"Abdul, that sounds wonderful," Carrington replied. "And those troops would obey my orders as President of the People's States?"
Al Zahrani nodded his head slightly. "There is the issue of following the orders of a woman. But the Caliph has empowered me to act in his stead here in your People's States. You would tell me what you wished these men to do and I would give their officers their orders. Their officers would obey my orders and their personnel would obey them."
"Then, Abdul, you and I would need to work together very...closely?" asked Carrington coyly.
"Yes indeed, Sherrill! Quite closely," the Arab responded softly. "I would need to understand your inner thoughts in order to ensure your wishes were carried out accurately."
"Abdul, I do believe this is the beginning of a beautiful and profitable friendship...for both of us," replied Carrington. "Please tell me what more the Caliph has asked you to do..." The conversation carried on well into the night.
Hours later, in their limousine returning to their hotel, Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani briefed his chief lieutenant on what had transpired in the Oval Office. "Mustafa, it was almost too easy. This woman thinks with her genitals. For now, I must report to the Caliph that his plan can be put into action. Then we must alert our forces in South America, the South Pacific, Western Africa, and Europe to prepare to deploy."
Chapter 4
September 13th
Arizona State Department of Homeland Security Training Center
Phoenix, Arizona
The tabletop exercise had been underway for the better part of an hour. Representatives from all levels of state and local emergency response agencies were participating. Disaster theatre-in-the-round, thought Colonel Marcus Roman from his vantage point in the third row where he sat with other members of the Arizona State Guard.
The participants were gathered in a large, round room with several tiers of chairs and desks looking down upon a holographic display in the center. At the moment, the display showed the greater metropolitan area of Phoenix and surrounding cities out to a distance of 45 miles. The highly detailed image could be zoomed into and out of easily to provide details as needed and to allow the participants to look at specific locations within the image.
The scenario called for a search for a nuclear weapon smuggled into the Phoenix business district before the device could be detonated and the follow-up response should such an event occur. The level of interaction and cooperation between the various agencies involved was being gauged by evaluators on each level of the theater and in the control room overhead.
In the nearby control room, Governor Eleanor "Ellie" Alvarez, General Titus Augustus Roman of the ASGuard, Kenneth Halsted of the Combined Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation or CBII, the head of the state bureau of investigation, and others sat watching the scenario play out. The opportunity to prevent the vehicle carrying the nuke into the city had been missed and it was now time to move to the next phase of the scenario. The governor nodded to the chief evaluator and he pointed to one of his computer tech.
Down in the theater, the 3-dimensional image of downtown Phoenix erupted in a blaze of light. The fireball expanded outward and upward engulfing the high rise buildings of the downtown district. As it continued to expand, the familiar sight of a mushroom cloud appeared above the image of the city. The blast and heat waves spread outward in all directions. Phoenix’s business district ceased to exist and second by second, so did buildings further away. Within seconds, the virtual metropolitan Phoenix and much of the surrounding cities were gone!
The initial silence in the theater was suddenly replaced by gasps and groans from the participants. Then everyone tried to speak at once! Suddenly, a loud voice roared out over the sea of noise, “QUIET!”
The room quieted and everyone turned to see who had yelled so loudly. Their eyes came to rest on the chief of the largest fire department within the metropolitan complex; an older gentleman long versed in these types of exercises. “Everyone quiet down! They’ve thrown us the ultimate curve ball here, but let’s work the problem,” he said calmly. “First, we need to establish command. As fire seems to be the biggest problem here at the moment, I would assume command and set my command post up…”
He was stopped by the low laughter of several people in the room. “What are you laughing about,” he asked?
One of the senior emergency responders from another outlying city rose and asked, “Chief, where were you located at the time of the blast?” Each participant was given a digital briefing sheet detailing the day, time, weather conditions, resources available, as well as their location.
The fire chief looked the monitor in front of his position to read the information again. “In my office, of course!”
A couple of more chuckles came from parts of the room. “Your office…in downtown Phoenix…which no longer exists, right?”
The fire chief opened his mouth to respond…then closed it. Yep, I’m part of the problem now…not part of the solution, he thought. Me, my personnel, our department…hell, most of our city is now just radioactive debris!
He smiled at the others and sat down in his chair. He leaned it back, put his feet up on the desk in front of him, crossed his arms over his chest, and stuck his tongue out of one side of his mouth. A ripple of good natured laughter filled the room as the big city fire chief played dead.
The other responders quickly sorted out who was outside of the blast and destruction zone and who wasn’t. Incident command was soon set up and the exercise moved forward again. The “survivors” began to “deploy” resources to assist other survivors in the surrounding communities, “establish” a working chain of command within the State of Arizona, and proceed with “restoring” order.
Five grueling hours later, the exercise ended and many of the participants left the theater weary and sweat-soaked. Quite a few visited the restrooms to splash cold water on their faces and relieve themselves before stepping outside of the building to walk around and stretch the kinks out of their backs and legs. After several minutes they began to congregate together in small groups and discuss the exercise.
