“Barry.” Mack nodded to the senior Secret Service officer on the presidential detail. “Flip on CNN.”
“Yes, sir.”
Images of firefighters, sirens, smoke, men, women, and children screaming-all flashed on the screen. The voice of the CNN anchor undergirded it all.
“This is Tom Miller. Again, this breaking story from Philadelphia. Tragedy. Horror.” The venerable newscaster’s voice began choking. He paused, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses, and recovered. “It…appears that a large bomb, believed to be a nuclear device, has exploded in the downtown area of Philadelphia.
“There is no word from the White House or the Pentagon as of yet, but we have bone-chilling film, shot from cell phone cameras outside the city, of a blast going into the sky like a mushroom cloud. Just look…”
The screen showed a blinding burst above Philadelphia, followed by a mammoth mushroom cloud rising over the city.
“This video was taken about ten minutes ago,” Tom Miller said.
Mack stood silent. Cyndi Hewitt had restrained herself, and was wiping her running mascara with a handkerchief provided by the secretary of defense, who was standing beside her with one arm around her.
By this point, the president’s personal secretary, Gayle Staff, had come into the Oval Office and was watching with the others. “Gayle, get Arnie on the line.”
“Yes, Mr. President.”
Gayle stepped out as Tom Miller continued to speak. “Again, we have no official word yet on whether this…this mammoth explosion in Philadelphia was nuclear. But we are hearing preliminary reports from firefighters attempting to reach the scene that there are increased radiation levels in the downtown area. The intense heat, even a mile from the center, is said to be so great that firefighters cannot move in at this point.”
The telephone on the president’s desk buzzed. “Mr. President, your press secretary is on the line.”
“Thanks.” Mack picked up the phone. “Arnie, you watching the networks? Okay, I want a written statement from the White House immediately reassuring the American public of the following:
“First, that our nation has been attacked, and that the United States military will respond swiftly and appropriately.
“Second, inform the nation that the president and the National Security Council are meeting at this time to further coordinate our response.
“Third, the president will address the nation sometime later today, once we have had a chance to better assess this situation.
“Fourth, until we can assess the full extent of the damage and threat, instruct the American public to please cooperate fully with all local, state, and federal authorities. Let the people know that these officers’ main concern during the next few hours and days to come will be their safety.
“Finally, I am declaring that this day shall be a day of prayer, and for the next seven days want to ask that Americans be in fervent prayer for me, for the armed forces, for the congress, and for all national leadership. Tell them we seek to provide protection for the American people, and will seek to bring justice to the perpetrator of this crime.” He looked back at the plasma screen. “That should do it. Get it out to all major media outlets. Now.”
He nodded at one of the Secret Service agents. “Barry, mute that. We’ve got work to do.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Admiral Jones.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I need a quick briefing on the Pentagon’s contingency plans in the event of a nuclear attack on an American city. Stat.”
“Sir, I can do that. We have contingency plans for almost every scenario, from a suitcase nuclear bomb, which this appears to be, to an allout ICBM attack. But may I make a suggestion, sir?”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Sir, we need to mobilize the National Guard immediately into Philadelphia to maintain order and evacuate the population.”
“Evacuate? Where to?”
“New York. Northern Virginia. Baltimore. And pray that none of those areas gets hit.”
“Okay,” Mack said. “Order full mobilization of all National Guard units. And I want all available naval and marine forces in the Western Pacific and the Eastern Indian Ocean bearing down on Indonesia-”
“But, Mr. President,” the secretary of state tried interrupting.
Mack raised his hand. The secretary of state shut up. “Now. My gut tells me that we know who’s behind this. And we’re gonna find him, and we’re gonna take him out.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. President.”
Residence of General Perkasa
Jakarta, Indonesia
8:55 p.m.
Cheers erupted at the sight pouring onto the plasma screen from half a world away.
“We have done it! We have done it!” Colonel Croon was saying, as the officers were pouring themselves drinks, whooping it up, and clanging their glasses in ecstasy.
“You are a genius, General!”
“America has never been hit like this! We shall control the world!” another officer shouted. “No one has ever so devastated America!”
The general himself was standing in front of his desk, laughing with glee and accepting hugs, handshakes, and congratulations from the whiskey-swilling officers.
Captain Taplus, who had just arrived from Gag Island, stood in the corner of the room and forced a smile on his face.
Indeed, Taplus thought, it was a remarkable sight. But up until just a little while ago, the shot shown on television sets all over the world had surely been the mushroom cloud rising over Gag Island. His baby.
Couldn’t they have waited just a few more days? Why not at least let the effect of Gag Island set in more?
“Can you believe this, Taplus?” One of them slapped him on the back.
“Taplus, my boy. Have a drink,” said another officer, thrusting a glass of liquor into his hand.
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Not this soon. Not this fast. The test bomb at Gag was his. Gag Island was his operation. He had overseen it and he had brought Indonesia into the nuclear age. They were supposed to have promoted him at the airport.
Why had the general acted so impetuously?
Now it was as if Gag Island was of no consequence, as if they were clouding out his rightful place as a founding father of the new Islamic Republic.
This could not stand. He had to do something. He had to think of something.
“General,” he said. No response. The general’s guffawing with Colonel Croon drowned everything else out. “General!”
Perkasa looked over. “Taplus. You wanted to say something.”
“It seems to me, sir, respectfully, that if we are to fully capitalize on the events of Gag Island and Philadelphia, that another statement to the world, and particularly to the Americans, would be in order almost immediately.”
The general raised an eyebrow, almost curiously. “Captain, I have already made a live international television address while you were in transit back here. We laid out our demands for the withdrawal of international recognition of the Jewish state. And we showed video clips of the explosion at Gag Island. But Gag Island was only the beginning of this. Gag Island is over now, and we’ve quickly moved on to more advanced stages of the operation.”
The words were a punch to Hassan’s stomach. “But…”
“But what are you suggesting, Captain?” The general took a sip of whiskey. “That I show the video again of Gag Island?” Another sip of whiskey. “Excellent work out there, by the way.” He looked at Colonel Croon. “Colonel, do remind me to put Captain Taplus in for a promotion for his excellent work.”
“Yes, General.”
“But, General,” Hassan said. He could not leave it at that. “Based on what we accomplished at Gag Island, we have not brought America to her knees. Now that we have struck her, she is weak. Her people are weak anyway. America stands for nothing anymore. Her people are into their iPods and videogames and celebrity worship. They are becoming a weak, socialist, godless society like France. Perhaps you should go back on television now and demand capitulation on the issue of Israel. Strike now, General. Let them know that there will be more Philadelphias if the United Nations does not withdraw recognition of Israel.”