The Senator sat wide eyed. He simply wasn’t prepared for that much fight from her. He had grossly underrated her resolve.
“Madam President,” he finally said, clearing his throat, “I can see that you have a great deal of conviction about Thornburg’s inability to handle this terrible situation that is raging through our country. Your strong conviction is certainly enough for me. I am convinced that you have indeed made the right choice. I will report back that we need to stand firmly behind you as Acting President. We can assess President Thornburg’s ability to reacquire the position at a later time.”
“I thank you for your vote of confidence Senator and welcome the support of your colleagues,” she said with a forced smile.
It almost matched the Senator’s in sincerity.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CTV NEWS — A rare event took place today when the US Senate met in a closed door session. All media reporters along with the public were locked out as Senators from all fifty states met. The session lasted over four hours with even aides and couriers being kept from the meeting.
The Senate majority leader, Senator Long of Kansas, was asked to comment on the unusual procedure.
“The session concerned the nation’s highest level of security and therefore was held in the strictest of confidence.”
When asked about the legality of such a meeting being held, the Senator replied, “no comment.”
Senate minority leader, Peter Neilson, echoed the exact same comments. As soon as the meeting was over, Senators immediately left for the day and were unavailable for comment. All phone calls to Senators were unreturned.
* * *
RiotousOne’s eyes were sunken with dark circles under them. He had slept little and cried almost non-stop. What had once seemed like such a glorious prank had turned into the world’s biggest catastrophe.
The latest news had reported that deaths had reached the ten million mark with over seventy million potential new cases reported. His actions had managed to kill more people than all the wars combined.
His actions had caused the deaths of his hacker friends and others that he had admired. His Father, Mother, and two siblings were now dead because of him. He had considered turning himself in to the police but he was too much of a coward. He could never take being in jail.
He sat dully looking at the six computer screens that he had arranged in a semicircle around his cluttered workspace. Once his pride, it now seemed to be mocking him. The monitors appeared to be watching his every move. He had not sent a text or even touched the keyboard for the past nine hours. He just sat blankly, only leaving to go to the bathroom.
He had played all the options he had over and over in his mind. Going to the police was out of the question. He thought about cutting his wrists but there was no way he could do such a thing. He shivered at the thought of pain.
He could simply blow his brains out but he didn’t own a gun and had never even shot one. No way could he just pick up a knife and stab himself. He shuddered just thinking about doing such a thing. Overdose? Of what? The strongest thing he had was Extra Strength Tylenol PM. That certainly wasn’t going to do much harm. At best it would let him get some sleep.
Watching the streaming video of the mass burial of five thousand bodies in New York, he decided on a course of action. He had been the one who caused this. Millions were suffering, just waiting to die. He had his answer.
Getting up, he turned off all the computer equipment, looked around one last time and went to the front room. He opened the door, removed his face mask, and started walking down the street.
* * *
Bodies had become a huge problem for every state affected. Thousands upon thousands were waiting to be buried. It was finally decided that the only answer was mass burial sites.
Areas were chosen and it was decided that each grave would hold five thousand bodies. A large headstone would be inscribed with each of the names of the people entombed. No one was happy with the decision but there was nothing else that could be done.
While cremations were still being done, the crematoriums were soon overwhelmed and could no longer honor the wishes of those that had decided against burial. Most were simply shipped off to the mass graves.
* * *
“Hey Buck. How is it going?” Randal asked when he stepped inside the trailer.
“As good as can be expected. You guys wanted to talk to me?” Buck replied.
“Yes we did. Buck, you know in all the talking we have done, I don’t think we ever really discussed what we are trying to accomplish down in that vertical tunnel. I think it was one of those ‘assume’ moments. You remember when Mike asked about the cable and you told him it was that big long thing or something along those lines?”
“Yeah, I didn’t mean any offence,” he said turning to Mark apologetically.
“No, no. That isn’t the problem. Mark and I asked each other if we had ever really sat down and explained exactly what we were going to do in the tunnel,” Randal told him.
“Well, I guess I just assumed you were going to try to bring that mining machine up and anything else we found down there,” he replied.
“And therein lies the problem. Mark was right. He thought you might be thinking along those lines when you were talking about how much the cable weighed.”
“And?”
“And all we want to do is get someone down there to tell us what they see and if they find any indication of the source to gather a small sample and bring it out of the hole,” Randal explained.
“That’s all?”
“That all.”
“No drilling machine?”
“Nope. We couldn't care less about that,” Mark added.
“Well I’ll be damned. Here I was trying to figure the load factors, tensile strength of the cable and all the stress factors. All you want to do is drop a guy down so he can poke around a little bit.”
“That’s pretty much it,” Mark replied.
