Another news helicopter joined the chase when the original pilot had to depart for fuel. The new reporter was a well-known and respected journalist from the Las Vegas area. Her helicopter was soon joined in formation by two more news helicopters.
Scott went to the window and cast his gaze east-southeast where the Hoover Dam had held back Lake Mead for over half a century. Turning to Jackie, he spoke in a quiet voice. "This is like watching the events of September eleventh in slow motion . . . over and over until you're numb."
"I know, but I can't take my eyes away"
The helicopter reporter was reporting that Lake Havasu City was still being evacuated. Some ill-informed members of the community had been under the impression that Davis Dam would protect them.
Late evening was approaching when the millions of tons of water and debris swept through Lake Havasu, which was created by Parker Dam, and continued the sweep down the violendy raging river. With twilight fading, the huge torrent of water crushed Parker Dam, knocking out power to many more communities in Arizona and southern California.
The helicopter pilots tried using bright spodights, but it was difficult to tell what was happening in the swirling, twisting waters.
What surprised many viewers were the enormous whirlpools, some large enough to suck under a twenty-five-to-thirty-foot boat.
Jackie sank back on the couch and closed her eyes. "This disaster will take years to overcome."
Scott switched to another cable channel. "Think about the time needed to rebuild the dams and the time to refill the lakes. Wheres the water going to come from for the entire southwestern section of the country?"
"Who knows? It's beyond comprehension."
"We don't even know the half of it," he mused. "One thing we do know: We have to find Farkas and the four nukes."
They continued to watch the water invasion of Interstate 10 near Blythe, California. The powerful torrents of water finally weakened the highway to the point that chunks of concrete began falling into the raging Colorado River. Minutes later the span sagged a couple of feet and then broke into three pieces.
With the two major southwestern east-west interstates closed, commerce ceased to flow across southern California. Gridlock became the norm as thousands of trucks and other vehicles had to be rerouted north or south. Soon a detour was implemented west of Tucson to swing Interstate 10 traffic to Interstate 8 through Yuma, Arizona.
Next came the destruction of the Imperial Dam and the Laguna Dam. The television coverage of the events was excellent, both from the air and the ground. News crews, most of whom had powerful floodlights trained on the water, had been stationed in advance along the river.
Shortly after the Laguna Dam was destroyed, the flooded river wreaked havoc in Yuma before surging into Mexico. Although Interstate 8 suffered some minor damage, the highway survived the pounding waters. A few of the news helicopters flew into Mexico to follow the flood, but most stopped at the border.
Continuing south, the waters spread out far and wide as the flood surged into San Luis, Guadalupe Victoria, Estacion Coahuila, Riito, and Oviedo Mota, before reaching Mexico's Colorado River delta and finally spilling into the Golfo de California.
NORAD
With the entire southwestern section of the United States now declared a disaster area, President Macklin made the decision to return to the White House. In his judgment, he could not successfully lead the country from the confines of the NORAD complex.
NORAD provided the safety and communication capabilities the commander in chief needed to pursue the war on terror, but it did not look right for the president of the world s only superpower to lead the country from the bowels of a cave. The citizens needed to see him, know he was okay and in good health, and hear his comforting, reassuring words.
Minutes after the Hoover Dam was bombed, Macklin gave the order to send the USS Nimitz battle group to the North Arabian Sea to join the USS Stennis and the USS Washington and their escorts. Now, before he left for the White House, the president ordered the USS Constellation battle group to sail into harms way. En route to her home port of San Diego, California, the aircraft carrier and her support ships reversed course for the North Arabian Sea. The homecoming parties would have to be delayed for now.
The USS Enterprise and her battle group assumed station on the East Coast of the United States, while the Abraham Lincoln covered the West Coast. Ships from the coast guard were also on station to help defend all waterways and air routes close to the country.
Shortly after 10 P. M. the president and his staff left Cheyenne Mountain for the E-4B waiting at Peterson AFB. Macklin was looking forward to having breakfast with the first lady. Maria Eden-Macklin would be arriving at the White House only minutes after Marine One delivered her husband to the residence.
Security was tight at the White House. The marines were out in force, and fighter planes circled the mansion around the clock. Construction crews were working twenty-four hours a day to repair the damage caused by the crash of the hijacked Gulfstream G-IV.
En route to Peterson AFB, Hartwell Prost used a satellite phone to call Scott and Jackie. Farkas had been sighted far from the location of his crashed B-25, ^^ their Bell 206 L4 LongRanger would be in Las Vegas early in the morning. The FAA had granted a discreet code for their transponder, and agent Frank Wakefield requested they contact him early in the morning.
YUMA, ARIZONA
Military search-and-rescue helicopters, including units and squadrons from the marines, coast guard, navy, air force, army, air national guard, and army national guard, were tasked to hunt for stranded survivors along the entire Colorado River. Some of the units were coming from as far away as the East Coast. Other units were volunteering but being held in abeyance until the situation could be assessed in the light of day.
The U. S. Border Patrol was galvanized into an organization to assist in rescue efforts on both sides of the river to Page, Arizona. Like most law enforcement agencies along the river, every available Border Patrol agent had been called to duty. Military transport planes and helicopters from active duty squadrons and air guard squadrons were flying the agents to critical areas along the river.
