Survivalist 01 - Total War by Jerry Ahern

Author:Jerry Ahern
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

"My wife? The children?"

"They are fine, Mr. President. We'll be perfectly safe here," Thurston Potter said, walking over to the president and sitting down on the easy chair opposite the couch where the president sat.

"Is everyone here at Mt. Lincoln?"

"Your Chief of Staff, Paul Dorian is here, sir. Mr. Thorpe is here."

Lieutenant Brightston is playing with your youngest son, running movies for him. Rear Admiral Corbin and his intelligence people made it."

"What about Secretary Meeker?" the president said.

"As best as we can determine, he was going to get his wife-we don't think he made it. Washington is all but gone. The vice-president, Mr. Sneed, didn't make it either, sir. They couldn't get him out of the hospital at Bethesda in time. The operation he was having was at the critical stage."

"My God, Meeker, Sneed! How many millions, Potter? Any estimate yet?"

Before Potter could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Yes-come in," the president said, his voice high-pitched.

Rear Admiral Corbin stepped through the doorway. "Mr. President, I've got a preliminary situation report."

"What about casualties?" the president said, lighting a cigarette.

"Well, too early to tell, Mr. President. It looks like they made a massive launch, but with the exception of a few strategically important cities, primary concentration was on our military targets-not on population centers. Some reports from the Midwest indicate that neutron devices might have been used-so the real estate up that way should at least be somewhat salvageable."

"What sort of damage are we inflicting on them?"

"Major cities, major industrial complexes-but they got way too much of our stuff while it was on the ground. I think we lost this one, sir," Corbin concluded.

"This one?" the president said, and he realized he was smiling absurdly. Then, quietly, he said, "Admiral Corbin, don't you realize there isn't going to be another one?"

***

Rourke shouted, "Everyone, look away from the windows and put your heads down-protect your faces, your eyes!" Staring out the window as the 747 had crossed beyond the Mississippi, Rourke had caught a glimpse of something in the air-pale white and crashing downward. As the 747 started rocking and bouncing, Rourke knew his guess hadn't been wrong-it had been a missile with a nuclear warhead. What had been, seconds earlier, the city of St. Louis, Missouri was now gone. After a few minutes, the turbulence eased, and Rourke looked up. The moans and cries he'd heard were quieting now as he looked around the first-class cabin. People in the window seats-at least a dozen that Rourke was able to count quickly-had their hands pressed to their faces and were screaming or sobbing.

Rourke looked into the aisle as the stewardess who had helped him with the older women earlier came down the aisle. Her hands reached out to the seats to steady herself against the jet's motion. Her face was white, her eyes wide. Rourke reached out and took her hand, leaning across the man next to him as he did. "What is it? You just came from the captain."

"Nothing, Mr.

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