Chapter 68
11:45 AM EST Day two of 1260 Camp David, Maryland - Conference Room
Jamal, Michael, and the Senate Majority Leader, Nancy Withers, of California, were in conference at Camp David with the President, discussing the disaster in California and the upcoming predictions Jack South had made. The door opened and the Chief of Staff of the Army, General David Stoups, entered. He was followed by representatives from the armed forces including Navy Admiral, Robert Parrish, Marine General, Joseph Raced, and Air Force General, Jerry Poloski. After the greetings were made the President told everyone that they were now waiting for the House Majority Leader, David Karach, the Speaker of the House, Robert Cain, and both Minority Leaders of both chambers in Congress.
As each person sized up the other, the President suggested that they all move to the conference room. They started moving into the large room that had been recently redone with the last administration. It could house over a hundred people and still have room. It was a perfect fit for today.
As they waited, Jamal asked General Stoups if he had managed to gather the logistics for troop movements in and around the world, in light of the circumstances. General Stoups said they had a plan and he was ready to discuss it as soon as everyone arrived.
President Stevenson was staring out the partially covered window into the woods, not saying anything and not even moving a muscle. It was as if he was in a trance. His pose made some of the group uneasy and concerned that this man of power was about to erupt and that they would be the recipients of that rage.
The door opened again and the minority leaders of both the House and Senate entered with David Karach and Speaker Robert Cain.
As they sat down, President Stevenson turned from the window and said, “Thank you for coming. I think all of you know why we are here and that is to avoid a total meltdown of the United States of America.” He then motioned to a stack of folders on the end of the conference table and asked Jamal to distribute a copy to each of them.
As they sat facing the President, he said, “In these folders are the necessary steps to ensure continuity of the United States Government. Since it appears that we are under attack by Mother Nature or unknown forces such as Jack South, we need to prepare ourselves and the nation for what may be an attempt to destroy a large portion of our infrastructure as we know it. Therefore, gentlemen and ladies, this document you have before you is already signed. At the first hint of disaster, even close to the magnitude described by Jack South, this document will put the entire nation under martial law. Copies have already been sent to the Justice Department for validation. I do not foresee any issue with it being validated, or any political issues from any of you. I also do not believe that it is in our best interest to bicker on partisan issues at this time. This document will not be executed in the event that this Jack South and his predictions are wrong. However, based on as much as we can see so far, the Atlantic is starting to boil and it is already raining over the Sahara in Northern Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Therefore, effective as of next Monday morning, I am ordering a temporary relocation of the entire government to Cheyenne Mountain, ahead of the first hurricane to hit Houston, Texas.”
The President continued, “Before you say anything, I want you to know that I will be attending the rally in Kansas City. I know it is a risk and could be considered politically incorrect. Nevertheless, if Jack South is the enemy, then I personally need to see him and maybe, if possible, talk to him. My immediate staff and I will be there in the event we get to meet with him personally.”
“Also, I have spoken to the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Weiymer Weinstadt, and due to the volatility of the market, which at last glance was at an unprecedented minus nine-hundred and fifty points, trading will be suspended not only at the NYSE, but all American exchanges effective in thirty minutes or so. Oil futures have gone from seventy-one dollars to over two hundred dollars a barrel overnight. Oil trading will also be suspended.”
“We will be relocating all strategic companies with Wall Street ties to Chicago, St. Louis, and Dallas, temporarily.” He paused before continuing. “Naval facilities in the Atlantic seaboard and the southern coast in the Gulf and the Atlantic have been instructed to move all ships and military personnel as far south as the South American waters and Mexican Ports. We feel that Jack South is right and we cannot take chances.”
“According to our analysts, we must move every person in every city along the strike paths to inland areas of at least 150 miles. This will require a massive movement of people and materials. Members of the government are requested to immediately move their families and office personnel to other parts of the country. We will run the country, as I stated earlier, by martial law, and the Constitution will be temporarily suspended.”
“I have also issued orders that the cities affected will have military troops in the area and any attempts at looting, arson, other crimes of violence will be handled according to Article Nine. Therefore, the press releases we issue will be as such, ‘Get caught, get shot.’ We are going to attempt to totally evacuate the population of Washington, D.C. and New York City to FEMA Camps in and around the country until we can assess the damage and return people to their homes. Since most people live in high rises in Manhattan, that may well take some time. Just to replace glass in all of those buildings, let alone fix the basic infrastructure, may well take months if not years. The other Burroughs have more detached homes, but with a category five hurricane, they will not be habitable.”
Wanting to finish up, but knowing the importance of all this, he added, “No citizens is allowed to bring more than one suitcase and one bag to the camps. All bags will be inspected and anything that can possibly be used for criminal activity will be confiscated. The City of New York and Washington will be cordoned off and no one will be allowed back in the areas until further notice, following the evacuation.”
“Now, I had wanted to go to California, but at this time it really does not matter. California will be a drop in the bucket compared to these storms predicted that would likely cause the utter destruction of our eastern and Gulf coasts. This does not take into account the flooding in the Midwest. I have spoken to Samuel Jordan in California and told him to stay there. We will let the military take care of the new devastations we are expecting in the Gulf and Atlantic states. So with all this in mind, where are we on stabilization plans, and how we react in the event someone decides to take advantage of this situation?”