to act, direct, and authorize such activity, and to spend necessary Treasury funds to insure that a viable survival strategy is in place. You may implement such policies for both domestic and foreign affairs as you deem necessary. I am also taking the extraordinary step of promoting you to a five star general, that way there is no question that you head up all military units of this country. Alex will you accept this monumental task before us all?”
“Mr. President, Professor Kumar and his group of scientists have suggested I go before the UN to announce this finding, do you wish me to take on that as well?”
“Yes, and that day or evening I will speak to the nation and explain, I’m sure to everyone’s relief, that you are in charge of our military forces and the all-important survival strategy.”
“Very well Mr. President, Cabinet members, I accept, and may God bless the United States in this time of peril. I’ll keep you informed of our progress and the details of my plan as they unfold.”
“Thank you, and God’s speed to you and your people.”
The President reminded everyone this fell under the U.S. Secrets Act, not to divulge this information to anyone outside the room until Alex and the President had the chance to announce it.
The meeting was adjourned and Alex flew back to the Pentagon where Sandi was waiting in his office. She greeted him with a long kiss and a lingering rocking back and forth hug nothing said between them for a few brief moments. Until finally——
“How’d the meeting go?”
“Obviously, they were stunned, I can’t even begin to describe the emotions that I witnessed come over everyone at that moment, it was surreal to say the least.”
“And?”
“They, excuse me, the President, put both you and I in charge of the survival plan again. We have absolute power to do whatever is necessary to get the nation ready for this disaster.”
“So what do we do next Alex?”
“I need you to get our team back together and have them report to the survival facility at Coeur d’Alene. I am reconstituting our original plan and reassigning staff accordingly, with modifications of course.”
“What about Elena and Andrade and their baby, your godson?”
“I’ll call Kleskova this afternoon to tell him the bad news and ask if we may bring them back to the U.S.; I’ll offer him and some of his key people the same refuge,” Alex stated.
“Okay, it looks like I’ve got a lot of work to do. I love you Alex, and I have total confidence you will get us through this.” Sandi stood and kissed him, then went to her office, sat down, and holding back the tears began the process of pulling everyone back together again.
Alex placed a call to President Kleskova and spent a good hour and a half on the phone filling him in on the details. Kleskova was genuinely moved when Alex offered to house him and family in the Coeur d’ Alene survival shelter, but respectfully declined saying his country would need him there. They would implement a crash program to build as many survival facilities as possible. Alex said he would send the punch list he used for staffing and equipping his various facilities by courier. Alex would then dispatch the private jet to St. Petersburg to pick up Elena and Andrade.
“My friend, whatever fate hands us, you have shown yourself to be a valued ally and it has been an honor to know you, we will stay in close contact as the date draws near,” Kleskova finished the call.
After finishing his call with President Kleskova, Alex called Elena and Andrade to tell them he was sending the corporate jet to pick them up the next day. Elena and Andrade began packing immediately; she had to consider the baby now, not just her and Andrade. They packed clothes, legal documents, and a one-year supply of prescription medicine for the baby. Elena and Andrade were ready and praying that Alex would once again come to their rescue. They knew the Soviets would not provide the kind of survival facilities Alex would prepare.
Alex’s work was far from over for the day; next on the agenda was Admiral Hanover, the Pacific Fleet Commander, he briefed him on what was to happen around July 1st of the coming year.
“Felix, I want you to begin redeploying your carriers and support ships to the Gulf of Mexico. Then mobilize your west coast personnel to begin shifting men and material at least two hundred fifty miles inland along the entire west coast. Start immediately to stockpile food and medical supplies to support your entire command for two years in the high desert area of southern California. That means setting up bivouac areas all around Hemet, Palm Springs and Lancaster. You’ll need water, fuel and portable generators. Think of it as a mass migration eastward and your people will be living a Spartan life for at least two years. If the event passes and there’s no threat to the west coast…we can always return. Let’s hope that’s the case.”
“Jesus Christ Alex, I can’t believe this is happening. How much authority do I have to get what I need from vendors, some of these people may try to put me off with a long production schedule?”
“Felix, if someone pointed a gun to my head and said, ‘You either give me what I want now or I’ll shoot you and deal with the next in line,’ I might be persuaded to listen,” Alex replied.
“That’s what I needed to hear, I’m calling my key division officers for an emergency meeting in two hours. We will implement plans tonight and be running at full steam by tomorrow morning. We need to get a jump on January 2nd, because all hell will break loose after that.”
“Felix, one last thing, send the west coast Seal detachment to Coeur d’Alene and keep me posted on your progress.”
Alex made one more call later that afternoon to Harlan Monroe at Ft. Lewis in Washington State. Monroe was as stunned as Admiral Hanover, but understood the urgency of getting things underway immediately before the ensuing chaos set in.
“Harlan, you have the facility managers numbers, contact them and have everyone ready for a conference call tomorrow at nine a.m. eastern time.”
“Consider it done, talk to you tomorrow at nine.”
Sandi walked in and sat down with a long face and forlorn look.
“The kids were so upset, they feel their whole world is slipping away, they feel cheated. We’re going to have some adjustment issues I fear,” Sandi said.
“Yeah, I guess if I was in their shoes, I’d feel the same way. But we can’t let them go out and throw a pity party. We’ve got to get them involved, keep them busy, maintain their focus on the big picture. I’ll make you a deal, you handle the girls and the babies, and I’ll handle Curt, Mike, Bill, and Andrade. You and the girls did such a good job handling the supplies and food distribution before let’s put the girls on task for replenishing the supplies at the facilities nationwide.”
“That’s an excellent idea, I’ll have them rotate and take care of the babies one day then work the vendors the next day. With Elena it gives me four people to handle the mission, that should work,” Sandi said.
“When we get to Coeur d’ Alene, I’ll assign more staff to help you with the workload.”
Alex was particularly attentive to Sandi that night. He knew she was feeling vulnerable. Maybe it was the challenge he was facing that was causing his testosterone levels
