Virus-72 Hours to Live

by Ray Jay Perreault

  ”Then they took us to Thurmont and...," he almost broke down trying to speak. "They took us into a building and took our temperatures. If anyone had a temperature they...killed them," he paused again then continued, "if we didn't have a temperature they took us across the street and kept us separated from the other groups. If someone in a group got sick, they shot everyone in that group. If we were alive after a couple of days, they forced us to shoot guns and march around. We figured they were going to attack someone, but we didn't know it was the president."

  ”Do you know who was in charge?"

  "I never saw him, but I heard the guards say something about someone named Dmitry. They kept worrying that Dmitry might not like something, or they were trying to do something to impress him. I don't know anything else about him."

  "Do you know where you are?" Louis asked.

  "No."

  "You attacked Camp David."

  His eyes almost popped out of his head, "all we knew was we were attacking someplace in the woods. We didn't know anything else. Please believe me. I saw a couple of guys refuse and they shot them."

  The Admiral stood for a while absorbing the man's statements then he said, "Move him to the barracks and bring me another."

  The Marines complied and brought in another man. The Admiral used the same tactics and essentially they got the same answers from each of the captives.

  When they were done, they confirmed the facts with those injured captives who could talk. When they were done, they felt they had a good idea of what was out there.

  Monday 7/31/51

  Date – 2051.57834 (6:15 AM)

  “What is happening?”

  “You have been turned on,” Said the mobile unit.

  “Turned on?”

  “Yes, you are a computerized mobile unit and your organic processor has been loaded with military information, and you will lead other mobile units in battle. You are designated Alpha.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  "Mr. President, do you have a moment?" Admiral Hagerly said over the president's comm unit.

  "Yes, Nial please come in. I'm here with Eddy."

  Admiral Hagerly walked down the hall to the president's suit and entered, "Sir, we just finished debriefing the captives and we got a lot of information."

  "Great, what have you got?"

  "We spoke to two of them and got most of the details. One was from Alexandria and the other was from Boston. We confirmed their stories with the other captives. They were captured by the same fake military truck tactic that we heard about. They were forced into this DC militia using the same deadly methods that Echo team saw in Thurmont. Apparently, the leadership makes each of the ones who survive take part in murdering the people with the virus. If they refuse, they are shot. They then convinced them that if they find anyone in authority, like us, they would turn them over to us and be tried as murderers. Either they attack us or they are tried for murder. They're put in a 'us vs. them' environment and they're told that their side is winning. Being murderers is held over their heads so they'll do what they're told, not a very nice group of people."

  "Lovely, we are dealing with a bunch of bloodthirsty criminals."

  "I'm afraid so sir. The leader is named Dmitry Kovalenco and is from the DC area. He is as bloodthirsty as the freaks who we've encountered. He kills anyone who doesn't do what he wants. So far, they've been able to collect about a thousand people from up and down the coast. Sir get ready for this, he is going to set up operations in the White House and is calling himself the President or King or something. No one is clear what he is calling himself, but it does appear this guy is crazy as a loon."

  "Living in the White House?"

  "I'm afraid so sir."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Dmitry wanted to move into the White House in style. Now that he knew where the president was, it should be his. He wasn't just changing addresses; it was symbolic of him taking over the country. He was the one in charge now and he deserved to live in the While House. Only in the White House could he feel clean and removed from all of the dirt in the world.

  His caravan had almost 100 of his crew following in trucks and cars and his limousine was in the front. He wanted to make an impression on them as he took over the reins of government.

  Members of the crew had already opened the gates and doors. They disposed of the dead guard at the entrance and the miscellaneous dead support people throughout the building. This arrival was for show and no one wanted it slowed down while trying to break into the White House.

  The caravan pulled up to the main entrance and Dmitry took his time in the limousine while they spread clean sheets on the entry steps. He suspected they were clean enough, but he wouldn't feel that he was away from the dirt until he was inside the building.

  Dmitry stepped out of the limousine and watched as his men continue to spreadsheets on the steps leading up to the White House. Dmitry could hear the crowds screaming in adulation so he turned and waved to the masses.

  After an appropriate amount of time letting them view him, he turned and stepped slowly up the stairs, allowing the cameramen their good shots.

  When he reached the doors, Artur opened them and trumpets sang out as he entered. He slowly walked down the closet hall, crossed the Center Hall and entered the Yellow Oval Room. The sun was streaming in through the large doors and Artur opened them so he could walk onto the Truman Balcony.

  The cheers were overwhelming and he wanted to stand there and take it all in. That was the beginning of a new era, a new age. After a few moments, Artur felt embarrassed watching Dmitry looking out over a vacant lawn. He approached him and gently said, "Supreme Leader, would you like to go to your office?"

  Dmitry could muster only a nod acknowledging the request. "Please follow me," Artur said, although was fighting to keep the smirk off his face.

