‘I don’t know, not much further I hope.’
They moved back up to the fifth floor where they sat on the stairs. ‘I’m scared. What’re we going to do Brad?’
‘There’s nothing to do but wait. We can’t go anywhere! I never thought I’d ever get the spend the night with you.’ Brad said trying to lighten the situation.
Kathy patted his arm. ‘Don’t get your hopes up! How’s your arm, is it sore?’
Brad looked at the cuts on his arm. ‘No, it’s fine. Let’s just try to figure out how we’re going to get someone’s attention. Pity about the phone.’
Darkness descended rapidly. Brad flicked the light-switch on the wall and was not surprised to find no power. ‘Hmmph..looks like an early night, and it’s getting cold. Wonder why?’
They could hear the muffled sounds of Vetos outside and they shivered with apprehension. They were wearing light clothing as it was summer in Washington, but the temperature was dropping and the cold was beginning to bite into them, and without food or water Brad realised they were in for a long and uncomfortable night. How long could they remain there without those things? The evening temperature at this time of year usually fell to around sixty degrees, but for reasons he could not explain, he was sure it less than thirty degrees.
Brad looked at his watch and was just able to see the iridescent dial in the fading light. 5.05pm. They faced fourteen hours of darkness!
Brad sensed a change in the sounds from below. Leaving Kathy on the stairs, he fumbled his way down in the dark until he reached the water level. The water had risen to the top of the fourth floor! For a moment his heart seemed to stop, then it began to thump in his chest. This was impossible! Four floors! That must mean the entire city was flooded with over fifty feet of water! He bumbled his way back up to Kathy and told her the bad news.
Kathy’s soft cries gave way to an anguished sobbing. ‘If only I’d listed to you Brad. We wouldn’t be in this mess!
It’s all right. It’s not your fault. We’ll be okay.’
Kathy was amazed and thankful for Brad’s strength. She thanked God he did stay, or she would have been on her own.
They huddled together in a corner. The delicious smell of her perfume stirred Brad’s senses as he held her in his arms, and his fantasy about having her all to himself had come true, but not exactly how he had planned it.
Thin shards of light penetrated Brad’s eyes. It had been a long miserable night. Kathy stirred as he extracted himself from her grasp. The muscles in his body ached from lying on the hard landing floor. He fingered the stubble on his chin and ran his fingers through his long fair hair. His mouth was dry and his teeth felt furry, he wished he had a toothbrush.
‘What time is it?’ She mumbled.
‘Six forty-five.’
‘It’s so cold. I must look a mess.’ Kathy said patting her own hair. ‘God, what I wouldn’t give for a coffee!’
Brad’s mind was racing. He had to figure a way to attract attention or they could die in here. Who knows how long the flood would remain? He looked at the high windows with anguish. Even if he lifted Kathy onto his shoulders, they were out of reach. Besides, they could signal until they were blue in the face, nobody would see them unless they could break the window and wave. Maybe his father would come looking for him, if he were able. It could be days before anyone could even get near the building, and they would not be able to get in until the water level fell. He trembled at the prospect of spending more nights like the previous, and the hopelessness of their situation began to overwhelm him. He hung his head and closed his eyes. The child inside him began to sob but the man he was held back the emotion, for now.
Chapter Forty-four
Mt Rockwell
General Worth was seated in the operations room inside Mt Rockwell surveying the disastrous scene over the capitol. The Washington obelisk speared out of the new sea, it’s slender tapering sides resembling a knife thrust from the depths, a lonely sentinel over a sunken city. He couldn’t quite come to grips with the devastation revealed by the long range cameras. Nothing was left, no building, no trees, nothing but the Monument. As the dam and barricades collapsed the sea rushed in creating it’s own tsunami that wiped out everything in it’s path. The warnings had come but most people believed they could escape, and waited until it was too late.
The President, his family and staff, and most of the Government leaders and their families had fled to Mt Rockwell at the first warning. Large contingencies of army, marine, air force personnel and police made up the other survivors inside Rockwell. Anyone out of uniform or unable to supply Government identity cards were denied access to the new city. Riots outside the entry points had been dispelled by armed service men, and many civilians were wounded or killed in the process.
President Walker sat pensively in the oval office of his luxury quarters where no expense had been spared in duplicating the original room of the White House. He knew his shortcomings, the least of which was his youthful appearance, even though he was nearing his fiftieth birthday, but now the frown lines on his thin face had deepened into chasms, kissing goodbye that last flush of youth forever, turning him into a washed-out shell. Suddenly the enormous responsibility of his office seemed too much to bear. He looked at the expensive leather armchairs and antique furniture and almost laughed out loud. All the wealth, power and prestige he had so eagerly sought now faded into meaninglessness. He had run like a fox to ground when the alarms were given, and he felt like a coward when reports of the deaths and destruction began filtering through the system. His duties had almost been reduced to zero, when everything had stopped and the army took over.
He shook his head. He was still the ‘Chief’ and there were things to be done. The thought of going back into the operations room sent shivers up his thin spine, as scenes of the starkly terrifying sea lapping at their city, flickered through his fuddled brain like reruns of an old silent movie. It didn’t seem real. He picked up a gilded framed photo of his wife and two sons that had been taken on the last holiday at Martha’s Vineyard three years ago.
Thats when the abuse took over, the jealousy and the beatings. It was just after he had given the order to execute three terrorists they had been holding on suspicion, without trial, an order that could only be given by the World Government. It was impetuous and ill advised and could have cost him his presidency if made public knowledge. Instead they staged a riot in which the three terrorists, who were reportedly the ring leaders were killed during the efforts to quell the rioters. A few days later amid the uproar from the press and questions by the World Government he had returned home to drown his worries with alcohol, which usually loosened him up, and after a few too many he confessed his part in the fiasco to his wife.
His marriage to Cassandra had been one long battle of wits, both being headstrong they clashed on about every decision that involved their private lives. Cassandra saw this episode as one that could give her the upper hand to force her husband to agree to her every wish, and she foolishly threatened to expose him. He reacted in a way that shocked them both, he retaliated by lashing out with his fists to show her she could not intimidate or control him. From then on they both lived in fear of each other’s wrath, and Cassandra knew he would kill her rather than face the retribution of the World Government.
How would he control this beautiful but headstrong woman now that the privacy of the White House had gone? He raised his long lean body awkwardly from the chair and made his way slowly to the door, and was surprised to find the outer office unmanned by the usual security force. He squared his shoulders and marched over to a speaker phone on the wall and summonsed his driver to take him to the operations room.