Chapter 36

September, 2001

I had planned this mission from day one in the White House. The Secret Service was very good, but it wasn't totally impossible to leave the grounds undetected. Entering would have been much more of a problem.

The worst part of this job to me was the makeup. Without it we all still looked like we were 24 years old. One advantage though, was the fact that Connie and I had become very good at applying it. Every morning we did each other up. We did a bit of creative work while the others created a bit of confusion around my quarters.

A crowd was arranged composed of people with a legitimate reason to be in the hallway. We slipped out with them and joined the last tour group to leave on the tenth. As far as the detail knew, Connie and I were in the bedroom and had left explicit instructions not to be disturbed. Actually, we were on the Omega I bound for Boston.

Our accountant friends Dina, Dan, and David Logsdon insisted on being booked on the same flight they had died on. Connie and I would accompany them on American flight 11. There would be five of us against five of them. I wanted Atta bad.

United flight 175 would contain Tina, Jackie, George, Carl, and Kathy. American 77 would be handled by Gene, Beth, and three members of the Ogala Sioux tribe he had trained. United 93 would be handled by Faith, Rhonda, Sharon, Lin, and Adam.

Our plan went mostly as we had hoped. The first glitch was that after it was over only two terrorists were left alive and one of those was in critical condition. None of the creeps on flight 11 survived. We were spread over the entire cabin, all in aisle seats, when they made their move soon after takeoff. Connie and Dina were in position to step behind two of them and wasted no time snapping some terrorist necks.

The other two were stupid enough to charge Dan and David when they stood in the way. It isn't common for someone to be able to confront the people responsible for their deaths. I found out first-hand that it isn't necessarily pretty, either.

In a matter of seconds the weapons of the scum were taken away and their edges tested on the throats of their owners. They were gurgling like crazy as they collapsed. That left one for me and I was between him and the cockpit. Out of desperation, I suppose, he charged me.

After several attempts to slash me with his box cutter I had enough and knocked it out of his hand before taking my anger out on him. He tried to fight but I was the only one landing a blow. The one that sent him down was intended to just knock him out but I suppose there was a little too much behind it.

He flew through the air for at least five feet before landing on his back with his head contacting the metal seat support at the base. When I checked, he was still breathing but not very well.

I noticed the second problem while all of this was going on. We had been wearing disguises and mine was no longer functional. The baseball cap and wig weren't with me anymore. I guess the activity had been a bit much for them.

Even before the action was over I could hear people getting excited about my presence and the ongoing situation. Afterward, we tried to regain some semblance of calm and when it was down to a dull roar I asked if there was a doctor on board.

I wasn't about to help the pile of camel shit but wanted to at least appear to try. Finally, we got a reluctant volunteer and he went to work while I addressed the passengers. "Hold it down a bit y'all and let me tell you what's going on!" This lowered the noise level even more and I thought I had a chance of being heard now.

Before I was halfway through outlining the plan of the terrorists, the doctor was back in his seat. I stopped and asked him if the creep would live and the doc shrugged his shoulders. "Who cares?" he said with a smile "with any luck he won't. It'd be a shame to waste any taxpayer money on a lawyer for the likes of him."

That drew some cheers. When they subsided I got the question I knew was coming. An elderly lady asked why we hadn't stopped them before they boarded if we knew what they had planned. I sighed and replied "unfortunately, all we would have been able to do would have been to deport them for overstaying their visas. We couldn't have proven what they planned to do and they would have been free to try it somewhere else."

I stopped to answer my cell and after the call I smiled "the other planes are safe also". I had intended to say more but wouldn't have been heard over the uproar so I headed for the cockpit.

One of the stewardesses had not only informed the captain but had held her microphone open so he could hear what was going on. After he was satisfied everything was under control he told the passengers that we would be landing in five minutes. He had turned around while the scuffle was going on.

All of the would-be hijackers also perished quickly and efficiently on the other planes. One was in reasonably good shape from flight 175 but the others weren't as lucky. Flight 93 was almost as interesting as the first time. Two of the hijackers were taken out by the passengers, both by having their throats cut with their own weapons.

The press briefing was a madhouse. I knew there would be questions about the decision to act as we had and why we had done it ourselves. We decided to answer them before they were asked. All of us were on the stage as I addressed the press on live television.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain quiet until after my initial statement. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have at that time." The room quickly settled down so I could begin.

