Martial Law (2 page)

Epigraph

No bombs. No bullets. No swordfights. Just a few keystrokes on the computer, and we’re done.

~ Bobby Akart, Author

*****

A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.

~ Thomas Jefferson

*****

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.

~ President Ronald Reagan

*****

Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.

*****

Gimme back my bullets, put ’em back where they belong.

~ Lynyrd Skynyrd

*****

The end begins tomorrow.

~ John Adams Morgan

Prologue

(Nine months ago)

February 12, 2016

4:05 p.m.

Hotel del Coronado

San Diego, California

Julia and Sarge stepped out of the limousine onto the brick sidewalk of the Hotel del Coronado. Julia’s eyes immediately sought out the pristine white sands of Coronado Beach. The San Diego weather never failed to disappoint. The high temperatures rarely exceed the upper seventies, and the lows were usually above fifty. Mild temperatures coupled with less than a foot of rainfall each year earned San Diego the well-deserved slogan —
365 days of ahhh
.

“I could get used to this,” said Sarge as he reached for Julia’s hand to assist her out of the car.

“We ain’t in Massachusetts anymore Toto,” laughed Julia. She hugged him as they admired the view. One could easily mistake them for being on their honeymoon, but this was a working trip for Sarge — with some pleasure mixed in. Two snazzy dressed bellmen in their khaki pants and signature red vests scurried to assist them with the luggage.

“Good afternoon fine lady and sir, welcome to the Hotel del Coronado,” said the elder bellman with pride. “May we help you with your bags?” Sarge smiled at them approvingly and stepped back as the driver provided the bellmen access. Sarge quickly reached for his briefcase and a hard plastic case. This caught the bellman’s eye, but he shrugged it off.

“Are you folks here for business or pleasure?” asked the bellman. The bellman was sizing up the couple, another friendly salesman trying to enhance his gratuity.

“We’re only here for the night as part of the conference,” said Julia. Julia wasn’t planning on attending the Republican Governor’s Conference, allowing The Herald to pick up the high points from the Associated Press news wires. Like most daily newspapers, budget constraints did not lend themselves to flying reporters all over the country to cover purely political events. But when Sarge told her about his scheduled final day address to Governors, together with a two night stop in Las Vegas over Valentine’s Day, she invited herself and got busy booking their flights.

Sarge’s new book was a rousing success. He quickly reached number one best seller status on Amazon for his genre, as well as the bestseller lists for the New York Times and USA Today. His publisher was already pushing him to sign up for another book, but Sarge was too busy enjoying the notoriety. She knew he was not fond of traveling but book promotion was a big part of the business, and at least he was scheduled for fabulous destinations. More than anything, the trip allowed the two of them time away from their normal duties — together.

She was thrilled to learn that the conference was being held at The Del. The beautiful Victorian resort is one of the last surviving examples of the wooden beach resorts left in America. For 130 years, The Del hosted over a dozen United States Presidents, numerous Hollywood stars and even the incomparable former New York Yankee — Babe Ruth. Its lobby was a mind blowing combination of classic Victorian architecture and crystal chandeliers. Julia loved the romantic feel.

After they had checked in, the bellmen promised to deliver their luggage upstairs for them. Julia noticed a small crowd in the lobby piano bar and tugged Sarge in that direction. Portly Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey was holding court with an audience that included fellow Republican Charlie Baker from Massachusetts. As Julia and Sarge approached, Governor Baker immediately pulled away from the group to greet Julia.

“What a wonderful surprise Julia. Elizabeth didn’t tell me you would be here this weekend,” said Governor Baker. Julia knew the Governor’s press secretary Elizabeth Guyton fairly well from her days as an aide to former Senator Scott Brown. She hadn’t contacted Guyton because she had no intention of writing a story for the paper regarding the conference.

