“Tell me, my dear, how do I get into Beck Castle?”
“Let me get this straight. There was an explosion in the church?” Benjamin Black was in his quarters at Walt Disney World. He had instructed Jessica to brief him immediately upon her return - day or night.
“Yeah, it was massive. We were two blocks away, and it damn near blew out our eardrums.”
“You’re saying Sterling and the regional governors are dead?”
“I don’t think so. The president’s motorcade raced away less than a minute after the bomb went off. Then some moron was running down the street trying to catch up to it. I’m not sure, but it looked like Jackson Butler, that wannabe-celebrity in The Pulse Zone.”
“What happened to Butler?”
“I wish we could say we shot him dead, but we never had a clear shot.”
“This is amazing! I don’t know what to say. It looks like the UAE is near death.”
“If that bomb had managed to kill Sterling, the UAE would be dead.”
“What happened to Sterling? Where did he go?”
“Based on his direction of travel, I assume he went directly to the main security checkpoint at the Miami-Dade Metro police headquarters.”
“Who the hell bombed the place?”
“The only guess that makes sense is the PSA.”
“This far south? We haven’t seen anything that resembles a PSA presence outside their borders.”
“Then who else could it be?”
“My guess is the man who got away.”
“Butler? He’s Sterling’s golden boy.”
“Power play? Not a smart one if the big man got away.”
“Maybe his plan didn’t go as expected.”
Ben sat for a moment in quiet contemplation. He lit a cigar and poured them both a drink. “Sterling has to pass right in front of our gates to get out of Florida. The only drivable roads lead straight here, and with McClellan crippled from the recent attack, it will take time for them to get reinforcements here.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We roll out the red carpet for our president, what else?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
When the news of the assassination of six of the seven remaining regional governors spread across the country, the Unified American Empire plunged into anarchy. At the insistence of Simon Sterling, none of the regional governors had an assistant or any kind of succession plan in place. Simon wanted total control over the selection of their replacements. With no one to tend to the day-to-day functions in the regions, nothing was accomplished. When word got out that Supreme Commander Moody had also perished in the attack, the UAE brass hesitated to act, lost without clear instruction from their Supreme Commander. Carl Moody also shared his boss’s paranoia and had not proclaimed a second-in-command. High-ranking brass looking to promote up the ranks soon learned that if they stuck their neck out too far it would get chopped off. No one dared step up to run things in case the rumors of Sterling’s or Moody’s demise were proven false. No troops were deployed, no houses searched; checkpoints were vacated, and potential terrorists were never executed. The people were not sad to see their oppressors vanish without replacement. People across the nation celebrated their liberation from the Unified American Empire.
Likewise, another group of people was thrilled to see the regional governors dead. The Silent Warriors could finally move out of The Pulse Zone and operate with impunity in the Rockies and along the West Coast. Many would view their tactics as cowardly, moving in stealth and destroying innocent lives. The terror felt by those in The Pulse Zone seeped across the nation. The Silent Warriors destroyed power plants and water treatment centers and continued their mutilation of the interstate highway system.
Millions of Americans took advantage of the absence of power and organized militias to battle the crippled Unified National Guard. They were not fighting for democracy or patriotism, but for territory alone. Fortified communities like those in the Middle Ages became the norm. Towns were blockaded and secured from outside attack. Communities waged war with each other over fresh water sources and hunting grounds. The former United States was being sliced up into territories controlled by powerful men who could keep their communities safe from the dwindling forces of the Unified National Guard. Benjamin Black’s community at Walt Disney World became the standard to emulate.
Oklahoma City was the first to barricade a large section of the metropolitan area and post armed guards at all entry points. Men and women worked frantically to overturn eighteen wheelers across roads and build walls. They sent out hit-and-run squads to engage the Unified National Guard, wiping them out and stealing their vehicles and weapons. Benjamin Black himself was proud of their organizational skills. Soon, many cities followed suit - Kansas City, Dallas, St. Louis, Phoenix, Detroit, Chicago and others.
Upon his return to Beck Castle from Seattle, Howard bypassed his personal quarters and made a beeline for the command center. He spent the better part of the day reviewing the daily functions of the PSA. The impending invasion of California was his primary concern. With Hal’s assistance, Howard spent hours reviewing satellite footage of the coastal regions where Dupree’s troops would make landfall. He also kept a close eye on the UAE’s military presence in the region so Richard could lead precise surgical strikes to take them out.
“Sir, I have some troubling news. The cruise ships are under attack from a Chinese submarine.”
Howard remained silent.
“Sir, did you hear me?”
Silence.
“Sir, the cruise ships are under attack from the Chinese. General Dupree’s flagship is under heavy fire.”
“That’s not possible!”
“Sir, I assure you it is taking place at this very moment.”
Howard tried to remain focused, but he felt reality slipping away. Throughout his fifty-nine years, he’d been prone to mental meltdowns when extremely traumatic events occurred. When his beloved Meredith passed away, he spent six months locked away in his mansion without ever uttering a single word. If not for Hal and his service robots, Howard would have starved to death.
“Sir, please stay with me. I need you to focus.” No stranger to Howard’s current mental state, Hal mixed a high concentration of oxygen and a mild stimulant into the ventilation system. “Howard! Listen to me!”
Hal’s use of his name instead of the customary “sir” snapped Howard from his reverie. “Hal, tell me everything.”
“The Freedom of the Seas has taken four direct hits from a Chinese submarine. The fourth one struck the bow just under the bridge. Captain Konkoly and most of the bridge crew were killed. General Dupree was thrown from the ship. I deployed a drone to retrieve him, and he was placed in one of twelve lifeboats the crew managed to be deployed.”
“Twelve? That’s it?”
“Yes, sir. The remaining two vessels were able to monitor the attack and were more successful in deploying their lifeboats. I counted fifty-two lifeboats from the two remaining ships. All three vessels have been mortally wounded and will be lost.”
“Max?”
“I have been unable to locate Director Harris. He is not in any of the lifeboats. The assumption is that he is still on the vessel.”
“Find him, Hal! Focus all your efforts on locating him!”
“Yes, sir.”
“This is a disaster. The Chinese?”
“Sir, I have more urgent news.”
“Jesus, Hal. What?”
“I’m getting reports from the funeral of Regional Governor Weygandt. It seems a bomb went off during the service. It appears that everyone in attendance was killed. However, during my review of the satellite footage, a motorcade was spotted leaving the church shortly after the explosion.”