignorant, the excitable, and those who simply derived pleasure from
inflicting pain under the cover of mob mentality.

~ ~ ~

"Mr. President, we can confirm that every
city in the country with a population over 5,000,000 has been hit.
This is true for most countries with a Judeo-Christian majority.
There are reports coming in of isolated attacks in Iran and
Arab-majority countries as well. Though the State of Israel was
prepared, as much as they could be, their entire population along
with the West Bank and Gaza Strip has experienced a 78% death rate,
and climbing."

"Damn it, damn it. I thought we were better
prepared. I sure as hell thought the Israelis were prepared. Our
vaccines were produced based on medical data they gave us. How the
hell
could this have happened?"

"Sir, I have more." The Secretary of State's
hands shook, his voice cracked as he gave voice to abridged updates
streaming so quickly now that he was only scanning headlines and
red-lettered notations. "In Russia and China most people are still
at home, asleep. They may be able to contain the worst of it. Both
countries have called up their militaries, elevating their national
threat levels to the highest state of readiness, just short of
attack by another nation."

"Sir it appears" the strain in his voice
emphasizing the ashen appearance of his face, taut with alarm,
"that both the Chinese and Russians have activated
all
of
their nuclear arsenals. Western Europe and the Americas are the
target. The Russians are also mobilizing troops along the boarders
of the Balkan States and the Ukraine."

"What the hell are they thinking? They nuke
us, they have to know that they've killed themselves in the mix.
The nuclear fallout will cause an extinction event that will
eliminate all life - plant and animal - on the planet. Get me both
the Chinese and Russian presidents on video conference. Now!" Two
people working the Global Communications Station entered codes
needed to connect directly with both leaders, activating the Red
Lines established for instant person-to-person communications
during just such a crisis.

In response to the President's earlier
question, the Secretary of State continued, "The Russians are fully
aware of the strains which they lost nearly 13 years ago. Having
tested the samples from the accidental release in L.A., they
realized that the genetic manipulations significantly intensified
the speed and virulence of both strains - already so deadly from
the start. They and the Chinese also know we had to conduct a
thermal cleansing of the apartment building, as well as the
immediately surrounding buildings to contain the outbreak. Yes,
they know that a thermal cleansing of the Americas and west Europe
will poison their own people with radioactivity. Maybe they harbor
a desperate hope that, with the strains in the west nuked, they can
contain their own and hope that some in their own populations might
survive the nuclear winter to come. The apparent attempt of Russia
to seize the areas of the Ukraine not already under their control,
as well as the Balkan States, suggests they expect to survive and
will need the people and resources of these countries to defend
itself against a China that likely will emerge the least affected -
and therefore the strongest nation - if any of us survive this at
all. I suggest we go to Def Con Four immediately."

"To hell with that. I won't allow those
bastards to nuke us. Send a message to our submarines in the South
China and Aegean Seas to fire a nuclear tipped warhead on five of
the nuclear silos in active pre-launch sequence in both China and
Russia. We need to send a strong and clear message that we will not
allow them to attempt a nuclear strike against the United States.
Admiral Byrd will make the call as to which silos to target."

"There is no answer from either government,
Mr. President." The Global Communications Station operators didn't
bother to hide their looks of anxiety. Never, since the Kennedy
Administration, were these emergency lines to Beijing and Moscow
unanswered when the president initiated contact.

"Keep trying. I don't care what it takes.
Bring their Ambassadors here."

"Right away sir."

The president's Chief of Staff cut in.
"Mister President, we are too late. Beijing has just executed their
First Strike plan. Missiles in the air."

"Damn them. What about our tactical defense
in Europe? Blow those missiles out of the sky." The strain on the
president was fully evident.

"No sir, we can't. Western Europe is at this
moment under a full bio agent attack. Our military bases, as well
as those of the rest of NATO, are declared incapacitated. Several
are under siege from the surrounding civilians who believe they
were attacked by the American military. We should consider all of
our allies as out-of-play."

"Suggestions?"

"Get as much of our Air Force off the ground
as we can. Evacuate you, the Vice-President, Congress and others
and initiate the Continuity of Government plan immediately." The
Secretary of the Navy spoke via a video feed from his car while in
transit to the White House.

"I thought we had more than two more days,
plenty of time to eliminate the sleeper cells. I was assured all of
the cells were under watch and there was no movement, no changes.
What the hell happened? Where the hell was the CIA?" The President
seemed to alternate between fury and panic. Fury was nothing new to
him. Nobody had before seen him even slightly concerned, let alone
in a state of panic. "Okay then," regaining control over his
emotions, returning his demeanor to the leader the nation needed,
"we have some forty minutes before the first set of bombs reach our
shores. Give me suggestions people."

Without the ability to intercept the nuclear
desolation hurtling their way, the ranks of military and civilian
leadership in the War Room looked either at one another hesitantly,
or just kept their eyes fixed to the carpet below them.

The Sec Nav cleared his throat, then he
spoke, "Our bases and NATO allies in Europe are down but we still
have fleets in the Atlantic and Pacific. They
may
be able to
target about 5% of the rockets already launched."

"Get them on it, for whatever good it will
do." The president seemed relieved to at least have one proactive
option. "Anything else? China has launched, Russia won't be far
behind."

"Actually sir, they did seconds ago. Our
combined fleet can't hope to bring down but a very small fraction
of the warheads."

"Com, what is the status contacting either
government or their Ambassadors? The Kremlin and Beijing can still
transmit a signal to their warheads to self-destruct."

"There has been no response sir." A man at
the communications responded. "Both governments, as well as their
embassies here, have gone dark. Marines attempting to enter each
Embassy have been met with weapons fire."

"Damn it. Scuttle the previous order to the
subs. Should anybody survive, I won't allow this great nation to be
overrun by others. I am authorizing Nuclear Response Strike
Alpha-32-Omega. Mr. Vice-President, do you concur?"

"Regretfully sir, I do."

"Bring the Football."

A Marine snapped to attention, then walked to
the President's desk. The "Football," a large briefcase required
for a nuclear launch, was laid on the desk in front of the
president. Another Marine took a key from his pocket, unlocking the
handcuffs that secured the Football to the wrist of the first
Marine, both returning to their original positions in the War
Room.

The president and vice-president each removed
thin plastic cards from their pockets, broke them, pulled out the
printed cards and read out loud the codes assigned each person for
that day. A third person confirming the correlating codes in the
Football added, "Gentlemen, your keys please."

The president and vice-president slid their
electronic key cards into their respective slots in the Football,
then took turns leveling their eyes to the scanner for biological
verification. Signaling electronic recognition and acceptance, an
LED display turned red, changed to yellow, and finally a solid
bright green.

"Mr. President, bombs away."

"Sir, I respectfully request that I be
allowed to go home. I don't want my wife to be alone." A soldier at
the Comm Station made the request in a voice just above a whisper.
Considering the absolute silence in the room it almost sounded
loud.

"Certainly. Everybody should go home to be
with loved ones. May God bless us and have mercy on our souls." At
that the Secret Service present in the War Room conducted the
President and his family to the bunker deep below the White
House.