***
With the arrival of the allied armor, General Petlin ordered a retreat back to the camp. He was furious at being caught off guard but blamed Beijing for their poor intelligence. He had had no idea that the NATO allies posed him any kind of threat. As far as he had been concerned, the greatest threat to the coastline was the floating junk of the US Navy running aground due to lack of control and power. A loss of a prized ship would have been frowned upon, as it would soon become part of the Chinese military.
A quick reconnaissance confirmed what he suspected. The allied forces were minimal, enough to secure Washington due to his poor intelligence but nowhere near strong enough to secure the camp. He had batteries of anti-aircraft missiles and five times their armor. Reinforcements were already on their way from across the States and would be with him over the coming days, not to mention the armies that were plying the seas at that very moment.
The Russians were buckling under the renewed vigor of the reinforced Eastern front. They would fall shortly. Moscow would be theirs soon too.
Washington was only a small victory for the Americans in a much larger battle.
Chapter 81
By mid-afternoon, the last of the Chinese in Washington had been captured or had scurried back to Camp Trust. The White House was once again under American control and, thanks to surprisingly good generators, had power, if nothing else. Joan was as pleased to see Jack as he was her. She and many other low level staff who were deemed to pose no threat had been simply locked in the basement and left to fend for themselves, which they had done admirably. Given the power back-ups and resources within the White House, it was probably the best place to have been.
Admiral Keeler had explained his meeting with the Russian president and how he had told Keeler about the Chinese fooling them all. Keeler was initially skeptical, and Ilya Chernov had replayed the phone call between Jack and himself, just as the Chinese had struck. Although still skeptical, Chernov’s suggestion that they keep up the pretense that the Russians and allies were still fighting swung him. Why would Ilya suggest it if he was not being honest? Keeler had spoken with the British prime minister who had agreed and offered everything he could. A number of allied vessels were secured and the Camp Darby tanks were loaded onto allied transport ships. They would be the only US contingent in the fight to regain America. It was the only equipment they had that worked. The British had even sent their new aircraft carrier and aircraft, despite them being nowhere near ready for service.
Everything had to be done in secrecy, the idea being to surprise the Chinese. They had loaded what they could as fast as they could under cover of darkness. The plan was to combine the air and ground assault, but when their radars picked up the A10s, they realized an assault was already under way. They had tried to rush the jets in to protect the A10s but they were just too late.
“Congratulations, Mr. President,” said Butler as he and Swanson were shown into the Oval Office. A small crowd was already in attendance.
“We’re only partway there. Anyway, let me introduce you,” he said, pointing to Admiral Keeler. “Admiral Keeler, Tom Butler and Jane Swanson. Admiral, this guy worked out their plan and was risking his life trying to warn us before it all happened.”
Keeler shook both their hands.
“And Tom, Jane, this old goat is the best damn shot in the Army.”
Butler looked at a man who hadn’t been in the Army for at least thirty years.
“This is Bill Swann and the man who it appears may have killed President Junpeng’s brother and son.”
Butler looked back at him again, the surprise clear in his face. The president nodded his head.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir,” said Butler.
Bill introduced his niece and her boyfriend and soon the jovialities gave way, for at least a short period, to the enormity of the task that still awaited them.
“Mr. President,” announced Joan, “they’re ready for you in the Situation Room.”
The president indicated for all but Lauren and Mike to join them.
The group that had gathered in the room was a very different group than any other to have gathered in the defense of the nation. A number of foreign officers stood up and saluted as Jack entered with his entourage. Victor King sat alongside his cousin, with Admiral Keeler on the other side.
“Ladies and gentlemen, what do we know?” he asked, kicking the meeting off.
“As you are aware, all satellites are down, Mr. President, not just American ones. Therefore, the best we can do are some aerial shots that we managed to capture earlier,” said a British officer before laying a number of aerial reconnaissance shots on the table.
The scale of the forces was far beyond what they had anticipated. Anti-aircraft missiles were clearly visible. They would be able to knock out some but it seemed there were more than enough to deal with the one hundred planes at the allies’ disposal.
“Thank God you pulled back,” said Jack to Victor. “It would have been a slaughter.”
Victor looked at the photos and couldn’t disagree. The camp had become a fortress. The defenses were well laid out and well protected.
“So what, we just sit and wait for them to take Washington back?” asked Jack angrily to no one in particular. “Every minute our people have no power or idea what’s happening to them, we lose a little more of our society. Guys, we need to do something!”
“We need to switch our military back on,” Butler proclaimed loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.
Keeler, more aware than most of the failure of the equipment on the battlefield, was the first to ask. “What the hell does that mean?”
Butler explained that his IT gurus had discovered that there was, in effect, an on-off switch for their equipment. Every single piece of equipment could simply be switched back on and likewise off, with one command.