Marcus waited another few minutes then re-entered the building and made his way to his seat in the theater. The projection system had been retracted under the floor in the center of the large room and three tables and several chairs had taken its place. Marcus saw his father and the governor as they took their seats in the center of the room. They noticed him and waved so he waved back at them.
The debriefing began several minutes later and lasted another three hours. Finally, it was over! As Marcus rose from his seat, he saw his father wave to him and signal him to meet down in the pit below. Marcus waited until the participants had thinned out then made his way to the center floor of the theater.
Marcus stopped in front of the governor and the general, went to attention, and saluted them both. They returned his salute then shook his hand. “Well, Marcus, what did you think?” General Roman asked his son.
Marcus paused before answering. “Sir…ma’am, I thought that fire chief would pop a gasket when he got called out for being nuked. But he took it well,” Marcus began before taking a more serious tack. “During the early stages of the exercise, too many opportunities were missed to close off roadways into the city and begin passive scanning for a bomb’s radiation signature. More aircraft and drones could have been employed in the search from the get go. Perhaps it’s because the technology is just too new and the different agencies haven’t worked with the drones enough yet. I’ll have more for my official report when I’ve had a chance to get a good meal and a good night’s sleep.”
Governor Alvarez and General Roman both nodded at Marcus’ initial assessment. The governor spoke for them both when she said, “Yes, we need to do more of these tabletop exercises; as well as some field exercises to get people familiar with using the new technologies in the real world.” She nodded to her executive assistant who was hovering a few feet away. The assistant quickly
typed in something on the tablet computer she carried.
Before they could talk some more, Governor Roman’s aide handed the general a message. The elder Roman glanced at the message and his features softened. He looked at his son and said, “It’s from the hospice center, they say Evan wants to see us. They say we should come as soon as possible.”
Titus turned to the governor to invite her to travel with him. Instead, she beat him to the punch by saying, “I’ll ride with you and Marcus in your ACV! Let’s go!”
The governor and her two loyal ASGuard troopers, accompanied by their aides, quickly exited the building. Titus had commed his driver to alert her to be prepared to move out. They found the large armored command vehicle parked near the building exit, its engine running, and its rear hatch open to receive them. They boarded the vehicle which jumped into motion the moment they were belted in; the rear hatch closing as the vehicle moved out. The ASGuard’s larger vehicles always ran with flashing lights while operating within city limits to warn people of their approach. In this instance, it certainly helped clear some early evening traffic.
Fifteen minutes later the vehicle braked to a halt in front of the Valle del Solar Hospice Center. Titus and Marcus helped Governor Alvarez down the steps of the rear hatch then escorted her into the lobby of the building. One of the center’s doctors met them at the front desk.
“You folks got here in record time. Mr. Evanston…well…he doesn’t have much time left. His family have been with him but he wanted to speak with you two gentlemen. I’m sure he’d like to speak with you as well, Governor. Please, this way!” The doctor led them down the hallway to the wing where Liam W. Evanston was staying. Evanston son, Jake, and his niece, Jessica Allison Evanston, were standing in the hall, talking to one another.
Titus spoke with them both for a moment and then signaled Alvarez and Marcus to follow him into Evanston’s room. Inside, they approached the shrunken figure on the bed. “Liam, it’s Titus. I’ve brought Ellie and Marcus with me.”
Evanston’s eyelids fluttered open and cast about the room until they came to rest on his three visitors. “Titus,” he said weakly. “And Ellie and Marcus! I’m so pleased you came.”
“Of course, Liam!” said Titus softly. He had been in this situation before…losing friends to death was part and parcel of a long, long military career. Usually, it was sudden…over in the blink of an eye. Other times, like now, took longer. Time in which the friend died a little piece at a time.
“Just…wanted to talk with you…one more time,” Evanston whispered. “Ellie, glad you came, too! Titus…looks like we’ll need…to postpone our next chess game for a while. No rush. We’ll play…next chance we get.”
Titus took his friend’s hand gently, leaned closer to the man’s face, and replied, “That we will, Liam!” Evanston smiled weakly up at his friend before turning his eyes to Marcus.
“Marcus, look after your…parents, your lovely wife, and my godson! I’m…I’m…proud of you, son!”
“Yes sir, I most certainly will. Thank you, Liam…for being a part of my life!” said Marcus taking Evanston’s free hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze.
Evanston shifted his gaze to Governor Alvarez and taking his hands from Titus and Marcus, waved her closer. “Ellie, thank you for letting this broken down old hack be a part of the grand adventure you’re leading these brave people on!” Alvarez leaned over to kiss the dying man on the forehead.
“Take care, my friends,” Evanston said, his voice just above a whisper. “See you…on the other…side.” His voice trailed off. At first, his visitors thought he’d passed, but they saw his chest rise and fall and the medical vitals status systems still blinked in time with his heartbeat. The doctor who had met them entered the room and approached Evanston. Governor Alvarez and the Romans stepped from the room.