“Hello Governor, it’s nice to see you,” said Julia. “This is strictly an off the record visit for me. I am here with my friend whom I would like you to meet. This is Professor Henry Sargent. He has just published his new book, Choose Freedom or Capitulation: America’s Sovereignty Crisis.” Julia stood back to allow the two men to greet each other.

“Of course, I’ve met Sarge before,” said Governor Baker. “Our mutual friend, Governor Weld, introduced us when I explored running for Governor after Mitt decided not to seek re-election. I admired your grandfather when he was Governor of our fine state.”

“Hi Governor, you’re correct and thank you,” said Sarge. “We met nearly ten years ago. Congratulations on what you have accomplished thus far in office.” Julia knew that Governor Baker was stymied in many of his initiatives by a Democrat-controlled state house. He chose to take on a bloated state budget immediately after his inauguration dragging members of both parties kicking and screaming into the world of government fiscal responsibility. With his budget passed, the era of cooperation was over. It was back to politics as usual.

“I truly enjoyed your book, Sarge, as did many of my colleagues,” said Governor Baker motioning to some of the members of the conference standing behind them. Governor Mike Pence strolled over to them with a bottle of Perrier in hand. Governor Pence flirted with a presidential run but with a large field on the Republican side, his campaign never garnered sufficient traction to compete with the campaigns of Donald Trump, Senators Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Governor Baker paused as Governor Pence approached.

“Mike, I’d like you to meet some folks,” said Governor Baker as he extended his hand to offer the Governor of Indiana to join the conversation. After some pleasantries, he turned and introduced Julia and Sarge to Governor Pence. “Professor Sargent is tomorrow’s first speaker. His new book is a New York Times bestseller.”

“I saw your presentation on the program for tomorrow Professor. I look forward to hearing more on your examination of state sovereignty,” said Governor Pence. Julia saw this as an excellent opportunity for Sarge to discuss his book and meet some influential politicians on the national stage. She had forgotten that Sarge’s black plastic case contained two handguns. California was a zero tolerance state regarding the possession of weapons in a bar, and here they stood chatting with two of the most well-known Governors in America. However, it didn’t seem to adversely affect Sarge’s passion for the subject matter of his book.

As Sarge spoke about the interrelationship between sovereign nations and the global institutions transcending their boundaries, Julia took turns admiring Sarge in his element and the casual interaction among the governors in the lobby. What would it take to reach this level of cordial cooperation across political boundaries?

The conversation turned to the subject of cyber warfare as Governor Christie brought up the issue from the previous night’s televised debate.

“The Chinese don’t take us seriously under this President,” Governor Christie said. “They have pushed us around economically, and now they perpetrate cyber attacks upon our government with impunity. If it were up to me, the next time they pull this crap, they’d see cyber warfare like they have never seen before.”

“What are you suggesting Chris?” asked Governor Baker.

“What I’m suggesting Charlie is sending them a clear message. Don’t fuck with us!”

“What do you do? Cyber attack them back?” asked Governor Pence.

“Maybe, or more,” said Governor Christie. “What do you think Sarge? What’s an appropriate response to the constant barrage of cyber intrusions into our government, military, and the private sector?”

A small crowd gathered at the bar around the group. Sarge had lectured on this subject before.

“For many years, Washington has dismissed the need for international negotiations and cooperation on the issue, but now there is a push to develop rules for the virtual world,” replied Sarge. “The trend appears to be headed toward the creation of a cyber policy based upon the realization that our domestic efforts to secure America’s borders from cyber attacks are inadequate.”

“If this administration is finally waking up to this reality, is it because of the impact on the economy, or the threat to our military secrets?” asked Governor Pence.

“Both Governor,” replied Sarge. “For example, the Chinese use cyber warfare to obtain military and technological secrets. This enables them to keep up with us militarily, and surpass our private sector economically.”

“What is the administration doing to combat this?” asked Governor Baker.

“The interests of China and the United States are often fundamentally opposed when it comes to issues of cyber activity and its governance. The U.S. plan calls for transparency and freedom of information while China relies upon state control over information in cyberspace. So far, China and the U.S. have restricted their cyber activities to military and economic espionage, rather than other forms of cyber attacks that might give rise to an act of war.”