"Today America was attacked. This attack was carried out by Islamic Fascists belonging to Al Queda. They severely underestimated our preparedness and our resolve. The reason they failed is that they just aren't that bright."

I had to wait for the laughter to subside after that. "Some people may question our methods in the response to this attack. That's just tough shit. There was no way to convince a judge of what was planned today. The only way to insure that it wouldn't succeed either this time or in the future was to stop it when it happened. My response is the same to those who would question the personnel used to repel the attack. We may have been a bit selfish, but we all took it personally. I assure you that we were as well trained as any who might have been assigned to the task. We were also pissed. Let me outline the terrorist plan for you so that you might better understand why."

A slide presentation was presented as I narrated showing the images that were burned into our mind from the original attack. Adam had created slides that were identical to the original pictures. The only addition was flight 93 plunging into the capitol dome. A short clip was also shown depicting the collapse of the twin towers and an estimated casualty count was given. The room was still quiet, so I went on.

"We knew where Bin Laden has been hidin'. I said as a live picture appeared on the screen behind us. "He is presently at a house in Kabul, Afghanistan and probably thinks he is perfectly safe right now." As I finished the sentence, the building disintegrated. I looked over my shoulder and said "oops."

Judging from the devastation it would be difficult to get positive ID on the body. Several other safe house explosions followed, taking out the entire leadership structure. I described the occupants of the targets and their involvement as we went.

The video was followed by a declaration of war on terrorists and those who harbor them. This was to begin with the Taliban. If they didn't abdicate and allow free elections within 30 days, they would be removed by force.

The Somali warlords who had previously sheltered Bin Laden were given the same ultimatum before I asked if there were any questions. Needless to say, there were. Some were stupid, some funny, and some had substance.

First up was the New York Times.

Reporter: "Mr. President, why did you allow your wife to participate in the operation?"

Answer: "I expected better from a New Yorker. You must be a transplant."

After the chuckles died down, I got serious. "First of all, Connie Sussmann is an ex-FBI agent and was one of the best qualified members of the team. She was fully capable of handling the flight all by herself. Secondly, if I had been lucky she would have only hurt me if I had tried to prevent her from going with us. If I had been unlucky she might have made me sleep on the couch and that I was not willing to risk." I noticed the women seemed to laugh more than the men at that one.

I called on a reporter from the Stars and Stripes next and couldn't have written the question better myself.

Reporter: "Is any further response planned at this time?"

Answer: "There definitely will be. Folks need to realize that we are now at war. If this attack had succeeded more people would have been killed in New York alone than were killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is also a war unlike any we have fought in the past. In most cases we will not be fighting a country. What we are fighting is a large group of ignorant fanatics with a warped view of Islam. They will gladly hide behind women, children, and innocent civilians. They hope we will attack them so they may use innocent deaths as propaganda. They plan and store weapons in holy places, secure in the thought that we will not dare destroy them. They glory in the death of innocents. They are vermin and we declare today that it is time they were exterminated. These idiots are convinced that if they die in their cause they will be rewarded in paradise. We plan to help as many of them as possible to discover the error in their judgment."

I pointed at the L.A. Times representative and got a question I had actually hoped for.

Reporter: "What about collateral damage from the reprisals? Were any civilians harmed?"

Answer: "Probably, and I'm sure there will be more. This is an unfortunate but unavoidable occurrence in wartime. If anyone has a problem with that, break out the history books and point to a war where no civillians were killed. Then get back to me on that, OK?"

I called on the Post next, fully expecting more liberal idiocy. I was not disappointed.

Reporter: "How can we go after terrorists in a sovereign nation unless that nation cooperates?"

Reply: "They can best cooperate by staying out of our way. If they are allowing this scum to exist in their country they have a problem. We will gladly help them solve it. There will be no safe haven for terrorists. I have things to deal with now and must end this. We'll keep the nation informed as we are able, thank you."

I turned the podium over to Anne call and she called a press conference for the following day and strongly urged all present to attend so we could "fascinate and astound them on matters with great import to humanity." She then pissed them off by walking away without taking questions.

The next saw another another hornets nest swatted. I'm sure most present thought this was more about terrorism and baffled when Ann called Tina to the podium to start the press conference the following day. She gave a PowerPoint presentation of Fusion energy and possible applications that lasted 30 minutes.

