WAR (9 page)

              President Rand says, “Permission given to do whatever required. Get everything you can to the city.”

              The CNO says, “Mr. President, we have DDG 113, the John Finn, in the Pacific; she can have Tomahawks on target in 60 minutes. Sir, we need to either select a specific target or have a forward observer on site to mark targets for the Tomahawks, we don’t want to strike a hotel filled with people.”

              “Commandant, when can you get a forward observation team into the city?”

              “Mr. President, we can land a team at the east end of the city in ten minutes, they’ll have to work their way to the west end which can take them an hour.”

              “Commandant, get them moving. I don’t want to fire cruise missiles without eyes on the ground. The Admiral is right, firing blind can yield a high collateral damage toll on our people.”              

              The CNO adds, “Sir, we could target the Russian base camp versus their positions in the city. We can hit their camp with sub-munitions. We can damage their supply dump which should slow their forward progress.”

              “Excellent idea. Why didn’t you suggest it up front?”

              “Because we didn’t know where their base was until the Aurora and the drone overflew it. It’s safer to strike them in the desert.”

              “Admiral, hit them. Hit them hard!”

              The Situation Room has been turned into a war room with military staff rushing in and out of the room. Large monitors show the movement of blue forces and the Russian/LSA forces as the red invaders. Large red arrows show advances in the city of Las Vegas. The maps show dotted red arrows of Russian transports flying towards the new country of Quebec.

              An aide sticks his head into the Situation Room, “Mr. President, we have a call from the mayor of Las Vegas, line two.”

              “Hello, Mr. Mayor, this is President Rand. You are on speaker in the Situation Room with the Vice President, President Brownstone and the Joint Chiefs. Can you give us a first-hand account of what’s going on in your city?”

              “Mr. Presidents, Mr. Vice President, Admiral, Generals, a few minutes ago we came under attack from artillery and tank fire. There is a large armed force approaching the city from the West. The outlet and Fashion Center malls have been destroyed, there is also smoke over the airport. I have no idea why the shopping malls were destroyed.  I have received a call from a Russian General Chekov asking me to surrender the city.”

              “Mr. Mayor, they struck the shopping malls to get your attention. Do you have casualties?”

              “Mr. President, they got our attention alright. Yes, we have casualties. However, I don’t have a number of them yet. There is mass panic in the streets and hotels. How far away is help?”

              ”Mr. Mayor, the Air Force will begin attacks within 30 minutes.”

              “Mr. President, I think this will be over in 30 minutes. They will have entered the city by then. Once they enter the city, hitting the invaders will also hit civilians. It will be hard to separate them from us.”

              “Mr. Mayor, please keep us informed of their progress. We have a force of Marines coming from Camp Pendleton, they will arrive in force in about three hours. We have some Air Force fighters which should be over the city very quickly; we’re sending all of the forces to support you we can.”

              “Mr. President, there are helicopters over the city, they are broadcasting through loudspeakers to the people to stay indoors. I’m going to look outside to see if I can see them. Please give me a minute to check outside.” Three minutes later, “Mr. President, I’m back, there are five Russian helicopters over the city, and they just shot down two news helicopters. The news helicopters were approaching the Russians when missiles were fired at them. Both exploded in mid-air. They are telling everyone to stay indoors and the airspace over the city is closed, any aircraft that flies will be shot down. They also announced they’ve captured McCarran airport.

              “Mr. Mayor, order all of your news helicopters to stay on the ground. Any, who approach the invaders, will most likely be shot down.”

              Everyone in the Situation Room hears a series of explosions. “Mr. Mayor, what was that?”

              “Mr. President that was part of city hall being blown up. I’ve been handed a report saying Russian planes are landing at McCarran. My aide, who’s at the airport, reported that Russian troops are exiting the planes and they’ve taken control of the airport. They’re not letting anyone enter or exit the terminal.”

              President Rand presses the mute button, he turns to the chairman, “Find those damn Russian transports and shoot them down, don’t let them gain local air control. Get your fighters on site NOW.”   Releasing the mute button, he says, “We’re going to try to stop their air bridge. If I have to, I’m prepared to take out your airport.”