“Well hell. How much does this sample weigh?” he suddenly asked.
“A few ounces if that.”
“Son of a gun. Boy, I have been wasting a lot of time trying to come up with a device that could haul up tons and here you wanted only a few ounces. Yeah, we definitely should have had this conversation earlier. We probably could have had your sample by now,” Buck lamented.
“Our fault entirely. We are the ones who thought you could magically read our minds. I just feel bad that we wasted so much of your time. You are the one who has been beating his head against a rock trying to come up with an answer. We definitely dropped the ball,” Randal replied.
“Boys, I've got some work to do. It is still a lot of weight just using cord wrapped wire but it’s a heck of a lot easier to use and doesn’t weigh a tenth as much. Now if there isn’t anything else?” he asked.
“Nope. That’s about as much stupidity as we can handle at one time,” Randal said.
“It isn’t entirely your fault. Mark here tried to question me and I just blew him off with a smart assed remark. I caused as much of this as anyone. I guess there is enough blame to go around,” Buck said.
“Well, at least we are all on the same page now. I guess I should say, the guy will be wearing a full bio-suit and probably a rebreathing apparatus.”
“All I’ll need is the total weight,” Buck replied.
“We'll get it to you as soon as we can.”
“Now if you will excuse me, I have a rig to design and build,” Buck said.
When he was gone Randal said, “Boy do I feel like a dummy.”
“We both should but since you're already feeling that way I guess I can keep my conscience clean.”
“Oh, thank you very much.”
“No problem. Always glad to help,” Mark quipped.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Acting President Andria Toll was sitting in the Oval Office looking out at the lawn. She adjusted her mask as she stood and walked over to look out at the lawn and sky. I
t was a beautiful day except for the fact that another million people would probably die today.
Her phone buzzed softly and she reached back and picked it up.
“Yes Maria?” she answered.
“Madam, Senators Long and Neilson are here and would like a few moments of your time.”
“Sure, what the heck, nothing much going on except for people dying. Send them in,” she said.
She refused to look at her hair or makeup to be sure she had lipstick on. She wasn’t going to primp for them, that was for sure.
The two men were shown into the office by a Marine Guard.
“Senator Long, Senator Neilson. How very nice to see you both. I’m actually very glad you dropped by. I have been meaning to contact you.”
“About the closed session meeting?” Long asked.
“Well yes. That was certainly an unusual event. It seems the press is going a bit crazy trying to find out what was so important to keep them out. You know how they are. They can’t stand someone not including them in so they can spin it in a way to sell more papers.”
“Yes Madam President. That is exactly why we restricted the session to just the members of the Senate. I know all about the Freedom of Information Act but this is one time we felt it was essential to talk to you before the press every got any information,” Senator Neilson said.
“My goodness. That will send them up the wall for sure. A secret in Washington. It just doesn’t happen very often in this city.”
“Yes Ma’am,” Senator Long replied.
“I’m sorry gentlemen, would you care for anything? Coffee, water?” Toll asked.
“Coffee if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother,” Neilson replied setting his briefcase on the floor.
“Senator Long?”
“Maybe a Coke if one is available?”
“Certainly,” she said and pressed the intercom and ordered the beverages for the Senators and tea for herself.
They made small talk until the beverages were delivered and then they got down to business.
“So Senator Long, Senator Neilson, I assume this meeting is to discuss what took place in the Senate closed door session a few days ago.”
“Yes Ma’am. The purpose was three fold. The first was to discuss President Thornburg. It was the most pressing issue and most of the time was spent on that. As you can well imagine, eighty-six Senators all wanting to be heard at the same time was… challenging. Of course we did say a prayer for our deceased members from this damn virus,” Senator Long told her.
She just waited. Senators. They can never just get to the point. They have to drag everything out. No wonder it took so long to get anything done.
“After deliberating, we unanimously agreed that the prudent thing to do was announce that you would be replacing President Thornburg due to health considerations. You will assume the office of President and be sworn in at the earliest convenient moment. You will fulfill the duties of the Office of the President for the remainder of the term.”
“He meant to add if you agree to serve,” Senator Neilson added smiling.
It was about as fake as any she had seen since watching Caylee Anthony’s mother on television.
“I certainly appreciate the vote of confidence. I would be more than happy to serve the American people. I am deeply saddened by the mental condition of former President Thornburg and look forward to working with Congress the remaining time I am in office,” she replied, smiling the same fake smiles as the Senators.
“Excellent. Then we will make the announcement immediately and have the swearing in ceremony at the Capital Building if that suits you, Madam President.”
“That would lovely. When are you considering this taking place?”
