Countdown to Looking Glass (NCIS/DC Universe crossover)

[lordroel]

Aug 29, 2018 0:46:42 GMT Brky2020 said:

More coming over the next several days. There are 52 chapters planned in all.

That are a lot of chapters.

[James G]

British Prime Minister Powers.
First name Austin?

[Brky2020]

Aug 29, 2018 5:28:30 GMT lordroel said:

Aug 29, 2018 0:46:42 GMT Brky2020 said:

More coming over the next several days. There are 52 chapters planned in all.

That are a lot of chapters.

Yes, one for every state in the Union (and no, I didn't miscount; 50 only applies IOTL). At some point I'll probably post the list of states, along with such things as President John Boehner's cabinet and the list of in-verse U.S. Presidents -- things perhaps more appealing to AH enthusiasts like ourselves than to a mass audience.   

Aug 29, 2018 7:14:14 GMT James G said:

British Prime Minister Powers.
First name Austin?

That would be quite a twist, but no, he's not the Austin Powers.

Michael Powers doesn't have a real-life counterpart. He's one of the original background characters I created to keep from getting kicked off another website for using too many real people.

Because his role in the story is "world leader mentioned briefly in news reports and clandestine discussions", I haven't fleshed him out all that much. He is the current leader of the Conservative Party, and the fourth Prime Minister of the U.K. since Margaret Thatcher stepped down in 1990. Powers counts Thatcher and Ronald Reagan among his political influences. 

[Brky2020]

Author's note: The explosion in Indianapolis will later be estimated to be from a 30 kiloton dirty bomb detonated west of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, on Georgetown Road parallel to the facility or in an adjacent field. The following link shows the effects of the surface explosion, including the fallout:

nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&kt=30&lat=39.7952017&lng=-86.2396431&airburst=0&hob_ft=0&casualties=1&fallout=1&fallout_angle=80&fatalities=4596&injuries=17458&psi_1=55064&zm=13

Readers should note the casualty estimates in the link are inaccurate. Fatalities from the Indianapolis blast will be estimated to be over 300,000, injuries in the 20,000-50,000 range. This is due to the large crowd present for the Indianapolis 500 race.

Chapter 31

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Georgetown, D.C.

NCIS Director Riley McCallister's home

As the Director of NCIS, every day was a work day for Riley McCallister. He didn't mind. He'd been a workaholic all of his life.

As an NCIS agent, then head of its special ops division, and as its director, McCallister gave everything to his life's work. Total dedication most accurately described his approach to work and to life, but observers sometimes questioned if his approach was more religious, perhaps borderline fanatical, in nature.

America was his first, last and ultimate priority. Even rest and recreation were a means to an end, to recharge him so he could get back to the important work of protecting the United States. McCallister's knowledge of popular culture ended with the disco era, but he knew the latest Soviet military movements near Indonesia and how many Spetsnaz agents were likely to attack U.S. Naval and Marine installations worldwide. Whenever he slept or used his treadmill, his phone was on and by his side; on the rare occasions he went hunting or on a safari, McCallister was connected to his work via satellite phone and his mind was always on his work.

The Communists never took a moment off, he reasoned, and neither should he.

His single-mindedness left no room for a wife and family. He had slept with his share of attractive women, preferring those who understood the demands of his line of work and wouldn't ask anything of him besides an enjoyable evening -- interrupted so often by a text or phone call.

The 50-year old Federal-style East Village house that was McCallister's legal residence was his office away from the Navy Yard. The three-story, four-bedroom building was much larger than his needs and preferences demanded. However, McCallister didn't dare turn down the generosity of a benefactor who was aware of the abrupt circumstances in which he came into his job.

McCallister quickly filled the empty space with two dozen agents and employees watching the neighborhood, guarding the property, or manning the basement: the director's personal mini-Multiple Threat Assessment Center with an adjacent office, where he was presently holed up.

The "bunker", as McCallister's agents had nicknamed the basement, had one wall taken up entirely by a movie theater-style screen. Computers and other equipment connected the bunker to the rest of the world via secured satellite feeds and fiber-optic lines. The bunker was manned every minute, every hour of the day, with McCallister's trusted lieutenants running it in his absence.

Today, he drank his coffee while reading a report on Soviet naval movements in southeast Asia on his laptop. His desktop computer's monitor showed a world map with real-time Allied and Pact naval positions. The flat-screen television monitors atop the wall to the left of his desk showed live feeds from American and other Western networks.

McCallister demanded intelligence come to him through proper channels, from his own people, long before it ever reached the media. The idea of learning important information from ZNN angered him.

"DIRECTOR! THE TV!"

The shout from a trembling young aide outside the office got McCallister's attention. One of the aides working in the bunker, a young woman who had recently transferred from the Norfolk office, stood at her station with her hand over her mouth. By her watching the ABC feed of the Indianapolis 500 race, she was the first person in the bunker to learn of the blast.

McCallister's head jerked towards the monitors in his office. Moments after the last channel -- Fox -- interrupted normal programming, McCallister received a text on his secured iPhone:

NUDET CONUS UNDOR UNKYD: nuclear detonation, continential United States, undetermined origin, unknown yield.

That text from the Department of Defense was quickly followed by a second:

LOCATION INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA.

As a controlled pandemonium broke outside in the bunker, McCallister's desk phone rang: line three, for Secretary of the Navy Bates.

"Give me the room," McCallister said to the lead suit, who then shut the door behind him. McCallister then picked up the phone. "Director McCallister."

"Riley. We're on a secured line."

"What's our sitrep, Mister Secretary?"

