Storm Surge (Quantum Touch Book 5)

by Michael R. Stern

  By mid-afternoon, Colonel Mitchell's teams began to return, having been relieved when local troops arrived. The team leaders had instructions to pass along the mission goals and leave when they could. With the hallway gated, soon the corridor became cramped with men, equipment, and noise.

  Ashley took charge and cleared the men from the hall to the classrooms. No one had eaten, and no drinks were available, other than the water fountains. The school pumps still worked. Ashley told Milt Chelten to open the gates and asked George to open the cafeteria. Lunch had been prepared and the food would still be available. When he looked at the disarray, he asked the colonel to arrange for a clean-up crew when they left.

  “Colonel, the election may not be decided, but we'll have classes tomorrow.” He shook his head with each new twist, finally realizing just how organized Fritz was, and made a mental note to talk to him about it.

  “Hopefully, the portal will keep the country going once again, Mr. Gilbert. So we'll keep the school shipshape.”

  When a ringtone sounded, all heads turned. Nicole answered her call as other calls began to come in. The variety of the chosen sounds rang up and down the hallway, as diverse as the people who answered them. The president spoke quickly, hung up and announced the crisis was over, but it would take time to get all the power back to normal. He thanked Ashley and asked him to set up a return to Washington as soon as possible. He said he needed to prepare an address to the nation.

  “Ashley, your quick thinking made possible all we've done today. We need to find out what the outages did to the voting machines. Election Day may not be over yet.”

  Ashley computed the message, then asked, “Won't you have some blowback about that?”

  “Ashley, seriously, what are they gonna do, impeach me?”

  The president emerged from Fritz's classroom, a yellow pad in hand, a number of pages flipped over the top. As he approached the portal, Nicole asked him what he was writing.

  “A speech for later tonight. Of course, what I say will depend on what happens here. If we were done, I could go home and have someone type it. My handwriting is sometimes hard to read.

  “We could type it for you,” Nicole offered.

  “At least you'd have a rough copy and we have the printer,” Rachel added.

  “Would you mind?”

  “As long as you stick around if we can't read it,” said Nicole.

  “Deal.” He handed her the pad. “Thanks.”

  Ashley was still alone. He had the manpower to finish the day, but his brain needed to work through all the details. I wish Fritz were here. He asked Tony how long power would last.

  “Ash, we're running out. Even with the door closed, it's getting used up fast.”

  “Have you tried to plug anything in lately? Try it now.”

  Ashley walked to the door. The purple sky announced the evening's arrival. The president stepped into the hallway. In his hand, he held white sheets of paper and had a smile that could have lit the whole town.

  “The power's back.”

  The president ordered George to take a day off and asked Rachel and Nicole to print a picture of the White House floor plan. “Now, Ash, get me home.”

  Chapter 5

  WITH THE CRISIS over and power returning, the president completed plans for a late evening address. Every media source that became available was asked to spread the word. In their Virginia hospital rooms, Fritz and Jane listened to the abbreviated announcement, as the anchors explained they had only within the past few minutes been able to begin gathering news of what had happened.

  In Baltimore, the Millers gathered in Linda's room when the TV returned. They had been advised to remain rather than wandering in strange areas where power was out. When the upcoming speech was announced, Tim said he hoped to be asleep by then. And when he got up in the morning, the new president would be making speeches.

  At Riverboro High, Al Kennedy and Tom Jaffrey helped Tony get his stuff loaded, while George told Lois how busy he'd been. Milt Chelten and his crew removed the gate and helped the clean-up crew repair the single bullet hole decorating the wall.

  “The president said you didn't have to do this tonight,” George said.

  “We're here now. We've earned a day off too.”

  As tired as he was, Ashley sat with Rachel and Nicole in Fritz's classroom.

  “We should do this more, Mr. Gilbert,” said Nicole. “We had fun. We helped the president write his speech.”

