THE SWORD AND SICKLE

CHAPTER ELEVEN: STATE OF THE UNION

THE SWORD AND SICKLE

PART TWO

CHAPTER ELEVEN

STATE OF THE UNION

President McDowell scheduled the Address to begin at 7:00 pm. The House and Senate had continued their duties under martial law. Smithson imposed these orders after the great New Madrid Earthquakes, which destroyed most of the center of the nation. The state of the union was in critical condition. Tonight, she would announce to the country they were still in a very serious state. The central part of the nation still lay in ruin from Ohio to the central section of Arkansas. The lawlessness after the quake, squelched by the military, now allowed millions of volunteers to help restore the basic needs by crossing the newly formed Sea of New Madrid by air, as most land routes and bridges were destroyed or unsafe to cross. Still, millions were without water, food, power, and proper sanitation. Hospitals were inundated, and the first to get back online with the help of powerful diesel generators the size of locomotives that were donated by manufacturers, but still, they had more patients than beds, and fewer doctors. Many of the homeless were air lifted out, and those who did remain did so at their own risk. The US finally allowed foreign aid to enter its ports, but only after they considered that communications, law, and order were restored. The sheer amount of materials needed to rebuild went beyond any national disaster in human history. The markets around the world nosedived, and the price for copper, steel, wood, oil, and every imaginable raw material skyrocketed. The nation teetered, but didn't collapse, due to the outpouring of aid from around the world. The UN called for the insertion of peacekeepers, but the government refused. This was an American problem, and American forces would solve it.

The problems facing the nation were too great for her to postpone the Address, mainly because of the assassination of the President; Claire McDowell had to assert her authority, and the country needed to know that power lay with her and she would lead the nation to recovery. She would begin with an upbeat message, in the middle she would give the bad news, and would end with her big surprise. The nation would recover, she would tell them, but only with great sacrifice. She looked and saw immediately that her gift-wrapped package had arrived. They had followed her instructions precisely by wrapping it with gold wrapping paper and topping it with a red bow. She retreated to her office to go over her speech. The Speaker of the House interrupted her when he opened the door and told her that it was time. She would not use the teleprompter; this was her speech, written by her, and she wanted to appear to the nation as informed and relaxed, yet bold.

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Before the State of the Union Address, General Abrams sat in his office raging with fury. McDowell had just taken office as President, and he thought, How dare she take over my project. He called William Alderman and told him of the events. William did not respond at first, and then he said, "General, do you have the failsafe in hand. If you find it necessary, you may terminate the project. Turning them over to a President we barely know is not what we had intended. They are for military purposes, and not for a dictator to usurp power. No one person should have such power in their hands, even if it is the President, and certainly not while we are under martial law. I believe the President is going to overthrow the government and suspend the constitution. If this happens, we'll have to overthrow her, and I do not want to go against Victor and Six to do it... and if we lose control, I will terminate both of them. I will call the Secretary of Defense and tell him of the situation." General Abrams hung up the phone and readied himself to attend the speech. Thirty minutes late,r Alderman called. "General, I have spoken to the Secretary. He will post troops around the Capitol Building. If President McDowell does make her move tonight, I want you to use the failsafe." If necessary, we will arrest her as she leaves the Capitol building and charge her with treason. We will install a new President immediately, so that the chain of authority remains unbroken. Let's pray she makes her move tonight, as this might be the only time we will ever have to get close enough to use the failsafe. Tonight, do not hesitate to use it if Victor and Six are within range."

"I hope my training with Dr. Burton helps me to block my thoughts. I would hate to be the first victim of their rage," replied General Abrams

"Me too, General. If you have any doubts, I will do it. I am well trained in deception."

"I have no doubt."

"I hope so, I will be sitting beside you and ready to take out the President, if need be. We need to nip this in the bud. That is the reason we took out Smithson, because we thought she would be more manageable, but she has turned out as anything but controllable."

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