The FAA authorized civilian law enforcement and EMS helicopters to assist with the efforts to rescue people. The Feds restricted the number of news helicopters and forced the media to use pool reporters along the river.
Everyone was operating under intense emotional and physical stress. The civilian and military helicopter pilots were flying in dangerous conditions, sometimes having to hover under live power lines, close to trees, and near telephone poles and other obstacles.
Most of the victims were along the riverbank. Others, who were far from the river, had believed nothing could happen to them. Unfortunately, hundreds of them paid the ultimate price for underestimating the power of the raging water.
Overhead, a navy E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft was helping to coordinate the efforts of helicopters from Naval Air Station North Island, California, helicopters from Marine Corps Air Stations Miramar and Camp Pendleton, California. It was a difficult task, especially at night, to keep the massive rescue operation as safe as possible.
Due to the chaos along the river, innovation become the rule. Certain helicopters flew at higher altitudes than others, using searchlights to look for survivors. Other helicopters went in low to rescue stranded people and take them to medical facilities.
The rescue operation was proceeding at a reasonable pace until half past midnight, when a totally unexpected phenomenon began to occur. Beginning in the flooded areas of Mexico between Yuma, Arizona, and El Centro, California, and spreading southeast toward Sonoyta, Nogales, and Agua Prieta, first hundreds and then thousands of illegal aliens began storming the U. S. border.
In Mexico, the word had spread like a wind-driven forest fire. The destroyed dams and unprecedented flooding presented a chance for a brighter future for many Mexican citizens. If illegal immigrants wanted to enter the United
States and not get caught, now was the time to go.
Like the famous California gold rush of 1848, every precious minute lost could be an opportunity gone forever. The encouraging message was being broadcast from radio stations in Tijuana, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey.
The same theme prevailed throughout Mexico. "Let s take back the land the Americans stole from us! Dont worry, the Americans arent going to shoot tens of thousands of Mexicans. Take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Follow your dreams! Go to America and prosper!"
The first large concentration of migrants began crossing the All American Canal in the El Centro border sector near Calexico, California. The irrigation waterway follows the Mexico-U. S. border for eighty-two miles, and 11,000-plus farm workers were hoping to find employment in the Imperial and Coachella valleys.
In their haste to enter the United States, 271 laborers drowned in the water of the canal during the first twenty minutes. Seeing their friends and family members being swept away, hundreds of illegal migrants frantically passed the word down the line at the canal. Most of the second wave of laborers decided to cross the border in the desert.
In certain areas of narrow passage through the border, many hopeful immigrants found themselves in the midst of mob rule. Mexican gangs set up checkpoints where everyone had to pay their last peso to cross the border. There were no exceptions, unless you wanted to trade the favors of your wife or daughters.
The sections of the border patrolled by horse units were particularly active. Inaccessible to standard all-terrain vehicles, the trails were saturated with thousands of fleeing Mexicans. Many wept as they ran across the border and stood on U. S. soil.
Texas was the first state to close their fourteen commercial crossing points into Mexico. El Paso, Pharr, Laredo, Eagle Pass, and Brownsville were overrun by 1:20 A. M. Seven illegal aliens were trampled to death on the Mexican side of the Zaragoza-Ysleta Bridge south of El Paso. Local law enforcement officials and highway patrol officers were called to help secure the crossings. California, New Mexico, and Arizona quickly followed suit.
The Mexican stampede was on, and the numbers were growing by the minute. Desperate people slapped together whatever they could carry and joined the frenzied rush of illegal aliens heading for isolated sections of the border. From battered pickup trucks carrying twenty riders to small caravans of pack mules, these people were willing to overcome any hardship, face any ordeal, to escape their miserable, poverty-ridden lives.
The image of a prosperous and happy life in America was addictive. With the United States dealing with a huge disaster, and 72 percent of the Border Patrol agents detailed to the Colorado River, the timing could not have been better.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Sixteen antiaircraft missiles were now deployed around the official residence of the president, to provide a multilayered air defense. In addition, hundreds of man-portable heat-seeking Stinger missiles were part of Operation Safe Skies. Supported by tankers, fighter aircraft patrolled Washington, D. C., twenty-four hours a day.
President Cord Macklin, continuously updated on the border situation, went straight from Marine One to the Oval Office. Vice President David Timkey was conferring with General Jeremiah Jamison when Macklin, Prost, Adair, and General Chalmers walked in and sat down.
Dave Timkey, a former governor of Tennessee, was Macklins point man with members of Congress.
"Where do we stand?" the president asked the commander of homeland security.
Shoulders squared, General Jamison responded without looking at his briefing notes. "Mr. President, the invasion is growing by the hour. CIA agents in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, have reported that illegal immigrants are pouring into Mexico from Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Some of the immigrants from Colombia and Ecuador have been waiting months to enter Mexico on their way to the United States."
Back from attending a funeral in Norway, Dave Timkey spoke up. "Chiapas is the Mexican state that borders Guatemala. This invasion from Ecuador through Chiapas, a main crossing point for undocumented immigrants entering Mexico, began about two years ago. They've been gathering in Guatemala."
