while in the U.S. people woke up the next morning and went to work. As expected the inevitable water cooler conversations took place about what was coming and how horrible things would be, but the people had taken Alex’s message to heart. They would be damned if they would give up now, life was too precious to just toss away like some used styrofoam picnic plate. It would be a fight to the end for survival, and go on to build a better world for the future, not just for themselves, but for their children. That sentiment would hold fast for a while, but human nature being what it is, there would be the inevitable unfortunate ‘incidents’.
Chapter Four
Coeur d’ Alene Once More
As Alex boarded Air Force Two he waved to the crowd gathered and gave a thumbs up to the media covered departure. Turning he walked into the cabin and told the pilot to take off. Seating himself near the cockpit instead of the President’s private office, he wondered if he would ever see Washington D.C. again. During the flight to his new headquarters, Alex reflected on the past several months and everything that had taken place. In some way it seemed so long ago. But then again it had only been two years ago that he’d overheard two professors at Cal Tech discussing the end of the world. Only to have it be the most elaborate political cover up in modern history. His involvement in the whole affair would challenge him to the very limits of his abilities. Yet, it would catapult him into the public eye worldwide as a man to be shown respect and a force to be reckoned with. He managed to move beyond Ellen’s death and the feelings of guilt he felt for not being there for her and Curt. He had found love with another woman, Sandi; theirs was a strong loving relationship. Once again, here he was thrust to the forefront in a battle not of his choosing; to save as many lives as possible…the stakes couldn’t be higher.
As Air Force Two rose above the mountain ranges of Colorado…Idaho came in view, this felt more like a homecoming. He peered out the window at the Coeur d’Alene air base below and saw a large crowd gathered at the flight line.
He descended the stairs from the plane to the ground, and walked past the Navy Seals who formed an honor guard. Alex snapped off a salute to Commander Mike Morris, standing at attention in full naval dress. He walked directly to where Sandi was standing and gave her a kiss. The team surrounded him and he managed to hug and kiss all the women on the team, paying special attention to the babies. Beyond the air base up the hill a crowd of nearly two hundred thousand people were yelling and taking pictures. Alex wanted to thank all of the people who had turned out to show their support. He asked for an open vehicle. Just then an open humvee rolled up and in climbed Alex and Sandi. Tina rushed up.
“Wait a minute, you aren’t going in that crowd without an escort,” she was adamant. Tina and Bill got in sitting on either side of Alex, with Sandi in the front seat while Mike drove. The crowd was ecstatic as the humvee passed slowly through the gathered throngs; Alex reached out to shake hands, stopping occasionally to mingle with the citizens. He encouraged them to keep the faith, he needed them, and the country needed them. The NBC news affiliate in Spokane was there with cameras rolling; Sandi had alerted them to Alex’s arrival. The evening news showed Alex emerging from Air Force Two stepping into a humvee and being driven through the gathered crowd expressing his gratitude for their support. The news footage of the carnage happening overseas sent a clear signal to all Americans that they may be facing a disaster, but there was no better place to be than right there in the United States.
Finally, the humvee with Alex and Sandi arrived at the bunker. He walked to their suite and sat down on the edge of the bed. Sandi walked over, sat down beside him, and put her arm around his back and squeezed.
“You’ve been the most remarkable man these last two days, I am so proud of you and the team couldn’t be more proud of you too. You look tired, do you want to rest for a while?” Sandi asked softly.
“No, not really, I’m feeling energized right now, later tonight I’ll crash I’m sure.”
“Do you want to take a look at the facility?”
“Sure. Let me get a beer first,” Alex was feeling an unusual calmness come over him.
“One beer and one tour coming right up.”
The group of physicians was busy piecing together their hospital unit according to the instructions. Alex came upon the scene.
“Need any help?” Alex asked casually, taking a drink of his Corona.
“Oh, General, sorry we weren’t at the airport. We’ve been pretty busy as you can see, and to answer your question, we could use someone to do the heavy lifting,” Dr. Marks replied. Alex turned to Mike.
“I’m on it,” Mike said automatically. Five minutes later six Navy Seals showed up to assist the doctors.
“Hey Dad, I need to fly to Dallas to get a new PBX system. I need to expand this one to handle all the extra calls coming in,” Curt said.
“Okay, see you when you get back.” Alex took another drink of his beer.
“You know, Pete did a good job on this place, it isn’t bad at all,” Alex observed.
“I was thinking the same thing. I didn’t expect something this nice and my room is quite spacious and very comfortable,” Carrie Hathaway said.
“Sandi where’s Pete?”
“He was at the air base when you arrived, he must have gone back to his office afterwards. Do you want me to call him?” Sandi replied.
“Yeah, tell him we need to get this hospital unit set up pronto, this isn’t the doctor’s forte, they could use some help.”
“Hello Pete, its Sandi. Alex asked if you could come help the doctors get the mobile hospital set up. We’ve got some Seals here to do the heavy lifting. Great, I’ll tell Alex,” Sandi said that Pete was on his way. She was watching Alex closely, he seemed so relaxed, no stress, and no furrowed forehead pondering a logistical challenge…there was a calm about him.
“Terry, do you know if the doctors need any additional equipment or supplies?”
“They put together a partial list but wanted to wait until everything was unpacked to see what else was needed.”
“Terry, take charge of that and get whatever they need.”
“How do you want us to pay for it?”
“You see that vault over there in the corner. It holds nearly fifty billion dollars in cash and eleven billion in gold and platinum. Do you think that’s enough to cover your requests?”
“Well, okay I’m sure we can squeeze by with that, although Hathaway has some pretty expensive tastes.”
“Hey watch it Logan, just because I buy underwear at Nordstrom’s doesn’t mean I don’t know the value of a dollar.”
“I didn’t know you wore underwear Carrie!” Dr. Fortune piped in.
“Hey, what’s this ‘pick on Carrie day’?” Everyone was laughing, and Alex was happy to hear it. He excused himself to inspect more of the bunker facility.
“Sandi, what’s this group of rooms here?”
“Those rooms are for the pharmacy; the boxes contain part of a shipment of medicines the two pharmacists ordered, with more on the way.
