Virus-72 Hours to Live (36 page)

Dmitry was going to ride in his limousine
from the White House to the parking lot east of the World War II
Memorial. There he would get out of the car and watch as his vast
horde of soldiers walked by. Artur smiled, because that was how
Dmitry would see it, but in reality, they would lucky to get the
men to walk in the same direction. They might even have to shoot
one of two them to get them moving.

The entourage arrived at the front door of
the White House. Dmitry saw it as a line of polished limousines
filled with the dignitaries of the world when it fact it was a
mixed set of vehicles. Some were nice and some were not. As he
exited the White House, he took a few minutes to stand on the steps
and wave to the crowds. Artur standing next to him didn't see
anyone except one driver and another conscript holding the door
open. There was a pick-up in the rear with 6 men with guns. In
front of that was two cars and a large van with some of Dmitry's
trusted crew, and leading the line of trucks was Dmitry's
limousine.

Once he finished waving to the throngs in
his head, he walked down the stairs and waited for the young man at
the door to open it. The young man got the message and opened the
door for Dmitry. He slipped into the back seat and Artur moved in
beside him.

"This is a great day for the world," Dmitry
said as they were getting settled, "We will create a new world
where we are treated the way we deserve. It will be clean and
without dirt. Our time has come."

"Yes, it is the beginning of a great
day...your highness," Artur choked a little with the last title,
but it fluffed up Dmitry's ego and helped to keep him in line.

The line of vehicles pulled out of the White
House driveway and drove down West Executive NW to the Ellipse Rd
NW then into a small parking lot adjacent to the WWII Memorial
Entrance. Artur liked that location. It was at the end of the
reflection pool and from there the capital was to the east, Lincoln
memorial was to the west and the White House to the north.

Artur could see the troops, as Dmitry called
them, milling in groups with various members of the crew yelling at
them and trying to get them to move in some sort of order, with
little impact. Artur knew what he saw and what Dmitry saw were two
different scenes. For Artur to keep Dmitry under control he had to
play to Dmitry's image.

"Your highness, your troops are assembled
and they're waiting for words from their leader."

"Yes, I can see their anxious faces. They
too know this is the beginning of something grand. I will inspire
them to achieve great things in the future."

Artur raised his eyebrows as he looked at
the disorganized horde of people. They had uniforms on, but they
didn't look professional. Most of the uniforms fit, but they still
didn't look like they belonged in them. Some of the men and women
were overweight, some were tall and some were short, but none of
them knew what they were doing.

The limousine pulled onto the grass and
stopped near two flags, the larger of which had a likeness of
Dmitry drawn on it and the other was simply a white piece of cloth.
The ground was covered with white bed sheets and two of Dmitry's
other crew members were waiting.

As the limousine stopped, Artur knew he
needed to say something before Dmitry left the car, so he could
keep his ego inflated and under control. "Your highness, take a
moment and look at the crowd who have come to witness this historic
event."

Artur hoped the mention of a crowd could put
the image in Dmitry's mind and help to raise his ego to a higher
level. He was rewarded when Dmitry nodded his head and said, "Yes I
can hear them cheering. This is truly an amazing day."

"Your Highness, they are ready for you."

The crew member by the door opened it and
Dmitry exited slowly waving to the millions of people watching him.
He was smiling from ear to ear and was beaming with excitement.

Artur exited after him and stood behind him
as he took in the crowds and excitement. After Dmitry stopped
waving, he slowly walked across the white bed sheets towards his
troops that were trying to assemble themselves in some order and
parade in front of him. They bumped into each other and walked by,
not in step, not in line but in a bunch. Most of them didn't know
why they were there or who Dmitry was, but they knew if they didn't
walk by, they would be shot on the spot.

