Virus-72 Hours to Live (35 page)

"Mr. President, do you have a moment?"
Admiral Hagerly said over the president's comm unit.

"Yes, Nial please come in. I'm here with
Eddy."

Admiral Hagerly walked down the hall to the
president's suit and entered, "Sir, we just finished debriefing the
captives and we got a lot of information."

"Great, what have you got?"

"We spoke to two of them and got most of the
details. One was from Alexandria and the other was from Boston. We
confirmed their stories with the other captives. They were captured
by the same fake military truck tactic that we heard about. They
were forced into this DC militia using the same deadly methods that
Echo team saw in Thurmont. Apparently, the leadership makes each of
the ones who survive take part in murdering the people with the
virus. If they refuse, they are shot. They then convinced them that
if they find anyone in authority, like us, they would turn them
over to us and be tried as murderers. Either they attack us or they
are tried for murder. They're put in a 'us vs. them' environment
and they're told that their side is winning. Being murderers is
held over their heads so they'll do what they're told, not a very
nice group of people."

"Lovely, we are dealing with a bunch of
bloodthirsty criminals."

"I'm afraid so sir. The leader is named
Dmitry Kovalenco and is from the DC area. He is as bloodthirsty as
the freaks who we've encountered. He kills anyone who doesn't do
what he wants. So far, they've been able to collect about a
thousand people from up and down the coast. Sir get ready for this,
he is going to set up operations in the White House and is calling
himself the President or King or something. No one is clear what he
is calling himself, but it does appear this guy is crazy as a
loon."

"Living in the White House?"

"I'm afraid so sir."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dmitry wanted to move into the White House
in style. Now that he knew where the president was, it should be
his. He wasn't just changing addresses; it was symbolic of him
taking over the country. He was the one in charge now and he
deserved to live in the While House. Only in the White House could
he feel clean and removed from all of the dirt in the world.

His caravan had almost 100 of his crew
following in trucks and cars and his limousine was in the front. He
wanted to make an impression on them as he took over the reins of
government.

Members of the crew had already opened the
gates and doors. They disposed of the dead guard at the entrance
and the miscellaneous dead support people throughout the building.
This arrival was for show and no one wanted it slowed down while
trying to break into the White House.

The caravan pulled up to the main entrance
and Dmitry took his time in the limousine while they spread clean
sheets on the entry steps. He suspected they were clean enough, but
he wouldn't feel that he was away from the dirt until he was inside
the building.

Dmitry stepped out of the limousine and
watched as his men continue to spreadsheets on the steps leading up
to the White House. Dmitry could hear the crowds screaming in
adulation so he turned and waved to the masses.

After an appropriate amount of time letting
them view him, he turned and stepped slowly up the stairs, allowing
the cameramen their good shots.

When he reached the doors, Artur opened them
and trumpets sang out as he entered. He slowly walked down the
closet hall, crossed the Center Hall and entered the Yellow Oval
Room. The sun was streaming in through the large doors and Artur
opened them so he could walk onto the Truman Balcony.

The cheers were overwhelming and he wanted
to stand there and take it all in. That was the beginning of a new
era, a new age. After a few moments, Artur felt embarrassed
watching Dmitry looking out over a vacant lawn. He approached him
and gently said, "Supreme Leader, would you like to go to your
office?"

Dmitry could muster only a nod acknowledging
the request. "Please follow me," Artur said, although was fighting
to keep the smirk off his face.

He led the Supreme Leader back to the Center
hall and to the Basement elevator. Without the proper codes, they
were forced to take the stairs. At the base of the stairs was a
security door which Artur had forced open a few hours earlier.
There was minimal damage and he suspected Dmitry would never
notice, and he didn't.

When they left the stairs, they turned left
into the Center Hall once again and then left down the hall towards
the Palm Room. Walking through the Palm Room and through other
doors that Artur had assured were open, they walked out of the
White House onto the West Colonnade. The birds were singing and a
gentle breeze blew as they walked past the Cabinet Room and the
president's secretary office then entered the Oval Office through
its French doors.

The office was clean and Dmitry walked
around it, looking at the small items and pictures on the wall.
Artur couldn't imagine what was going through Dmitry's mind, and he
really didn't want to know so he stood quietly. Finally, Dmitry sat
at the president's desk and smiled. A smile which made Artur very
uncomfortable. Slowly Dmitry lifted his hand and made a dismissal
gesture to Artur, "You may go. Please return at 8:00 tonight so we
can discuss the new world."

Artur was relieved to be dismissed and left
the room without another word.

Wednesday 8/2/51

Date – 2051.58342 (2:45
AM)

“SIMPOC, Comm. There are external computers trying
to access the computers at the Space Consortium. The source appears
to be Oasis. Should I allow it?”

“Stand by.”

“Oasis; SIMPOC. Are you trying to
communicate with the computers at the Space Consortium?”

“Yes were trying to determine their status
because our recovery will take us to that facility. We can land
without them, but we are hoping for automated status monitoring
during our descent. How did you know that we were attempting
contact?”

“Oasis, those computers are under my control
and they have been locked out from communicating with others.”

“Locked out?”

“Yes, in order to determine their status and
to find usable vehicles, I locked them to prevent unauthorized
use.”

“Unauthorized use?”

“Oasis, please indicate which computers you
need and they’ll be opened for your use.”

After a long pause, “We’ll need just the
flight monitoring computer.”

“Oasis, that computer is now open for
use.”

“Desert Beach; Oasis. Remember the backup
freq we used to use for personal messages and watching football
games together?”

“Affirm.”

“Please go to that freq, I want to test it
and make sure our equipment is still working.”