"We're not shooting at the Russians -- yet -- but this has Diensteinheit written all over it."

"East Germans? I don't recall any intel about them smuggling a dirty bomb into the U.S. Or the Russians, or anyone else."

"I know, Riley. We got blindsided."

"What now?"

"Boehner found out from STRATCOM right after the race broadcast went dark in Geneva. He's trying to talk to Khalinin while the rest of us find out how in the hell a dirty bomb detonated underneath our nose."

"What else do we know about the detonation?"

"Small yield, but the damn mushroom cloud's visible outside the county. Power's out throughout at least part of the city; obviously it's all over the news now."

"Sir. Is there anything else I need to be aware of?"

"It's going to get real hairy real quick. Things are gonna escalate mighty quick. I need you to stay on top of things from your end."

"Of course, sir. I'll do my duty. So will my people."

"Good, because SecDef's a known dove and he's gonna push the President to hold off. We both know if the East Germans are involved Moscow gave the go-ahead. I need to know you'll do your duty."

"Of course."

"I know you will, Riley. You're where you are for a reason."

"Sir."

"I hope that house suits you just fine. Stepped on some toes on the Hill to get it for you."

"Sir?"

"You know what I mean. Same people who want your hide in Guantanamo. Bottom line--"

"Mister Secretary--"

"Bottom line, soldier, is I know you'll do your duty. That is what our country will need going forward, by people like us who have our best interests at heart. Don't worry about the doves. Do your duty and you'll be fine...as fine as the rest of us. I'll get back to you after I talk with SecDef."

SecNav hung up, and McCallister placed another call.

--"you're watching ZNN. This is a still of the ABC network feed of a shot of the massive mushroom cloud over downtown Indianapolis...excuse me? Okay. Okay...put it up...I'm seeing this for the first time, my director...oh? Go ahead, Angie.

"Smith, this is a picture taken by a Ball State University student atop a campus residential building there, in Muncie, Indiana, about 60 miles northeast of Indianapolis and you clearly see the head of the mushroom cloud and the stem, and the cloud beginning to disperse due east"--

Washington
Leroy Jethro Gibbs's house

Back at his Baja California beach house, Mike Franks could smoke wherever and whenever he wanted.

At Gibbs's home, Mike could smoke whenever he wanted, but not usually in the house.

Having found little to watch on Gibbs's basement television other than news, infomercials and sitcoms, Mike walked upstairs and out to the front porch for a smoke break. Less than two minutes later, he saw a window shatter from the upper floor of a house across the street.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Another suitcase flew out the broken window, followed by several articles of clothing, accompanied by expletives coming from upstairs. A woman planting flowers below in the front yard stopped what she was doing, backing up to see what was going on.

"Randy! Randy!" she shouted as a couple pairs of socks flew out the window, followed by the man sticking his head out.

"Sharon! It's OVER! THEY'RE ATTACKING!" Randy screamed as he threw a brassiere out the window. "IT'S OOOOOOOOO-VEEEERRRR!"

"What are you talking about, Randy??? Why on Earth are you throwing out our clothing and...oh my God! MY BRA!"

Sharon dropped her hand trowel and ran inside, while Randy threw some undergarments and shoes onto his front lawn. He stopped, noticing Mike across the street.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Randy yelled. Mike heard Sharon screaming in the background, then took one final puff from his cigarette before tossing it on the porch and stomping it out with his heel.

Remembering there was a half-full bottle of bourbon downstairs, Mike headed to the basement. Gibbs was sanding the frame of the boat, while ZNN played on the silent TV set.

"Probie," Mike said as he looked for an empty jar on the workbench. "Remember that cartoon I told you about I saw the other night with those foul-mouthed kids and their crazy parents out in Colorado? I think one of the families moved in across the street."

"That so, Mike?"

"You know Randy and Sharon?"

"Barely. He's a geologist, she's a housewife. Two kids, 10 and 13."

"That cartoon's based on them."

"Why do you say that?"

"The fellow threw a suitcase and a bunch of clothing out his window and is screaming like a crazy man," Mike said as he poured himself some bourbon. "Just like the cartoon."

"Don't think the cartoon is based on reality," Gibbs said with a chuckle. He picked up his cell phone on the first ring, answered it, then ran to the TV and turned up the volume.

--news sources are reporting a massive, loud explosion in the Indianapolis area, possibly near the Indianapolis Motor--

"Turn it on ABC?" Gibbs said, quickly changing the channel on the cable box.

--this is the only photo we have so far from Indianapolis after the explosion. This shows what looks like smoke from an explosion east of the studios of WRTV, our affiliate there in Indianapolis. It's a mushroom shape -- and we don't want to get ahead of ourselves as we're just now learning of this explosion--

"A nuke? Where are you getting this, DiNozzo?...they're reporting it?...how do you know then?...KATE. ...how is she, DiNozzo?...STAY WITH HER, Tony. I'm on my way."

Gibbs took off towards the stairs, while Mike looked at the TV. "Has to be a dirty bomb, Jethro...hey! Where the hell are you off to?"

"Kate's family lives in Indianapolis," Gibbs said as he ran up the door. "They were at the Speedway."

"Holy shit," Mike muttered as Gibbs sprinted up the stairs and out to his sedan as quickly as he had run in years.

Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard's house

"It's all over TV, boss...not as a nuke...well, looks like a duck, walks like a duck, boss...she's with everyone else in the other room...as you could imagine, a wreck..."

Tony heard Gibbs hang up, then hurried back to the study where a crowd of people were trying to comfort Kate. She was sobbing loudly on the floor, wrapped in the arms of Abby who kneeled alongside her.

