Green File Crime Thrillers Box Set

by James Kipling

Major Levi studied his computer screen and watched what appeared to be nothing more than numbers and letters. “We’re being kicked out, Sir, but the virus is...I don’t know, Sir...it’s...”

  “Copying the operational systems,” Mrs. Arnold clarified. “Now the virus is talking, giving commands, and look!” she called out in an urgent voice, “Look! The systems are starting to fail. Look!”

  “This quick?” President Green asked in a shocked voice. “It’s not even been two minutes.”

  Major Levi sat in shock. The virus was working at a speed that was unknown to man.

  “Jack Mayes was a genius,” he whispered.

  Far away in China, military and civilian leaders were racing around in a state of panic, as the virus shut down every military satellite China had launched into space. Then they began disabling every military, government and civilian network spread across China. Naval ships speeding toward the shores of California suddenly went black—radars, navigational systems, command centers—all went down, leaving the war ships crippled and floating dead in the ocean. They were incapable of firing off a single missile or allowing a single jet to enter the air.

  Eight submarines were black, losing contact with the mainland, as well as all operating power and navigational abilities, which resulted in their sinking and eventual implosion. Nuclear launching sites went down, preventing any chance of China launching nuclear missiles. Chinese military command centers went down, disabling the entire Chinese military. Government centers came under attack, losing full contact with the military. The internet was shut down, sending hundreds of millions of people into a panic. Businesses went black, banks went down, and schools and universities went dark. Public transportation systems came to a halt, stranding millions. In less than five minutes, the AI virus completely crippled China, using their own technology as a weapon.

  “Task complete,” the virus stated, looking as if someone had turned on a bullfight. “Shall I move on to my next task, Major Levi?”

  “Yes, your next assignment is to disable the Russians.” Major Levi ordered the virus, and it returned to the face of Jack Mayes. “I will enter the command codes to the Russian Military Defense Command Centers.”

  Jessica stared at the face of her dead husband with tears in her eyes. The face, even though it was identical to Jack’s, was somehow evil and sinister.

  “You’re not my husband,” she whispered.

  The virus turned its hideous eyes toward her and said in a voice mimicking Clint Eastwood, “Hello, Mrs. Mayes. How are you today? Sorry to hear that Jack Mayes has died. I will miss him.”

  Unable to stare at the virus any longer, Jessica put her face down onto Tom’s shoulder.

  “The codes are entered,” Major Levi called out, “get to work.”

  “As you wish,” the virus stated and then vanished again.

  President Green drew in a deep breath and waited, as the virus went to work crippling the entire Russian military. Five minutes later, a red phone rang.

  “It’s the Russians, Sir,” Major Paula Weston called from behind a computer terminal sitting on the north side of the operations room.

  “Put the call on speaker phone,” President Green ordered.

  Major Weston placed the call on speaker phone. “The President is ready to take your call.”

  “Edwin, what are you doing?” Nikolai Laskin roared. “We had a deal! Now, you are going to force me to destroy you!”

  President Green carefully approached the red phone. “Nikolai, listen very carefully to me. If you want your country to remain operational, you will do exactly as I say.” President Green drew in a careful breath and began giving the angry Russian President exact details about the hidden Chinese attack plan that Mr. Mayes had recorded in his journal. “The virus is systematically taking down every military operational command center in the world.”

  “You are holding us hostage?” Nikolai yelled. “You will not be forgiven!”

  “I saved your country from a nuclear attack, Nikolai,” President Green snapped back. “You should be thanking me.”

  “Thanking you? You are crippling my military!” Nikolai roared. “Edwin, I demand you restore…”

  “Not until America is restored, Nikolai,” President Green stated, and turned his tired but powerful eyes to Jessica. “All countries will help America rebuild, Nikolai, and then, under very secured terms, we will begin enabling military operations again, once America if fully operational. Right now, our jets and warships are going to be the only operating military forces in the world, once the virus has completed its mission.”

  “You betrayed me, Edwin,” Nikolai thundered and kicked a very heavy wooden desk. “I will not forget your betrayal.” Nikolai heard his office door burst open and saw two powerful Military Generals rush in with panicked expressions. “Russia will never help America rebuild! Never! You are now our number one enemy. The world will form an allegiance against you and destroy you!”

  “Not as long as I have the virus, Nikolai. Countries will have no other choice but to agree,” President Green warned. “When you come to your senses, we will speak more.”

  President Green ended the call and looked directly at Major Levi. “Updates, now.”

  “Russian satellites are down, command centers are going offline, Sir. The virus is crippling Russia, as it did China, and it’s working at a speed that’s incredible. No one is able to detect it.” Major Levi explained, in a voice filled with complete shock. “The Russians are crippled. My goodness! In less than ten minutes, the virus has crippled China and Russia.”

  President Green placed his hands behind his back. “Can you imagine what other countries like Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea would do if they somehow managed to get ahold of this virus?” he asked. “Can you imagine what a man like Roger Alden would do with this virus?” President Green turned his eyes back to Jessica. “Mrs. Mayes, your husband, forgive my bluntness, has created a monster. And this is a monster we must control.”

