Chapter 62
8:45 AM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - President Richard Stevenson’s Office
President Stevenson and his Director of Homeland Security, Jamal Jones, were sitting in the secure meeting room at Camp David with the Director of the FBI, Marcus Schmidt, and the Secret Service Director, Able Richards. Marcus had called an impromptu meeting once he had heard that the President was planning to attend Jack South’s rally in Kansas City.
“Mr. President,” Marcus began, “We cannot protect you with so short a notice of your travel plans. Moreover, according to the Governor of Missouri, Kansas City is bursting at the seams. They have actually contacted the White House to allow them to use the National Guard to keep order in the city. How do you expect us to protect you, let alone get you in and out of that mad house?”
The President looked over at Marcus and then directed his comment to Able Richards. “Able, can you get me in and out and secure our presence at the Memorial?”
Able squirmed in his seat. He knew the correct answer was no, but that was not what the President wanted to hear, so he said, “We have contacted the contractors for the setup of the rally and they have assured us that there is secure seating on the stage with Jack South. We feel if we put you behind others then we can protect you from a possible attempt on your life, or as we fear, an attempt on Jack South’s life and you possibly being caught in the crossfire. There is a museum attached to the Memorial that we can use as an operations base. It will be manned by our men, the FBI, CIA, and a select group of Navy Seals. However, Mr. President, we are going to have to give the city some help. Their resources are limited when it comes to handling large groups of people. The last group of this magnitude was during your inauguration here in D.C., and it took months to get security setup for that. We have less than forty-eight hours to prepare and secure the area for your arrival and stay there.”
“Most of our resources from FEMA for human assistance are now in California dealing with that disaster. However, if you were willing to sign an executive order to let the National Guard shut down the highways and only allow commercial and residents through, and have a presence in the city, we would be helping the city cope with the shortage of police manpower to handle this mass of humanity. Then we may be able to get you in and out safely without incident.”
Marcus shook his head and said, “Mr. President, I really wish you would reconsider.”
The President looked over at Marcus and replied, “I need to be there. I want him to see me on Thursday, for the next time he sees me after that, will be in the Oval office. That will be soon. He in his own way declared war on our soil and on our world. I definitely need him to know I am there. He knows I will be there and he is waiting for me. Therefore, men, I will sign the order for the State of Missouri and the city. Help them in any way we can, even if we need to use our own funds. You have very little time to get everything in order, so I suggest you get things in gear. Also, when do you think we should be there?”
Able spoke up, “Well the rally starts at 7:30 p.m., and I would assume with all the media coverage, you would want to make an entrance and be seated well before the rally starts. Therefore, it is a three-hour flight on Air Force one, say an hour from the airport via chopper to City Center. I assume then, leave here at 1:30 or so Thursday afternoon. Mr. President, will your wife I mean the First Lady or any of your family be traveling with you?”
“Yes, my wife will accompany me, and my son. Oh, I forgot. I am staying there to attend a meeting with other world leaders Friday and Saturday. Please let the appropriate people know we are going to be there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.” He stood up and said, “Get it done,” before leaving the room to greet the other members of government on their way to Camp David.
Marcus looked at Able after the President left and said, “Crap!”