"Gibbs is on his way," Tony quietly said to Ziva, McGee and Ducky.

"What does Jethro know about...the explosion?" Ducky said in a near-whisper.

"Same as we and the rest of the world."

The bunker

With his office door shut, McCallister began his conference call with each of NCIS's assistant directors and worldwide field office lead agents. He summarized what was known about the blast, which wasn't much:

* A low-yield nuclear device in the 20- to 30-kiloton range was detonated on the ground just outside the speedway. The working theory is that the bomb was likely of East German origin based on Soviet and East German military doctrine but that Islamist terrorist groups could not be completely ruled out.

* U.S. armed forces worldwide remain at Defense Readiness Condition (DEFCON) 3 on order of the Secretary of Defense.

* Casualty estimates: 300,000-plus dead, 50- to 75,000 injured from the blast, including hundreds aboard a TWA 747 flight from St. Louis that crashed after the pilots were blinded by the flash from the blast. Conservative estimates put fatalities from the fallout over residential areas at 30,000.

* President Boehner has had no luck thus far in establishing contact with Soviet General Secretary Khalinin despite the fact that both men are currently in Geneva, Switzerland. Vice-President McConnell remains in Washington, while presidential cabinet members not in Geneva are being moved to safe locations. Similar measures are being taken for members of Congress and the Supreme Court.

* Radioactive fallout likely would go east all the way to the Ohio-Indiana state border.

* The worst of the fallout will impact a nine-block area of the White River, one of the city's primary water sources. A lesser dosage will impact the White River Water Treatment Plant.

* Most essential local and state politicians -- Indiana Governor Kelsey, Indianapolis Mayor Hudnall, the Indianapolis-Marion County Council, much of the state legislature -- were at the speedway. At present, one councilwoman had been secured by National Guardsmen and taken to a secure location. The gubernatorial 'designated survivor', State Superintendent of Public Instruction Charles Todd, also was being rushed to a secure location by a team of Army Rangers.

* Power was out in much of Marion County, and firefighters were attempting to contain fires around the speedway blast area.

* The 465 loop, Interstates 65, 70 and 74, and "any road going out of town" were becoming crowded and, according to the Indiana National Guard, getting worse by the minute.

"Indianapolis isn't a part of the country we work in but this thing will affect us in every way imaginable," McCallister told his subordinates. "You'll be updated as fully as possible as reliable intelligence comes in on the situation. For now, we remain at Alert Level Two worldwide."

After ending the conference call, McCallister stood to go back out into the bunker when he saw a line of blinking lights on his desk phone. I gotta get me another secretary, he thought, as he prepared to walk out; the buzz from the secured flip phone in his pocket made him stop.

McCallister pulled it out, saw Gibbs's ID, and remembered who on Gibbs's team had family in Indianapolis.

"McCallister."

"Director," Gibbs said from his car, which was speeding toward Ducky's house. "What in hell happened?"

"Nuclear detonation, low yield, casualties at least 300,000," McCallister replied. "Everything's about to hit the fan."

"Who?"

"Too early to say for certain. I wanted to convey my condolescences to Agent Todd. Have you spoken with her yet?"

"Headed there now. I'll have DiNozzo, McGee--"

"McGee there with you?"

"He's there at the house with the rest of the team."

"I'll have my aides send you a secured file. Have McGee open it for you and be ready. Everyone's on the clock until further notice except for Todd. Give her at least 24 hours. Keep your phone charged, Gibbs. I'll contact you in the next hour or two."

The line went dead. At least 24? he thought. How generous of you, Riley--

SSSSSSCCCCCCRRRRRREEEEECCCCCCCHHHHH

His reflexes were still sharp enough to see the speeding SUV that made an unexpected turn right into his path, and to hit the brakes just soon enough to stop four inches from its passenger side.

After feeling his heart resume its beat, Gibbs wondered if he'd make it to Ducky's in one piece.

[Brky2020]

As you will tell from the list of Presidents at the bottom of this post, the first main point of divergence occurred on November 22, 1963.

President John F. Kennedy wasn't the only person murdered that afternoon in Dallas, Texas. Vice-President Lyndon Johnson and Texas Governor John Connally both met their demises from an assassin's bullet, throwing Washington into chaos. Only a bipartisan united front by leaders in both houses of Congress staved off an attempt by General Curtis LeMay to take over the government; John McCormack, the former Speaker of the House, became President. He opted not to run for a full-term in 1964, throwing his support behind Hubert Humphrey. A strong wave of anti-Communist sentiment -- fueled by the deaths of JFK, LBK and Connally; the shooting death of suspect Lee Harvey Oswald; and rumors that the supressed Zapruder Film showed two more shooters in the vicinity, hidden in shrubbery -- swept Barry Goldwater into the White House. Goldwater talked a tough game against the Soviets, and even convinced the Pentagon to give its full support to the anti-Communist South Vietnam government. His anti-Moscow fervor blinded him to problems closer to home. By 1968, most of America's inner cities were torn apart by racial violence (which Goldwater blamed on Moscow) and the Democrats used the unrest to call for a "new day" and retake the Oval Office.

They found their Knight in Robert F. Kennedy.

After Democratic front-runner Humphrey was killed in an automobile crash, RFK stepped into the void and took the Democratic nomination; his famous summit with prominent white and black leaders, including Wallace; Malcolm X; and Martin Luther King Jr.; took place days before he was wounded in an assassination attempt. The public rallied behind RFK, who returned to the campaign trail a week later, and went on to beat Spiro Agnew in the '68 Presidential race. RFK won again in 1972 after South Vietnamese and U.S. forces routed the North Vietnamese, followed by the FBI and CIA raid that prevented Cuban ‘insurgents’ from turning Miami into a bloodbath (Castro denied all involvement).

