Nuclear Winter First Strike by Bobby Akart (best fiction books of all time .txt) 📗

the number of passengers who could disembark a cruise ship at any given time to fifteen hundred. Most major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian didn’t operate ships small enough to pull into Key West. Boutique cruise operators like Oceania and Crystal were regulars.

He got with Jimmy and immediately organized a backgammon tournament for those who didn’t already have plans. They set up lounge chairs under umbrellas near the thatched-roof tiki bar. Hank offered some prizes in the form of Driftwood Key swag like tee shirts, caps, and novelties. It was all in fun and designed to take their minds off world events.

Erin Bergman’s sisters had all gathered around the media room and enjoyed coffee with a variety of pastries prepared by Phoebe. Hank periodically peered out the windows toward the stairs leading up to the main house in search of Erin, who’d abruptly left during dessert the night before. He was beginning to wonder if she had been forced to leave without notice.

Her older sister picked up on Hank’s demeanor and pulled him aside. “Erin has to be available for a conference call this morning. She hasn’t been called back to Washington. You know, in case you were wondering.”

Hank blushed. He guessed his concern was obvious. “I know things must be stressful in the White House. I’m sure they’d recall her if necessary, right?”

The sister nodded. “Fortunately, she’d be out of the loop on national security matters.”

Hank thanked her for the update, and after the news story switched to the punditry portion of the programming, everyone gladly escaped the main house and descended across the pristine Bermuda grass lawn until they reached the white sand beach.

Hank had called in the steel drum band early that day so the atmosphere could be upbeat and festive. After mimosas were offered and good-luck toasts were shared by all, the backgammon tournament began.

Backgammon is a two-player game during which the goal is to move your checker-like pieces along a board consisting of twenty-four points, or spaces. With each roll of the dice, pieces are moved until they are in your home board and can then be taken off. Whoever removes their pieces first wins.

It’s a game that requires strategy but one that doesn’t require one hundred percent focus. It had been a favorite of sailors who were more interested in soaking in the rum than winning the game, although it was also a favorite of gamblers.

Once everyone was settled in, Hank wandered toward the long dock that stretched into the Gulf. The water was calm that morning, and the fish that fed off the barnacles attached to the piers would be in full view. He squinted his eyes and noticed a woman standing at the end of the dock under the thatched roof. She was wearing a white linen coverup that blew slightly with the breeze, as did the American and Conch Republic flags flanking the pier.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, glanced around, and moseyed onto the dock. A minute later, he’d joined Erin, who was deep in thought.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked politely.

Somewhat startled, she looked down at herself shyly and pulled her bathing suit coverup across her body. She smiled at Hank and replied, “No, not at all. Actually, my little brain needed a break from thinking.”

Hank joined her side and laughed. “Somehow, I doubt your brain is little.”

“Well, let’s just say it’s too small for all the crap swirling around in there.”

Hank paused before he continued. He pointed toward a stingray that casually swam by the dock. The cow-nosed, mystical creature was oblivious to its admirers as it searched for its next meal.

“Don’t you wish you could be that guy?” he asked jokingly.

“Not a care in the world,” she replied. She let out a deep sigh.

“Let me know if I’m overstepping, Erin, but is it worse than what the media is letting on?”

“In some respects, yes. In others, no. The media tends to overdramatize things to keep viewers’ eyes glued to the screen. It’s what they don’t know that is concerning.”

“Oh?” asked Hank.

Erin leaned forward and placed her elbows on the deck railing as the stingray swam out of sight. She fiddled with her hands.

“International politics are complicated. Over the last hundred years, America’s adversaries have changed. The Nazis and Japanese were a clearly defined enemy until they were defeated. Then the Soviet Union tried to take advantage of the power vacuum. They were soon joined by China as the communists began to have a greater influence around the world.

“Today, you have nations like North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan that have deadly nuclear capabilities. They cannot be trusted and are in all respects unpredictable. One always thought—at least as it relates to the U.S., China and Russia, the so-called nuclear powerhouses—that cooler heads would prevail.”

Hank interjected, “We’ve always seemed to respect the concept of mutually assured destruction, right?”

Erin hesitated. “Yes, once upon a time, anyway. Nuclear capabilities have changed over the last thirty years. Quick, precision strikes are now available to all the major powers. We no longer have to launch ballistic missiles from silos in the Northern Rockies. We have ships and submarines that can do it as well. Hell, our intelligence agencies believe both Iran and North Korea have nuclear warheads sailing over our heads, attached to satellites. The Pentagon refers to them as the Axis of Evil.”

Hank leaned forward and looked toward the incredibly blue skies. “Really?”

“Really,” she replied before shifting the conversation. “Here’s the thing, Hank. And please understand, this is just my opinion as an American with more knowledge than the political outsiders. Iran and Israel have been staring each other down for longer than you and I have been alive. Despite the provocation, our government has never believed that Israel would be the first to pull the nuclear trigger in the Middle East. Iran, however, is another matter.”

“Are they that stupid? And how do they justify it? Israel has completely denied any involvement in that killing spree a couple