Macklin was bone-tired and his patience was running low. "Dave, I appreciate the information, but I need to know what's happening on our border."
Timkey, a tough lawyer-turned-politician, stood his ground. "Sir, ninety to one hundred thousand immigrants from south of Mexico have passed through Chiapas in the last three months to enter the United States illegally. At least one third of them are militant Muslims who openly encourage a jihad against America. Along with the Mexicans, they are now coming across our border."
Jamison had one more piece of bad news. "In the last fourteen months, an estimated twenty-five thousand Ecuadorians have traveled on the high seas to get to Mexico. Their goal, too, is to enter our country. Mr. President, we have to take control of our border at any cost, and then round up the illegal immigrants."
Macklin slumped in his chair, and then looked at his national security adviser. "Hartwell?"
"General Jamison is right. We have two major dams destroyed, there's a devastating flood, and thousands of Mexicans are storming our southern border. Everyone knows the Mexican army and the federal police have been helping illegal aliens cross the border for years. I say we warn President Cardenas of dire consequences if he doesn't stop this invasion within twenty-four hours."
"And if he doesn't?" Pete Adair asked.
"That's why we have a military" Prost said, without hesitation. "To protect our borders."
The president leaned on his desk. "I agree with Hartwell. We 11 send an urgent message to President Cardenas, but I want Secretary Austin to speak face-to-face with him before we resort to a military option, if it comes to that."
"Mr. President," Prost said firmly, "I know you're tired, but I recommend that you go on television this morning after the Cabinet meeting. The American people need your reassurance that we can handle the war on terrorism and the border problems at the same time."
Macklin sat in quiet contemplation for a moment. "Ten o'clock Eastern, Oval Office."
"Yes, sir."
The president slid his chair back. "Cabinet meeting at eight sharp?"
Chapter 25.
ON THE MEXICAN BORDER
By 3:50 A. M., illegal immigrants were scurrying across the border from Baja California to Brownsville, Texas. In many isolated areas, trampled fences, toppled signposts, abandoned personal items, and trails of litter presented clear evidence of the frantic rush to seize the opportunities waiting in the United States.
Along the West Texas border, Mexican citizens were crossing the Rio Grande in anything and everything that would float. One enterprising group even had a small Zodiac inflatable boat with an electric trolling motor. In addition to the cramped adults in the ten-foot boat, they were towing another inflatable brimming with children.
For the militant Muslims who had been waiting in Mexico and in South America for their opportunity to infiltrate the United States, the time had finally arrived. The Syrian, Saudi Arabian, and Iranian regimes, along with factions still in Iraq, secretly backed the "volunteers for martyrdom." Leadership elites in this oil-rich region planned to destabilize the United States and wear out Washington's resolve to have a presence in the Middle East.
DEHING, NEW MEXICO
The first signs of daylight were only minutes away when a section of F-16s assigned to the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB, South Carolina, were vectored to intercept an unknown bogey southwest of Deming. The low-flying fast-moving aircraft had crossed the border from Mexico and was westbound eighteen miles inside U. S. territory.
The young pilot of the Fuerza Aerea Mexicana F-5E Tiger II was disoriented and thought he was still inside his homeland. Captain Jorge de Jesus Martino had crossed the boot heel of New Mexico and was about to enter Arizona. Aside from being lost, his other problems included faulty radios and a missing wingman. His friend h
ad aborted his takeoff because of a malfunction in one of his engines.
Martinos air defense fighter was armed with two 20mm guns and two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. With the sudden flurry of activity along the border, and growing tensions between Mexico City and Washington, the Santa Lucia-based fighter squadron had been ordered to patrol the border.
When the F-16s intercepted the F-5E, Martino was startled. He could not believe the Americans were violating Mexican airspace. He maintained his current speed and course while the F-16 flight leader tried several times to communicate via radio.
After talking with a mission specialist in the E-3B AWACS, Major Tanner Axelson tried to use visual signals. No luck.
Captain Martino believed the Americans were trying to force him north into U. S. airspace. That could create an international incident and end his air force career.
As the seconds ticked away, he rapidly considered his options. With two armed F-16s flying next to him, they were limited at best. Martino, a cocky pilot with a "grandstander" reputation, made a hasty decision to roll the dice. He would make a move to lure the Americans farther into Mexico. Surely they would not chance shooting him down over his own country.
He yanked the throttles back and snapped into a knife-edge turn to the left. He was heading directly south when he slammed into the tail of the American flight leader.
Both aircraft exploded in a bright reddish-yellow fireball, instantly killing the pilots. The remains of the fighters impacted the ground twenty miles west of the New Mexico-Arizona border.
The horrified wingman, Captain Daryl Milner, contacted the AWACS and then circled the crash sites until he was forced to depart because of low fuel. He dreaded having to face his friends bride of one month.
LAS VEGAS
Unable to stop watching the news updates about the tragic disasters and the border incursions, Jackie and Scott had slept a little over two hours when they awakened at 6:10 A. M. The horrible, sickening assault on America had not been a bad dream.
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