The first question she took was from CNN.

Reporter: "Haven't scientists been trying to find a workable Fusion system for years without any significant success?"

Tina: (Smiling) "yes and no. We have been trying for quite some time but have had a bit more success than you think. In fact, Fusion is a reality and ready to deploy."

When the excitement died down, she began another presentation. This one showed an actual Fusion plant at one of the reservations. It powered the entire community, including auto assembly plants and other industry. She then told them about cost and environmental impact.

The construction cost was much less than a coal fired plant and the emissions were Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen. The hydrogen and nitrogen were captured for re-use and the operating costs were next to nothing.

When she eventually satisfied most of the questions, she gathered her notes she had brought for a prop and said "folks, you ain't seen nothing yet" before sending Mandy, Nina, Paula, Al, and Megan to the podium.

Paula as Surgeon General and Al as the head of the CDC were in the front and Al graciously motioned Paula to the microphone where she made an already stunned audience practically comatose with the revelation that most known viral infections and many diseases had been recently conquered.

The fact that most were beaten not with synthetic concoctions but with newly developed plant hybrids made it even better.

The only question was a stunned "what about AIDS?" and the answer of "that was first. All of these drugs were submitted for FDC approval this morning and we requested that they be fast tracked" was met with disbelief.

Another reported managed "what about cost?" Al took that one and said it hadn't been determined yet but the average would be somewhere around twenty dollars for a course of treatment. He added "naturally the drug companies and their lobbyists will go positively berserk about all of this and try to stop these new treatments before they can begin. We're counting on public support to get this out there. People should let their Senators and Representatives know how they feel about the situation. There is one other item you may be interested in. All the people at this podium developed these new drugs. We do not have the manufacturing capacity to produce a fraction of what will be needed. We will need the help of existing pharmaceutical companies to sub contract the production as long as they don't inflate the price. If they attempt that we have an alternate plan. Their losses will be minimal with the sheer volume of what will be needed. Profiteering will not be tolerated."

2002

It didn't take long for the new drugs to hit the market. It amazed us how fast the FDA could move with when the President and the public insisted. The drug companies didn't really put up much of a fight after all. I guess the fact that America would be the sole supplier for much of the medicine for the world made a difference. It sure helped the economy.

The workforce both shrank and grew at about the same pace. The illegals were leaving in droves since they could no longer find work and were replaced with healthy Americans and legal residents who had been unable to work due to sickness.

When the agriculture industry began to complain loudly about the shortage of workers, Aaron pounced. Bots, Inc. began an aggressive marketing campaign. The company was wholly owned by the partnership of Aaron, Frieda, and Paul. At three hundred bucks apiece, they were cheaper than migrants.

This caused many legal migrant workers to be displaced. Some returned home but many took advantage of a bill pushed through congress for vocational training of any legal resident to move into better paying jobs in the booming building and tech trades.

Afghanistan and Somalia had newly elected governments within a year of our declaration. We had quickly taken out the leadership and the warlords who would have gladly taken their places started mysteriously dying off. Others with ideas decided not to argue anymore.

We did catch some flack about the name we chose for the action in Afghanistan. I thought "operation Tali-Whacker" had a nice ring to it but the prudes disagreed I guess.

Another operation was targeted at terrorist funding. We had a much more effective "war on drugs" than in the past. Plant viruses had been developed to attack the specific cell structures of Coca, Heroin Poppies, and other plants used in the drug trade. Whenever a field was found, it was treated.

Marijuana was left alone but with the increased port security and impenetrable border, not much made it into this country. I'm guessing that was what prompted the second attempt on my life.

It happened at the Derby. Tina and the rest of the gang were with me as usual. We had just finished watching the third race when Kathy dropped by and told us about it. It seems that the downs had a couple of early visitors that day. They appeared to be Latin American, and wouldn't be leaving upright.

I asked her to wait until after the races to release the news and have the bodies removed from the twin spires so the mood wouldn't be ruined.

George had questioned one of them before he died and the next day the leader of the Medellin Cartel was killed when his car exploded. No one saw the laser shot, so it was assumed it was a bomb until no trace of explosives was discovered. It would be one more mystery for them to solve.

The economy was booming like never before and more effort was devoted to law enforcement, especially in the cities. The gangs (and addicts) were really hurting with the sudden disappearance of drugs.

