Chapter 51

51
THE WHITE HOUSE

President Haskill looked tired as he sat behind his desk in the Oval Office. As he looked over the gathering of Admirals and Generals making small talk as they waited for the meeting to begin he thought to himself, "How could I have ever wound up with these losers?" He found himself feeling trapped in the sense that there were the men who wielded the power. These were the occasionally insipid men who held his re-election in their quivering, incompetent hands.. Yes, they were the same ones who thought up and halfheartedly executed the aggression against Brazil.

The equation was simple enough. "Solve the problem and get re-elected. Don't solve the problem and join Kyle Bancroft in the dust bin of forgettable history. Why in hell did this have to happen on my watch?" the President mused to himself.

"Okay, everybody. Let's get started. I think you all know that I have ordered the formation of a task force to handle the personal affairs of Jesus Robeles while He's in the United States. My Marines are going to take care of that, thank God!" the President looked over at Marine Commandant General Veemer, who was beaming. "It's good to have a ready force to handle situations like this. I want everyone here to know that I expect your complete cooperation with General Veemer. That's complete cooperation. Anything he asks for. Does everyone understand that? If you won't give him what he asks for, he is instructed to inform me immediately! Does everyone understand that?"

Turning to Admiral Galter, Navy Chief, the President continued. "Now, I think we would all like to know just what really happened with the strong arm fleet you were sending to Brazil. My own people, and this time I'll go ahead and say, Hanneman, tell me that you managed to get seven capital ships, including most of a carrier group, immobilized south of Puerto Rico? No one, not the Kremlin, not Beijing and -- I can tell you to add -- not Washington is buying the training maneuver line. I have photos of those ships sitting there for four days -- four days when even the emergency ELF strategic communications was off the air! That thing is supposed to work even if there is a nuclear war, for Christ's sake!" The President rose, folding his arms. "I'm sure you have an answer about all this now, a week later. Perhaps you would like to share it with the rest of us?"

Admiral Galter clearly didn't know what to say. The other Joint Chiefs, rather than licking their chops to pounce on the poor man, seemed to cower behind him, hoping that the impending carnage would end with the Admiral.

The President spoke again. "You realize, of course, that I staked my administration on the largest military readiness bill ever to go before Congress in peacetime. I've got two hundred and forty one Democrat vultures waiting to trash my fiscal responsibility during the campaign. Maybe I should bring you along to explain everything?"

Galter finally began to speak. "All of the ships which were ordered into Brazilian waters were immobilized at the same time, down to the second, in fact. We know that because the clocks stopped. Other ships in the Caribbean fleet were unaffected -- even if they were right along side of the ones that were under orders for Rio."

"Our Eyebrow High Five satellite showed no hostile vessels within five hundred miles. A Chinese missile sub was snooping around south of Bermuda, but he was way out of range for any known weapon. There's no explanation possible except some kind of hostile in orbit, and no one saw any trace of that. It just seems like the ships that were going to Brazil were stopped cold by every kind of problem a Navy ship can have. Every kind of problem all at one time. Even seasoned crewmen were so sea sick that they couldn't have been battle ready if they'd had to be. There was no seasickness on the other ships in the area. All this occurred in calm water, not high seas."

The President was on the offensive. "What corrective measures were necessary to get the ships underway after this happened?" he asked sarcastically. The cluster of watching Generals and Admirals winced with horrified fascination as one of their own was being groomed for sacrifice to the media and to the election. Gone was the smug invulnerability that usually accompanied four silver stars and a seat on the Joint Chiefs.

"No corrective measures were required aside from replenishing all ordinance. After seventy-nine hours, and forty-one minutes all systems on the ships became operational again. The attack did no permanent damage to anything on board except the ordinance. All the powder was bad and the propellant and warhead assemblies for all the missile systems had to be replaced. That is all accomplished. All seven ships are now fully operational and ready for action."

Defense Secretary Moyen spoke up. "Mr. President the word on the street is that Jesus Robeles disabled those ships to prevent any bloodshed around Guanabara Bay. Defense Intelligence tells me that the ships became operational at the same time He left Brazil on His jet."

"We have to put a stop to that crap on the double!" exploded General Foorda. "We can't have a routine Naval problem underwriting this little Faker's claim to divinity. Now that He's in the United States, we ought to arrest this little jungle Boy so He doesn't make any more trouble. I'm not afraid of Him! What's He gonna' do to the whole damned Army, anyway? Make us seasick?"

President Haskill stood up, which brought the Joint Chiefs to attention. "My own sources say that Jesus Robeles brought a helicopter pilot back to life in Rio De Janeiro. He did it in front of lots of witnesses, all of 'em State Security troops. They witnessed some State Security General shoot this guy in the head, in their words splattering brains and blood all over Robeles. Then He brought the guy back to life and put the General in a mental hospital, probably for life."

Turning to Foorda, the President continued. "I'm beginning to have a bad feeling that Jesus Robeles doesn't really have to play tricks on the Navy to beef up His reputation. I am concerned when the military leadership of this country is over willing to use force -- in an unconstitutional way -- against visiting dignitaries. I assume this means that since you haven't got a clue for a plan to stop the rioting that you just plan to really get it stirred up! Help like that I don't need. This country will blow apart at the seams if Jesus Robeles is placed in military custody!"

"I want answers -- real answers about what happened in the Caribbean. It hasn't hit the press yet, but it will. Oh, yes, one last thing. Admiral Galter, General Foorda. I want your resignations from the Joint Chiefs of Staff on my desk by tomorrow morning." President Haskill turned abruptly and left the Oval Office. Behind him, gloomy silence prevailed.