The doctor emerged a few minutes later. “Mr. Evanston appears to have slipped into a coma. The pain he’s been experiencing has been quite severe and we’ve given him the highest dosage of pain killers that we can without killing him. I’m afraid he’s entered the final stage. It’s just a matter of time now.” He spoke quietly with Evanston’s son and niece for a moment, nodded his farewells, and left them.
Alvarez and the Romans spoke with Jake and Jess Evanston for a short time then turned to leave. Jake Evanston approached General Roman. “Sir, thank you for helping make my father’s final years fulfilling. And thank you for the official honors you are planning to render him. They…mean…meant a lot to him!” Titus reached out and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.
“Jake, the honor is ours. Your father inspired us as much as we inspired him,” Titus told Jake. “He will rest in honor with our fallen…his brothers and sisters of the Arizona State Guard.” Titus clapped Jake on the shoulder, nodded, and led the governor and his son back down the hallway to the front door of the hospice center.
Titus, Marcus, and Ellie Alvarez were quiet on the drive to the Governor’s Mansion. Upon reaching the mansion, the two ASGuard officers escorted the governor to the front door and wished her goodnight. Then they returned to the general’s ACV and resumed their trip to the current ASGuard Headquarters. Along the way, General Roman asked his son, “Heading back to the Verde Valley tonight?”
Marcus shook his head in the negative. “No sir; I’ll stay in my office here tonight, work on my follow-up report to today’s exercise. Get some rest then head back in the morning.”
“How are things going with completing the new base and headquarters?” Titus asked.
“We’re down to the wire on the new headquarters building,” Marcus answered. “Some of the outlying facilities are still being painted but it shouldn’t be long.”
“Are we still on schedule to activate the base on the 20th?”
“Yes sir, we could really do it any time you’re ready, sir!” Marcus replied with a smile. “We’re ahead of schedule in that aspect!”
Titus grew quiet for a moment, obviously giving something some very serious thought. When he spoke, he said, “Well, let’s speed things then! Try to give everyone something positive to think about for a while.”
Marcus nodded and pulled out his comm unit and pulled up his calendar. “We’ve been receiving supplies and equipment already. How about we ramp up the movement of more equipment, supplies, and personnel? We’ve got room for everything!”
Titus checked his comm unit’s calendar, tapped in some notes to his aide, and nodded back at his son. “Let’s do it! I’ll contact the governor in the morning…she’s been wanting to get us moved out of Phoenix for the past few weeks as part of the dispersal program. The best way I can think of to activate the base is to have our Headquarters units pull in to take possession. We’ll accelerate the crating of equipment and military materiel and begin loading vehicles now. If it ain’t bolted down, we’ll move it!”
Marcus began to feel excited! This move might just be the shot in the arm that the members of the ASGuard would need to overcome recent weeks of boredom and the certain knowledge that their friend, Liam W. Evanston, was going to die soon. Marcus typed more notes into his comm unit for his executive officer to act on in the morning. With that done, Marcus spent the remainder of the drive to the soon-to-be former ASGuard Headquarters talking with his father about family matters.
**********
September 13th
The District
Abdul Aziz Mohammed Al Zahrani picked up the secure phone and waited as the signal was routed around the world to the private office of Caliph Mahmud Muhammed Suleyman. The phone on that end was answered after the first ring.
“Yes, my loyal Abdul Aziz, what do you have to report?” Suleyman asked.
“Greetings, my caliph. Allah smiles upon us,” responded Al Zahrani, obviously pleased to be presenting such good news to his master. “The Carrington woman is willing to accept all of your generous proposals. She is aligning her supporters to push this through her ‘so-called’ Congress. We have
thousands of cargo ships and aircraft ready to load and can begin transporting our warriors and equipment to both coasts within the week. We anticipate a quarter of our forces could be in place within the month and begin integrating them with Carrington’s National Security Forces.”
Suleyman responded by saying, “Excellent, Abdul, excellent! If you require additional ships or aircraft, let our logistics personnel know. What else do you have to report?”
“Within two months, we can have more than half of our warriors in place and embedded in the NSF. A month later, all of our warriors shall be in position, ready to strike,” answered Al Zahrani.
“Of course, we must not wait to begin our attacks upon the Great Satan that is still the United States, Abdul…” said Suleyman.
“No, my caliph! We have plans prepared to begin operations within the PSSA and the USA within the next month to begin to agitate the populations of both nations. These operations will aid us in infiltrating more of our warriors into the United States. Their vaunted wall and border security systems are not as secure as they believe them to be,” Al Zahrani assured the caliph. “I am also in contact with our allies in Mexico and Central America. They are building their own invasion forces, primarily former military, drug cartel security, and other rabble. But we will have need of plenty of cannon fodder in our coming battles for the North American continent.”
Caliph Suleyman said, “Very good, Abdul! Once you have embedded your forces into the PSSA security forces and gained their trust, it will be time to stab at their hearts. We will take control of their east and west coasts while having our allies to their south provide diversions along the southern border. Once we control the coasts then we can turn our attention to their heartland with a three-prong attack.”
The Arizona State Guard Trilogy Page 41