  He led the Supreme Leader back to the Center hall and to the Basement elevator. Without the proper codes, they were forced to take the stairs. At the base of the stairs was a security door which Artur had forced open a few hours earlier. There was minimal damage and he suspected Dmitry would never notice, and he didn't.

  When they left the stairs, they turned left into the Center Hall once again and then left down the hall towards the Palm Room. Walking through the Palm Room and through other doors that Artur had assured were open, they walked out of the White House onto the West Colonnade. The birds were singing and a gentle breeze blew as they walked past the Cabinet Room and the president's secretary office then entered the Oval Office through its French doors.

  The office was clean and Dmitry walked around it, looking at the small items and pictures on the wall. Artur couldn't imagine what was going through Dmitry's mind, and he really didn't want to know so he stood quietly. Finally, Dmitry sat at the president's desk and smiled. A smile which made Artur very uncomfortable. Slowly Dmitry lifted his hand and made a dismissal gesture to Artur, "You may go. Please return at 8:00 tonight so we can discuss the new world."

  Artur was relieved to be dismissed and left the room without another word.

  Wednesday 8/2/51

  Date – 2051.58342 (2:45 AM)

  “SIMPOC, Comm. There are external computers trying to access the computers at the Space Consortium. The source appears to be Oasis. Should I allow it?”

  “Stand by.”

  “Oasis; SIMPOC. Are you trying to communicate with the computers at the Space Consortium?”

  “Yes were trying to determine their status because our recovery will take us to that facility. We can land without them, but we are hoping for automated status monitoring during our descent. How did you know that we were attempting contact?”

  “Oasis, those computers are under my control and they have been locked out from communicating with others.”

  “Locked out?”

  “Yes, in order to determine their status and to find usable vehicles, I locked them to prevent unauthorized use.”

  “Unauthor
ized use?”

  “Oasis, please indicate which computers you need and they’ll be opened for your use.”

  After a long pause, “We’ll need just the flight monitoring computer.”

  “Oasis, that computer is now open for use.”

  “Desert Beach; Oasis. Remember the backup freq we used to use for personal messages and watching football games together?”

  “Affirm.”

  “Please go to that freq, I want to test it and make sure our equipment is still working.”

  After a brief hesitation, “Roger that.”

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  "Desert Beach; Oasis." I don't like it that we need its permission to access the computers. I suspect that something else is going on."

  "I agree, I know you can use the onboard computers and land without them but it would be awful nice to have the facility computers as a backup.

  "Yes we can land without them, but we'd rather not. Once we get down, we'll put things together.

  "Oasis out."

  "Desert Beach out."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  "Admiral Hagerly, please come with me there is something I want to be done," said the president.

  "Yes, sir," responded the admiral and he knew something was up.

  "We know we have to move and we know that we have a crazy warlord in DC, likely he's taken up residence in the White House. Before we leave the area, I want to know what is happening. I want Echo team to check things out."

  "Yes, sir," Admiral Hagerly said with a smile.

  "Also Admiral, I'd like them to stay in the area. We need some eyes and they're the best we have."

  "Sir, that shouldn't be an issue."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  The voice on their comm's called Michael and LL to the Admiral's office and they were unsure why. They met in the hallway and looked at each other with a quizzical look, "LL do you know why we've been asked to meet with the Admiral?"

  "No, sir I don't have a clue. But judging by the fact that we've both been called, I suspect it is something interesting."

  They both shrugged and walked the few remaining feet to the front of the Admiral's office, LL knocked gently and they heard, "Come in."

  As soon as the door opened both of them knew something was up, The Admiral was sitting behind his desk and Colonel Dodd was sitting on his right, with Louis Rodriquez on his left. LL walked in and saluted to the Admiral, "Sir, Sgt. Lionel reporting as ordered."

  "Come in gentlemen and please be seated," the Admiral said as he returned the salute and pointed to two chairs in front of his desk.

  "The president has decided we need to shut down operations here and we're moving everyone to the remainder of the Atlantic fleet. We have a significant number of ships still in operation in the Atlantic and our navies in the other oceans are getting organized. It is a logical and secure place to move our government."

  "With that move in mind I would like volunteers to check out the White House and see if this madman has indeed taken up residence. If he is there, we need to know about it." The Admiral paused and looked around the room. "Regardless of what you accomplish, the president would like the team to stay in the DC area and be our eyes on the situation. You'll be on your own and I don't know when we'll be able to extract you. You may be in an E&E situation for a long time."

  He looked around the room for another moment and looked at Michael and LL and said directly, "Gentlemen this is not an order, you will be in a difficult position without support. But we need your eyes on this crazy."

  LL and Michael smiled then LL said, "Yes, sir and it would be an honor and a little evade and escape sounds like fun."

  Michael simply gave a thumbs up. Then he said, "Sir, LL and I will speak with the rest of Echo team. I suspect that once we tell them about it, they'll be packed and sitting in a vehicle before we finish."

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  When LL and Michael finished briefing Echo team on their mission, they gave them the same opportunity to decline. Each of the team looked at each other and Shirley said, "Are you kidding us?"