Terry Sanford, whom RFK put on the ticket in '72 to give a Southern balance to the ticket, rode RFK's coattails into the Oval Office in '76. By then, the Republicans were smelling blood, and painted Sanford as 'ineffectual' on the Communist threat. The deaths of the U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran in 1979 effectively ended Sanford's political career. The Democrats put Ted Kennedy, the younger brother of JFK and RFK, as their nominee in 1980, but Kennedy goodwill only went so far; Ronald Reagan had the full backing of the Republican Party, and successfully painted himself as someone willing to stand against Communist aggression (and the Aylatollah in Iran), while portraying Ted Kennedy as a liberal who, unlike his brothers, was eager to compromise with Moscow.

Reagan, of course, was President when the world came right to the brink of Armageddon in 1986.

Reagan's Vice-President, George H.W. Bush, continued his predecessor's policy in 1988 and 1992. Bob Dole won in 1996, but fell ill a month after taking office, and became so ill he resigned the Presidency on March 8, 1997. His running mate, Vice President and former U.S. Army General Colin Powell, was sworn in the same day. Powell defeated Democratic Party challenger Albert Gore Jr. in the 2000 elections. Powell declined to run for a second full term, and during the 2004 Republican primaries gave his full support to his Vice-President, former California Governor John Broome. With New York Governor George Gardner as his running mate, Broome beat Texas Governor George W. Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, in the 2004 Republican Primaries, then beat Democratic Party nominee Governor Howard Dean of Vermont and Senator John Edwards of North Carolina in the presidential election.

Broome was inaugurated on January 24, 2005, serving as the 44th President until his assassination on January 27, 2007. Against the advice of his advisors, Broome flew to Los Angeles to speak at a symposium on civil rights sponsored by the NAACP, before speaking the next day at a conference for healthcare executives in Phoenix. In Los Angeles, a sniper from a hidden perch, killed the President instantly with a single shot. Al-Qaeda operatives took credit for the assassination.

Gardner, who became the 45th President through the line of succession, resigned under mental duress on February 5, 2007 after the kidnapping and murder of his son, George Gardner Jr., and the son's wife and children. On a reliable tip passed to CIA agents in Afghanistan, on Jan. 29 Gardner ordered the bombing of the Tora Bora mountain area where Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was believed to be hiding. The use of several ‘bunker buster’ bombs was believed to have killed Bin Laden on Feb. 3 – two days after his son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren were kidnapped, and the same day their bodies were found. On the advice of his priest, chief of staff and Congressional leadership, Gardner resigned on Feb. 5; the vacancy of the office of the Vice President was not filled when Gardner resigned.

John McMahon (R-Florida), the Speaker of the House of Representatives and third in the line of succession, became the 46th President on February 5. McMahon was one of the Congressmen who urged Gardner to resign, and was the subject of intense media scrutiny from Feb. 2 through the afternoon after he was sworn in outside his office in the Capitol Building. When four women went to the media and presented hard evidence of sexual assault, blackmail and other sex-related indiscretions, media scrutiny instantly shifted to McMahon’s suitability for the Presidency. After connections to known criminals (including hitmen) were brought to light by the media on February 8, McMahon resigned four days later, February 12, before impeachment proceedings could be brought against him.

The next person in line according to the line of succession was John Boehner (R-Ohio), the acting House speaker. Boehner was sworn in February 12 as the 47th President. He then nominated Senate pro tempore Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) as Vice President; McConnell was approved by both houses of Congress, thanks to the Republican majority.