              “Mr. President, the terminal was full of civilians. There must be ten thousand people at the airport.” Before he can continue the line goes dead. President Rand asks, “What happened?”

              President Brownstone responds, “I’d guess his office got hit. I think we lost the mayor.”

              An aide rushes into the Situation Room saying, “Mr. President, turn on the TV, any channel, everyone is reporting Las Vegas is under attack. Panic is spreading across both the USA and LSA.”

              Turning on the televisions, the group in the Situation Room watches the invasion live. They see the news helicopter shot down, they see the city hall building explode, they see Russian and LSA airlines landing at McCarran airport disgorging hundreds of Russian shock troops who run towards the terminal. While they’re watching, they see four USA gray fighters quickly flying toward the city, three Russian helicopters are shot down in the fighter’s first pass. The fighters turn around and race to the airport where they start shooting at the landed Russian and LSA planes on the tarmac. The fighters only have their internal cannons which run through their ammo in two passes blowing up two of the planes unloading troops. President Rand says, “That’s better.”

              The Air Force General says, “Sir, the F15s will land at Nellis where we’ll arm them with bombs, they should be back in the air within forty-five minutes. The B2 and B3 will be over the city any minute.”

              The group watches the four gray fighters turn to the north with five smoke trails chasing them. Someone in the room says, “MANPADS!” The fighters release flares, three of the missiles follow the flares, two small missiles pass the flares following and striking one of the F15s. “That was an expensive loss,” says the Vice President. “I thought we had better defenses against MANPADS.”

              General of the Air Force says, “Sir, the two F15s were on a training flight we ordered them to fly at their max speed to Vegas, they weren’t carrying our latest weapons or defensive systems. The next wave will do better.”

              President Rand says, “Well the entire country now knows we’re under attack. Schedule time for me to address the nation in thirty minutes. Get me Grameniko on the hot line, I think it’s time to have a discussion with him. Chairman, put us on DEFCON 1, all forces.”

              “Yes sir, DEFCON 1, all forces.”

              “General, set Threatcon Delta at all bases.  Permission is granted to engage all submarines off our coasts. Close the air space over the country, I want every civilian airplane grounded or shot down. I want to teach the Russians and liberals they just made the biggest mistake possible by invading and taking American lives. Strategic Command, get the nuclear forces ready for action. Load the B2s with nukes, permission to arm the few prototype B3s is approved. Inform all strategic commands the strategic target is Russia.”

              People start running in and out of the Situation Room, the Secret Service enters saying, “Mr. Presidents, you have to go to the war bunker. It’s not safe here. Under DEFCON 1, you have to be in a secure bunker.”

              “We’re going.”

              Both Presidents, the Vice President and the Chairman go to the White House War Room bunker buried under the White House. The bunker under the White House has been expanded in the previous ten years. There are also hardened bunkers for the executive branch, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, all are connected via an underground mass transport system tunneled under Washington. The underground government bunker system has hidden exits that connect with the Andrews Joint Use Base, one that connects with the underground bunker at the Pentagon and one that connects with the underground bunker at the NSA.

As they’re leaving the Situation Room, the television stations show a series of explosions from precision bombs from the B2 and B3 flying high over the city. A minute later the television shows a wall of fire among a group of the Russian troops as the two US bombers dropped napalm on the Russians followed by four cruise missiles flying over the Russian camp dropping softball sized explosives which destroy most of the camp. Some of the aides cheer the pictures. A general yells, “Stop that, this isn’t a football game, this is war, people are dying out there.”

The CNO calls the captain of the USS John Finn, “Captain can you target the runways at McCarran with Tomahawks?”

“Yes sir, we can have two over the runways within sixty minutes.”

“Captain, you have weapons free, take out the runways and close the airport. Do NOT, repeat do NOT hit the terminal.”

“Yes sir.”

@@@@@

              Sean’s cell phone rings, looking at the caller ID he thinks,
Why is my producer calling me tonight? I might as well take it and see what he wants.
“Hello Phil, what’s up?”

              “Sean, haven’t you seen the news?”

