“We wish you good luck. They’re only 90 miles from here. You can make it there in an hour in that old girl.”
John and Beth hugged and kissed while it sunk in that they were almost back to their home in Mobile. Beth couldn’t wait to see her little Jenn, Randy and Kristie. John just wanted his family back together.
“Where do you live in the ISA?”
“We live in Mobile. It’s the capital of the ISA.”
“Then you don’t know that we heard on the ham radio that the Iranians nuked Mobile two days ago.”
Beth started crying and John bit his lip to keep from flying into a rage.
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Chapter 21
Atomic Nightmare
Mobile, Alabama
2022
“Gus, Israeli intelligence has just told me that Iranian operatives have smuggled two nuclear bombs into the Mobile area. One is in place on a small submarine out by the Alabama and the other is in a truck en route from Pascagoula. It will arrive at the Compound in about two hours if we can’t stop it. Their instructions are to detonate both bombs immediately if the ISA has detected them."
“Admiral, can we trust the info?”
“Gus, we have to. Quietly move your families and key personnel to either the bunker or 30 miles north of Mobile ASAP. I have ordered our fleet to move away from Mobile, but don’t dare move a large amount of boats away from the dock at once. I have also ordered two cruisers to get underway and head towards Texas under cover of supporting the fight against the drug gangs in Matamoros. Our plan is to launch four Tomahawks at each bomb and destroy them. We launch in one hour.
“Thanks and good luck.”
***
Gus contacted his key people and told them what was happening and to either got out of Mobile or to the Compound bunker ASAP without tipping off the population.
“Gus, I feel like a rat leaving the others to die.”
“I feel the same way, but if everyone panics and heads out of Mobile, the Iranians will detonate the bombs early and no one will be saved. Just hope that the Navy can take out the bombs.”
“Gus, how will the Iranians know if we suddenly move a large amount of people? They don’t have satellites do they?”
“Good point, I don’t think that they will unless they have spies on the ground in the area. Peter, we just can’t risk them finding out. Stick with the plan.”
***
“Scott, I have bad news. Iranian operatives are attempting to bring nuclear devices into Mobile. We have a plan to destroy their weapons before they detonate, but only have a 50/50 chance of success. Prepare to head back towards Mobile. I will call for help or if we lose communication come on back to assist the survivors.”
“We are at your command. Can you get anyone out without tipping the Iranians off?”
“We have been moving key people and their families either to the bunker or north of Mobile, but we only started an hour ago and the bombs will be in place in less than two hours. The Admiral plans to take the nukes out in about 50 minutes. Good luck.”
“Gus, get you and your family deep in the bottom of the bunker now.”
“We are operating from the bunker and it is filling up quickly.”
***
“Admiral, we have a problem.”
“Well, tell me.”
“The bomb left an hour earlier than we thought. It is in a small car about 15 miles from the Compound. We must launch now.”
“This is Admiral Jones launch the Tomahawks. Now!”
The Admiral paused and said, “Warn the VP and all military personnel.”
The Tomahawks took out the Toyota heading through Mississippi and blew the nuclear bomb to pieces. The area would be radioactive for years. The bomb at the dock in Mobile exploded a few seconds before the missiles impacted. The blast vaporized everything for half a mile in all directions and the shock wave leveled all buildings, trees and bridges for a mile and a half. The ensuing firestorm covered an area three to four miles around Mobile. Thousands died in a few seconds.
***
Commander Cox lay on the deck of the Dover covered in glass and thought he was dead. He had a ringing in his ears and was soaking wet. Blood was running down his face from a cut on his head.
All he could think was, “I’m too old for this shit. This makes twice that I’ve survived a nuclear explosion.”
His ship had been tossed about, but sustained very little damage. He saw his crew checking each other out as he looked up, saw the mushroom cloud still rising over Mobile Bay and cried. He had tried to contact his wife and daughter, but couldn’t reach them. The bomb detonated a few blocks from their house.
He shook his fist in the air and screamed, “I’ll kill every one of you son of a bitches with my bare hands.”
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Chapter 22
The Plot Thickens
Smyrna, Tennessee
2048
“We were told that an ISA attempt to build nuclear bombs backfired on you and destroyed Mobile.”
“Josh, that’s more of your socialist President’s bullshit. She probably helped the Iranians just as her predecessor. I wish we could take her out, but now that we have peace talks it would look bad.”
“Dad, that kind of talk makes the five o’clock news and would hurt our progress at the peace talks. We need to have a private discussion. Mom and Jenn can entertain Josh with more of your exploits.”
“As you know we have plans to take out the nuclear armed boats and other nuclear capability of the USA and UN. What you don’t know is that they were willing to take the retaliation losses as a cost of killing the ISA. Their leaders were to be safe in secret bunkers.”
“Damn. They would lose millions just to stop democracy.”
“The bad news is we just learned where their leaders are hiding and will be eliminating them and their nuclear capability before they strike at us.
***
“Beth, so you and John were just 90 miles away from Scott’s location when Mobile was nuked?”
“Yes and we could have joined up with them and got a safe helicopter ride back to Mobile. Not that it mattered with Mobile having been reduced to ashes. We lost many friends that day and it took years for the country to recover.”
“Was there any attempt at retaliation?”
“Of course we retaliated. The last of the Iranians and all of their allies except the USA were eliminated, but we need to finish the story about the final leg of the trip back to Mobile.”
THE END
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Watch for “The Day America Died” the first book in my new post-apocalyptic series. It will be published on Amazon by spring of 2016.
Thanks A J Newman
Also from A J Newman
Murder Mystery Thrillers
A teenage girl, her dog and foster Dad solve a series of kidnappings and murders of young girls. The teen girl is stalked by her mom’s boyfriend and almost killed by a high-ranking political figure. How are the two crimes linked? This unlikely trio solves the puzzle of “Where the Girls are Buried.”
In the next novel in the series, they solve “Who killed the Girls?” Was it the high ranking politician or was it his son? Who is behind the attacks on their families? Why don’t they want these crimes solved?
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HT84V6U
Also from A. J Newman
The Adventures of John Harris:
This series of Post-Apocalyptic novels tells how John Harris leads a group of survivors through the chaos of a country that has fallen apart. Rogue US Government officials and a coalition of Third World Leaders have launched a major nuclear and EMP attack on all of the major powers and killed over 100 million Americans. The grid is down and water and food are scarce. The USA is in chaos with criminals and thugs attacking innocent citizens while the DHS is placing millions in relocation camps. John and h
is team fight back!
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HT84V6U
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About the Author
A. J. Newman was born and raised in a small town in the western part of Kentucky. His Dad taught him how to handle guns very early in life and he and his best friend Mike spent summers shooting .22 rifles and fishing. He read every book he could get his hands on and fell in love with science fiction. He graduated from USI with a degree in Chemistry and made a career working in manufacturing and logistics, but always fancied himself as an author. He currently resides in Kentucky with his wife Patsy and their three tiny mop dogs, Sammy Cotton and Callie.
Apocalypse in the Homeland: The Adventures of John Harris Page 16