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

Ruth was laying prone on the roof of the US
Treasury building with her Remington Enhanced Sniper rifle lying on
a small tripod in front of her. She was timing her breathing and
the hat on her head was reversed so it didn't interfere with the
scope. Her trigger finger was gently pressing on the trigger, all
she had to do was move it a little in time with her breathing and
the man in white would be dead. Unfortunately, her TrackingPoint
Tracker computer sighting system showed the target at 1,190 yards,
which was near her maximum range and without wind information the
shot, would be risky.

"Michael, the creep's number two guy is the
one we saw in Thurmont murdering the people. I recognize the
hair."

"Could you take them both out?

"I doubt it, there is a breeze. I can
probably get one but if the other realizes what is happening he'll
move and I could lose both of them.

Michael knew how much she wanted to take the
shot. If it weren't for the range and risk of missing her one shot,
she would have taken the opportunity. When Echo team had taken up
their position, their plan was to observe and decide when to act.
The team had split into three recon units, the firing unit, recon
unit and escape cover unit. That sudden opportunity gave Ruth and
Michael a chance to take out whom they thought was the sick leader,
but the risk of a firefight was too great. The distance between
them and the target was open and if anyone noticed the shot, they
could have a hundred armed troops on them in no time. It was better
to wait for a time when they had the full advantage. Without the
other Echo team members, they would be at risk and they could put
the others at risk. It was best to wait and act when they planned
and on their terms.

The crazy guy would live a little
longer.

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

The Grand Review was inspiring. Dmitry felt
confident that his destiny was set and his momentum would begin to
build. Dmitry was sitting behind the ornate Resolute desk in the
Oval Office dreaming of his future and Artur was comfortable on one
of the couches in front of the fireplace.

It was a good opportunity to update Dmitry.
"Dmitry, we are doing well in Thurmont. The collection trucks have
brought in almost 300 people. We've been lucky and after we clean
them, we have a 158 who have joined your crew. As we gain others,
we'll bring them to join your army."

"I'm glad you've found 158 clean people. As
we grow and clean up more of the cities, we'll find many more."

"Do you like it here in the White
House?"

"Yes, it is like I was destined to be here.
This is a beautiful white house and it was made for me. This is
where I will live as I build this new clean world. I don't like all
of these artifacts of the old world. Please have them removed."

"Yes, your highness. You want everything
removed including the furniture?"

"Yes, it is all from the dirty time. I want
new clean things in my white house."

"I thought you'd like this house."

"I do but it needs to be cleaned."

Artur sat for a few moments, thinking about
how far Dmitry had gone and decided that he needed to keep him
happy for a little longer. "Yes, Supreme Leader I will arrange for
your crew to do as you ask."

Artur sat for while thinking about the
situation and steps he needed to do. ”I'm going outside for a
little air then call it a night and head back to Thurmont in the
morning."

"Yes you may, but do not disturb me."

Artur rose and bowed his head a little, as
he walked across the sheets on the floor towards one of the French
doors that opened onto the colonnade. He was anxious to leave and
get some air. He had already relieved the liquor cabinet of some
fine looking scotch. He had a couple of excellent cigars buried in
his coat pocket, both of which he was looking forward to enjoying.
He knew better than to drink or smoke in front of Dmitry. Both were
dirty habits that Dmitry frowned upon. That was no problem for
Artur; he would rather enjoy those simple pleasures alone than to
spend too much time with Dmitry. Dmitry was getting worse and Artur
knew he had to take care of it quickly. Once he finished 'cleaning'
the new recruits in Thurmont, it would be easy for him to march
into the White House and relieve Dmitry of the burden of
leadership.

Artur took out one of the imported cigars
and smelled it for a long time. There were definitely some
pleasures in life that he would enjoy once he didn't have to
satisfy Dmitry.

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

Eddy and Admiral Hagerly cornered the
president while he was walking back from the coffee pot, "Mr.
President, we have been monitoring what weather information we're
getting and we have a dilemma. None of us wants to stay here
because there might be another attack, but we can't move to the
fleet right now. The fleet is not very mobile or sea worthy.
Partial crews man many of the ships and they are limited to the
speed of the slowest craft. We can't chance moving into position
before these hurricanes pass by because the hurricane could wipe
out most of the fleet. We think the best option is for us to stay
here for the near term."

