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

“Nuclear war.”

Sonny stood a little taller, and his eyes got wide. Prior to that statement, he’d been helpful but not the model of cooperativeness.

“Come with me, sir. Let’s take a look at the map. I can narrow down your search area.”

“Prepare to be boarded!”

The voice blared over a loudspeaker that practically muted Kenny Chesney’s singing and Hank’s encouragement of Erin’s efforts.

He spun around to find the source of the demand. Two Coast Guard vessels were easing up to the Hatteras on both sides of his bow. The twenty-five-foot boats abruptly slowed to a stop but brought their wake with them, causing the Hatteras to sway violently from side to side.

Erin turned her head to see what was happening. Her relaxed grip on the rod and loss of concentration ended the fight. The fish sensed a change in dynamic and cut toward the boat. It broke the plane of the water and launched itself into the air. The massive blue fish whipped its head back and forth in a flash, propelling the hook out of its mouth just before it splashed back down in the water.

The line went slack. Erin cursed loudly and then collapsed back into her chair, dejected. This’d better be good, she thought to herself as she immediately cast blame on the intrusion.

Hank helped one of the Coast Guard vessels pull alongside. He worked with the guardsman to place the fenders between the two boats before tying them together. The young man quickly boarded Hank’s boat and immediately approached Erin without so much as a glance in Hank’s direction.

“Ma’am,” he began with a tip of his cap, “we’ve been sent by the Secret Service. You’ve been requested to return to Washington.”

“Wait? Secret Service. Why?”

The young guardsman glanced at Hank. “I can only speculate, ma’am. There have been some developments between India and Pakistan. Um, similar to the Middle East, only worse, ma’am.”

“Shit,” Erin muttered. She closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. She walked past the guardsman and hugged Hank.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered in her ear, not sure what else to say. His mind was also racing, as the information given to him by Peter was deadly accurate.

“Hank, I’m so sorry to leave you. All of this. You’re an incredible man.”

“I feel the same way, Erin. Please keep in touch.”

“I will,” she said as she kissed him on the cheek. Then she leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Be ready. Protect yourself and your family. You never know, okay?”

She pulled away, and Hank saw the tears begin to flow out of her eyes. She tried to wipe them away and shield her emotions from the guardsman who stood dutifully nearby. Without another word, she crossed over into the Coast Guard Defender. As they uncoupled and raced off, she never stopped looking at Hank, nor did he stop looking at her as the boat disappeared from sight.

Chapter Thirty

Tuesday, October 22

Presidential Emergency Operations Center

The White House

For the second time in a week, the president had been ushered through the corridors beneath the East Wing of the White House into the PEOC. Unlike the moments following the Iran-Israel nuclear exchange, during which the attendees were relatively calm, the military and intelligence personnel didn’t bother acknowledging President Helton as he entered. The nuclear war between Pakistan and India was far more serious and was still ongoing.

“Mr. President, thus far, all indications lead us to believe this conflict is regional in nature,” began the president’s chief of staff. “State has spoken with their counterparts in Moscow and Beijing, who both agree all three nuclear powers should remain neutral.”

“That’s easy for them to say,” shot back the president. “They’re responsible for arming Iran and Pakistan in the first place. Everyone might note who the aggressors are in all of this. It’s not our allies.”

Harrison Chandler, who as the president’s chief of staff was anything but a yes-man, provided some context. “Sir, I’m not defending their actions. That said, both Israeli and Indian provocations caused tensions to escalate. Do I believe the Pakistanis and Iranians are blameless? Absolutely not. Now we have to be prepared for the aftermath.”

The president turned to the secretary of defense, who was present in the PEOC’s large conference room. He was on the phone, but President Helton interrupted him.

“You’ve raised the defense readiness condition?”

In the event of a national emergency, a series of seven different alert conditions, known as LERTCONs, can be issued. The seven alerts include two emergency conditions, or EMERGCONs, that are national-level reactions in response to an attack on the U.S. mainland from foreign intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the event of a major attack on American or allied forces overseas, the defense emergency levels are elevated under EMERGCON. Likewise, if an air defense emergency exists, such as hostile aircraft or inbound conventional missiles were considered imminent, then the EMERGCON levels were raised.

The other five alert levels fall under national defense readiness conditions, or DEFCONs, a term more widely known among the general public. These levels start at DEFCON 5, which is normal peacetime conditions, up to DEFCON 1, the maximum force readiness that coincides with EMERGCON alerts.

In the history of the United States, DEFCON 1 had never been initiated. During the Cuban missile crisis, the U.S. Strategic Air Command was placed on DEFCON 2 for the first time, without President Kennedy’s authority. The action almost triggered a nuclear war that October.

With each passing day during that crisis, the U.S. military inched toward war as it prepared to strike targets within the former Soviet Union. The world held its collective breath during those days in October 1962.

“Mr. President, at the moment, we have no indication of a direct threat to the U.S. or our military installations abroad. Therefore, we have remained at DEFCON 3, as you instructed following the Iranian attack on Israel and their counterattack.”

The president turned toward the undersecretary of state. “Are you able to contact either government? I assume both