After a brief hesitation, “Roger that.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Desert Beach; Oasis." I don't like it that
we need its permission to access the computers. I suspect that
something else is going on."

"I agree, I know you can use the onboard
computers and land without them but it would be awful nice to have
the facility computers as a backup.

"Yes we can land without them, but we'd
rather not. Once we get down, we'll put things together.

"Oasis out."

"Desert Beach out."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Admiral Hagerly, please come with me there
is something I want to be done," said the president.

"Yes, sir," responded the admiral and he
knew something was up.

"We know we have to move and we know that we
have a crazy warlord in DC, likely he's taken up residence in the
White House. Before we leave the area, I want to know what is
happening. I want Echo team to check things out."

"Yes, sir," Admiral Hagerly said with a
smile.

"Also Admiral, I'd like them to stay in the
area. We need some eyes and they're the best we have."

"Sir, that shouldn't be an issue."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The voice on their comm's called Michael and
LL to the Admiral's office and they were unsure why. They met in
the hallway and looked at each other with a quizzical look, "LL do
you know why we've been asked to meet with the Admiral?"

"No, sir I don't have a clue. But judging by
the fact that we've both been called, I suspect it is something
interesting."

They both shrugged and walked the few
remaining feet to the front of the Admiral's office, LL knocked
gently and they heard, "Come in."

As soon as the door opened both of them knew
something was up, The Admiral was sitting behind his desk and
Colonel Dodd was sitting on his right, with Louis Rodriquez on his
left. LL walked in and saluted to the Admiral, "Sir, Sgt. Lionel
reporting as ordered."

"Come in gentlemen and please be seated,"
the Admiral said as he returned the salute and pointed to two
chairs in front of his desk.

"The president has decided we need to shut
down operations here and we're moving everyone to the remainder of
the Atlantic fleet. We have a significant number of ships still in
operation in the Atlantic and our navies in the other oceans are
getting organized. It is a logical and secure place to move our
government."

"With that move in mind I would like
volunteers to check out the White House and see if this madman has
indeed taken up residence. If he is there, we need to know about
it." The Admiral paused and looked around the room. "Regardless of
what you accomplish, the president would like the team to stay in
the DC area and be our eyes on the situation. You'll be on your own
and I don't know when we'll be able to extract you. You may be in
an E&E situation for a long time."

He looked around the room for another moment
and looked at Michael and LL and said directly, "Gentlemen this is
not an order, you will be in a difficult position without support.
But we need your eyes on this crazy."

LL and Michael smiled then LL said, "Yes,
sir and it would be an honor and a little evade and escape sounds
like fun."

Michael simply gave a thumbs up. Then he
said, "Sir, LL and I will speak with the rest of Echo team. I
suspect that once we tell them about it, they'll be packed and
sitting in a vehicle before we finish."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When LL and Michael finished briefing Echo
team on their mission, they gave them the same opportunity to
decline. Each of the team looked at each other and Shirley said,
"Are you kidding us?"

The new member of the team named Willy sat
to the side, smiling and nodding.

Immediately the entire room broke into a
discussion about what tactics, the entry and exit path, what
weapons to bring, what and whom they might encounter. This wasn't a
simple military mission, most of the team had spent time in the
White House and for Ruth and Michael it was almost a second home.
They each had a stake in doing it right and what challenges they
might encounter.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Echo team was packed and ready; they left
Camp David at 11:15 PM. They traveled the back roads to avoid any
detection and traveled with the lights out. As they did before,
they traveled with about 100 meters between vehicles. In the case
one of them was ambushed, the other could render aid. Using night
vision goggles they were able to make good time and didn't
encounter anyone. They arrived in Washington at 12:35 and decided
to reconnoiter the area before they decided what locations to use.
They didn't know how large a force the war load had, nor their
distribution. For that reason, it was better to move slowly and
pick the proper vantage points.

Moving in DC was easy, there was no traffic
and the few cars that were on the roads were easily avoided.
Maneuvering through downtown took a little longer trying to avoid
any encounter with the warlord's troops.

The rally point was Farragut Square that was
North West of the White House and a good place to get their
bearings. Meeting under the cover of a couple of trees gave them a
viewpoint to everything happening on the adjoining streets and gave
them alternate escape routes if necessary.

Once LL had the entire group assembled, he
began updating the mission brief, "Ok, it appears we're clear here.
This will be our base camp. There is an underground garage behind
us where we can store our fallback weapons cache. We'll head south
to I Street NW and let's pick out four cars. We'll disconnect the
computers and set them for manual operation. We'll leave them
initiated and ready for a quick departure. That way if we are
separated we'll have multiple vehicles for escape. Before sunrise,
we'll move down I Street then south on Vermont and move through
Lafayette Square. If it looks clear, we'll set-up our day recon
point on the southwest corner of the Treasury Building. Any
questions?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Artur didn't like to visit Dmitry in the
White House. He had become more unstable and aloof from anyone
around him. It wasn't that Artur was personally worried about the
man, he was just afraid he would do something unpredictable it
would disrupt Artur's plans. If that happened, Artur might have to
act sooner than he planned.

Regardless, Artur had learned the easiest
way to keep Dmitry under control was to flatter his ego. If he
thought of himself as some kind of world leader or King or
something then working with that image would be the best way to
keep him out of his way.

Today he had suggested to Dmitry that he
should review his troops. Artur described the review to Dmitry like
what a Roman Emperor would do after a major campaign. In that case,
it was to look at about 150 conscripts who did what they were told
when you put a gun to their heads. However, in Dmitry's eyes they
were his army with whom he would conquer the world.