As Butler finished his explanation, Bill rose and left the room. His departure went unnoticed. His arrival five minutes later made a far greater impression.
“Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up the item he thought had been Lauren’s cell.
Butler raced around the table and grabbed it from him, looking at it closely. “I have no idea, but why do you think it would be?” he asked, suddenly embarrassed, as he had no idea what the switch would look like anyway.
Bill quickly explained the story to the group of the old Chinese man he had killed and on leaving the premises had mistaken the item for his niece’s cell. She had told him it wasn’t but he had kept it anyway. He held up a laptop case. “This was with it,” he said.
When he announced that he had since found out that the old man was President Junpeng’s brother, an audible gasp was heard from those who were not already aware.
A Japanese officer rose and asked to see the laptop case. He explained that he understood Chinese. He opened the case and the laptop. It opened immediately to something that instantly excited him. He asked to see the cell that accompanied it. He examined both intently as the room held its breath.
“This is it! This is the key!” he said confidently, breaking into a grin. “I hit this and it all switches back on. This cell tracks the Chinese satellites that are still up there and will send the signal to them to beam back down.”
“Whatever you do, don’t hit it!” shouted Butler, diving across the table.
Chapter 82
“Mr. President, I’m afraid I really must insist we leave now,” said his security chief.
Ilya looked at his office for the last time, albeit temporary, given they had already destroyed his original one, but it was the principle. They had ousted him from his country. The Chinese forces had made it to the outskirts of the city, less than thirty miles away. At the speed they were progressing, they’d be at the Kremlin walls in less than an hour.
He grabbed his cell from his desk, just as his landline phone began to ring.
“Mr. President, we must go now!” insisted his security m
an.
Ilya picked up the phone. “Hello?” he answered.
“Ilya, my friend?”
Ilya recognized the voice, but it couldn’t be. “Jack?”
“Yep! How are you, my friend?”
“Could be better, Jack. Would you mind if we continue this from my cell?” The sounds of explosions were beginning to rock the building.
“You going somewhere?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Well you just sit back down and let one friend repay another!”
“If only Jack. But I’m afraid it’s too late,” replied Ilya dejectedly, unable to hear even himself from the noise of aircraft overhead.
Ilya looked at his security man whose head was tight against the window looking into the sky.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It looks like the Americans!” the man said.
“What Americans?”
“All of them!!”
***
Butler had stopped them pressing the button for one simple reason. The moment they pressed it, they would let it be known that they had control back. He had been warned by his IT gurus that whatever they did, if they sent a signal, it had to be the one designed to kill the on-off capability. It took them less than half an hour to change the code that would be sent to the Chinese satellites to reinstate the US military. The code would reactivate the chips but more importantly, would be permanent. The code would stop the Chinese or anyone ever again switching off the chips and with them, the entire US military machine.
With the code being sent, it was a case of sitting back and waiting to see if it would work. It didn’t take long. Communications burst to life, as the advanced communications systems, meant to withstand a nuclear attack, began to explode with the sound of the military being reawakened. Despite the lack of power, the redundancy systems which were designed for that eventuality kicked in immediately. The might of the US military was back on line and Jack wasted no time in taking full control.
He initiated a coordinated fight back. The small Chinese forces that had held the powerless might of the American bases at bay were quickly eliminated. Chinese soldiers began to surrender across the States, realizing they were in no position to win, given how dramatically the tables had turned.
***
General Petlin tried for hours to reinstate the ‘kill switch’ in the chips before finally conceding defeat. The great takeover was over. He contacted President Junpeng for authority to surrender. He refused, demanding that they hold on. His army was just days away. The victory was theirs for the taking. General Petlin disagreed and received a torrent of abuse. The news that their imminent taking of Moscow had failed because of the intervention of a massive airstrike by the Americans on the outskirts of Moscow was still not sufficient for the Chinese president to concede defeat.
At that point, and with the knowledge of a massive airstrike and overwhelming forces about to attack the camp, General Petlin took the decision to offer, against his president’s wishes, an unconditional surrender of all Chinese forces in America. He told the advancing American forces that he was not willing to die for a madman. He even requested asylum to avoid returning to China. It was not granted. Despite the refusal, he switched the rest of America back on. Power and utilities that had been controlled by the Trust and modernized to allow them total control of the systems were switched back on. It was as easy as switching on a light.
***
In a matter of hours, America had shown what its military was capable of. The power of the forces unleashed against the Chinese in Russia by the US Air Force would be a lesson to everyone. The invasion was stopped with one air strike, which delivered more explosive force in one day than had been delivered in the history of the world. The Chinese were quite literally stopped in their tracks. Again, a surrender was offered by the military leaders despite their president’s refusal.
