The first thing the President noticed was that the automobile traffic was increasing quickly. Scott thought to himself that he should have anticipated that. Any survivors would want to leave the area quickly as soon as they learned what had really happened. The only problem was that the cars were all going in one direction, away from the blast zone. There was no traffic going into the city. Both sides of the highway had turned into one-way streets going north as the airplane traveled south. Who could blame them? The traffic reminded him of the pictures he had seen of the roads when hurricanes Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005.
The scenery continued to change to one of charred destruction. Buildings were toppled, houses were on fire, and the red flashing lights of emergency vehicles were everywhere. It was as if the apocalypse had arrived, and it had arrived today.
In the distance he could see the remains of what had recently been one of the newest and largest professional football stadiums in the country. It was now just a pile of twisted metal with flames jumping out of the center. It bore no resemblance to the magnificent architectural achievement it had been just this morning. President Press remembered going to a Thanksgiving Day game at that very stadium just two years before. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
He looked at the General, he knew he had to do something, “Mr. Chairman, get your people in there. Those hospitals have to be overloaded, if anyone is left alive.”
The President’s personal aide, Christopher Gintz, a young man in his mid-twenties, spoke up weakly with a slight crack in his voice, “Mr. President, we finally have the Prime Minister of Israel on the phone.”
He looked at his aide, “Thank you, Chris. Tell the pilots I have seen enough. Detroit is going to look exactly like this. We need to get to work, not sightsee. Have them and the Secret Service just go into whatever the standard protocol is at this point, then have a seat someplace for a few minutes and get something to drink. You look like you are about to fall down. Go collect yourself son.”
He cleared his throat, and pushed the button on the speakerphone so the room could hear the conversation, “Mr. Prime Minister, my condolences for the losses you have suffered today.”
“To you as well, Mr. President,” said the heavily accented and very tired voice on the phone.
President Press suddenly realized he had not considered the time difference. He was ashamed to admit he didn’t know what time of day or night it was in Israel.
“Mr. Prime Minister, I wish we had been given the opportunity to speak for the first time under better circumstances. I must tell you that I have you on speakerphone with myself, my Chief of Staff, The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and my Secretary of Defense. I assure you that we will share any and all intelligence information we have that is useful with Israel. The United States will also offer up any aid that we are capable of providing, as quickly as we can provide it. May I ask if you know anything about the level of damage you have suffered?” he asked.
“Well, thank you for the kind words and generous offers of support even in times with your own rescue efforts still just beginning, Mr. President. I too wish we had met under better circumstances. I have some members of my staff on the line as well. These attacks were the worst imaginable for our small country. Your offer of assistance is very much appreciated. I am certain we will need that assistance as soon as we understand the results of the attack. Right now we are not sure of much.
“As you know, Mr. President, Israel is home to many sites cherished by the world’s religions. Thankfully it appears as though they were purposefully spared. Those barbaric Iranians were careful in this regard. Praise God for this.”
“Indeed, Mr. Prime Minister,” President Press agreed.
The Prime Minister continued, “The three devices were placed to specifically target our military capabilities. I will have my staff transmit the exact locations of the detonations. Before the attacks we had approximately one hundred and seventy five thousand active duty and four hundred and fifty thousand reserve soldiers. Our remaining forces are likely nearer to twenty thousand and fifty nine thousand. We are attempting to verify these numbers. It will be some time before we know for certain how many soldiers and civilians perished today.
“Our military equipment status is also unknown, but is certainly just as bad if not in a worse state of readiness as our soldiers. They hit us in such a way to leave us highly vulnerable to even the smallest of organized ground assaults. I believe that a land invasion is their ultimate goal. I have no idea where they hit the United States, but they targeted our military capabilities with high precision.”
The President rubbed sweat from his forehead as he responded, “Mr. Prime Minister, we will defend you to the best of our ability. They did not target our military personnel as they are spread all over, but they did target our military industrial manufacturing capabilities. We will have challenges keeping our equipment running if we aren’t careful. That being said, we have bases in your area of the world, all of which are fully intact and ready to beat back any attack that comes your way.
“As I said, they did target our ability to manufacture military equipment, and long term that will most assuredly cause trouble for us. We have no idea how bad the damage is in these areas. I am sure you have as much work to do as me. I guarantee you will have a direct line to me at any point in time should you need it. I will stop anything I am doing if you call. May God bless both of our countries and I will do everything I can to ensure that both of them continue to exist, and not be taken over. These people will be stopped, and punished for their actions.”
“Thank you Mr. President. May God bless us indeed. We need that level of intervention today of all days,” the Prime Minister responded.
The President reached over and disconnected the phone line. He stood from behind his desk, took off his jacket placed his hand back on his desk and leaned in. Speaking in a stone cold voice, he looked at Chairman Jackson and said, “General, we need to figure out what Iran’s next move is and get in front of it. I want a review of their known conventional capabilities as soon as possible. We will be fighting them soon, and this will not remain nuclear. I believe that they mean to capture territory, which is something we will not allow.
“We also need to know any potential allied nations they have that may get involved on their side. We may not have time on our side to build an international coalition to deal with this threat. Given what has happened I’m not sure it will be hard to do, but it may take longer than we have. Let’s assume we will be alone in our responses for the time being, just in case. Let us prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
The General responded, “We shall have the capabilities review for you within the hour Mr. President. Then we will start preparing the best possible response scenario using your guidance.”
The General picked up the nearest telephone and started pushing buttons.
AP NEWS FLASH: Rumors of an invasion from Mexico have been heard. No verification of any invasion has been made. The White House continues to claim that no invasion has occurred or will in the coming days. The White House also says that price gouging during this time of crisis will not be tolerated. Help will be arriving at Detroit and Dallas Fort Worth hospitals in some form as quickly as it can be moved into the area. Medical and relief supplies are being collected and loaded for transportation as rapidly as possible.