Chapter 50

“Mommy told me that the reason my father left was because he thought I was ugly and that she was getting fat.” Jennifer was lying in my arms with Stacy reclined using my thigh as a pillow. We were enjoying the quiet after outrageous, hedonistic sex. “My father only liked my mother when she was young and fresh. Having a child, getting older and showing the signs of the stress from taking care of me twenty-four seven on her face, was more than he was willing to put up with.

“So he left us...” Jennifer’s voice was flat when she spoke about her father. And she never referred to him as Dad, Daddy, or any other way except as, ‘my father.’ That spoke volumes about her feelings.

Stacy spoke up before I had a chance to reply. “At least your father didn’t hurt you,” was all she said. We both waited for her to elaborate. When she did, it hurt to hear the pain in her voice. “My mother was a submissive. My father used her like he would a hooker and then always had to hit her when he was done.

“My sister and I had to hide in the cellar when my father decided it was time for sex. If he saw us before they got started, he would threaten to beat us if we didn’t stay and watch. He said that my mother was a tramp and, ‘he was just giving her what she deserved.’

“One night he got my older sister in there with them and when she screamed in agony I called nine-one-one and told that my father was raping my sister. It seemed like it was only about two minutes before the front doors flew open and cops ran in with guns out, screaming at my father to get off my sister and kneel down.

“I guess my father was really drunk because they had to hit him with their nightsticks and then use a Taser on him before he gave up and they could take him to jail. My mother was holding my sister and rocking her, trying to comfort her and I could see the blood seeping onto her nightgown.

“It was awful...” She seemed to go away, inside her head. We waited her out, holding her hands and being patient.

“I never saw him again. My sister was thirteen and never recovered. She hardly ever spoke and as far as we knew, never had a date ... until one day, I came home from school and she was waiting for me. ‘Stacy,’ she said. ‘I’m going to California with my boyfriend. I love you, but I have to leave. I can’t live in this house where he ... he ... he ... did what he did to me and mom.’ She kissed me, brushed away the tears on my cheek and walked out.

“We never heard from her again. I have no idea if she is alive, or dead, happy, or sad.

“Nothing...

“Just nothing...”

Jennifer was holding Stacy by this time, rocking her gently and uttering soft words of comfort and understanding. It was quite beautiful and would have gone on for some time had life not intruded at that exact instant.

I picked up the bedside phone. “Mr. President. The Pentagon is on the phone. Lt. Gen. John Dolan, Director of Operation says it is very important, Sir.”

“Yes, General. How can I help you?”

“Mr. President. All of our nuclear sensors have reported that roughly ten minutes ago there was a nuclear explosion in Pakistan. It appears to be a significant size detonation and not scientific in any way.

“We have intelligence assets in many parts of Pakistan, but none seem to be reachable. It is possible that this is a nuclear incident sufficient to shut down the entire nation. Reconnaissance and satellite imagery show a large mushroom cloud, consistent with an above ground nuclear incident. The location appears to be near, if not inside the city of Nok Kundi, which is perilously close to Iran and Afghanistan and considered a hideout for what remains of the Iranian Guard and possibly remaining forces of Al Qaeda.

“Sir, The Pentagon is locked down. The Joint Chiefs are on their way in. I’ve given orders that all bases – US and overseas - be closed to everything except essential staff and all military forces are on alert.

“Do you have any additional orders at this time?”

When it was apparent that this was a serious call, Jennifer and Stacy disappeared into the master bath and closet suite to put themselves back together. Once dressed, Jennifer brought me slacks and a shirt, which was fortuitous since the Secret Service was crawling all over the house, trying to secure it and me, until they were ready to move me back to D.C., or to the underground bunker.

The instant I put the phone down it rang. The Special Agent in Charge announced that Marine One was inbound and we could expect to be moved to safety within three to four minutes. That gave me time to properly dress and clean up a bit.

It also gave me time to think. When I lifted the handset a voice immediately greeted me. “Good evening, Mr. President.” Without time to chat, I simply said, “Get me the Secretary of State.”

It seemed like less than three seconds and my phone rang, indicating the Secretary was free to receive my call. The Secretary of State was a holdover from Sam and I just didn’t feel all that comfortable with him in charge. Here I was giving him orders to do simple things that any good leader would be all over, but this guy was sitting around waiting to be told. It just hit me the wrong way.

“Have your Mid-East people get on the phones with Pakistan’s leadership. Find out if they have even begun to organize relief. Get together with our Ambassador and have him find out who knows what this was. If it was an accident, then let’s find out. Call the Afghan Desk and have them get on the phone and find out what their plans are for the border with Pakistan. If they are accepting refugees, promise our help and then get going on it.” Unusual behavior, for me. I simply gave him his marching order and hung up.

Once the line was clear I asked my attendant to get me Defense. That took even less time, because he was in the command center getting things organized for a long night. “Mr. Secretary. You and the Chiefs might want to head for the mountain in West Virginia. If you do, do so one at a time so we don’t suffer from lack of leadership in The Pit. Secret Service is moving me now, and I doubt we are heading east, so there shouldn’t be a crowding issue if you head out there.

“Let’s get ahead of the inevitable refugee problem. Talk to your counterpart in Pakistan, if he will speak to you, that is. I asked to State to do this, but have no confidence he will follow through to my satisfaction. We need to know what we’re up against in terms of human suffering and whole towns fleeing from the aftermath of this explosion. Call me if you need my help, but I will be between here and Air Force One for the next little bit.

“Thanks.” And I hung up without waiting for ab answer, again.

“Get me CIA.” My attendant was all over it.

“Joshua. You probably are already all over this, but, please do whatever it takes to find out if this is an operator error. It could be another Chernobyl, but it might be a mistake by a terrorist. It will help us decided how to proceed once we think we know what really happened. I’ll be looking for your call. We’re headed for the big plane right now.” I hung up again but he might have actually beat me to it.

Charger sensed the anxiety in all of us and barked to go out. That was a great idea because it gave me a few moments to think about the potential for a nuclear accident to turn into a world war in the middle-east. I took Charger out the side door of the bedroom suite where a conveniently placed but small grassy area waited for him. Once his bladder was soothed, he ran to me for comfort, giving the military guard a very dirty look as he did.

The ladies knew to be ready for an emergency movement because we trained for it as soon as I was sworn in. Stacy constantly trained for it as a part of being on the inner staff and Jennifer was trained for it starting the day after I asked her to marry me. Our training kicked in and we were herded to Marine One and flown out to the airport where Air Force One was spun up and ready to go. My Military escorts informed me that an entire squadron of escorts was already in the air above us and they were being supplemented by Air National Guard units. Additional fighters were scrambling to protect us all the way to one of our western hiding bases, inside of a hollowed out mountain, where I would have live access to everybody and everything that operated under the federal umbrella.