Even the synthetic varieties were increasingly hard to come by. As soon as they came out with a new one an alternative to any useful need for the main ingredient was developed and the other outlawed. Even propellant for aerosols was no longer an alternative for getting a buzz.

Police departments found themselves with more than sufficient personnel to do the job for the first time in memory since much of their resources had been devoted to drug-related crime.

Due to the drastic decrease of drug trafficking, more emphasis was placed on violent crime. The gangs were hit hard in two ways. No drugs meant much less income, but worse was the fact that there were more cops available to deal with them.

Welfare fraud had been drastically reduced due to the fact there were now plenty of jobs and access to training for them. Health was no longer a viable excuse in most cases and laziness wasn't a legitimate reason to not work. f you were unable to hold down a job, you had to prove it.

In short, America was doing wonderful. So were Russia, Great Britain, and Japan. Russia was actually the largest energy exporter now while much of the Middle East was quickly reverting to third world status.

2003

The focus on terrorism continued unabated. Whenever and wherever they were found we eliminated them. Pakistan was no longer a nominal ally because of this. Numerous strikes had been conducted there.

On the other hand, India, Egypt, and almost the entire African continent were staunch supporters and active participants in the effort. Several Middle Eastern countries, as well as a few Central American dictators, were in a panic. Oil was no longer a diplomatic weapon.

Technology had been an ongoing issue since our first day in office. We knew it would be as soon as we decided to reveal the aircar at the last debate.

We had planned for the gradual release of innovations. The gravity drive was revealed first and revolutionized both air transportation and space travel. Rockets and jets were now obsolete. A new Air Force One was donated to the country by Mojave Aerospace. No one was happier than I was about that. The old one was not only slow but, well, old,

We followed that by introducing the Ion drive system. It was not nearly as efficient as the Inertia drive but was greeted with amazement by NASA. The Warp drive was our secret and would remain so for the foreseeable future. None of us wanted uninvited visitors at our new home.

The thought of the governments of Earth wandering the universe was unthinkable. Without it they still would be confined to their solar system. Great care was taken to safeguard the technology that was released.

An alliance was formed with the U.S., England, Russia, and Japan being the initial members. Any additions would have to meet certain criteria before being accepted. This included a non-aggression pact and destruction of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons among other things.

There were two exeptions to this tech restriction. Fusion systems could now be sold to anyone and the means to reclaim desert land was made freely available. We even got the UN involved on that one to help poorer countries pay for it.

We had been moving at a frantic pace for two years and so far were pleased with the progress. We could still be surprised though. During my morning briefing, I was stunned by the results of the election in Germany.

The new Chancellor was someone named Wilhelm Hoffmann. We all knew that Gerhard Schroeder had won a second term the first time around. The question was, did the changes we made cause this to be different?

It didn't seem likely so I had Rhonda extend an invitation to the new Chancellor for a state visit. It would have to wait a month or so. China was being a pain in the ass about trade. Our strict enforcement of intellectual property laws had resulted in several large Chinese corporations being no longer able to export to America. We were their largest customer and it had hurt them badly.

The current threat was to expel American companies from Chinese soil. We figured this was an empty threat since the current arrangement was more beneficial to them than to us. Zhu Rongji, the Chinese Premier, was in Washington to discuss the matter. I figured we had him pissed off enough now to talk.

He had been intentionally denied any of the usual head of state niceties since his arrival. There would be no state dinner or pomp and circumstance. I hoped he was bright enough to notice. The Chinese reaction to the 9-11 attacks (the original ones) was burned into my memory. This scum actually joked about it at a conference in Asia.

During a short meeting, he was informed of how things would go. "Premier Zhu, frankly, I would rejoice if you ceased to do business with us. Your country is problematic to deal with since you refuse to trade ethically. With the emerging markets in the former Soviet Republics and the increasing prosperity on the African continent, we wouldn't miss your business too badly and the companies you force out would gladly relocate to areas where it is easier to do business. This is especially true since trade with China is mostly a one way deal. Either you endeavor to balance our trade deficit or we will no longer allow the new Fusion and Tyrline technology to be exported to China. This is but a first step and there are many more. If you want to continue to do business with America you will do so on an equal basis. The ball is in your court. Good day, sir." He was spluttering as he was shown out.