“Sir, during a full-alert scramble, it’s always unlikely that anyone but those in immediate arm’s-length availability with the President will ever make the run,” Michael Lifter explained. “The crew of the airborne command post is chosen carefully for its ability to command the military in time of emergency. It is not really intended to be a flying White House.”
“It’s like a flying Hitler’s bunker,” the First Lady said half-aloud, almost in disgust. She moved closer to her husband and whispered, “We need to get in touch with Don Scheer and Harlan Grimm right away. We can’t be holed up too long with the damned military.” Grimm was the Secretary of State and a close friend to the First Couple.
“I know, honey, I know,” the President said. “Let’s let the boys do their job, though.” The First Lady sat back in her seat and affixed Lifter with an impatient glare.
Of course the officers and technicians in the C-3-I (Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence) area of NEACAP didn’t need a “few minutes” or to unstrap to do their jobs — information could flow from all points of the globe no matter how high or low NEACAP was flying — and in far less time than Lifter predicted, a report was delivered to him by an Air Force brigadier general, the chief of NEACAP’s communications section, and he reported that the battle staff was ready to speak with the President in the battle staff conference area. The President and Lifter rose and headed back to the conference room; the First Lady deftly moved herself in back of her husband and in front of Lifter as they were led by a steward to the meeting.
The senior military officer on board NEACAP was Air Force Lieutenant General Alfred Tarentum, the fifty-seven-year-old commander of Eighth Air Force, the major command division of the U.S. Air Combat Command, from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The chief of the NEACAP battle staff was chosen by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense based on the nature of the current world emergency, as well as by a rotation list of senior military officers; Tarentum, as commander of the Air Force’s numbered air force in charge of all bombers and attack aircraft, was the highest-ranking air power expert available for detached duty.
Because NEACAP aircraft had not been deployed on alert duty to Washington for several years (NEACAP followed the President while traveling overseas, but otherwise was rarely used since the end of the Cold War), and because Tarentum was based in Louisiana and not in Washington, the President and very few others in the White House actually knew him — this didn’t help to put anybody at ease as he began his briefing: “Mr. President, ma’am, Admiral Lifter, I’m Lieutenant General Al Tarentum, battle staff senior officer, and I have your situation report.” He did not wait or expect any other comments, but went right into his briefing:
“About twelve minutes ago, at approximately five o’clock in the afternoon Moscow time, approximately one hundred Russian bombers launched long- and short-range cruise missile and gravity bomb attacks against targets in the Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania. Some of these attacks included cruise missiles armed with low-yield nuclear warheads, what are commonly known as enhanced radiation devices or neutron bombs—”
“Excuse me, General,” the First Lady interjected, “but why did we have to evacuate Washington? Was the United States under attack as well?”
“No, ma’am,” Tarentum replied. “However, we detected and have been monitoring the deployment of Russian bombers back to bases in Cuba. These bombers are similar to the ones that attacked in Europe. Since we can’t be sure of the precise location and number of bombers along the eastern seaboard at any time, when we received notification of the nuclear release in Europe we had no choice but to evacuate the NCA.”
“The NCA,” Lifter said, “is the National Command Authority, generally meaning the President and the Secretary of Defense or their designees.”
“I know who the NCA is,” the President said, finding a glass of ice water and taking a sip. He didn’t sound nearly as irritated as his wife did — undoubtedly his stomach was causing him more consternation than events were right now. The windows on board NEACAP had been sealed shut with silver-coated shutters to block out any possible nuclear flashes.
“Then how come Mr. Grimm isn’t on board, General?” the First Lady asked pointedly.
“Ma’am, our first priority is the safety of the President,” Tarentum replied. “The chains of command are intact as long as the President is safe. If any other Cabinet members were present, they would of course be taken along.”
“We were fifteen minutes from a morning staff meeting,” she said, challenging him. “Surely the others were present or very close by.”
“Honey, let’s postpone this discussion for some other time,” the President said. “Go on, General. What else?”
“We have a call into President Velichko of Russia and President Khotin of the Ukraine,” Tarentum said. “However, both men issued statements soon after the attack.” A folder was placed before the President with a full text of the two government heads’ addresses. “President Velichko said that the attack was a response to the aggression by the Ukraine two nights ago when their fighters attacked several reconnaissance planes legally overflying the Ukraine.”
“That’s bullshit,” the President said, shaking his head. “Everyone knows those planes were Bear bombers.” He turned to Lifter, his eyes searching for confirmation.
“Absolutely, Mr. President,” Lifter acknowledged. “Armed with cruise missiles. Sources confirmed it.”
“President Khotin of the Ukraine in response declared war on Russia,” Tarentum went on, “and said he and the Ukrainian people will fight to the last man, woman, and child to keep their country free from Russian domination. There has been no further official communication from Kiev. Sources say that the central government may be evacuating the capital.”
“Where could they go?”
“The Pentagon believes they could very well go to Turkey, sir,” Tarentum replied. “As we’ve seen for several years now, relations between Turkey and the Ukraine have grown very close, possibly to the point of mutual cooperation and defense. The Pentagon has speculated that Turkey may have been accepting large quantities of Ukrainian weapons over the past several weeks to be stockpiled there in case of an invasion.”
“Excuse me, but I want to know what all this has to do with us,” the First Lady interjected. “You spirit us away in this thing like it’s the end of the world, and now we’re talking about Turkey and the Ukraine — two countries on the other side of the world, for God’s sake.” She turned to her husband and said, “I think we should put this thing on the ground at Andrews and get back to the White House immediately. We look like a bunch of chickens running around with our heads cut off.”
“As soon as we determine exactly the status of the Russian bombers in Cuba and other Russian and CIS forces in Europe and the Atlantic,” Tarentum said, not believing the balls of the Steel Magnolia. “We’ll make a determination—”
“General, my husband will make a determination, not you or anybody else,” the First Lady said.
That silenced everyone in the conference cabin. The President put a hand on his wife’s without looking at her, a silent order to calm down and take it easy, then said to Tarentum, “General, you go ahead and do your evaluation. However, I am concerned about getting back to Washington as soon as possible. Frankly, I’m concerned, like my wife is, about what it looks like if the President abandons the capital like this. The American people will start to think I’m scared, and I don’t want that. I may be able to direct military forces from up here, but I can’t be a leader flying safe and sound thirty thousand feet over everyone’s head.”