"I tend to agree with this course of action," Marianne Templeton said. "If this isn't inbound, an overreaction on our part will unnecessarily panic the public."
Sarah Kestler stood up, scowling with pursed lips. She always wore a severe-looking face, but this new look gave her an entirely new dimension of seriousness.
"Nobody is suggesting that we shut down FedEx and UPS, or confiscate every package delivered within the last week. Some basic steps are prudent. It sounds like the virus could already be here. The European cells vanished within the last four days, right?"
"So it appears from the foreign law enforcement reports," Shelby said.
"Al Qaeda isn't going to wait for us to gather the next report. Four days ago? Give them a day to consolidate the virus at the shipping facility, maybe another day to pack and ship. Until proven otherwise, I recommend that we start taking steps based on the assumption that U.S. based Al Qaeda cells are in possession of fifty-eight bioweapons canisters. Or at least someone is in possession of these weapons. Given the fact that they abandoned Europe, likely in response to the news pouring out of the Kola Peninsula, I don't think they plan to sit around and stare at the canisters for very long. This is a bold plan that took years to coordinate. They're shifting tactics and strategy quickly. Frankly, I'd be surprised if they hadn't already carried out their mission here. We need the National Guard and local law enforcement out protecting our water supply right now. European authorities didn't waste any time securing and testing their water supplies."
"It's just that once we start this ball rolling, it'll be hard to stop," the secretary of Homeland Security added.
"She's right. Once we start making calls at the state level, this thing will take on a life of its own," the Health and Human Services secretary said.
"I think we'll have much bigger problems if Al Qaeda manages to release the virus. Each canister can poison a city," Kestler said.
"Our intelligence indicates that they would use more than one per city," the CIA director added.
"Fair enough. Twenty cities…even one city will create an unstoppable panic, well beyond any scare caused by preparing for an attack. It sounds like the right steps are being taken by every agency at the federal level. I just think it's time to get local and state authorities involved. We need to start securing water supply points and testing water."
"Does anyone firmly disagree with this strategy?" the president asked.
"I still think we should wait until the threat is confirmed. If we immediately take the steps that Ms. Kestler recommends, we have to raise the threat level to Red. There is no going back from there. It has only been done once since 9/11."
"I can live with that," Kestler said.
"You don't have to deal with the impact on the nation's transportation system, airports, borders…this goes far beyond just sliding the color over to Red."
"Just one successful attack will change the nation forever, Mr. President. This has the potential to make 9/11 look like a pipe bomb," Kestler replied.
Shelby liked the way she thought and acted. No nonsense, action oriented.
"All right. Ms. Kennedy?" the president said.
"Sir?" said Sandra Kennedy, the deputy secretary of defense, leaning her head inward to make eye contact with the president.
"Let's activate the Army National Guard and Army Reserve immediately. Do whatever needs to be done to coordinate with each state. Make sure they understand that this is a nationally directed deployment."
"Understood, Mr. President."
"If we're lucky, we'll find out in a few hours that the virus never left Europe. I'm willing to deal with the fallout of putting the Guard and the appropriate government agencies on high alert. The situation in Monchegorsk is a nightmare. Even before Russia's unforgiveable wholesale slaughter of the population, it was—"
"Unverified at the moment," the secretary of state interrupted.
"It's been verified, Colin. However, I understand your concerns regarding the Russians," he said, shooting the secretary of state a harsh look.
"Marianne, let's move the Homeland Security Advisory System threat level to Red. Severe risk of attack," the president decided.
The president started going down the line, tasking the members, but Shelby was distracted by an alert on the built-in tabletop computer monitor in front of him. The monitor at his seat had been configured for him to send and receive intranet traffic from his own office to provide a way for his staff and immediate subordinates to pass him information while he was stuck in the White House situation room. So far, the messages had been routine, intended for him to review in between sessions. A flash priority message caught his eye at the top of the queue and all of his other message traffic stopped. He noticed that one of the president's aides, sitting at a chair behind the president, received a cell phone call. Even Shelby wasn't allowed to bring a cell phone into the situation room, so he knew this must have been an internal communication. The aide stood up and walked along the outside wall of the room toward him.
"Director Shelby, I've been informed that you have a flash message," he stated.
"Thank you. I just saw it."
This exchange went mostly unnoticed in the room. It wasn't uncommon for senior government officials to receive critical messages while in the audience of the president. Shelby's eyes narrowed as he read the contents of the message. When he shifted his gaze to the president, he noticed that all eyes were focused on him. The president had stopped talking and was waiting for Shelby.
"What happened?" the president said.
"Six of the seven suspected Al Qaeda cells under surveillance in the greater New York/New Jersey metro area were taken out last night. Massacred in their sleep. I think it's fair to assume that some of the virus is here already," Shelby said, clearly shaken by the news.
"What about the other cell?" Marianne Templeton asked.
"Missing. They shook ground surveillance and never returned to their apartment last night," Shelby said.
"Shit. How the hell could this have happened right under your peoples' noses? They were under surveillance, right?" Jacob Remy snapped.
"Easy, Jacob," the president said.
"Simultaneous strikes around 2:30 in the morning. This is surveillance, not protective duty. These groups never move at night. They follow unvarying routines throughout the day and wake up in the middle of the night to pray. We listen to every conversation they have and analyze every aspect of their lives."
"But someone can walk inside and kill them without anyone knowing?" the White House chief pressed.
"We can figure this out later. Do you have any leads? Anything that can move us in the right direction?" the president said.
"We got lucky at one of the sites," Shelby said.
Jacob Remy huffed at this comment.
"One of the killers removed his mask prematurely, within view of our cameras. We're working on identifying him. Surveillance records indicate that all of the sites received multiple FedEx packages yesterday," Shelby said.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jacobs yelled. "How long would it have taken for that information to raise an alarm? This is unreal!"
"Maybe if you'd quit withholding funds from my agency, I could hire more agents to watch these pricks…and upgrade the systems used by our analysts to filter through the thousands of reports that are filed on an hourly basis from law enforcement agencies nationwide."
"Now this is my fault?" Jacobs said.
"It's Al Qaeda's fault, gentlemen. That's it. Let's get the investigation moving with the new information," the president said.
He turned to Director Copley. "I still want your people moving on the medical supply company in Germany. Seven cells with suspicious activity isn't the full extent of this. There would have to be more. We need to figure out who hit them."