The Krakow Klub (31 page)

Capitol Hill
was placed
in lockdown. Congressmen, never at a loss for words, for once were
speechless and in shock. People in the street wept. Churches
became flooded
with people going there to
pray.

Thirty minutes later, an aide read a hastily
prepared statement from the new president. She vowed to serve her
nation with courage in this time of disaster. She would carry out
the unfinished business of the president with dedication. She would
lead the nation through this terrible time of mourning with all the
strength in her body.

On Capitol Hill, many congressmen suddenly
received a second brutal shock. Carla Montrose, their arch enemy,
was now president of the United States of America. They prayed even
more fervently.

Within hours, handmade signs, memorials, and
flowers draped the White House fences. Radio stations played somber
and sacred music without commercial interruptions. The shocked
nation was in mourning for their dead leader.

Later in the day, another press release was
issued stating that a full investigation of the disaster had begun.
Explosives experts were on the scene along with a team of highly
trained investigators.

The news media read through the lines and
openly speculated that the crash was no accident. There was the
distinct possibility that a terrorist organization had been
involved. Various groups were suggested and analyzed. At least two
of them immediately claimed to be responsible. Quickly, their
claims were discarded as false.

Stoellar reached for his secure
satellite telephone and called Number Eleven.
“We’ve done
it!” The first step was the most important and by far the most
complex. “Wire those million euros to our bank in Paris for the
family of our dear, departed martyr. He probably deserves a bonus
as well, but where would he spend it?” He chuckled.

Number Eleven had recruited the fanatic
terrorist and trained him at a secret location in a small nation
known for its violent hatred for everything Western. The young
martyr had practiced endlessly to perfect his timing for the crash.
However, she was furious. His bomb was to have detonated upon
impact, but obviously, there was a several second delay. She would
have to have a serious meeting with someone. The Dragon Lady did
not like it when her careful planning
was not
executed
precisely.

Within an hour of the crash, two additional
terrorist attacks took place. Someone detonated two small bombs:
one in the vicinity of the Capitol Building and the other near the
Justice Department.

A third bomb that failed to
detonate had been placed near the offices of Homeland Security. It
was later located by police officers, and a bomb disposal unit was
called to take care of it.

The entire nation was frantic. People were
terrified. Streets became deserted. Schools dismissed their pupils
to horrified parents. Businesses closed. Some clerics called for
prayers while others waved their arms and bleated that the attacks
were the result of America’s sinful ways.

Rumors were rife about more terrorist
attacks. The rumors included things such as, “Terrorists holding
innocent citizens as
prisoners
and in the
process of executing them.”

Speculations went on and on.

America had never, ever experienced such
uncontrolled, unbridled chaos.

****

In New York City, Erik Stoellar continued to
watch the unfolding stories. He was forever amazed at the press and
their
histrionics
. Quite amusing.
He
couldn’t have planned it any better himself. Their
irresponsible reporting of wild rumors had fed the flames of fear
and hysteria perfectly.

The secure satellite phone
beeped,
and he answered immediately. Number Eleven was on
the line. She was always in control of any situation, but this time
there was an undertone of excitement. She had found something.

“We’ve got to find Slater. You have my
reports from Key
West,
and I’m even more
suspicious than ever that the owner of that island is the person in
contact with the craft in outer space. He’s very
secretive,
but I did find out that he changed the name of
the island to Scott Key. People are rather egotistical and like to
name things after themselves—you
know,
kind of
for posterity. I think that Scott could be either his first name or
his last name. I want every one of your agents on this
immediately.

“And, here’s the icing on the cake. Several
fishing boats have reported seeing some
kind
of
small UFO hovering over the island recently. Supposedly,
it’s red. Their reports
were dismissed
as
the ones making them admitted to
having
been drinking beer in the hot sun.
After all, who had ever reported a bright red UFO? But, put it all
together and you have a situation that could spell trouble for
us.”

She paused for a second and continued, “I’ve
hired someone to go out to the island and do some reconnaissance
work. He’s going disguised as a fisherman in distress. They’ll have
to let him on the island since it will be an emergency situation.
From there, he’ll gather as much information as he can and report
it back to me. I should have something later this afternoon.”

Stoellar thought for a moment before
replying, “This situation is beginning to worry me. Anyone who can
enlarge an island, and do it
secretly,
must
have resources and capabilities that could threaten us. Now, those
supposed UFO sightings and the missing Dr. Slater come together for
a perfect storm. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this before
things get out of hand.

“Get your guy out to that weird island as
soon as possible. I need information, and I need it fast. My guess
is that Slater is there right
now,
and the man
who owns the infernal island is the person in contact with the
alien craft. We’ve got to find out their intentions and
capabilities, and damn quick.”

Stoellar ended the call and stormed around
the penthouse. He turned off all the televisions except the one in
the living area. He poured a stiff drink, flopped on the sofa, and
turned up the volume. He usually never had alcohol before noon,
aside from an occasional Irish coffee, but today was a special
case. He needed some high octane to help him calm his nerves. He
did not like the chill that was creeping up his spine.

****

At the same time that Stoellar was launching
Operation Plato, Maxxine was finalizing her report for John. The
report was most
disturbing,
but she knew that
her master was entertaining some important guests and didn’t want
to be disturbed unless it was necessary. Should she contact him
immediately or recheck her information?