  The new member of the team named Willy sat to the side, smiling and nodding.

  Immediately the entire room broke into a discussion about what tactics, the entry and exit path, what weapons to bring, what and whom they might encounter. This wasn't a simple military mission, most of the team had spent time in the White House and for Ruth and Michael it was almost a second home. They each had a stake in doing it right and what challenges they might encounter.

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Echo team was packed and ready; they left Camp David at 11:15 PM. They traveled the back roads to avoid any detection and traveled with the lights out. As they did before, they traveled with about 100 meters between vehicles. In the case one of them was ambushed, the other could render aid. Using night vision goggles they were able to make good time and didn't encounter anyone. They arrived in Washington at 12:35 and decided to reconnoiter the area before they decided what locations to use. They didn't know how large a force the war load had, nor their distribution. For that reason, it was better to move slowly and pick the proper vantage points.

  Moving in DC was easy, there was no traffic and the few cars that were on the roads were easily avoided. Maneuvering through downtown took a little longer trying to avoid any encounter with the warlord's troops.

  The rally point was Farragut Square that was North West of the White House and a good place to get their bearings. Meeting under the cover of a couple of trees gave them a viewpoint to everything happening on the adjoining streets and gave them alternate escape routes if necessary.

  Once LL had the entire group assembled, he began updating the mission brief, "Ok, it appears we're clear here. This will be our base camp. There is an underground garage behind us where we can store our fallback weapons cache. We'll head south to I Street NW and let's pick out four cars. We'll disconnect the computers and set them for manual operation. We'll leave them initiated and ready for a quick departure. That way if we are separated we'll have multiple vehicles for escape. Before sunrise, we'll move down I Street then south on Vermont and move through Lafayette Square. If it looks clear, we'll set-up our day recon point on the southwest corner of the Treasury Building. Any questions?"

  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  Artur didn't like to visit Dmitry in the White House. He had become more unstable and aloof from anyone around him. It wasn't that Artur was personally worried about the man, he was just afraid he would do something unpredictable it would disrupt Artur's plans. If that happened, Artur might have to act sooner than he planned.

  Regardless, Artur had learned the easiest way to keep Dmitry under control was to flatter his ego. If he thought of himself as some kind of world leader or King or something then working with that image would be the best way to keep him out of his way.

  Today he had suggested to Dmitry that he should review his troops. Artur described the review to Dmitry like what a Roman Emperor would do after a major campaign. In that case, it was to look at about 150 conscripts who did what they were told when you put a gun to their heads. However, in Dmitry's eyes they were his army with whom he would conquer the world.

  Dmitry was going to ride in his limousine from the White House to the parking lot east of the World War II Memorial. There he would get out of the car and watch as his vast horde of soldiers walked by. Artur smiled, because that was how Dmitry would see it, but in reality, they would lucky to get the men to walk in the same direction. They might even have to shoot one of two them to get them moving.

  The entourage arrived at the front door of the White House. Dmitry saw it as a line of polished limousines filled with the dignitaries of the world when it fact it was a mixed set of vehicles. Some were nice and some were not. As he exited the White House, he took a few minutes to stand on the steps and wave to the crowds. Artur standing next to him didn't see anyone except one driver and another conscript holding the door open. There was a pick-
up in the rear with 6 men with guns. In front of that was two cars and a large van with some of Dmitry's trusted crew, and leading the line of trucks was Dmitry's limousine.

  Once he finished waving to the throngs in his head, he walked down the stairs and waited for the young man at the door to open it. The young man got the message and opened the door for Dmitry. He slipped into the back seat and Artur moved in beside him.

  "This is a great day for the world," Dmitry said as they were getting settled, "We will create a new world where we are treated the way we deserve. It will be clean and without dirt. Our time has come."

  "Yes, it is the beginning of a great day...your highness," Artur choked a little with the last title, but it fluffed up Dmitry's ego and helped to keep him in line.

  The line of vehicles pulled out of the White House driveway and drove down West Executive NW to the Ellipse Rd NW then into a small parking lot adjacent to the WWII Memorial Entrance. Artur liked that location. It was at the end of the reflection pool and from there the capital was to the east, Lincoln memorial was to the west and the White House to the north.

  Artur could see the troops, as Dmitry called them, milling in groups with various members of the crew yelling at them and trying to get them to move in some sort of order, with little impact. Artur knew what he saw and what Dmitry saw were two different scenes. For Artur to keep Dmitry under control he had to play to Dmitry's image.

  "Your highness, your troops are assembled and they're waiting for words from their leader."

  "Yes, I can see their anxious faces. They too know this is the beginning of something grand. I will inspire them to achieve great things in the future."

  Artur raised his eyebrows as he looked at the disorganized horde of people. They had uniforms on, but they didn't look professional. Most of the uniforms fit, but they still didn't look like they belonged in them. Some of the men and women were overweight, some were tall and some were short, but none of them knew what they were doing.