“This evening if that is convenient for you. We will notify the press so they will have ample time to cover the event. Four o’clock would give them time to get it on the five o’clock news,” Senator Long replied.
“That would be excellent. I will make the necessary arrangements to be there.”
“Wonderful,” Neilson added with another bogus smile.
“You said the meeting was three fold. May I ask about the other two items on the agenda?”
“Oh, yes. I almost forgot,” Long said.
She remained stoic knowing full well they would rather not have discussed it but now they were trapped.
“Madam President…”
“I’m still just the acting President at the moment,” she reminded him.
“A mere formality. As I was saying, the second item was how to better facilitate the handling of citizens that have contracted the Ebola virus.”
“What do you have in mind?” she asked, frowning slightly.
“Well, we think it would be best if we had a designated area where known infected people were kept in isolation.”
“I’m not sure I follow exactly,” Toll said.
The Senator cleared his throat before beginning again, “It seems to us that one of the reasons we can’t get a handle on this virus is because once a person comes into contact with the virus it is several days before the actual symptoms appear. Once they do, it’s essentially too late.”
“So you are suggesting what exactly?” she asked.
“That as soon as a person discovers they have come into contact with an infected person, they would be isolated to see if they develop further symptoms. All other infected persons would be held at a different facility,” he replied.
She clasped her hands and placed her elbows on the desk. She leaned forward and put her chin on her clasped hands.
“Are you saying we would have a meat packing arrangement? We bring anyone in that we think could have contacted the virus, we hold them until they either develop full blown Ebola or are cleared.”
“That’s a little simplistic but that would give us a better method of isolating the cases before they could spread further,” Long told her.
“How would we know if they had contact? For that matter, how would they even know?”
“Primarily we would encourage anyone that has had contact with someone that has been diagnosed with Ebola to come to the isolation facility until testing can be done,” Neilson spoke up.
“And if they decide not to report?” she asked.
“Why wouldn’t they? It is for their benefit. We could monitor their progress.”
“But what if they decided not to go?” she insisted.
“Then if we knew of such a person, we would use a different method of enticing them.”
“You mean you would by use of force,” she said, not as a question but a statement.
“Only under the most extreme means. It would be a last resort.”
“Interesting. And the third item?”
“We have received word that the Bedford Mine, the Delta mine as I believe they refer to it, has been opened up and they are considering going down the shaft they discovered to investigate what is in the bottom,” Neilson said, taking over for Senator Long.
“And why does that concern the Senate? Why would discovering what caused the epidemic upset you in any way. I would think you would want to know the reason behind this.”
“Well, without an official representative going down to determine the cause. Who knows what kind of story they could concoct. They could tell the world anything they wished. We believe strongly that whoever goes down in that pit should be accompanied by a government representative,” Neilson replied.
She just sat looking at them for a long time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Time seemed to slow down for the two Senators as they sat waiting for the President to reply. They fidgeted and looked back and forth at each other, willing her to speak. Finally she was ready.
“First let me say that while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I assume that the second two items are totally independent of the first. Is that accurate?”
“Absolutely,” Neilson said.
“Certainly,” Senator Long replied.
<
br /> “Good. Very good. I will give the second item my full attention, you can be certain of that. I do see the logic behind such a plan. It is this third item that has me baffled. Why would the Senate be worried about what they may or may not find in the bottom of a mining shaft?”
“We just want to ensure that what they report finding is accurate and factual. We are concerned about the authenticity of what they claim they have found,” Neilson replied.
There was another pregnant pause before she was ready to speak. There was more to it than what they were claiming, she was sure of it.
“Senator Long, Senator Neilson. We know between us, that all politicians are great bullshitters. Some of the best in the country or else we wouldn’t be in office very long, if we ever even made it that far. So, why don’t you stop playing footsie with me at tell me exactly what you are afraid of. Just what could be so devastating that the Senate wants to control the information?” Toll said, sitting back in her chair.
“Would you believe me if I said it is in your best interest to not delve into this too far? At this point you have plausible deniability. All we have discussed so far is your upcoming swearing in, the possibility of a different system to limit the spread of the Ebola virus and having a military expert as part of the team going down into the shaft. All of that is true, and I would be perfectly willing to attest to that in a court of law,” Neilson said.
“And if I push harder?”
“Then you could potentially place yourself in peril. Not from the Senate but from the American public,” he told her.
“My, that is a dilemma.”
“Yes Ma’am, you could certainly say that with the utmost confidence,” Neilson replied.
* * *
“Would someone please tell me what the heck is going on around here,” Buck said as he stormed into the trailer, holding a paper in his hand.
“What are you talking about? You know what’s going on as much as we do,” Randal replied looking up from where he had been peering through the microscope.
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