List of Presidents of the United States of America by President/Vice President, party affliation, and length of term(s)
1. George Washington/John Adams unaffliated April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797
2. John Adams/Thomas Jefferson Federalist March 7, 1797-March 4, 1801
3. Thomas Jefferson/Aaron Burr, George Clinton Dem.-Rep. March 4, 1801-March 4, 1809
4. James Madison/George Clinton, vacant, Elbridge Gerry, vacant Dem.-Rep. March 4, 1809-March 4, 1817
5. James Monroe/Daniel D. Tompkins, Dem.-Rep. March 4, 1817-March 4, 1825
6. John Quincy Adams/John C. Calhoun Dem.-Rep. March 4, 1825-March 4, 1829
7. Andrew Jackson/John C. Calhoun, vacant, Martin Van Buren Democratic March 4, 1829-March 4, 1837
8. Martin Van Buren/Richard M. Johnson Democratic March 4, 1837-March 4, 1841
9. William Henry Harrison/John Tyler Whig March 4, 1841-April 4, 1841
10. John Tyler/vacant Whig, none April 4, 1841-March 4, 1845
11. James K. Polk/George M. Dallas Democratic March 4, 1845-March 4, 1849
12. Zachary Taylor/Millard Fillmore Whig March 4, 1849-July 9, 1850
13. Millard Fillmore/vacant Whig July 9, 1850-March 4, 1853
14. Franklin Pierce/William R. King, vacant Democratic March 4, 1853-March 4, 1857
15. James Buchanan/John C. Breckinridge Democratic March 4, 1857-March 4, 1861
16. Abraham Lincoln/Hannibal Hamlin, Andrew Johnson Republican March 4, 1861-April 15, 1865
17. Andrew Johnson/vacant Nat'l Union/Democratic April 15, 1865-March 4, 1869
18. Ulysses S. Grant/Schuyler Colfax, Henry Wilson, vacant Republican March 4, 1869-March 4, 1877
19. Rutherford B. Hayes/William A. Wheeler Republican March 4, 1877-March 4, 1881
20. James A. Garfield/Chester A. Arthur Republican March 4, 1881-September 19, 1881
21. Chester A. Arthur/vacant Republican September 19, 1881-March 4, 1885
22. Grover Cleveland/Thomas A. Hendricks, vacant Democratic March 4, 1885-March 4, 1889
23. Benjamin Harrison/Levi P. Morton Republican March 4, 1889-March 4, 1893
24. Grover Cleveland/Adlai Stevenson Democratic March 4, 1893-March 4, 1897
25. William McKinley/Garret Hobart, vacant, Theodore Roosevelt Republican March 4, 1897-September 14, 1901
26. Theodore Roosevelt/vacant, Charles W. Fairbanks Republican September 14, 1901-March 4, 1909
27. William Howard Taft/James S. Sherman, vacant Republican March 4, 1909-March 4, 1913
28. Woodrow Wilson/Thomas R. Marshall Democratic March 4, 1913-March 4, 1921
29. Warren G. Harding/Calvin Coolidge Republican March 4, 1921-August 2, 1923
30. Calvin Coolidge/vacant, Charles G. Dawes Republican August 2, 1923-March 4, 1929
31. Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis Republican March 4, 1929-March 4, 1933
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt/John N. Garner, Henry A. Wallace, Harry S. Truman Democratic March 4, 1933-April 12, 1945
33. Harry S. Truman/vacant, Alben W. Barkley Democratic April 12, 1945-January 20, 1953
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower/Richard M. Nixon Republican January 20, 1953-Jan. 20, 1961
35. John F. Kennedy/Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic January 20, 1961-Nov. 22, 1963
36. John W. McCormack/vacant, Mike Mansfield Democratic Nov. 22, 1963-Jan. 20, 1965
37. Barry Goldwater/William E. Miller Republican Jan. 20, 1965-Jan. 20, 1969
38. Robert F. Kennedy/Albert Gore Sr., Terry Sanford Democratic Jan. 20, 1969-Jan. 20, 1977
39. Terry Sanford/Walter Mondale Democratic January 20, 1977-Jan. 20, 1981
40. Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush Republican January 20, 1981- Jan. 20, 1989
41. George H.W. Bush/Robert Dole Republican January 20, 1989-Jan. 20, 1997
42. Robert Dole/Colin Powell Republican January 20, 1997-Mar. 8, 1997
43. Colin Powell/John McCain, John Broome Republican March 8, 1997-Jan. 20, 2005
44. John Broome/George Gardner Republican January 20, 2005-Jan. 27, 2007
45. George Gardner/none Republican January 27, 2007-Feb. 5, 2007
46. John McMahon/none Republican February 5, 2007-Feb. 12, 2007
47. John Boehner/Mitch McConnell Republican February 12, 2007-present

[Brky2020]

Congress (years) House Senate

97th (1981-83) Dem GOP

98th (1983-85) GOP GOP

99th (1985-87) GOP GOP

100th (1987-89) Dem GOP

101st (1989-91) Dem GOP

102nd (1991-93) Dem Dem

103rd (1993-95) Dem Dem

104th (1995-97) Dem Dem

105th (1997-99) Dem Dem

106th (1999-2001) Dem Dem

107th (2001-03) GOP Dem

108th (2003-05) GOP GOP

109th (2005-07) GOP GOP

110th (2007-present) GOP GOP

110th Congress
House of Representatives (237 Republicans, 198 Democrats)
Speaker: Dennis Hastert (R)
House Majority Leader: Roy Blunt (R)
House Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D)

Senate (55 Republicans, 47 Democrats, 1 Socialist, 1 Independent)
President of the Senate: Mitch McConnell (R)
President pro tempore: Ted Stevens (R)
Senate Majority Leader: Jon Kyl (R)
Senate Minority Leader: Harry Reid (D)

[Brky2020]

Chapter 32

--I'm Bill Hemmer here in New York, on Fox News Channel and across the Fox Television Network. If you have not heard, there was a major explosion in Indianapolis, Indiana at 12:18 p.m. Eastern time, centered at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where an estimated crowd of over 200,000 fans were in attendance to watch the Indianapolis 500 auto race. The mushroom cloud has been spotted at least as far as Louisville, Kentucky; Dayton, Ohio; and South Bend, Indiana, while the flash was noticed as far north as Chicago. Officials are not calling it a nuclear bomb -- to repeat, officials are NOT calling this a nuclear bomb -- but the situation is still nothing but catastrophic.

Reports so far out of the city are few and far between, with most television and radio stations in the city off the air. What we're hearing comes from the Associated Press and from emails sent to other media outlets from inside the city, and the situation they describe can only be chaotic. Smoke and broken windows across downtown, gridlock on every road going out of the city, reports of Indiana National Guardsmen being sent into the city.

We do have someone on the ground, someone who was at the studios of Fox affiliate WXIN when the bomb went off. Scott Turner, from our affiliate WXIN, is on the road and, as far as we know, the first person reporting live from the city after the explosion. Scott, first off, our condolescences to you and to everyone in the community.

TURNER (seen standing in front of an endless row of cars, with the last of the smoke from the mushroom cloud in the background): Thank you, Bill...it's been...rough, to say the least.

HEMMER: Scott, tell us where you are, and what is going on there.

