Chapter 11

A shock wave passed through the Situation Room. Although none of them had been optimistic about their chances of surviving the explosion and fire at the Capitol, the finality of Kathleen Lehrer's announcement shook them.

Ted Reynolds from the State Department broke the silence. "Is there any word about the President, President Pro Tempore or any of the other Cabinet members?"

"No," replied the Secretary of Education, "Still no word yet. So far the death toll is over 200. Several hundred people are still missing."

The phone rang again and Ross Forbes from the C.I.A. answered it. After he had hung up, he said, "We now have a definite link between Iran and Ali Katal. He had been in Tehran three weeks ago, and had traveled there using a false passport. One of our operatives there had spotted him and had made a report about the sighting."

"That settles it," declared the acting President. "It's war between the U.S. and Iran."

She turned to Reynolds. "I want you to notify all of our embassies and have them notify their host governments about the evidence that we have. Let them know that a state of war exists between the United States and Iran and to be on the highest state of alert against terrorist attack. I also want to notify the press that my press conference will have to be delayed a bit."

"We had already placed them on high alert right after the attack, but I will make sure that they are aware of the latest developments."

John Weston then asked, "Do you want to begin air raids yet?"

"Not yet," replied the Secretary of Education "I want to wait a little bit longer to determine if anyone above me in the line of succession might possibly have survived."

"You said earlier that the Russians gave us some sort of warning that the Iranians were up to something, didn't you?" asked Reynolds.

"Yes," replied the acting President. "I think we should contact them and thank them for their warning, notifying them that we now have proof of Iranian involvement in this and that we are now in a state of war with Iran. I want to make clear to them, however that this is between the Iranians and us, and that there is no reason for them to be involved, and that we will not look kindly upon any intervention from them."

Two phones rang at once. General Allen from the Pentagon answered one and Ted Reynolds answered the other.

General Allen spoke first. "They've found the Secretary of State. He's unconscious, but he's still alive, albeit barely. They flew him to George Washington University Hospital in a med-evac helicopter. They have also found the bodies of the Secretary of Agriculture and three Supreme Court Justices."

Secretary Lehrer then said, "If the Secretary of State survives, he will be the new President. Because he is unconscious, I will remain as acting President until he is able to assume control, if he survives. And I hope to God he does."

"I have some more bad news," said Reynolds. "The King of Morocco has been assassinated, and the Tunisian government has been overthrown in a coup. Both appear to be the work of Islamic fundamentalists connected to Iran. We have received a report of an Iranian invasion of the United Arab Emirates and they are requesting our assistance in repelling the invasion. We have been receiving fragmentary reports of uprisings in other parts of the Mideast as well. I think it is quite possible that this is why Makhtol's agents have been so busy recently."

"I think you're right," agreed Secretary Lehrer. "We have to help the Emirates with whatever forces we have in the area and warn the other Mideast countries of what is happening and let them know that we will help them as much as we can."

Reynolds picked up the phone and passed those instructions along to the State Department so that they could be relayed to the embassies throughout the Mideast while John Weston relayed orders to the Pentagon.

Secretary Lehrer's phone rang and she answered it on the second ring. She listened to the voice on the other end, and after asking "are you sure?" for the third time, replaced the phone in its receiver, and visibly sagged as if the weight of the whole world had been placed on her shoulders.

"They've just found the President. He's dead. The Secretary of State was dead on arrival. He never regained consciousness. They have also recovered the bodies of the Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and three more Supreme Court Justices. That means that the only ones from the line of succession that are still missing are the President Pro Temp., the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Labor. It doesn't look promising there either."

A moment of silence followed as everyone in the room realized the meaning of the latest news. Almost the entire upper echelon of the United States government had been wiped out. The unthinkable had happened. The Iranians had taken advantage of the one time each year that the entire government met to hear the State of the Union speech. And they had used that opportunity to eliminate the U.S. government and paralyze the one country that could have stepped in to stop their attempt to spread the Ayatollah Makhtol's Islamic Revolution.

"Well Madame Secretary," said Ted Reynolds, breaking the silence, "it looks like you're it."

"Yes, unfortunately I'm afraid you're right," replied Kathleen Lehrer. She looked at John Weston. "Start sending the bombers. We are going to show Makhtol that the United States has not been paralyzed by his infamous deed, and that he picked on the wrong country when he decided to attack the United States."

"Yes, Ma'am!" replied the acting Secretary of Defense as he picked up the phone to the Pentagon.

The acting President turned to the man who would be her Secretary of State. "Ted, I want messages sent out to our allies in the Gulf region, requesting landing rights at their air fields and the right to use their bases and ports for our other forces. Tell them that we will give them whatever assistance they require to combat the Iranian forces, but that in order to do that, we need their cooperation. Also contact the Russians on the Hotline, explain to them what we are doing, that we are going after Iran, and that we will not bother them as long as they do not get involved on Iran's side. Also, let them know once again how much we appreciated their attempts to warn us of Makhtol's treachery."

Other reports began coming in over the telex, and they read those while Weston and Reynolds carried out the acting President's instructions.

When they had finished, Secretary Lehrer discussed another issue that they felt had to be settled, dealing with the Russians in order to avoid an accidental nuclear war. The general consensus in the room was that she should personally get on the phone with the Russian President and tell him what the United States was doing so that it would not be misconstrued as an attack on Russia.

"Ted, you worked in our Embassy to the old Soviet Union hadn't you?"

"Yes, I did. In fact I got to know Alexandrov and many of the current members of the leadership during my stay there."

"Do you speak Russian?"

"Yes, I have been able to keep in practice. I interpreted for the Secretary of State during his last trip there."

"Good, would you translate for me when I call President Alexandrov?"

"I would be honored."

The Secretary of Defense picked up a phone and called the Pentagon to have them send a message on the Hotline that Secretary Lehrer would be calling the Russian President. Secretary Lehrer then had the White House switchboard put through the call to Moscow. Once the call was put through, The acting President and her acting Secretary of State each picked up a receiver.

"Hello, Mr. President? This is Secretary of Education Kathleen Lehrer"

She waited for Reynolds to translate before continuing.

"I am in temporary control of the United States government."

"Yes, Madame Secretary," said the leader of the other Superpower, "I have been told of what has happened to your government. I would like to express my outrage at this despicable act, and to extend my condolences to the families of the victims."

"Thank you, Mr. President. I would also like to thank you for the warning that you gave us about the Iranians. We have definite proof that Makhtol was behind the attack. Our troops are now moving into position to retaliate against his treachery. I am calling you to tell you that we are moving against Iran and that we will not attack Russia. However, my government will not look kindly upon anyone who helps the Iranian government with any kind of assistance."

"That is understandable. Your actions are logical and we appreciate that you are notifying us about them. Our forces are on alert in case the fighting should spill over our borders. You do not have to worry about Russia or the other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States or any of our allies assisting the Iranian government. We have been receiving reports, just as I am sure that you have, about hostilities breaking out throughout the Middle East, against our allies as well as yours."