The 13: Fall (47 page)

I
t was less than four hours from sunset when the last of the troops and supplies arrived in Albany. There had been no further advancement from the Chinese. They seemed to be, for the time being, satisfied with occupying the central part of the country. This made sense, though. If their main objective was oil, they already had what they’d come for. All of the oil presumed to be in the United States was between the Rockies and the Mississippi River. With no resistance other than a few pockets of militant citizens, the Chinese had taken the country in less than three days. Keene knew, though, it was only a matter of time before they came for the rest. If there was one thing he knew about a military strike, it was you don’t quit until you’ve completely subdued your enemy. There was no way the Chinese were not going to try and take Washington. It was the head of the beast. And the only way to kill the beast was to take off the head. So it stood to reason, the next twenty-four hours could determine the future of the United States of America.

Albany was a ghost town. Jennings had been successful in his grassroots campaign to get the word out to citizens. Between public radio and the Emergency Broadcast Network, word was spreading throughout the nation that there was sanctuary for Americans if they could get east of the Appalachians. Fort Benning and the other divisions were reporting in that people were arriving in droves to come through the mountain passes or up from Atlanta. There had been some attempts by the Chinese to advance on those checkpoints, but the American forces had been ready this time. More than fifteen Chao Qi Chinese fighter jets had been taken down, along with twenty or so pockets of Chinese infantry who had tried to push through the mountain passes. It seemed, for now at least, America was getting her legs back under her.

Keene had spent the last couple hours, since arriving in Albany, coordinating the defense strategy. Most of the commanders and their troops had already been deployed to strategic points within a fifty-mile radius. Keene had spoken with Jennings, who had already mobilized and sent north everything he could spare to help reinforce Keene’s men. However, he and Keene both decided on leaving a good number of men in the DC area in case the Chinese somehow managed to pop up off the eastern coast again. The Chinese had incredibly advanced radar and stealth technology. As little as two nuclear subs surfacing off the coast could do irreparable damage.

The problem Keene was facing now was twofold. He knew the ultimate target was Washington. The Chinese would absolutely come for it. And in order to get ground troops in, they had to come from the north. So Albany was definitely a logical place to set up the defensive front. However, if they were able to stop the advancement—and he definitely planned on stopping the advancement at any cost—there was nothing keeping the Chinese from another complete nuclear strike on the eastern United States. In all reality, if the Chinese were there for the purpose of the natural resources, then there was nothing to deter them from completely annihilating the rest of the country. They had already proven their intentions on the West Coast. The loss of life would be catastrophic. And that would be game, set, and match. That, Keene told himself, could not be allowed to happen. So the question, then, was how could he make sure it didn’t?

He grabbed the sat-phone and dialed the number.

“We’re all set. I sent out two recon units to put eyes on what’s going on up there. They should be back any time now.”

“Good,” Jennings said. “I just got off the phone with Taylor.”

“How is she? Everything okay?”

“She’s fine. Levy’s dead.”

Keene let that hang there for a moment. “She killed Levy?”

“No.”

“Then what? Who?”

“Alexandra Sokolov.”

“What! I thought she was working for Levy.”

“You know how it is, Jon. Loose ends.”

“How do we know it was her?”

“‘Cause Taylor saw the whole thing.”

“How? What happened?”

“Oh, it gets better. Taylor’s not your average computer geek.”

“I’m beginning to see that.”

“She followed Sokolov to the airport, where she did something completely stupid. She’s starting to remind me of you.”

Keene decided to take that as a compliment.

“She somehow lured Sokolov
back
away from the airport,” Jennings continued, “and ran her car off the road. Sokolov was thrown from the vehicle but survived. She and Taylor exchanged fire and—”

“So Megan shot her?”

Keene listened as Jennings quickly recounted the rest of the conversation he’d had with Taylor. Though he was happy that both the Russian and Levy were taken care of, he found himself worried about Taylor. And though he wasn’t sorry Sokolov was dead, he wished he had had a chance to question her.

“She say anything—the Russian?”

“Said she was sorry.”

“Too late for that now,” Keene said, disappointed that they would never get anything else out of the assassin. “What about Boz?”

“Haven’t heard anything. Don’t know what’s going on. Maybe he just decided to get somewhere safe.”

Keene had only known Boz for a short time, but he believed he knew him well enough to know that Boz wouldn’t just bail on them. Or on the country. He decided to let it go. “I’ve been thinking. If—scratch that—
when
we push the Chinese back, it’s not going to sit well with their command. You and I both know there’s only one reason why they’re going to continue to advance.”

“They need to take Washington,” Jennings answered for him.

“That’s right. And if they can’t take it, what’s the next best thing?”

“Yeah,” Jennings said. “I’ve been thinking about that, too.”

“Kevin, we’ve spent the last twenty-four hours drawing our citizens east of the mountain range because we’ve told them it’s the only place they would be safe. The Chinese have already shown that they are willing to use a nuke.”

“I agree,” Jennings said. “I’ve already discussed this with President Walker.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing. The man has completely shut down. I actually think he’s suffering from some form of shock. I’m having the medical staff look at him right now.”

“Any improvement on President Grant?”

“Not much. His breathing is still labored, but they’re saying that his brain function seems to be increasing.”

“That’s good.” Then, “Even if this works, they have to take out Washington.”

“I know it. So how do we stop it?”

Keene had been thinking about it since he’d arrived in Albany. “They could launch a small surface-to-surface missile. But the warhead won’t be that big. They wouldn’t take the chance of bringing it by the ground. Too easy to stop that. That leaves only three ways they can get it there. One, it’s already there. I doubt that that is the case. They wouldn’t have been able to keep that quiet. Someone, somewhere, would have seen or heard something.”

