Authors: Arthur Bradley
As Yumi and President Glass stepped into the room, they found General Carr already waiting inside, pacing nervously in front of a long, narrow window.
He immediately nodded to the president, his lips pressed tightly together.
“Madam President.”
“General Carr,” she replied, searching his face for clues as to the purpose of the clandestine meeting.
He said nothing as her security detail came in and quickly searched the room. When they were satisfied, they looked to President Glass for instructions.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Please wait outside.”
The three agents went out into the hall and took up positions.
General Carr turned to Yumi.
“Miss Tanaka, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like a word with the president alone.”
Yumi seemed a little put off but said nothing as she turned to leave. President Glass reached over and placed a hand on her arm.
“General, Yumi can be trusted with anything we have to say.”
“I’m sure that’s true,” he said, offering Yumi an understanding smile. “However, I still think it’s best that we discuss this matter in private. For now, anyway.”
President Glass considered protesting, but the look on General Carr’s face told her to let it go.
“Very well.” She turned to Yumi. “Dear, please wait outside with the agents.”
Yumi nodded, not quite hiding the worried look on her face.
After Yumi closed the door behind her, President Glass turned back to face General Carr.
“Okay, General, what’s this all about?”
“It might be best if we sit,” he said, sliding a chair out for her and then taking a seat himself.
She reluctantly sat on the gray metal chair, finding it cold and hard.
“This must be serious,” she said. A thought suddenly hit her like a punch from J. Gordon Whitehead. “Oh, my God, it’s Samantha, isn’t it?”
He quickly shook his head.
“No, no. Nothing like that.”
“Thank God.” She took a deep calming breath. “What is it then?”
General Carr placed his hands on the table as if needing the laminated wood to help steady him.
“We’ve received word that chemical weapons have been used on our soil.”
“What? Where?” she demanded. This was not at all what she was expecting to hear.
“It occurred at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.”
She furrowed her brow, confused.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Who would do such a thing? Who
could
do such a thing?”
“That’s just it. No one outside the military has ever possessed chemical weapons. Not in the US, anyway.”
“Then where did they come from?”
“We recovered a serial number from one of the Mk-116 bombs. It traces back to a large batch of chemical weapons decommissioned more than forty years ago.”
“If they were decommissioned, shouldn’t they have been destroyed?”
“Indeed, they should have been. However, records indicate that some of the bombs were never properly accounted for.”
“So, what are you suggesting? That someone within our government or the military is involved in this attack?”
“I don’t see how else they could have gotten the weapons.”
“But who would do such a thing?”
He shrugged. “With the limited resources we have left, we may never know.”
“How many weapons are we talking about?”
“There were a total of twelve bombs declared missing. Of those, we have confirmed that three were used on the law enforcement center.”
“My God, are you saying that someone has nine more of these chemical weapons?”
“I have no way of knowing for certain, but I think it’s prudent to assume so.”
President Glass sat back in her chair and began unconsciously twisting a curl in her hair as she considered the significance of the attack as well as the missing weapons.
“How many people were killed?”
“A little over three hundred.”
“And injured?”
He shook his head slowly.
Her face took on a pained expression.
“All police officers?”
“Marshals. This attack essentially destroyed what little remained of the Service.”
“All of them?”
He shrugged. “There might still be a few scattered about the country, tending to loved ones. But the Marshal Service as a whole is no longer viable.”
Tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
“Those were good men and women.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why would anyone do this?”
He pulled out three black and white photographs from under his jacket and spread them out on the table. They were glossy satellite images, zoomed out far enough that the entire FLETC compound was visible.
“This is the law enforcement center?” she asked.
“Yes, and if you’ll look here,” he said, pointing to several rectangular blocks near the west side of the compound, “you’ll see five large trucks.”
“Military trucks?”
“No, commercial tractor-trailers.”
“What are they doing?”
“We think they’re stealing weapons stored at the center.”
“What kind of weapons?” she asked, leaning down to study the photographs.
“Assault rifles.”
“Any heavy weapons? Tanks, artillery, stuff like that?”
“No, ma’am.”
President Glass shook her head.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why use chemical weapons to steal a few assault rifles?”
“Not a few, Madam President—a few thousand.”
She grimaced. “That’s... bad, but still, why the chemical weapons? Surely, they knew this would draw our full attention.”
“Exactly.”
Her eyes grew wide. “You think that’s what they wanted?”
“I do.”
“For what reason? To frighten us?”
“Maybe. Or perhaps it was meant as a warning.”
“What do you mean?” She didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“Madam President, I believe they may be planning to stage an attack.”
“On what?”
“That I don’t know.” He started to say more but then fell silent.
“Don’t hold back on me now, General. What is it?”
“It’s my job to worry, Madam President.”
“Given the state of our nation, I’d say that worry is in all of our job descriptions. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“What if they are planning to attack Mount Weather?”
“Here?” she exclaimed. “Why would you think that?”
He took a deep breath.
“As I said the other day, our government is currently held in the lowest regard by what remains of our population.” When she started to argue the point, he held up his hands. “Whether that’s fair or not is beside the point. What matters is that there are people out there who wish to do us harm—to do
you
harm, Madam President.”