              “Honestly, no. I just boarded a government flight to D.C.  I was reading and preparing for a breakfast meeting tomorrow with Rash.”

              “Sean, I assume the plane has a TV, I think you should turn it on ASAP. I don’t think you’ll be having your breakfast with Rash tomorrow, in fact, they want you back here at the station right now. They want you on the air as soon as possible.”

              “Huh, what’s going on?”

              “Sean, in a single word, invasion.”

              “Who did we invade?”

              “NO, we’ve been invaded! We’re at war.”

              Before Sean can react, the pilot says, “Sir, I have to ask you to fasten your seatbelt, we’re ready to taxi, we should be in D.C. in ninety minutes.”

              Turning on the TV Sean sees the pictures from Las Vegas, he says, “Oh my God. When did this happen?”

              “Less than an hour ago, we need you on the air as soon as you arrive.”

              “I’m on a plane to D.C., Joan and Ted are with me, we’re taxing from the gate, I’ll land in ninety minutes?”

              “Where are you staying in D.C.?”

              “At the White House.”

              “You better check on that. We’ve booked you a suite at the D.C. Hilton in case the White House is closed tonight. Can you call into to the station from the plane? We need to get you on the air as soon as possible.”

              Sean presses the ‘call button’ over his seat, a flight attendant, who's really a sergeant in the US Air Force, responds, “Sir, what do you need?”

              “Can I use my phone in the air?”

              “Yes sir, we also have a full communications suite on board. Once we’re wheels up, I’ll be happy to show it to you. We have a communications tech on board who can connect you to anyone.”

              “Thank you. I’d like to speak with Rash, who is at the White House and then connect to my station.”

              “Sir, we can connect you to the White House right now. There’s a phone handset in the seat back in front of you. When the green light on the handset flashes pick it up, you’ll be connected to the White House switchboard.”

              “Thank you.”

              Two minutes later, the green LED flashes on the handset, Sean picks the handset up, he hears, “White House Switchboard.”

              “This is Sean Hannd on a US Air Force plane, can you connect me to Rash Linebacker?”

              “Mr. Hannd, yes sir, please hold for Mr. Linebacker.”

              “Sean, I assume you’re on the plane.”

              “Sure am. What the hell is going on? Who’s attacking us? How bad is it? Have we struck back?”

              “I’ll fill you in on everything when you land. I’ll have a car waiting for you at Andrews. I’ll fill you in on everything we know. By the way, don’t be concerned by your escort, you’ll have two armed fighters flying escort for you on your way here.”

              “Fighters?”

              “Sean, the air space is closed for all commercial flights. We don’t know where they’re going to strike next. The fighters are there for your protection. I’ll send you a briefing paper to the communications center on the plane.”

              “Can I use it for broadcast?”

              “You’ll see the parts which are clearly marked secret, those cannot be broadcast.”

              “I understand.”

              “I’ll see you in ninety minutes.”

              While Sean and Rash are finishing their chat, Sean feels the plane take off; looking out the window, he sees two F15s slide next to his flight. He waves at the pilot from his window. The F15 wags his wings to show he saw the wave. Sean notices the fighter is armed with live missiles, versus the blue painted training rounds he usually sees the fighters carry. The flight attendant hands Sean an envelope marked SECRET in red.

              “Thank you.”

              “Sir, the communications console is ready when you are.”

              “Thank you, I want to read this first.”

              Reading the ten single-spaced typed pages Sean shakes his head. He takes out his pen making notes in the margins of the report. He gets up from his seat, as the plane hits a pocket of rough air. Sean has to hold on to each seat as he makes his way to the rear of the plane where the communications console and technician are waiting for him. Sean says, “Hi, I’m Sean Hannd.”

              “Yes sir, I recognize you. How can I be of assistance to you?”

              “Can you connect me to my station?”

              “Sir, I could connect you to the Kremlin if requested.”

              Nodding, Sean replies, “I would like to be connected to my station in D.C., here’s the private number for the control room.”

              “Sir, we already have that number.”

              Wondering how they have the number Sean nods his head in agreement. A moment later, the tech nods his head handing Sean a handset. “Hello, this is Sean.”