“What about the Russians then?” asked Governor Christie. “They’re just as bad as the Chinese.”

“The Russians are notorious for using criminal groups and other hackers with no clear links to the Russian Government,” replied Sarge, taking in a deep breath. “Russia is well known for its military mentality. Remember the cold war? It has taken nearly a decade for nations to realize the true threat of cyber warfare. Today we’re dependent on computers. Russia opened the eyes of the world to the looming threat of cyber warfare after their attacks on Estonia in’07. Now, Russia’s state-sponsored cyber forces have opened up a new front in cyber warfare. Cyber attacks and cyber weapons are now recognized as strategic arms and useful offensive weapons.”

“Do you believe the Russians could use a cyber attack as a preemptive strike against us?” asked Governor Christie.

“It wouldn’t be the first time the Russians used cyber warfare as a precursor to war.”

PART ONE
Night of Terror

Chapter 1

Saturday, September 3, 2016

9:10 p.m.

73 Tremont

Boston, Massachusetts

“Malcolm, call it off! Call them now,” screamed John Morgan, showing sheer panic for the first time in his life. Morgan was a man who insisted upon perfection. His life was full of calculated decisions, comprehensive planning, and flawless implementation.
How could I miss this? How could I overlook the safety of my precious daughter, my only family, my legacy?

Malcolm Lowe, Morgan’s longtime assistant, fumbled through his pockets, clearly overcome with nervousness. Morgan yanked the receiver off his desk phone and hit speed dial in an attempt to call Abigail.

It repeatedly rang—no answer. “Where is she, Malcolm?”

“She’s giving a speech in downtown Tallahassee somewhere.”

Morgan reset the phone and hit the speed-dial button of Abigail’s chief of staff, Rhona Jacobs. After several rings, Morgan heard the sound of applause and the faint voice of Jacobs answering
hello
.

And then the line was dead. The lights went out. Darkness descended over the city of Boston and much of America. It was 9:11,
by design
.

Chapter 2

September 3, 2016

9:10 p.m.

Tucker Civic Center

Downtown Tallahassee, Florida

Freshman Senator Abigail Morgan from Massachusetts was fulfilling her role as vice presidential nominee on the
Hillary Clinton for President
ticket admirably. The choice of a running mate was a shady, backroom process that rarely saw the light of day. Abbie’s fate was sealed during just such a meeting between her father and former President of the United States Bill Clinton. The agreement between the men was the result of blackmail as much as political expediency.

As Abbie began to perform on the campaign trail, the Democratic presidential nominee was given full credit for making the first great decision of her possible presidency. In short, Abbie was a tremendous benefit and provided a much-needed boost to a floundering campaign. Abbie’s libertarian-leaning politics coupled with her spotless report card following a rigorous vetting process allowed her to avoid the rancor and negativity that had surrounded American campaigns in the last several decades. The Clinton-Morgan combination became known as the best-rounded political ticket in several presidential campaign cycles and appealed to those four to six percent of the undecided electorate who determined close elections.

As a result, Abbie became the campaign workhorse. Her carefully choreographed schedule typically involved a breakfast meet-and-greet, followed by a day of campaign activities that traversed several cities or states. This evening was an exception to the rule. Abbie had been scheduled to take the campaign plane back to Boston earlier that afternoon, but a late invitation from musician Jimmy Buffett to say a few words at his sold-out concert in the Tucker Civic Center was an extraordinary opportunity to reach out to a cross-section of Florida voters.

Buffett, an avowed liberal who embraced many environmental issues, was a vocal supporter of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign. He offered Abbie the opportunity to share the stage in front of over twelve thousand fans. Following her attendance at a fund-raising dinner hosted by retiring Senator Bill Nelson, Abbie was taken to the Tucker Center by her security detail led by the ever-present Drew Jackson.