It always struck him as amazing just how physically small the core material formations were for the amount of potential energy they contained. That small physical size made them even easier to hide.
Confident now that his job had been done to perfection he left the hangar with more than an hour to spare. He was under strict instructions to allow none of the flight crew-members to see his face. He took up position in an office that would allow him to watch the airplanes depart on their journey. It would also allow him to sit and work on some equations he needed to solve for his research program. There was no sense in wasting valuable time.
From his vantage point he could tell that there was a flurry of activity inside the hangar, but he was unable to tell exactly what was going on with the culmination of years of hard work. However, after a while, he began to see the airplanes leave one at a time.
It took nearly five hours for all fifteen airplanes to depart There was a lot of work involved in hiding these materials, making the core structures all that much harder to find.
He managed to convince himself that he was overthinking the entire situation. To those men loading these devices it was just another crate. None of them were all that large or heavy making the work even more mundane for those men. It was just another day for them. If they only knew what was about to happen they would view it much differently.
After he watched the final flight depart he made his way home to wait some more.
He had been in his home office doing calculations on a new separation and refinement technique for hours. His progress was not going well today. He knew the lack of progress was due to distraction, and he would remain so until he got word of the safe arrival of those five specific shipments. Even though it would be at least another eighteen hours, he felt sure he would be unable to sleep, or even concentrate on the tasks sitting in front of him until that word came of the safe arrivals of each aircraft.
In his home-office, which was rare enough for someone to have an office at home in his country, he had a computer with a very special software package designed to make it appear as though he had a European IP address. This would allow him to visit American websites, and their servers would not be able to determine who or where he really was.
He had always loved technology, and from time to time marveled at this very run of the mill machine. He never dreamed of the progress that would be made in the field of computing in his lifetime. The first computer he had ever seen took up half a room and needed enormous air conditioning units, as well as a full time maintenance staff of ten men, to ensure it would functioning properly. With a mild yawn, he settled back in for the long wait, and continued to attempt to work his equations.
He awoke with a start some hours later, still sitting at his desk, the last line of equations half written. He quickly checked his Facebook page, which claimed to be that of a nineteen year-old University student from Spain. He found fifteen pre-arranged postings on his “wall.”
He smiled at the success, and the concept of using one of the America’s commercial companies to transmit this information.
He decided to bathe before going to the mosque to pray for the five martyrs to have the bravery to carry out their assignments. If they succeeded the American military would be crippled for years to come, and of equal importance, Israel would be practically wiped off the map as a nation. His work would accomplish what had been the dream of several generations.
AP NEWS FLASH: The United States Appellate Courts have asked the Supreme Court of the United States to become the deciding body, and court of origination, on the validity of the charges levied by the former President. These charges are that the current President, Scott Press, has usurped the leadership role of the Presidency. The Supreme Court has announced that there is no basis for claims of the former President, and are refusing the take the case. This action should end the claims being made that Scott Press is not the lawful President and allow the United States to move on from these accusations. The former President was unavailable for comment. President Press’s spokesperson said that this unnecessary distraction can now be forgotten, and we can move on to issues that help the nation move forward.
AP ECONOMIC NEWS FLASH: US Stock Markets had their first positive day since the new President took office. Confidence seems to be returning to the markets. The overall market is down for the year, however positive signs are slowly returning. Leading indicators show that the market could return to positive territory with a large upward momentum. Oil finished the day relatively flat, down $0.10 per barrel despite the cuts in production announced by OPEC countries.
Chapter Nine
President Press looked closely at his face in the mirror to ensure he hadn’t missed any spots while shaving. In the process he noticed some extra flesh collecting under his chin. It served as a flabby reminder that he needed to spend more time in the gym. He made a mental note to make sure that his schedulers fit that in before his wife told them to put it there, for she would surely insist on more time there than he was willing to commit.
During his short tenure in the Oval Office one thing he had managed to enjoy was his discovery that the White House had an excellent pastry chef. The combination of this fact, and his well-known sweet tooth, were not the best combination for his physical appearance.
His wife had repeatedly spoken to him about his poor eating choices. He was sure she already had a spy in the kitchen informing on him. Either that or she had mental telepathy and knew just when to show up in the office and lecture him about eating things that would shorten his life. He once, and only once, joked in her presence that he wouldn’t live longer, it would only seem longer. The lecture he had gotten after his joke was lengthy and loud.
Even Presidents had a home life to deal with. They had at least people around them who could care less what political office their loved one held.
He started making a “to do” list in his head. One thing that still annoyed him was that he had not found a viable nominee for Vice President. He had wanted to have that task done on his very first full day in office. Every time he had a person identified that he wanted to appoint it quickly became apparent that the Senate would block their confirmation for one nitpicky reason or another.
He should have expected it though; it was naïve to suspect it would have been an easy thing to get done. He had failed to consider the main problem. The overwhelming majority of Senators wanted the job, and none of them wanted anyone else to have it. In order to get a Vice President successfully in place there was going to be a real fight inside the Beltway. What else was new?
Politics in the House of Representatives was difficult. At the Presidential level it was something else altogether.
Without warning the door to his bedroom burst open while he was still buttoning his shirt. His Chief of Staff Lester Johnson, accompanied by a large contingent of Secret Service Agents hadn’t bothered knocking, “Mr. President, we need you to come with us right now. We are getting your family. We need to get you and them on board Air Force One and get in the air immediately.”
The President was mildly annoyed at the interruption of his morning routine, but was slowly getting used to this sort of thing. He spoke without turning around, “Excuse me? We don’t have any trip on my schedule today,” he turned to look at the room full of people. “Why are there so many people in here?” he asked slightly annoyed.
Still being new to the job he didn’t realized exactly what was going on. If he had been on the job longer they would have had the chance to run one of the emergency preparedness drills.