“We are none the wiser sir, no.”
“And no better informed either it would seem!” The president snapped at him in frustration. He took a deep breath before looking at his CSA again.
“Please accept my apology Joseph that was uncalled for.” The CSA nodded and smiled sadly in understanding.
“Andrea, you’re up, what’s the situation with the raids?” he addressed the FBI deputy Director.
“Sir, all thirty-two operations went off as briefed, we have recovered seven devices and may have solid leads on two more, all the seven we got were near their suspected targets. The others raids were either dry holes, nothing to connect the people we got… at this stage, some of the others were too far from the targets on the list, they may have been moved in preparation for an imminent ‘go’ signal,” taking a breath she read from her notes.
“Sixty two individuals are in custody, we already have their legal beagles becoming vocal,” she looked at the president and stated.
“All suspects are being kept incommunicado whilst they are interviewed; once that is done they will be put into military custody, same as Al-Qaeda.”
The president nodded.
“What’s their make-up, Ben briefed me on the groups, where these people from?”
The deputy scanned the sheets in front of her.
“Five different groups were targeted, four white radical and one Islamic extremist, most we hit on spec using information already in existence to obtain the warrants, the rest under homeland defence warrants. Three of the recovered devices were in the possession of FA people. I’m assuming their targets were New York, San Diego and Tampa. The other four were also white, loosely linked to FA, the Islamics were all negative.”
“I couldn’t care too much about the white trash, personally I think as they wanted to tear up the constitution they should have a taste of what life’s like without it,” he focused on her.
“If all there was on the Islamics was a dislike of their being Muslim then I want them cut loose soonest… ok?”
The DDI updated them all on the worldwide hunt for the devices. “The results tend to reflect the size of the country with how sophisticated their anti-terrorist intelligence make up is. Only twenty-nine recovered worldwide,” he gazed solemnly at the Chief Executive.
“Something of interest though, three more recovered in the UK, large gun battle still going on near Aldergrove airport in Northern Ireland, I suspect someone jumped the gun. One case was recovered at the perimeter; three dead and four wounded security personnel and five terrorists dead or captured so far. They had a remote control, eighties technology and Russian manufacture… according to London the timer on the remote showed it should have detonated already?”
“I assume that the case has not been examined yet, is their team from AWRE enroute?” CSA asked.
“Apparently a ferry has been requisitioned and crewed by Royal Navy personnel, as cases are recovered they are flown there for AWRE to deal with, the ferry is out in the North Sea.”
CSA nodded to DDI.
“Thank you, when it is examined we will know more, whether it is a dud or whether we got the right satellite,” he concluded.
Turning to State.
“What’s happening in London, any transitional problems?” he asked.
“The people woke up next morning with a new government; the story was that the old PM had a breakdown.”
“Won’t they wonder why his deputy didn’t just take over?” asked General Shaw.
“Unfortunately it has been suspected by some and known by others, that the cabinet was kept weak in order that that guy could feel strong,” answered the president.
“In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is King,” remarked the general.
“What will happen to him?” he enquired.
Terry Jones answered that.
“Art Petrucci is quite thick with the police commissioner there. The guy didn’t pull the trigger on the officers who were killed but he was prepared to overlook that and the nuclear bomb plot. Moscow passed him a request from that Peridenko guy and as we know he ordered the killings of the two who may have saved all our asses, in order to curry favour. His governments already fallen and a coalition party is at the helm now, so there is no question of sweeping it under the carpet ‘for the public good’. Once this crisis is over the commissioner is going to lean on the Lord Chancellor for a treason charge on top of the conspiracy to murder,” he said before adding, “Our two friends had nothing new for us, by the way.”
“Well at the very least we have our combined thanks for them, and for the ex-PM’s wife also” the president said.
The Secret Service chief cleared his throat before speaking.
“Mr President, getting back to the bombs, there are still seventeen outstanding. I recommend that the listed staff evacuate as per the existing contingency plans and we should do it now.”
The president shook his head.
“No, I’m staying. I want the vice president to go in my place but I want my family out of here. At some time in the next four days a lot of people are possibly going to die. I cannot keep secret what we know and hide. Keeping a lid on this is going to be tough enough without explaining why the Chief Executive is already in a fall-out shelter!”
“Air Force One, Mr President,” corrected Secret Service.
“I know what I meant… jeez!” the president returned in exasperation.
“Okay,” he said after a moment.
“No time like the present, call in Marine One and let’s get the show on the road.”
Despite the president’s entreaty, someone sent a text message and it snowballed from there. The public was aware of a general threat; it had been in the news for days.
The six possible evacuation sites were all military targets with reasonably small civilian communities nearby, which is to say ‘small’ as in not city sized. Fort Hood was one, the non-combatants relocated to another military facility, mothballed since the reduction in force program. Their exodus did not affect the combatants on their way to war, as the railroads were the means by which the equipment travelled to the ports. Some troops would go that way too but most would go by air and were heading to the airport for the journey east.
Heck and a small party went with their kit on the train journey in order to assist the loading. 5th US Armoured Division was to be embarked at two ports, close by to one another, separated only by the waterway between, at Beaumont and Texas City. The vehicles and stores went off on more than one train; they went in what the British Forces call ‘Packets’. Heck and his contingent were sad to be leaving America; they had all had a good laugh there, made some good mates but not seen as much as they would have liked of the continent.
Someone, probably a Rifleman or a Trooper called their unit, the Queen Elizabeth Combat Team one night in a bar and the name stuck amongst the Brits. Some of their American cousins however referred to them, unwisely, as ‘Those Queens’ on another night in another bar. As the unit was too small to qualify for a sergeant major in the orbat, the Green Jackets platoon sergeant ‘riffed’ in a series of male, and a female, soldier to face Heck’s displeasure the next day.
“LetRyeLetRyeLetRye… Mark time… HALT… Left turn!” The verdict was the same for each case.
“Do you elect my award or court martial?” None were foolish enough to elect for the latter and all received the same punishment. “Fined one dollar… march out… next case.” A US Army Artillery units commander had been present to observe and he turned steadily more puce with each award. After the last case had been riffed out, the American captain had let rip. His men had been the ones making the defamatory remarks.