              “Sean, Phil here, we’re going to put you on the air in five minutes. Are you up on the situation?”

              “Yes, I have been given a briefing by the White House.”

              “In which case, you’re on in two minutes, I’ll count down from twenty seconds; twenty, nineteen, eighteen….”

              “Ladies and gentlemen, Sean Hannd is on a US Air Force airplane on his way to Washington, D.C., he’s personally been briefed on the current situation by the White House, as such, we’re going to interrupt our normal program and bring Sean into the discussion. Now joining the Bill O’Really show is Sean Hannd on board a US Air Force plane.”

              Bill says, “Sean thank you for joining us. You must really rate to be on an Air Force plane. Who’s on it with you?”

              “Bill, two of my crew and myself are the only passengers. I was invited to join Rash for breakfast at the White House when the current situation developed. I’ve been given a briefing paper prepared by the White House.”

              “Sean, can you share the details with our viewers?”

              “Bill, most of it. We’ve been invaded by the LSA and their ally, the Russian Federation. They snuck troops and equipment into California where they staged an attack against Las Vegas, Nevada. We were caught by surprise. The Navy and Air Force have struck their base camp which is about 12 miles to the southwest of the city. The Russians have taken over McCarran airport. The premium outlet and Fashion Center malls were both attacked and are burning out of control. The City Hall building has been destroyed while the Mayor and City Council were inside discussing the situation.”

              Bill asks, “Sean, any word on civilian causalities?”

              “Not yet. They don’t seem to be going after civilians, they seem to want to hold them hostage in the hotels on the strip.”

              “Why would they want to hold the civilians hostage?”

              “I’d bet Bloomberg is doing it so he has something to exchange for their power being turned back on.”

              “That makes perfect sense. I wonder if President Rand will accept the exchange.”

              “I doubt it. I heard from a close friend that President Brownstone is in the White House advising President Rand. Those two are going to look for blood.”

              “Sean, I’d hate to have to go against those two. I’m concerned that President Brownstone will use weapons of mass destruction against the LSA and the Russian Federation.”

              “Bill, I don’t think they’ll use nukes against the LSA, those were our people, they didn’t have anything to do with the attack on our children. Bloomberg and his henchmen in the DepLIES pulled it off. If I were President Bloomberg, I’d be worried about an assassination team coming after me. There are still plenty of rumors that President Brownstone sent a team to Moscow to kill President Puten. In the twelve years since he died from an accident, no one has broken their silence, nor have the Russians ever released any information on what killed President Puten.”

              “Sean, I’m sure you agree, the United States doesn’t employ wet works teams. That’s something from the cold war. The Soviet Union used them to take out their enemies. I could understand the Russians or Cubans, most of the Latin American countries and even some of the Middle Eastern countries, but not us. That’s something we haven’t done since the early 1960’s. There’s no way we killed President Puten. We didn’t do it then, there’s no way we would revert to using a hit team now.”

              “Bill, I want to agree with you. It’s just that when President Brownstone and Cruise were in office, a lot of heads of state and terrorists disappeared. Either we had some sort of secret weapon or our hostage rescue team, the Delta Squad, was turned into an assassination squad. If not them, then we had, or maybe still have a secret hit team. I guess they’re used for tasks that require a personal touch and the ability to disappear when they’re finished. If I were Bloomberg, I’d look for a hiding spot where no one could find me.”

              “Sean, can you say where you’re headed and why you’re on an Air Force plane?”

              “Bill, I’m on an Air Force plane because the air space over the country is closed. I was invited to the White House, the quickest and easiest way to get me from Burlington, North Carolina to Washington, D.C., was via air. I’ll be landing in about an hour.”

              “Do you know why you were asked to come to the White House?”

              “Bill, I wasn’t told. Rash invited me to join him for breakfast in the White House. He didn’t give me any details.”

              “Sean, before we let you go, did you happen to catch your friend Wolf on television earlier?”

              “Yes, I thought he knew better than to say the things he did on public television. I feel sorry for him. Either he was following a script given to him by Bloomberg or he’s crazy for shooting his mouth off the way he did. He could have placed himself in serious danger.”