She thought about his warning before replying.
“I trust your judgment, General Carr. If you say we’re in danger, then I believe you. But surely we can fend off any attack they could muster.”
“If they attempt a direct assault, yes. We have four thousand soldiers in the area as well as numerous gunships and armored vehicles. Plus, we could quickly call in what remains of the country’s air support, if needed.”
“Then we’re fine,” she said with a tentative smile.
“I’ll agree that we’re safe enough from a conventional attack.”
“But?”
“What if their goal is not to take over the compound, but only to kill those inside? Preventing them from setting off a few chemical weapons might prove nearly impossible.”
“If they do that, we’ll just retreat to the huge underground bunker beneath the facility. Isn’t that the whole point of having it? They can’t get to us in there.”
“That’s true if we have time to seek shelter. But the attack might occur suddenly, making a tactical retreat impossible. Remember that sarin is nearly undetectable until infection has occurred. By the time the alarm was sounded, it would already be too late for many.”
“Then what should we do? Have everyone carry around gas masks?”
“While that might be prudent, I don’t think it would ultimately prove effective. Using a gas mask requires training. Also, they have to be carefully fitted to each individual.”
“Well, what other options are there?”
“The only way to guarantee your safety is to move you to an undisclosed location.”
“Evacuate?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She stared off at the small window, her thoughts momentarily returning to Samantha.
“Where would I go?”
“There are at least half a dozen highly secure locations. The most obvious would be the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Complex, near Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, they are having difficulty generating enough electrical power to continue operations.”
“NORAD isn’t operational?”
“No, ma’am.”
“This just keeps getting better and better. Where else?”
“There’s Site R in the Raven Rock Mountain near Fort Detrick, Mount Pony in Culpeper, The Greenbrier in West Virginia, and—”
President Glass raised her hands.
“Okay, enough. I get it. There are other rocks under which I could hide. But that’s why we came here in the first place. Mount Weather has a huge underground complex. I can’t see the point in leaving this hole in the ground only to hide in a different one.”
He fell silent, seeing that she had already made up her mind.
President Glass reached across the table and briefly placed her hand on his.
“I appreciate your concern, General. I do. But I’m not running and hiding. Not from some unknown enemy whose intentions aren’t even clear at this point.”
“I suspected as much. Still, I had to try.”
“Here’s what we’ll do. You work to figure out who’s behind the attack, and I’ll ensure that we take a few extra precautions around here.”
He gave a reluctant nod.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Are we good?”
“One more thing. I think it might be best if we keep this between the two of us.” He glanced at the door to make his point.
President Glass followed his gaze and nodded.
“Okay,” she said in a cautious tone. “This stays between us for now.”
CHAPTER
4
Nakai lowered the M22 binoculars and leaned his head back in the HMMWVs passenger side window.
“Someone’s following us,” he said, trying to talk over the rumble of the diesel engine.
Jeb didn’t bother asking whether he was sure. If Nakai said someone was following them, then someone was following them. He possessed an almost unnatural sense about such things, and that, Jeb suspected, was one reason he was so damned hard to kill.
“How many?”
“One person in a black, or maybe dark-blue, pickup truck.”
“Could it be someone traveling in the same direction?”
Nakai shook his head. “I spotted the truck when we left the center. Whoever he is, he knows where we’ve been and what we’ve done.”
“One man shouldn’t be too hard to clean up.”
Nakai studied his wristwatch.
“We have eighteen hours to deliver these rifles to Lexington. General Hood won’t be happy if we’re late.”
Jeb glanced at his own watch.
“There’s still plenty of time. The drive from here is maybe nine hours.”
“That’s true if this is the only problem we encounter.” Nakai thought for a moment. “Stop the convoy briefly, and leave two men behind to find out who he is and why he’s following us.”
“And then?”
“Leave his body for the dogs.”
Standing at the edge of the overpass, Mason studied the convoy nearly a half-mile ahead of him on I-95. The soldiers had stopped briefly but were once again starting to get underway. Mason had maintained what he believed to be a safe distance for the past twenty miles and doubted that they could have spotted him. Still, they had stopped for no obvious reason, and experience had taught that it was better to be safe about such things. He would take additional precautions for the next mile, as well as drop back a little further in his pursuit.
Navigating a convoy of eighteen-wheelers down a congested interstate was a slow process, and Mason was confident that it wouldn’t be too hard to catch back up. He had no idea where they were headed, but their current course took them straight toward Savannah, Georgia. Unless Savannah was their final destination, they would be forced to detour around the logjam of cars surrounding the city. Unlike Mason, the soldiers had opted to boldly travel the interstate, obviously confident that they were the most dangerous thing on the road.
Mason eased his truck off the overpass and down onto the interstate. He left his foot off the gas pedal, letting the truck coast while keeping a steady stream of abandoned vehicles between him and any would-be ambush that might lie ahead. When he was about a quarter of a mile from where the convoy had paused, he swung his truck in behind a burned-out camper and stopped.