  Before Jessica could reply, the virus reappeared on the television screen. “Task is complete,” it spoke in a pleased tone. “Next task, please.”

  Major Levi kept his eyes low, refusing to make eye contact with the virus. “Iran,” he spoke in a careful voice and went to work with the Green Team. The virus waited a few seconds and then vanished. Jessica, unable to stand the sight of the virus any longer, ran out of the operations room and made her way into a deserted cafeteria about half the size of a regular elementary school cafeteria. She walked over to a row of stainless-steel coffee pots and grabbed a brown coffee cup. Once she filled it with hot coffee, she sat at a round wooden table. A few minutes later, Alvin instead of Tom, joined her.

  “What are you thinking?” he asked Jessica, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

  “I’m wondering…is it over?” she asked Alvin in an uncertain voice, as she tried to control her tears. “Alvin, that virus is evil. How could my husband have created such a thing?”

  “Remember that it’s just a bunch of computer code. It isn’t real,” Alvin told Jessica. He sat down across from her, took a sip of coffee and then shook his head. “Let that thing cripple our enemies, but don’t think twice about it. Right now, we have to worry about getting this country back in shape. You’d better believe there’s going to be a whole lot of fighting and killing going on before the dust clears.”

  Jessica watched Alvin sip his coffee while wiping her tears away. “Yes, there is going to be much fighting, blood, and dying,” she whispered in a weak voice. She closed her eyes, only to see the face of the creepy virus. “But how are we going to kill the virus?” she asked, in a very scared voice. Jessica had a horrible feeling that the last battle was going to be with Jack Mayes.

  Chapter 7

  Virus

  The Mayes AI virus completely destroyed China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. To President Green’s dismay, it also systematically began attacking every country it deemed a vile threat
to America. Each attack was on a Threat Level scale. President Green ordered Major Levi to control the virus, as it disabled Canada’s complete military and civilian complex.

  “This is not how I ordered this attack!” he yelled. “This virus will turn every nation against us!”

  Major Levi desperately attempted to gain control over the virus. “Sir, the virus is thinking for itself,” he explained, reading the operational system platform on which the AI virus was functioning. “The virus has infected the internet, entered every secure private military system, bypassing every security barrier...” Major Levi turned in his chair and looked up at President Green with helpless eyes. “Sir, it’s impossible to control this virus.”

  “Let the virus work,” Jacob insisted. “We can worry about diplomatic repairs later. Right now, it’s not a bad idea to cripple other nations, until we can reclaim America.” Jacob turned to President Green with weary eyes that somehow managed to display a vicious determination. “We both know that Canada has been working with the Russians up in the Arctic Circle. Canada is not a true friend. Neither is Mexico. Let this virus cripple them—all of them—until we can retake America!”

  President Green studied his son’s eyes. “Son, I...” He read a fierce anger in Jacob that worried him. “There is no stopping this virus,” he finally continued, “The virus will do whatever Jack Mayes designed it to do.”

  “He designed his AI virus to protect America,” Jacob nodded his head. “In the meantime, we have to get organized.” Jacob turned to Major Levi. “Order the virus to cripple every electrical grid in the world. We need to bring each country down to their—”

  “No!” President Green yelled, and then pointed a determined finger at Jacob. “In America, people are dying as we speak. I will not be responsible for the death of millions...billions. All across this world, there are sick people in hospitals; children, the elderly, nursing homes...” President Green narrowed his eyes. “If we shut down the world’s electrical supply, there will be riots, murders. Civilization, as we know it, will collapse.”

  “So what?” Jacob fired back, completely exhausted. “Do you think those rats at the United Nations are going to sit back and do nothing? Sooner or later, they will form a new alliance and attack us on foot, sending soldiers to our shores on wooden boats. We have to use this open door to cripple the entire world. We weaken our enemy. We turn America into a strong, iron arm. We have a chance to force the world to be moral again, to destroy all corruptness and—”

  “Son,” President Green sighed, feeling his anger drain out of him, “I understand your goals, but at what cost are we willing to allow the innocent to suffer?” President Green reached out and touched Jacob’s shoulder. “Are the deaths of billions worth forcing the world to conform to the American way? While it may be true that, in time, our enemies will attack in some manner or another, we will be ready for that attack as a people and a country. In the meantime, we will somehow use this virus to keep our enemies at bay and—”

  “Let the world continue to be an immoral carcass?” Jacob asked in a desperate voice.

  “God judges the heart, Son. We can force the world to obey by forcing our enemies to change their laws, but will that change the heart or make the heart become more rebellious?” President Green squeezed Jacob’s shoulder. “I want to take America back to the ‘50s and leave her there—baseball games, family dinners, kids playing outside, dads going to bowling alleys and moms throwing cooking parties. Those were simple times, son, where abortion would have never been allowed to take hold. When marriage was only between a man and woman. When children were normal and respectful. When schools weren’t indoctrination centers.” President Green let go of Jacob. “I want to take America back to a time when God was first in all things, Jacob, when God was honored in all things; the home, the workplace, the schools, the very heart. As far as the rest of the world, I’m afraid it’s far too late. However, we can lead by example and hope other countries return to God, in truth and heart through Jesus, our Lord and Savior.”