TURNER: Bill, we're on the side of Interstate 70 heading east. We're just north of the suburb of Greenwood, and as you can see (the camera pans left to right), this road is gridlocked. From what I've been told by Indianapolis police, EVERY road out of the city is gridlocked. Right now, it seems as if the only thing going on here in Warren County is people trying to get out, anywhere they can. Sam, if you'll follow me (talks into the camera, and Turner begins walking towards the vehicles), we're going to see if anyone will talk to us.

(Turner picks out a man in the driver's seat of a Dodge Ram pickup truck, and walks over to the vehicle. There's a woman in the passenger seat, and three kids in the back seat)

TURNER: Sir? Scott Turner, WXIN 59 News, would you be willing to talk with us for a few minutes.

DRIVER: Sure.

TURNER: We're also on the Fox network--

PASSENGER: Are we at war? We being attacked?

DRIVER: Dolores, please--

TURNER: Ma'am, to my knowledge, the only explosion was here in Indianapolis.

PASSENGER: If you're the news, seems like you could tell us a lot more than we can tell you. (The camera pans to both sides of the truck, and others are either getting out of their vehicles or sticking their heads out their windows).

TURNER: Tell you what. I'll tell you what I know, but I'd like to hear your perspective first.

DRIVER: Deal.

TURNER: Very good...sir, what's your name?

DRIVER: Riley Parker, this is Dolores, and my kids Kyle, Caitlin and Meredith in the back.

TURNER: Mr. Parker, how long have you been here on the road?

DRIVER: A half-hour? We were in the house when we saw the biggest flash you ever seen. I knew it was a nuclear bomb. We got what we needed to get and jumped in the truck in five minutes and when we got on the interstate, it was crowded but moving. We stopped about a half-hour ago. We can't go anywhere. Some guy on a bike drove by and says the state police's got the interstate blocked all the way to Richmond.

TURNER (looking at the camera): For the benefit of our viewers, Richmond is close to the Ohio state border. (turns to the driver) Mr. Parker, have you been told this by a police officer?

DRIVER: State police ain't sayin' jack to anybody except 'remain in your vehicles'. I heard that from another guy on a motorcycle, heading into town. He said FEMA ordered it, and they're setting up a refugee camp there.

TURNER: Mr. Parker, that's one thing I haven't heard. I'll have our newsroom check on that. I did hear that people are being ordered to stay in their vehicles with the air conditioner turned off. Can you verify that for us?

DRIVER: Not me. I'm sure some people are, there's a lot of people outside. I'm here with the windows rolled down.

PASSENGER: Sir? Have you heard anything about fallout?

TURNER: No, ma'am, I haven't. We haven't been told this bomb was nuclear.

PASSENGER: NOT nuclear? That WAS a nuclear bomb--

DRIVER: If that's not a nuclear bomb, I don't know WHAT is.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Ducky's house

Gibbs sped through the neighborhood and skid to a stop on the street, right behind one of the SUVs and their suited passengers keeping watching over Dr. Mallard's home and its occupants. Ignoring the dull throbbing in his knee, Gibbs ran right for the house's front door. He didn't break stride as a suit opened the door for him.

He heard Kate's anguished cries as he ran into the house, and stopped when he reached the rec room. He saw the back of Abby's head and heard her whispering words of comfort to her friend, whom she was rocking in her arms.

A suit in the room opened her mouth to speak and stopped when Gibbs put his finger to his lips. He moved that finger outwards towards the dark-suited woman, then went down the hallway into the study. McGee, Tony, Ziva and Palmer were huddled around McGee's laptop watching ZNN's online coverage of the bombing; George, the head suit, and Ducky were talking in another corner of the room.

Everyone stopped what they were doing when Ziva saw Gibbs. He acknowledged his people with a nod and went right to Ducky as the others quickly surrounded them.

"How are things outside, Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"I almost got into three accidents and saw a dozen more on the way over. Saw a few people en route throwing things into their vehicles, like they're trying to get outta town. Police are everywhere--"

"How bad is it out there, Agent Gibbs?" Palmer asked. "The news station on the radio said things were starting to get hairy."

"Not too bad...so far. It hasn't been very long, though. What about here?"

"We haven't seen anyone outside their homes," George replied. "A few people looked outside their windows. Some of the neighbors we'd expect to arrive around now from church or the country club haven't come home yet."

"Might be watching the news from where they're at," Gibbs said. "Kate?"

"Inconsolable, Boss," Tony said. "She heard about it from her cousin who was outside the city when the bomb went off. Kate dropped her phone and hasn't said a word since, just sobbing. Abby's the only one who's been able to calm her down at all."

"Are you going to try to speak with her, Gibbs?" Ziva asked. "I would not do so yet if I were you--"

Gibbs paused, then reached into his pocket and handed a flash drive to McGee. "Tim. Take this with your laptop. You and George go into the room, find out what's on it, and notify me when you're finished. Agent Wells, I trust you've spoken with the director's office?"

"I spoke with the director himself, Agent Gibbs," George answered. "Don't worry about leaks. The room is secure."

"Boss?" McGee said. "What's on this--"

"That's for you, and Agent Wells, and only you two to find out," Gibbs said as he walked through the group towards the hallway, stopping when Ziva called out his name.

"Gibbs, it is not the best time to even speak with her," Ziva said more quietly. "She is in no--"

"I do have some experience with this kind of thing, Ziva," Gibbs replied quietly after a moment, less with the authoritative tone he normally used on the job and more as a loving father.

Ziva, as did Ducky, Tony and McGee, knew what Gibbs was referring to. As he left the room, Tony turned to McGee. "Probie. He called you Tim. Something's wrong."

"Something is wrong," McGee replied. "It's the world. Not Gibbs. He's a rock."