"How many more hurricanes are building in
the Atlantic?'

"We have another coming in now and I'm
afraid it might be a big one. We expect it to start affecting our
weather within the next 24 hours and we think it will be over
sometime late Friday. Then there is one more storm which will keep
the fleet too far out. We don't think the second one will hit us,
but if it moves up the coast it will keep the fleet far out into
the Atlantic. Too far for us to make the hop from the carrier to
Andrews then back to the deck."

"Ok, I guess we stay here for a while.
Admiral have you been able to connect up with any other military
units?"

"Sir I've located a couple of small units,
some of them could be a help and others are just logistics or
maintenance. I've told them to hold tight in their area and we'll
find a way to combine them."

Thursday 8/3/51

Date – 2051.58765 (3:48
PM)

“Desert Beach; Oasis. We’re preparing for our
return. We will launch the lifeboats in the AM of August 12 and
we’ll have to make two orbits for re-entry to the consortium
landing field. As we discussed before, we’re leaving as much of the
supplies as we can as well as the three other lifeboats. Once we’re
on the ground, we should be able to use the ground facilities to
communicate with you guys and Red Dirt. When we land, we’ll go to
the decontamination building and get some of their protection
suits. If we don’t catch the bug by then, maybe the suits will
help.”

“Oasis, we’ve been talking and decided if
everything goes well for you and you’re ok, after 36 hours, we’ll
launch one of our lifeboats to assist you. Later we’ll decide on
the other boats. We’d prefer to be on Earth as this plays out then
stuck out here.”

“Roger, we’ll love to have some
company.”

Date – 2051.58785 (5:33 PM)

“SIMPOC; Fin. I’ve been getting indications
that a large number of uncontrolled units are moving towards the
Space Consortium facility.”

“Fin, take half of the enhanced mobile units
and move them to the Space Consortium facility. Send the one we
have enhanced further with military knowledge. With him leading the
local effort, I'm presuming that local tactical decisions will be
faster than centralized control and that will give us an advantage.
Based on what the other computer said, I doubt it will relinquish
any control.”

“Yes, and be advised the enhanced unit’s
designation is Alpha.”

“Comm, do everything you can to disrupt
communications around the Space Consortium. Including power
outages.”

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

"Willford find all of my leaders and tell
them I want them in the Roosevelt room in one hour."

"Yes, your highness." Willford Peddington
didn't like being Dmitry's personal assistant. Being called his
'personal assistant' didn't mean anything. He just sat quietly and
waited on Dmitry when he wanted something. Still he had good food
and besides having to deal Dmitry who was more than a few cards
short of a full deck, it was a job and he could put up with
him.

After Dmitry's leaders had been gathered,
Willford announced to Dmitry, "Your highness your leaders are
waiting for you."

"Announce me; I'll be there in a
minute."

Willford wasn't sure about how to 'announce'
someone, but he knew that his life depended on doing something
right. He only hoped that Dmitry didn't know what it meant either.
He walked out of the Oval Office and stuck his head in the
Roosevelt Room saying, "Ok guys he's coming and I'm supposed to
announce him. I'll wait outside and when he comes, I'll open the
door and say, "Here's your leader or something like that."

In a few minutes the door opened and
Willford said, "Gentlemen, your leader."

Dmitry took his time walking around the
ornate briefing room and settled in a nice chair in front of the
fireplace. He sat and looked at his leaders. "I want armies of
followers to clean up the entire Washington DC area. I want all of
the bodies removed and burned. I want everything put into order and
the lawns to be mowed."

"Yes, your highness," Was the response
Dmitry heard from the leaders gathered around the meeting table.
They were all extremely important people and they jumped to perform
anything Dmitry desired.