“I agree.”

“Two, they bring it in by nuclear sub.”

“I don’t think they can,” Jennings said. “We had those U-boats in South Carolina taken out, literally, seconds after they surfaced. They can’t take a chance of that happening again.”

“I agree,” Keene said. “So that leaves the third option.”

“They fly it in.”

“They fly it in,” Keene repeated.

“So then the next question is, from where?” Jennings said.

“From somewhere near Montreal,” Keene answered. “They’ll have a Stealth loaded up somewhere away from the advancing troops. They won’t take the chance that it gets compromised. And it’s not going to be Montreal airport because they know we can air strike that place easily if we begin to push them back.” He thought for a minute and then continued. “I need you to find every airstrip between here and Montreal that can handle an H-8 Stealth.”

“Remember what I said about Taylor doing something stupid?” Jennings said.

“Yeah, she reminded you of me.”

“Exactly.”

“Just find me that airstrip. You can yell at me later.”

“I’ll call you back.”

They spoke for another minute before Keene ended the call and sent word out that he wanted a satellite video conference in ten minutes with every commanding officer of every division they had standing by. He found a young corporal who led him to a room where the conference would be set up.

“Get me Colonel Givens,” Keene told the corporal, referring to the executive officer who served directly under McIntyre at the 101st. “Tell him I need him here five minutes ago.”

“Yes, sir.”

Givens popped his head in less than a minute later. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes, Colonel.” He gestured for the man to take a seat. “I’m giving you command of the operation.”

“Sir, I—”

Keene held up a hand to hold him off. “I’ve already talked about it with Jennings. He agrees. Listen.” Keene closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “I’m not the guy to do this. I’ve been out for too long. Too much has changed. You know these men. They serve under you. I’m a CIA agent. And I’m good at it. And that’s why I’m giving command over to you. From this point on, you will coordinate directly with the Sec-Nav. In just a few minutes, we’re going on a video conference. Sec-Nav will be on, and he will lay out the operation. Got it?”

Colonel Givens nodded. “Yes, sir. Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Go,” Keene said.

“I appreciate all you’ve done. I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t, Colonel.”

“But I also know you wouldn’t give up command like this unless you had a good reason. What’s going on?”

A thin smile creased Keene’s lips. The colonel was perceptive. “This is classified. So it stays between me, you, and Jennings, until otherwise stated.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The Chinese won’t stop, even if we stop them here. They have to take out Washington. Otherwise, we’re still a threat. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“I think so, sir.”

“Good, then I need you to find me the five best men here. SEALs and Rangers. We’re going to make sure that the Chinese don’t have a plan B.”

“Let me look through my roster, sir. I’ll have them back here in twenty minutes.”

“After the conference,” Keene reminded him.

Just then the corporal returned. “They’re ready for us, sir,” he said. He opened the laptop on the table and clicked a few buttons. In just a few seconds, several little windows appeared with officers in them. The Secretary of the Navy, Bob Sykes, was in the last window.

“Hello,” the Sec-Nav said. “For those of you whom I’ve never met, I’m Secretary Sykes….”

The conference lasted only a few minutes. Keene officially handed off command to Colonel Givens, and then Sykes laid out the plan of operation from this point forward. When they were done, everyone signed off, and the computer was shut down.

“I’ll be back with your men in just a few minutes,” Givens said.

Keene nodded and picked up the sat-phone.

“You find my airstrip?”

“I’ve pulled satellite imagery from a couple different fields close to Montreal from the last forty-eight hours. There’s only one that can handle an H-8—Massena International-Richards field. And there seems to be a lot of activity there. The whole town has been leveled. The only reason they’d hit a town like that with so much force is if they wanted it all to themselves. It’s roughly sixty miles southwest of Montreal and just across the river in New York.”

“That’s it,” Keene said. “Far enough away from Montreal but close enough to send it up if need be.”

“Yep. And listen, I can’t say for sure, but one of the images captured looks like an aircraft. It’s covered by a tarp or something. But analysis on the dimensions and the shape of it fit an H-8.”

“Okay, then. I’ll let you know what we find.”

“Good luck, Jon. I’ll say a prayer for you and the men.”

Of all the things his boss had ever said over the years, that was the single most unexpected thing he had ever heard. “I didn’t know you believed in all that stuff.”

“I’m starting to rethink a lot of things,” Jennings said.

“Yeah, seems to be a lot of that going on around here.” He hung up the phone.

Givens returned a few moments later. He had five men in tow as he entered the room. “General Keene, this is Ramirez, Horn, Kirkpatrick, Jenkins, and Foust,” Givens said, introducing the men.

Keene looked them over. He knew the type: highly trained, specialized operatives who were possibly the most physically and mentally fit human beings on the planet. “Thank you for coming gentlemen. Colonel Givens, that will be all.”

The colonel left without another word. When the door was shut, Keene motioned for them to take a seat. He had already pulled up the satellite imagery that Jennings had found. He turned the laptop around for the men to see.

“This is Massena, New York. And that,” he said pointing, “is an airstrip big enough to hold a Chinese H-8 Stealth. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The men all looked at the photos of the decimated town and said, “Yes, sir.”

“Good, ‘cause no matter what happens, we are going to make sure that H-8 doesn’t ever leave Massena. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Gear up, gentlemen. We’re rolling out in fifteen.”

   CHAPTER 74