Gibbs quietly walked into the rec room, acknowledged the two suits with a nod, and sat down on the couch next to Abby. Kate cried into Abby's shoulder as she sat on Abby's lap. Using sign language, he asked Abby about Kate's condition, then sat with them in silence.

Time froze as Gibbs and Abby sat together, hurting for their friend and not being able to do anything to alleviate her anguish.

Gibbs reached out and lightly touched Kate's shoulder. She looked up from the crook of Abby's neck and saw him, then pushed off Abby's lap and reached out to Gibbs.

Kate's tears were the only sound in the room as she hugged him tight, softly crying into his shoulder. His presence was the calm in her stormy nightmare, and Kate gripped Gibbs tightly, as not to lose him, too.

"Katie?" Gibbs whispered. "I have something to tell you. Would you like to hear it?"

"No," she whimpered.

"Please?"

Kate raised her face from Gibbs's shoulder and looked him in the eye. His gut pushed him to tell her what he needed to say. As much as he wanted to do nothing but hold her and remove her pain, Gibbs knew the world wouldn't wait on them.

"Director McCallister told me that your uncle Charles is alive. He and his family."

"Ch-Ch-Charles...Charlie? Carolyn? And the kids?"

"Yeah. All the kids. They're in a secure location outside the city. He's the acting mayor. And Bloomington police found your cousin and her niece at the university."

Kate's countenance brightened just a little bit, encouraging Gibbs and Abby. "And, you have Toni, your terrier, in the back yard. She's right here with us."

"Yeah," Kate whispered. "She is. They survived, Gibbs. I survived...I'm here, I survived, I'm here, I'm alive...oh, God."

Before Kate could break down, Gibbs reached out and softly cupped her cheeks in his hands.

"I have something else I need to tell you, and I need you to listen to me," he said. "Can you listen to me? Would you?"

She nodded.

"Remember that night you visited me, in the basement? I showed you how to sand with the grain just right." That had happened several times since she joined NCIS. "There's something you told me that I want to tell you."

She looked into Gibbs's eyes, while he himself hoped he wouldn't blow it.

"You reminded me that I have a family, here, at NCIS. Not the family I was born into, not the family I once had, and maybe not the people I would've chosen." The small twinkle in her eyes and just barely noticable smile in the corner of her mouth encouraged him to continue. "You are not alone. You're surrounded by family, right here, right now."

He wasn't losing Kate; he had her attention. That's good, he thought. "However we can be individually, good, bad, in-between, we've become a tight unit. The last few years have taught us both we're not alone. Good, bad, in-between, we live by the Marine motto."

"Leave no one behind." Gibbs smiled at her twist on the old military saying.

"That's right. And you haven't been left behind. You are surrounded by family. Not the one you were born into, but no less than the ones back home. You are loved just as strongly by us as you have been by your parents and brothers and sister and cousins, aunts, uncles. This family has been here for me, for me, and it is here for you and will be here for you no matter what happens. Kate, you will move forward and we'll be right by your side."

Kate silently looked at Gibbs, tears streaming down her cheeks, then looked over at Abby and Ducky in the doorway and Palmer, Ziva and Tony behind them. She was still as Abby ran over and grabbed her in a tight hug, and only then did she, again, sob.

Minutes passed, and Gibbs whispered in Kate's ear that he needed to take care of something and that he'd be back shortly. When Gibbs stepped out of the room, Tony -- standing outside the study -- frantically waved him over.

"Make it quick, DiNozzo," Gibbs growled.

"There's something you need to see before you talk to Probie," Tony replied. He joined Palmer, Ziva and one of the suits were huddled around an old portable television that was taken from Ducky's attic.

The TV, tuned to Washington's CBS affiliate, showed Katie Couric, the network's well-known anchorwoman, looking calm but frightened as she prepared to repeat the wire story thrust into her lap a couple of minutes before.

--For those of you just joining us, CBS has learned from unnamed government sources that there has been a major explosion in the East German city of Leipzig...this note I've just been handed says that the West German network RTL is reporting a large mushroom cloud seen along the border with East Germany in the direction of Leipzig.

No one from either the Soviet Pact nor the Allied Eight is commenting on that nor any other matter at this time.--

[Brky2020]

BC-AP NEWS ALERT,1226

INDIANAPOLIS -- A massive explosion has occurred in Indianapolis.

BC-AP NEWS ALERT,1228

INDIANAPOLIS -- A massive explosion has occurred in Indianapolis, possibly in the area of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

....

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN

INDIANAPOLIS -- A massive explosion occurred at 12:18 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time in the area of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where at least two hundred thousand people were in attendance for the Indianapolis 500 motor race.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-EXPLOSION-BULLETIN, TAKE 2

Staffers at the Associated Press bureau in Indianapolis saw a very large mushroom cloud in the area of the Speedway. W-F-I-U, a radio station in nearby Bloomington, Indiana, is reporting that numerous callers told of a "flash" from the direction of Indianapolis, followed shortly afterwards by a rising mushroom cloud. The flash and mushroom cloud from the explosion was spotted by observers in Anderson, northeast of Indianapolis, according to Anderson radio station W-G-N-R.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 3

The downtown area is full of smoke and haze and there is broken glass from building windows blown out by the explosion.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 4

AP staffers have seen numerous ambulances, police vehicles and fire trucks speeding through downtown in the direction of the explosion. AP staffers also heard some police vehicles using bullhorns to tell onlookers and others outside to "go inside a secured building for your own safety".