  “Didn't you just type it for him?”

  “Well, we did that, but his mind was somewhere else,” Rachel said.

  Nicole said, “So we talked to him about why we thought people should vote. He told us to write it down and he might include some of it tonight.”

  “That would be really cool,” Rachel said. “Too bad we can't vote.”

  * * *

  AS TEN O'CLOCK approached on the East Coast, more television stations reappeared with the story of the day—a massive nationwide power crash. The most popular Twitter trends were #whatattack and #whowontheelection. With no election results available, the news anchors and pundits speculated about the president's speech. Throughout the rest of the world, although Americans had not yet been told, a possible coup attempt had government leaders awake into the early morning hours. Many had already alerted their military forces to prepare for any unusual American activity.

  As he dressed for his appearance, the president pondered the events of the past several days and the impact of shutting down the country. His wife and chief-of-staff listened to his meanderings.

  The First Lady asked, “Do you feel up to doing this?”

  From his closet, where he picked through his ties, he said, “Strange as it may seem, I'm looking forward to it. It'll be my last meet with the country before we find the next person to live here. The portal saved us again.”

  “Did you talk to Fritz?”

  Stepping back into the president's bedroom, he said, “Not yet, but I'm sure Ashley has told him the story. Dr. Sherman and Dr. Clark made sure he'll be around a while, so maybe we have time for another little get-together.”

  “What about Koppler?” asked Clemmons.

  “He's not going anywhere until this is done. The Attorney General visited a judge and has enough to throw the book at him. Let's go.”

  His wife adjusted his tie and kissed his cheek. “Good luck,” she said. “I'll be watching.” Rather than take the elevator, he hurried down the steps and without an introduction, walked to the lectern. Placing his speech in front of him, he paused to scan the press corps.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, and my fellow Americans, if you are watching, you are likely trying to process what has happened today, and asking who will be the next president. Many people are still without power, and I assure you, every effort will be expended to get systems back in operation. First, I have an announcement regarding the election. Because of the outage, we are as yet unable to determine if voting machines failed. So by Executive Order, I am declaring that voting will continue tomorrow and Thursday. The precincts where paper ballots were used will also remain open. Each district will report to the appropriate authority if the electronic votes were tabulated. If not, machines will be cleared, and no votes from today will be counted. In other words, it's a do-over. I realize that may pose difficulties for some. Therefore, I am instructing each state to keep the polls open for two extra hours tomorrow and again the next day. All problems with voting machines or the voting procedures will be addressed if you call the phone numbers on the White House website. I'm asking all our media to make the numbers constantly available.

  “To assure that we are able to reset everything and make repairs, as well as have everyone vote, I am declaring tomorrow and Thursday as national holidays for all but state-identified essential employees. I am asking all governors and all employers to provide two days off at some other time to any person who is required to work.”

  The president looked down, grimaced and h
is jaw rippled. “Now. What happened today? We were attacked by domestic terrorists, in a well-planned operation designed to take down not just the power grid and our nationwide communications, but the federal government. We are gathering information as we speak to determine who is responsible. The White House was attacked again and we will release the casualties at a later time. I will say to you that quick thinking and heroic action prevented great loss of life, for which I am deeply grateful.”

  The president folded his notes and headed for the door. One reporter shouted, “I thought you were taking questions.” The president faced the standing room of reporters.

  “I'll answer that one. You don't need to hear me talking. You all have a lot of work to do. Some of you may have to wait to make contact back home. Your story is simple. The government continues sound and functioning. And you need to get people out to vote. Someone tried today to take away that right, as I said might happen. Today, once again, many people fought, and some died, to preserve the most precious part of government reserved for all our citizens. So, vote.”

  Chapter 6

  Tuesday evening, Election Day

  “WHEN CAN I leave?” Fritz asked.

  “You'll be here a couple more days,” said Dr. Sherman. “I'll check in to see how you're doing. Travelling isn't a good idea quiet yet.” Fritz agreed, but he planned then to call Ashley and take the portal home.