With his armies across the world surrendering, President Junpeng had no option but to issue a statement that all hostilities had been ended. It was an attempt at face saving, suggesting he had ordered the surrenders.
What Jack had anticipated would take weeks, took hours. The Chinese had known they were no match for the Americans, at least an America not crippled by their deceit and deviousness. With victory secured, he was keen to speak to the people and as power was restored, it came far quicker than he expected. A hasty broadcast was arranged and with little time for preparation, Jack decided that speed was more important than content. He’d wing it.
“My fellow Americans, I cannot tell you how pleased I am to be sitting before you today, with our liberty and freedom restored. A liberty and freedom that has never been in such jeopardy since the birth of our great nation. We have lost many great people, loved ones, family members over the last few weeks and let us not ever forget the price they paid for our freedom. I have many people to thank, too many to mention right now but they know who they are and over the coming weeks and months, I will ensure they receive the awards and recognition they deserve. Now is about normality, it’s about getting back to the life and liberty that we as Americans have fought and died to preserve. It has been a week that we have to remember for our future but for our present may be best forgotten. Actions of the many will have outweighed the few. Let us not dwell on the worst but those that behaved best. We are Americans, we are free and we are strong. God Bless America!”
The camera stopped rolling as Jack accepted the cell that was being handed to him.
“Jack,” said Ilya, in a far more relaxed tone.
“Ilya, my friend.”
“How are things?”
“Very good, Jack, very good, they’re running back home,” he laughed. “It was a very impressive show.”
“I don’t believe in messing around.”
“Remind me never to piss you off,” Ilya joked.
Jack smiled. “Hit hard and hit fast, my friend!”
Chapter 83
Monday July 27th 2015
The White House
Normality had been restored across the country far quicker than anticipated. With power, came gas. With gas, came the ability to move product. With product, came the ability to make money. And so the cycle returned to normal. The Trust’s businesses were under the control of the government but with a view to being distributed evenly as a share give-away to the nation. At least something good was going to come of it.
Jack had selected a new cabinet and had also replaced the military senior roles. He had seen it as an absolute priority, if not only just to let Frank have a good night’s sleep, knowing there were alternates.
His one regret was that President Junpeng remained in power. He would dearly have loved to have stormed in and removed him. However, it had been made clear that he was far too unstable and the likelihood of him firing his nuclear arsenal was just too great. The anticipated internal power overthrow had not occurred either. It seemed he ruled with such authority that it remained unquestioned, despite their humiliating defeat. Of course, the likelihood that the average Chinese citizen had been aware of what had taken place was unlikely. They were fed news the State wanted them to hear, nothing else.
The boats bound for America full of Chinese troops were still being escorted back to Chinese waters. Jack didn’t even want to imagine the numbers involved but he had heard guesses of nearly two million Chinese crammed onto anything that would float. Every time he thought of what they would have done with their military might, he shuddered. They had come so close.
He stopped thinking the worst. Today was about the best. A list of people were waiting to receive awards from him. He would have loved for all of the sixty thousand men who had stood with him on the battlefield to be there but there were limits to what he could do in one day. Another mass event was scheduled at the Redskins Stadium, where he would honor them personally. A representative group was in attendance, the commander of each and every group that had come to the aid of the nation.
Each received a Di
stinguished Service Cross, a new award not for any of the current services, but a new one for Patriots. Each of the sixty thousand would receive theirs at the stadium.
A long line of military and civil awards were handed out over the course of the afternoon, as stories of individual heroism and selflessness were rewarded.
With the main ceremony over, Jack returned to his residence where he had arranged for a more private event consisting of a very small group of special attendees.
His cousin Victor, Tom Butler, Jane Swanson and Bill Swann stood up as he entered the yellow Oval Room.
The rest of the afternoon and into the evening was spent thanking the small group that had helped save the nation. Jack pulled them all aside, one at a time, and presented them with an award. All accepted, except Bill. He didn’t want an award, he wanted something else. Jack listened and dearly wanted to do it for him but didn’t think it possible. He promised to try. Butler and Swanson accepted their awards, which included Butler receiving a senior role within Jack’s National Intelligence team. His pay would be backdated to when he had been terminated from the CIA, a very welcome bonus. His first action was to offer Swanson a job. She flatly refused and included expletives, despite the president being there. Victor was delighted to receive his but turned down the opportunity to be rejoin the military. He had his men to think of and he was just as happy knowing his cousin was back in his life.
As the evening drew to a close and he was saying his goodbyes, Jack held Butler and Swanson back.
“Follow me,” he said and took them through his lounge and bedroom and into his study. A newly rebuilt column stood before them.
Butler and Swanson looked at one another. The column had been repaired.
Jack walked over to the column and triggered the release mechanism; it spun to reveal the capsule.
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