“Have you considered reaching out to him?”

              “I was going to until I heard his remarks this evening.”

              “Have a safe trip,” Bill says as they both hang up.    

              When Sean and his staff arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, the driver has a message waiting for him. His producer and the CEO of Wolf Network News asked him to come to the studio before going to the White House. Sean asks the driver of the black Tahoe that’s waiting for him to take him to the D.C. Wolf News studio. The driver replies, “Sir, Rash asked me to hand you this note. He said you may want to be taken to your studio first. He said he’s sorry he couldn’t make it to the airport. He’s tied up in a meeting. He asked me to stay with you and take you to the House after your program this evening. He’ll join you for breakfast.”

              “Thank you, please take the three of us to our studio.”  

              Sean faces Joan and Ted, “Guys, I know I promised to drop you off at Dulles, however, I’ve been asked to go to the studio.  Since the two of you have been with me on the entire program I’d like you to accompany me. I promise to have you dropped off at Dulles after we see what’s going on.”

              Joan and Ted nod in their agreement.

              Arriving at the studio Sean is met at the curb by his producer, “Sean I hope you’ve brought a tie, because there’s no time for you to change. You’ll get a quick make-up and you’re on the air.”

              Sean jogs into the studio holding his tablet full of notes he’s written in the limo. Make-up brushes his face with blush as he clips on his mic. Within four minutes of entering the network offices, he’s on the air. “Good evening America, this is Sean Hannd. Tonight is a special program, ‘America invaded.’ We’re going to look at the images from Las Vegas that are happening live. All we know at this time, is two hours ago a Russian armored battalion opened fire on Las Vegas. At the same time, Russian and LSA commercial airliners landed at McCarran International Airport, on board these planes were Russian shock troops. They captured the control tower and terminal. Additional troops landed every ten minutes before American fighters zoomed in and strafed the troop carrying airliners. The Las Vegas city hall has been destroyed as has the Fashion Center shopping mall and the Las Vegas Premium Outlet Mall. While no official casualty numbers have been released, we know from reviewing the images that hundreds, if not thousands, are dead or injured. Getting real-time images from Las Vegas has been very hard, the Russians shot down three news helicopters. The Rand administration has closed the airspace over the United States. We have rumors from southern Nevada saying five commercial airliners inbound to Las Vegas have been shot down in transit to Las Vegas. We have phone contact with a few local residents, first on the line is Jack.”

              “Jack, what can you see or hear?”

              “Sean, I live just off the strip, there have been many explosions. The sky is filled with the reflections of fires along the strip. I’ve heard gun shots on the strip. I also heard tanks. Two went past my house about twenty minutes ago. I belong to the North Vegas Militia, when I hang up, my brothers, sisters and I are going to counter-attack the Russians.”

              “Jack, is that safe?”

              “Someone has to fight them red bastards.”

              “Jack have you seen any American forces in the city?”

              “I’ve heard fighters over the city. One of my brothers-in-arms told me all of the Russian helicopters were shot down. The Russians have fired a lot of surface-to-air missiles at our fighters. I don’t know if they hit any or not. About ten minutes ago I watched four smoke trails chase one of our fighters to the horizon. I don’t know what happen to the fighter.”

              “Has there been any notices or information given to the people of the city from the Russians?”

              “They jammed our local television after telling us to stay indoors. They said if we stay inside we won’t be hurt. If we’re found outside, we’ll be killed.”

              “Jack, don’t you think it’s a good idea to stay in your home?”

              “Sean, you’re a brave and good American, so are we. We’re going to bring hell’s fury to the Russians. Sean, if I don’t make it, these are my last words, hear my voice America. Don’t let the invaders win! There are hundreds of millions of us armed, join us. Join us fighting the red bastards. We haven’t been invaded since 1812. We pushed the British out then, we can push the Russians out now. America, join us. Rise up and help us push the invaders off of our land!”

              “Jack, I really don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m sure our military is going to launch a counter attack. If you’re in the middle you’re going to catch fire from both sides.”