  Jane waited in the hall outside Fritz's door, listening to the conversation. When the doctors left, she sat in the chair next to Fritz, and said she was going to her parents' house for a few days and expected Ashley to join her. She invited him to join them. “Thanks, Jane, but I'm going to Riverboro. My father told me the house has been busy, everyone making sure TJ's got company. I may even get to vote. But I want to talk to the president and find out what's happening with Koppler.”

  “Ash and I are getting married as soon as I can wear the wedding dress my mother has had for years. So I have to heal first. She wouldn't forgive me if I got it all bloody.” Fritz groaned when he started to laugh. “So you and Linda have to settle this squabble because I want her to be matron-of-honor. You're going to be best man. And that's that.”

  After Jane left, Fritz called his house and his mother answered.

  “Hi, Mom. Just checking in. How's TJ? What's going on?”

  “TJ is fine, Fritz. How are you, darling?”

  “A little sore, but I'll be out of here in a couple of days. Is Ashley there?”

  “He left a little while ago. I made him leave and told him to get some sleep.”

  “Mom, thanks for taking care of TJ. I need to talk to Ash now.”

  After a couple of rings, Ashley answered, a real shock. Fritz expected to leave a message. He told Ashley that he wanted to use the portal to come home. Ashley said he should keep his father company on the drive.

  “I can't sit up that long. Come and get me.”

  “It's kind of scary that I made the portal work. I don't really want to use it.”

  “We'll decide how that works after you get me. I sent you a picture of my room. I'll see you tomorrow. Then we'll go see the president.”

  * * *

  Wednesday, November 9th

  AFTER HIS VISIT with Dr. Spiritosa, Fritz dressed in the blue warm-up pants his father had brought, and his matching fleece jacket. Seeing Ashley appear at the foot of his bed through a fluorescent rectangle both delighted and saddened him because Ashley had now become the time traveler. After a brief greeting, Ashley escorted Jane to Fritz's room, and the hospital lost two patients.

  “I told the president we were coming to see him,” Fritz said. “If I got out today. Hi Tony.” He looked down the hall. “Strange that no one is here on a school day.”

  “Well, you're here, no classes are scheduled until Friday,” Ashley said. “But the Oval Office was damaged again, so what do you want to do?”

  “Find the White House floor plans online,” Jane said. “Print one, and call him. He'll tell us where to meet him.”

  “I want to use my classroom,” Fritz said. Not sure what his reaction would be, Ashley took Jane's hand and they walked slowly behind. When the door banged open, Fritz's anger exploded.

  “What the hell happened to my desk?”

  “We needed the brochure to get the president when the rockets hit the West Wing. We couldn't open it, so Colonel Mitchell shot out the lock. Sorry, Fritz. I didn't know how to tell you.”

  “So your desk is the one that works now?”

  “Yeah, until you get a different one. Or the lock is fixed. I had no way to test it. But it would be a good idea to see if you can open the portal from my room.”

  “Fritz, I think you'll both be able to do it,” said Tony. “The key's in place. Turn the doorknob.”

  With the now-familiar shock, Fritz twisted. As the door opened, his hospital bed appeared a step away. He shut the door. “Now you, Ash. I want to see this.” Ashley pulled and the same scene returned.

  “You can both do it now. The world just became dangerous,” Jane teased.

  “Just?” Fritz said.

  “I'm kidding, Fritz. Have you lost your sense of humor?”

  He looked at her. “Yeah, maybe.” When the president answered his call, Fritz told him they were at the school and asked if they could meet now. The president asked him how he felt, and then said he could meet in an hour, that the aftermath of the power outages required his attention. “Some places in the Midwest are just coming back, and we're trying to get the voting back in action. I'll meet you all on the Truman Balcony at ten thirty. Okay?”

