“What irregularities?”
“Sir, we now believe some of them may actually be Chinese military transports. It looks like they are over Canadian airspace right now.”
The president opened his eyes, his face white. “What?”
The national security advisor said, “Sir, we’ve seen intelligence reports that this type of thing was included in Chinese war plans. Our interceptors will challenge them. If they don’t respond correctly, they will be shot down. General, please keep us apprised.”
“Yes, sir.”
The national security advisor’s voice came over the phone. “Let’s focus on the bigger picture. If we have ballistic missiles inbound, we will need to consider a strike on the attacking nation’s strategic missile sites, as well as any known nuclear ballistic missile submarines.”
The president’s chief of staff, sitting beside him in the car, frowned, shaking his head. “What kind of a strike? Tell me you aren’t proposing what I think you are.”
“We need our own nuclear response. That’s what is called for in these situations.”
“In these situations? How many of these situations have you seen? None of us has ever seen this before.”
“Which is exactly why we have protocol. We have preplanned responses for—”
“Oh, don’t give me that bullshit, Tom. Are you insane? Unless I’m mistaken, we know very little with any certainty right now. So you want to fire nuclear weapons? At who, precisely? China? North Korea? Russia? We don’t even know for sure which side of the border that second launch came from. We don’t know how many missiles are in the air. And if there are any, we don’t know where the hell they’re headed.”
The president watched as his chief of staff fumed into the car’s speakerphone. He made a good point, the president thought.
The comms was silent for a moment. Then STRATCOM’s General Sprague said, “We do have some solid data. And we’re getting more in every minute. I’m reading now that from our infrared cameras on the DSP satellites, before they were destroyed, Cheyenne Mountain observed a total of twenty-four objects in the first wave of launches. These were likely launched from North Korea, and the objects had an initial projected trajectory and speed consistent with ICBMs, heading over the Arctic circle. Exact target undetermined. Per our preplanned response, we activated our own ballistic missile defense units in Asia as soon as they launched.”
The president nearly shouted. “What do you mean? Are you saying that we fired back? We fired nuclear weapons already? Without my authorization?”
General Sprague said, “No, sir. Defensive measures only. This was ballistic missile defense. Surface-to-air missiles, if you will, launched from Korea and Japan.”
The president grumbled. “I see.” He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare, unable to control his destiny, and knowing that it was getting worse.
The national security advisor said, “What were the results of the defensive measures, General Sprague?”
“We believe at least a dozen of the objects were shot down, although it could be as many as twenty. We believe that at least four are still airborne. It’s hard to say without all of our sensors operational, sir.”
“So it’s only four?” said the chief of staff, sitting in the car next to the president. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
The president shook his head, dumbfounded. “What the hell does that mean? Four are airborne? We didn’t get them all? What, did we miss or something?”
The general sounded frustrated. “Sir, those numbers are spectacular compared to our tests. Ballistic missile defense is not perfect.”
“Well, excuse me, General, but I would think that’s precisely the kind of thing that should be perfect.”
“Mr. President, this means several ballistic missiles have headed north over the Arctic, but their exact targets are unknown. As we said, our ballistic detection network has been attacked. We don’t know exactly how many missiles are up there, or where they’re going.”
“Well, where the hell do you think they will hit?”
Another barrage of voices, speaking over each other.
The secretary of defense said, “Sir, we need to activate our response.”
“But if North Korea fired that many missiles, that means they expended everything they had. Hell, those things are likely not even going to work.”
“…could hit California or somewhere on the West Coast…”
“…some of the Chinese models could reach as far as the eastern sector of the United States.”
The Secret Service agent in the front of the vehicle called out, “One minute until arrival.” They were almost at Air Force One.
General Rice said, “Sir, I don’t see a nuclear strike on North Korea as beneficial to us. They likely expended their entire nuclear arsenal. But this second wave of missiles worries me. If China and North Korea are acting in concert, the North Korean missiles could have been meant as a diversion tactic. Perhaps to get us to delay long enough for Chinese antisatellite weapons to be used, masking the real attack.”
“Couldn’t Russia have done that too?”
The CIA director’s voice came on the phone. “Sir, ties between Russia and North Korea aren’t as strong. And the geopolitical climate doesn’t suggest Russia would do something like this. China, on the other hand, has been quite belligerent of late.”
The national security advisor said, “I agree. This is Jinshan. Mr. President, we know this.”
The president said, “Gentlemen, we can’t be wrong.”
The national security advisor said, “Sir, respectfully, we also can’t delay. Our military is now engaged in conventional combat operations throughout the Western Pacific, with China. We must assume that China launched ICBMs in that second wave of missile launches. Even if we discount the fact that we are already fighting the Chinese in the Pacific, there are only two countries that have the capability to attack our nuclear attack detection mechanisms. Again, Russia and China. But Jinshan is a known threat. He has made moves to harm our country already. This isn’t hard. Sir, the facts support the case that this is China. We need to strike at them before it’s too late.”
The president leaned back into the cushion of his seat. He was exhausted and not thinking clearly. “General Rice? Do you agree?”
The general said, “They have taken out our early-warning sensors, and our ability to track the ballistic objects. This is the type of thing you would do if you were about to attack with ICBMs. Yes, sir. I agree. It’s China, and the NMCC recommends that we execute our own nuclear response.”
The CIA director said, “We are in the process of confirming a few things on our end. But I also agree. We just received further intelligence that suggests the second wave of missile launches came from the Chinese side of the border, not the Russian side.”
The president said, “What is the intelligence?”
“HUMINT, sir. We feel very strongly that it is accurate.”
The president couldn’t tell who spoke next. But the voice said, “Well, that settles it, then. We need to strike China.”
The car slowed. The president’s chief of staff said, “Gentlemen, we’re about to go offline for a moment.”
The president said, “I’ll make my final decision when I’m on board the plane.”