Wall Street had moved its operations to Chicago, consolidating with the Chicago Mercantile exchange. More importantly, people had jobs, and overall, they were high paying jobs as the economy continued to roar. With the loss of trade between the US and China, there was an enormous demand for products and consumer goods that used to be produced in Asia and now needed to be produced at home in the US (and to a large extent, South America and England).
As the boom continued, the provinces in Mexico began to return to normal and stabilized. There were still incidents of violence and guerrilla activity, but the Mexican people had good, high paying jobs due to the numerous infrastructure projects, and really began to see an improvement in their own communities as a result. This made it more difficult for the insurgency to continue as more and more people realized they did not want to go back to the way it used to be prior to the Americans getting involved. Their lives and the lives of their children were now significantly better than they had been under the old Mexican regime.
The FBI, US Marshal Service and the DOJ had completely revamped their entire police training program, and with significant assistance from several private contracting companies, were training 10,000 new police officers per month in Mexico. These new police officers were given mentors from American law enforcement to help guide them, and they learned how to develop a good community presence and a working relationship that was absent of the corruption that was so rampant under the old regime. There were large rewards issued for individuals that the intelligence community had identified as criminal and insurgent leaders, which placed additional pressure on those causing trouble.
Throughout the recovery, the US government continued to operate underground until the threat of a potential Russian nuclear attack was defused. President Stein and President Fradkov agreed to keep the war conventional. However, just as the government was about relocate back to the White House, several Spetsnaz teams began to attack older Presidential bunkers, and even managed to kill a number of high ranking Congressional leaders.
The attack on the Vice President had infuriated the American public. The U.S. had had enough of the attacks against their political leaders and civilians; most people had now resorted to openly carrying firearms, making it more challenging for law enforcement to determine if an attack was about to happen or there was just a group of armed citizens protecting their families as they went to the Mall. With assistance from the Trinity program, several Spetsnaz teams were rooted out, and eventually captured or killed. Now that the threat was reduced, the President wanted the government to relocate back to Washington D.C. on April 1st. It was time to return the government functions back to the Capital.
The administration’s secretive Trinity program was proving to be the most complex and intrusive surveillance program ever developed. It had identified over 12,000 foreign agents operating in the US in one capacity or another, and enabled the FBI and DHS to apprehend these individuals, limiting their covert actions. The level of crime across the country had also dropped immensely as police were now receiving accurate and timely shared intelligence from the Trinity targeting data for specific high crime activities across the nation, such as murders, rapes and gang-related violence.
As the President walked through the hallway on his way to the last national security briefing in the HIVE, he couldn’t help but think to himself how silly it had been for him to have initiated the COG and moved the entire government underground. Between the political assassinations and terrorist attacks, it seemed like the right decision at the time. Perhaps it was the right call, but maybe they should have returned to Washington sooner. President Stein walked into the Situation Room and signaled for everyone to remain seated while he walked around and took his seat at the head of the table.
“Let’s get this meeting started. Where do things stand in Europe?” asked the President, looking at General Branson.
“Yes, Mr. President. General Wade is currently on track to start his spring offensive. He’s received 2,500 M1A4 battle tanks that we took out of mothball and refurbished, adding to the 4,000 he currently has. He also received our latest supply of Pershing tanks straight from the factory. He now has 900 Pershing tanks, which should be more than enough for his army groups to push the Russians back,” General Branson explained.
“Our latest round of basic training recruits has also arrived in Germany; our troop count in Germany now stands at 1.2 million, divided into two Armies, although we are still extremely short on combat vehicles and other war materials. The bulk of those soldiers are being leveraged as light infantry for the time being.”
The President smiled and realized that for the first time in the last three months they were finally going to hit the Russians and push them out of Western Europe. This war was devastating the EU, and so was the war with China. Global trade and shipping had all but stopped, with all sides sinking each other’s shipping. “This is excellent news general, please let General Wade know he is to begin his offensive as soon as he believes they are ready. I want the Russians pushed out of Poland by the end of summer,” commanded the President.
Secretary of State Jim Wise jumped into the conversation to add, “Mr. President, I have news about Japan that I believe we should discuss. It may change some plans in Europe.”
Everyone turned to look at Jim and then to the President. “Ok, then please go ahead Jim, and let us know what you have heard from them,” the President said.
“Mr. President, the Japanese told me they have a high level agent in the PLAN, and this agent passed along some information about a future operation the PLAN is currently preparing to execute. Their agent said the PLAN has relocated most of their amphibious assault crafts and troop carriers to the East China Sea for a big amphibious assault.”
“Are the Chinese finally going to move against the Japanese?” inquired the President. He was thinking it would be poetic justice if Japan was invaded and then asked for help just as the U.S. had demanded that the Japanese abide by the mutual defense pact, which they had so far failed to do.
“No, Mr. President. The Chinese have explicitly told the Japanese they would be invaded if they do not remain neutral in the war. Right now the Japanese are content to remain neutral, and the Chinese are content to let them stay that way for the time being. What their agent said is that the Chinese are planning a massive naval assault against Alaska and the Pacific Northwest,” Jim said, a bit anxious about the information he was sharing.
General Branson jumped in and asked “Do we know where in Alaska they are planning to invade or how many troops will be involved?”
“Before I answer that, the news does get worse. The Russians will also be sending an expeditionary force of 250,000 troops as well. The Chinese, on the other hand, are going to be invading with an army of five million soldiers. They told me the primary target for the Russians is Nome, Alaska, while the Chinese will be going for the port facilities at Seward before advancing on Anchorage and then on to the state of Yukon, British Columbia, and Washington State.”
General Branson sat back and thought for a minute about what had just been said, as did the President. “This does change the picture in Europe, doesn’t it General Branson?” inquired the President.
“Yes, Mr. President, it does. General Wade’s offensive will need to rely on a steady supply of reinforcements from the States as recruits finish basic training. He will also require a steady supply of armor and other military vehicles. If we are shipping everything from the production line to Europe and his forces, then we will not have the equipment or force needed here to defend the Homeland,” General Branson said, ensuring he looked everyone in the eye to confirm that they understood exactly how bad this threat really was.