  “Fine with me. I want to go home for a few minutes. If I'll be late, I'll call.”

  “That was abrupt,” said Ashley. “Maybe you'll be in a better mood by then.”

  “Can you give me a ride? I need some decent coffee.” On the way, Fritz called his mother to alert her that they were coming. When they pulled in the driveway, she stood waving on the front porch, TJ in her arms. “I think he's grown,” he said.

  He crossed the front lawn, piled with fallen leaves. The amount of yard work needed struck him as he kicked through and crushed the debris. He kissed his mother and stroked TJ's head, the baby's face buried in his grandmother's neck. “Dad's on his way, Mom.”

  “He called a few minutes ago. He's already past Baltimore. Coffee's ready and Mary made pancakes, if you're hungry.”

  “I am,” said Ashley. “I didn't eat all day yesterday. I'm glad you have power.” He plowed past Fritz, Jane in tow, and turned to the kitchen.

  “I'm glad you're going to be okay, Fritz,” Martha said. “I was worried. Your father didn't tell me much.”

  “They told me it was iffy, Mom. I'm sure he didn't want to worry you.”

  “I raised two sons. I repaired both of you more than once. Mothers are always tougher than you men give us credit for. Maybe someday you'll learn. Now, do you want pancakes?”

  * * *

  THE PORTAL OPENED to a view of the Washington Monument, sparkling in the fall morning sun. In one of the metal patio chairs, the president waved for them to join him. A carafe and plate of doughnuts waited on a table matching the chairs.

  “I'm glad to see you both out of the hospital. But neither of you should stay out here long.”

  “We're fine for now,” said Fritz. “But we need to get some answers about what happens next.”

  His irritable start prompted the president to say, “Calm down, Fritz. Remember, I'm on your side.” Fritz's rudeness cast a shadow that hadn't separated them before. “Some things aren't for discussion right now.”

  “What's happened to Koppler?” asked Fritz, the anger still building.

  “He's being held. I'll keep him until the election is over. Then we'll be dealing with lawsuits, I'm sure.”

  “You're letting him go?” Fritz shouted. “I can't believe it.” His eyebrows raised then lowered, Fritz stared at the president, a scowl filling his face.

  “Fritz, I'm willing to have this conver
sation with you, but not if you can't control yourself. I can't change what's happened and I'm still required to live within the law. Keeping him incommunicado for a month is trouble enough.”

  “What are you going to do then, with him and with Tim? They both broke the law. Are you going to let Tim go free?” Fritz's reaction surprised even him. When he stopped, his hands were pushing down on the table, and he stood over the president.

  “Sit down, Fritz,” Jane said, her soft voice bringing him back. Fritz's hard look softened. He glanced at Jane and then Ashley before he sat.

  “Fritz, you have a right to be angry, after all you've done, and considering what the past year's been like. But until last night, we weren't sure, none of us, if we had a government left. Once the election results are in, we'll make every effort to get back to normal. We'll have the time to assess what's next.”

  “With all respect, Mr. President, normal flew away. We've chased this guy for months. I want him out of my life.” Ashley reached over and squeezed his arm. “And I want Tim Miller to pay for what he did.”

  The frustration in Fritz's voice restrained the president's reaction. He explained that whatever personal feelings he had, reassuring the country remained his primary concern. “So, Fritz, cool it.” He wanted the same as they, to put the past year behind them. “I have two months left here and I want to see results, not distractions. Once it's announced who's taking my place, I can finish what we've started.”

  Fritz released a deep breath. The sutures across his abdomen pinched and he rubbed his hand over his discomfort. The president, still calm and waiting, sadness showing in his eyes, dousing the fire of Fritz's exasperation. “Sorry. I still have unfinished business with both of them.”

  Seeing an opening, Ashley asked the question that had haunted him since he discovered Jane in the barn. “Why didn't you tell me that Jane was alive? Or tell her that I was? I've been miserable.”