  Jacob was shocked to hear his dad, the President of the United States of America, speak so openly. President Green had always been a man to guard his beliefs and personal opinions, carefully allowing his political views to give a quick glimpse into his personal thoughts. Jacob was also shocked that President Green was not interested in destroying every country on the face of the planet and forcing them to conform to some level of moral integrity.

  As he stared into the eyes of a man who was carrying the weight of a single country on his shoulders, Jacob suddenly understood why his dad was hesitant to use Mayes AI virus to completely annihilate the global electrical grid. Billions would die. Perhaps, for a short while, the world would conform to a new moral code but only with its arm twisted behind its back.

  In time, though, the world would resort back to the same evils that were consuming it’s heart the very day President Green had allowed the AI virus to be set loose. Jacob understood that there was no possible way to change the hearts of wicked men and women. Saving a single country was going to be a warning in itself.

  The world, as a whole, could not be changed. People desired evil over good and nothing was going to change their immoral code of conduct except the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the world rejected the holy name of Jesus, the world had no hope. President Green clearly understood that truth.

  “Okay, Sir. We’ll focus on America,” Jacob caved in.

  President Green nodded his head. “Jacob, we will take back America,” he promised. “Son, we will—”

  “The virus has crippled every orbiting satellite,” Major Levi called out, cutting President Green off. “Sir, every orbiting satellite is now in the dark. Global communications have been effectively shut down.” Major Levi turned in his chair again and looked up at President Green. “It’s amazing. This virus is everywhere. It appeared to be only attacking Canada, and then the satellites began going offline. It’s as if...” Major Levi shook his head.

  President Green told the man to continue. “Sir, it’s as if Jack Mayes programmed some type of command into the virus to completely go into attack mode, once the virus was told he was dead. I know that sounds crazy—”

  “Not at all, Major Levi,” President Green told him. “Any man who could create such a virus would obviously not leave the virus to be controlled by his enemies, or even by his allies. I would not be surprised if Jack Mayes programmed a self-destruct order into his virus and…”

  “Sir,” Captain Bosley yelled in an anxious voice, “the virus is taking out the electric grids; Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, France, England, Canada, Mexico, Australia...”

  President Green watched the large television screen mounted before him and studied a photo of a global map. It was lit up like a bright light but was quickly growing dark. The Mayes AI virus continued to attack. It was taking orders from a hidden command Jack Mayes had programmed into it; a command that no one, not even his dear wife, had the password to cancel.

  “My goodness…”

  Jacob felt his entire body tense up as he watched the world turn dark. “I...can’t believe my eyes...”

  “Looks like you got your wish,” Major Levi called out to Jacob in a shaky voice. “I...this is unreal. I’ve never seen anything like this is my life.”

  “How many people will die?” President Green whispered.

  Jacob slowly folded his arms and continued to watch the world grow darker and darker, until no more light glowed on the global map. The entire world was now crippled.

  “This is unreal, Major Levi,” he said, feeling a sense of hope return to his worn-down mind and heart. “Dad, we can’t force people to change, but now we have the chance to recreate America without having to worry about our enemies,” he said. “Each country on that map will fall into complete chaos. Their militaries will collapse. The entire world will collapse and—” Jacob stopped talking when he saw the map of America begin to glow; dimly at first, and t
hen brighter and brighter until the entire map was blinding to look at.

  “The virus turned the juice back on!” Major Levi yelled. “I don’t know how.”

  “It’s draining the juice from Mexico and Canada and pumping it back through our lines,” Captain Bosley yelled. “The virus is completely altering the flow of electricity from both countries and feeding it into our grid. Sir, look at this!” Captain Bosley pointed at the television, as a new map appeared. The map was of every military base in America. “Our military is back online, Sir! Our satellites are communicating again!”

  “Cellular communication is back online, too!” Captain O’Leary announced.

  “Major Levi, start contacting the Pentagon!” President Green stated in an urgent voice. “I want SITREPs, ASAP!”

  “Yes, Sir,” Major Levi answered President Green and began sending out secure operational codes to certain high-ranking military officials. Within minutes, he began receiving replies. “Sir, the Pentagon is under fire. Our team is secured underground, as we are.”

  “I want SITREP reports on all of our military and call our military back from North Korea!” President Green ordered. “Captain O’Leary, contact all of our nuclear strike teams and start getting SITREPs.” President Green walked up to Major Levi. “When we’re connected, son,” he explained, forcing calmness to his voice, “I want a nuclear strike ordered against every country that has nuclear weapons, beginning with China. Target these countries’ nuclear sites. We know where they are!”

  Major Levi raised his head and looked up at President Green with shocked eyes to ask, “Sir?”

  President Green glanced at Jacob. “The virus has crippled our enemies,” he explained. “Right now, with the world’s electrical grids down and militaries crippled, we have the chance to destroy any future threat against America.” President Green placed a firm hand on Major Levi’s shoulder. “I was against taking the dangerous steps in order to protect the lives of the innocent, Major, but in order to protect America, and what we’re going to turn her back into, we must completely disable our enemies.”