Mark Spaid - Falcon Down

“We need to speak to the Senator immediately,” a secret service man said as seven of them were on the porch and around the house of Perry Benton.

“The Senator is resting,” a man said but before he could finish the agents pushed their way into the house.

“This is an emergency and we have to see the Senator now!” The agent said firmly.

“Paul, what is it?” A man said as he came into the room and when he saw the men in suits his shoulders slumped. “I saw the press conference and I guess you’re here for me.”

“Yes, Senator, we need to take you to the Whitehouse right now.” Perry nodded.

“Paul, would you get my cane, please.”

“Here, you are, Senator.”

“Let’s go, sir.” They ushered Perry to a car and sped rapidly to the Whitehouse complete with flashing lights and sirens as they pulled into the rear exit and led Perry upstairs to the situation room.

“Here’s a place for you, Senator,” an agent said as he stood behind a chair he pulled out. It was a large oval table used for meetings like this. Men and women were already there and all rose for the President Pro Tem. Pro Tem is short for Pro Tempore, which is Latin for “In place of.” The President pro Tem is a placeholder for the President of the United States Senate who is the vice-President. Perry never wanted the job. He liked being a senator but he didn’t like being in the line of succession. Normally, with three people ahead of you the chances of being thrust into the Presidency are remote even close to non-existent. But, remember there was no vice-President, the President’s whereabouts was unknown and the Speaker was also out of touch. So, Perry Benton was in the hot seat whether he liked it or not.

“Thank you,” Perry said as he sat. “Well, I see the gangs all here.” There was laughter despite the situation. “Secretary of State, Marty Ingersoll, Secretary of Defense, Susan Rojas, Secretary of the Treasury, Louise Chen, Attorney General Haakon Meisner, CIA Director, Rita Fitzgerald, FBI Director Marcus Washington, Secretary of Homeland Security, Rajesh Sanghvi, Secretary of the Interior, Cian Minh, Secretary of Commerce Mohammed Aziz and Secretary of Health and Human Services, Jonathan Red Cloud. You know, I hope things work out here for the best today but whatever happens I like the look of this room. I’ve been around a long, long time, some of you could be my children and a couple my grandchildren. I remember when this room was filled with all white men. They were good men for the most part but that was wrong. This is what we should strive for; I don’t know if this room looks like America but it’s what it should look like if it’s going to represent America. There, my speech is over. Now, what is going on with the President and where is the Speaker?”

“Senator, President Lexington was taken along with the Russian President and all of their aides. They were on a bus and it has disappeared. Russian security forces are on the hunt for it,” Marty Ingersoll answered.

“Who took them?” Perry asked.

“We think a Stalinist group is behind it.”

“Andrei Kulagin, of course.” The people around the table looked at each other almost in surprise at Perry’s acumen at his age.”

“Yes, it still works,” Perry said pointing at this head and grinning. Marty Ingersoll smiled.

“The bus was stopped and a carload of American agents and one of Russian agents was ambushed and they were all killed. The bus then sped away and smashed the vehicles that’d been driven by the leaders. Later they were seen taking off in other vehicles and chasing the bus,” Marty continued.

“So, maybe our people or the Russians both acting together retook the bus from the hijackers.”

“It’s possible,” Marty said.

“Where’s the Speaker?”

“As far as we can tell she’s holed up in the hotel where they stayed. We don’t know how many agents are with her,” Louise Chen said. The Secret Service is a division of the Treasury Department so, the safety of the President falls to the Secretary of the Treasury.

“Have there been ransom demands?” Perry asked.

“Not yet,” Rajesh Sanghvi replied.

“Can we get Valerie back here?” Perry asked.

“We don’t know,” Rita Fitzgerald said. “My people have been trying to contact her with no luck so far.

“Senator, there’s something else,” Susan Rojas said.

“What?”

“It appears that the Stalinists mean business in a big way.”

“Explain.

“Kapustin Yar has been taken over by a fanatic that is surely working for Kulagin.”

“How many missiles?”

“Could be as many as forty,” Rojas answered.

“And we suspect they’re armed?”

“Yes, sir. We’re picking up chatter by Stalinist groups claiming the missiles are ready to head towards New York, Washington, Atlanta, etc. We’re not certain of this but we have to act as if it is legitimate,” Susan concluded.

“I agree. What do you think, Rita, do you have anything on these missiles?”

“Just the same thing Susan has. We have sources inside Russia and near Kapustin Yar but nothing definitive. Russian forces have surrounded the site but we know they have a doomsday mechanism if the control room is breached.”

“Yes, so all they can do is sit and watch.” Perry got up and walked to a corner of the room, turned his back on everyone and with hands clasped behind his back as he looked at the ceiling. There was silence for a few moments as they all looked at each other then Perry turned to face the table.

“Senator, General Zumwalt has moved to DEFCON FOUR,” Rojas added.

“Based on the missile site being compromised?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright, folks, now we need to proceed very cautiously here. We can’t let a group of lunatics coax us into a nuclear exchange,” Perry said.

“The Russian government is not behind this, sir,” Ingersoll posed.

“Of course, not but if these nuts start launching missiles at us then General Zumwalt will carry out his standing orders… full scale retaliatory attack. The end of everything.”

“We need the Speaker back here,” Haakon Meisner said.

“Is that possible?” Perry asked.

“We hope so, sir, they should be working on it right now,” Rita Fitzgerald said.

“Madam Speaker, we need to get you back to Washington as fast as possible,” Derek Menzer said as he stood in Valerie’s hotel room along with three other agents, Andrew Bellingham and Henry York.

“How, Derek, there’ll be spies everywhere,” Janet Chester said as she peeked through the blinds to the street below.

“We have to find a way,” Derek said.

“This town is crawling with Stalinists, it’d take an army to get her to the airport,” Andrew said.

“She’d be better off to stay holed up here,” Henry said.

“No, Henry that won’t work. Right now, all attention is on the kidnapping but in time they’ll realize that the Speaker is still here in Kerch. Then they’ll make their way back here and take her. It would be a prize to have the first two lines of succession,” Andrew explained.

“So, what do we do, Andrew?” Henry asked.

“We take a cab to the airport and buy a ticket for the Speaker on the next flight to Kiev,” Andrew answered.

“Well, that sounds like a great idea, Andrew, but just how do you propose doing it. We’ll be made before we get out of the lobby,” Henry said.

“He’s right, sir,” Derek said.

“Yes, normally that would be the case.”

“But you have some idea that will make this case abnormal,” Henry said.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“We’re all ears,” Henry said.

“The best bet is for you Henry and the Speaker to go, just the two of you… in disguise.”