After manipulating the data again, she
decided to wait just a little while longer before making her
report. After all, there didn’t seem to be any immediate danger to
anyone, even though
the entire nation was in
the throes of the current crisis.

John was, after all, part human, so he would
surely understand the bizarre actions of his fellow men. It
appeared that Omega would be the site of detonation for a small
nuclear tactical weapon. The device was quite small by nuclear
weapon standards. It compared to the earliest atomic bombs, such as
those dropped on Japan at the close of World War II. But such a
blast would totally destroy a small area. Not to mention a
hotel.

The target was also curious. Why would anyone
want to destroy a historic hotel? It was quite pretty by primitive
standards. It had beautifully manicured grounds and an
architecturally impressive structure. Perhaps someone just wanted
to replace the whole thing with a more modern facility. How
unfortunate that would be. The place was stunning. She would
discuss the situation with Maxx before proceeding. Perhaps he would
have better insight into what these humans were planning.

So, Maxxine continued to watch and wait. She
would have a comprehensive report for John to read as soon as he
had time to talk to her. She had come to enjoy her job. Monitoring
humans was most informative and usually quite surprising. Their
enthusiasm for waging wars and devising new and terrifying weapons
was a constant source of entertainment to her.

****

John
was riveted
to the
television in his office. He was stunned by the pictures of the
fiery crash scene. Maxxine had been right. The Krakow Klub had
already activated their plan to take over the government. He
contacted her immediately.

“Maxxine! Were you able to save the
president?”

Her opening statement almost gave him
a heart attack.

“
Oh John, I am so sorry.
I ran into an unexpected problem. I had no idea that my gravity
fields would be so adversely affected by tremendous heat. That fire
was incredibly
intense,
and I had to wait
until the explosion
so
that
no one would detect my extractions.”

John practically screamed at the calm voice
of Maxxine,
“
Did you save the president?”

“Calm down, John,” she replied in a consoling
voice. “Yes, I saved the president and the doctor in the ambulance
as well. But it wasn’t easy. Dr. Newton had already administered
one of the drugs that
were
intended to kill
the president. When I got him h
ere,
he was
technically dead. But I had already analyzed the drug and Maxx told
me how to reverse its effects. It was touch and
go,
but I managed to save him. He will live, but he will
be groggy for some
time,
so we need to let him
rest for a while.

“Unfortunately, the ambulance driver and the
two
EMTs were lost. However, I can assure you
that they didn’t suffer. They were killed instantly in the second
explosion.

“What about Newton? He should have been in
the ambulance.”

Maxxine continued, with the
utmost
calm, “Newton, somehow, must have figured out what
was going to happen. He had the other doctor ride in the ambulance
while he rode in one of the Secret Service vehicles. I can
truthfully say that he tried to murder his colleague.

“I used my gravity field technology to
extract the two from the ambulance in the first fraction of a
second of the explosion. The intense heat that followed prevented
my saving the others. The doctor and the president suffered a few
minor flash
burns,
but they are fine.

“You’re going to love my last little act. I
made sure that the explosion
destroyed
the
bodies completely. There’ll be no DNA evidence to confirm
identities of the two bodies I substituted for the president and
the doctor. The authorities will believe that some new type of
explosive was used.”

John leaned back in his chair with a sigh of
relief. “Maxxine, Thank God that you saved him. You’ve been
invaluable. Your actions may well have changed the course of
history. I think that we have a chance, now, to bring down the
Krakow Klub with a minimal of military conflict.”

“John, did you just call me a god? How sweet!
That’s quite
flattering,
but I am a mere
computer. Even with my superb programming, you can’t equate me
with
a higher power, such as a
god.
”

John was somewhat taken aback by Maxine’s
comment, “Maxxine, that was just an expression. When I said, thank
God, I wasn’t
thanking
you. You are not God to
me,
but you are, especially right now, the
most important entity in my universe.”

After a pause, she replied, “I think that I
understand what you are saying. The issue is complex and requires
much analysis on my part.”

“Maxxine, Jim Slater and I will be visiting
you shortly. We need to confer on the resources that we can use to
wage our war on the Krakow Klub. We’re going to need all your
substantial skills and talents to destroy that juggernaut before it
does any more damage.”

She replied, “Of course, I am always ready
and always at your disposal. I am sure that I will have much more
to report when you arrive here.”

****

Soon, reports of attacks on government
buildings began to be reported from several major cities around the
country. Someone had obviously declared war on the United States of
America—the worst kind of war. The enemy was unknown and capable of
striking anywhere and at any time. Nothing was
sacred,
and no one was safe.

Perhaps the most frightening of all the
attacks occurred in Los Angeles. There the entire city experienced
a cyber-attack. The city
became completely
paralyzed
. There was no telephone or 911 services. All
communications were dead. There were no traffic lights. Innumerable
accidents ensued. Emergency responders began to run out of gas for
their
vehicles,
and there was no way to refill
their tanks. The electrical grid shut down. There was rioting in
some sections. Buildings and vehicles
were
indiscriminately set
on fire in many parts of the city and
fire departments did not receive all the alerts.

After many hours, services began to be slowly
restored, but the city might never return to normal. The thought
that a cyber-attack could happen again had destroyed the people’s
confidence, especially their confidence that the government could
protect them.

President Montrose demanded the Secret
Service to allow her to address the nation from the Oval Office.
Obviously, the agents were no match for her iron will and her
verbal
threats
to disband the agency.