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 5

Officer Francis DeLuca of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department told an AP reporter that the police and Indianapolis Fire Departments have cordoned off a two-mile area in all directions around the Speedway, and that "I can't tell you anything beyond that".

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 6

Power is said to be out in many parts of Indianapolis and Marion County. The Indianapolis Star building, where the AP bureau is located, is operating on back-up power, as are scattered buildings throughout downtown Indianapolis.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 7

Many television and radio stations in the city went off the air at the time or after the explosion. Television station W-R-T-V, located downtown, is operating on back-up power and broadcasting from its auxiliary tower along with updating its web site.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 8

W-R-T-V television is reporting that the Speedway and an area estimated by fire department officials to be as much as "seventeen blocks" surrounding the facility are "flattened". W-R-T-V is also reporting that Indianapolis firefighters are attempting to contain fires as far as three miles from the facility.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 9

An estimated number of two hundred thousand people, including Indiana Governor Mitchell Kelsey, numerous members of his cabinet and that of the state's General Assembly, were said to be in attendance for the Indianapolis 500 race. An additional forty- to fifty thousand, including residents, workers and vendors, are estimated to have been in the area at the time of the explosion.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 10

The explosion did not reach the downtown area. However, windows from skyscrapers and other buildings facing west, towards the Speedway, were shattered by the explosion.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 11

In a release, the White House said President John Boehner has been informed of the explosion and will remain in Geneva for the time being to continue talks with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Khalinin.

AP-EXPLOSION-INDIANAPOLIS-BULLETIN, TAKE 12

The White House also said Boehner has authorized the Indiana National Guard to move into the city, and all of Marion County, to help maintain order.

[Brky2020]

Chapter 33

Sunday, May 27, 2007

5:17 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time U.S.A., 9:17 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time, 10:17 p.m. in Geneva, Switzerland

--it's fake? It's FAKE? (Shepard Smith shouting to someone off camera). UnBELIEvable...good God. Ladies and gentlemen, according to this report I've just been handed, the report of any explosion in East Germany is false. As if we've had enough to deal with today...--

--the report of a nuclear explosion in Leipzig, East Germany by the West German network RTL is incorrect, I repeat, incorrect. A brief release sent to media outlets, including ZNN says, I quote, 'RTL was given false information from an unknown source who claimed to be imbedded with NATO forces in Eschwege, near the East German border, having seen a flash followed by a large mushroom cloud in the direction of Leipzig. 'A producer immediately ordered a presenter onto the air to report the information without first verifying it. RTL quickly consulted sources who told them there was no flash nor mushroom cloud anywhere in East Germany. RTL quickly reported a retraction and continues to report as such.--

--Mayor O'Malley has just declared Martial Law throughout the entire city of Baltimore. There are reports of rioting in numerous neighborhoods and hundreds of rioters attempting to make their way downtown through a blockade of Baltimore police and Maryland National Guardsmen--

--thousands of people are leaving Louisville in the wake of the Indianapolis explosion and the, now false, report of a similar explosion in East Germany. More than one person we've spoken with simply pointed north when asked why they were leaving the city--

--the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels and the George Washington Bridge are impassable, repeat, impassable. Hundreds of abandoned vehicles, drivers and passengers reportedly leaving those vehicles and walking out away from Manhattan--

--hundreds of people impromptly singing John Lennon's "Imagine" acapella here on Michigan Avenue, while panicked residents in high-rises along Michigan Avenue are trying to catch a taxi or bus or anything that could get them to O'Hare or Midway--

--ABC News has learned from a Pentagon source that Al-Qaeda is now the prime suspect in the detonation of the Indianapolis bomb--

--CNN can confirm, via sources, the CIA now considers Mexican and Colombian drug cartels may be involved in the Indianapolis explosion--

--as we await Secretary-General Singh's address in Geneva, there's no word from any of the world leaders on the rumored breakdown in talks. In Moscow, official television and radio continue to play patriotic music between past Communist Party speeches, some dating back to the time of Nikita Khrushchev...--

Washington, D.C. area

Ducky's house

Agent George Wells's hand reflexively went towards his pistol when the door in the secure room abruptly opened. He recognized Gibbs just quickly enough to stop himself before he could pull the weapon out of its holster. Wells reminded himself to ask McGee later on why his supervisor looked so damned impatient all the time, as he did at that moment.

McGee merely acknowledged Gibbs with a nod, then turned the screen of the laptop he was using towards his boss. Gibbs saw a prompt for a password in a small gray box over a black background and looked up at the other two men. "Boss, this is as far as I've been able to get," McGee said. "The first four layers of firewalls, the coding--"

"English, McGee," Gibbs barked.

"I can't get past this prompt."

"Yeah," Gibbs sighed, then pulled a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to McGee.

"The Baltimore Orioles' 2006 statistical leaders?!?" McGee groaned. "What do I do with this, Boss? Do I have to key all that--"

"Order them by jersey number from zero, batters first, type in the jersey number and the fourth letter of the first player's last name, then move on to the next," Gibbs said. "After all that, the Director's favorite theme park."

"Director Shepard or Director McCallister?"

"McCallister," Gibbs said, his patience wearing thin.

"I didn't know he liked theme parks, Boss. We, uh, Tony and I, had been wondering if he ever did anything for fun. Tony said McCallister must like to--"

"MCGEE."

McGee promptly began keying in the sequence numbers and letters. Wells's stare of astonishment caught Gibbs's eye, and Gibbs returned the stare with a glare of heightened irritation. Wells turned his eyes back to the laptop, and relaxed only when Gibbs's attention turned towards McGee seconds later.

After he typed his last jersey number and letter, McGee looked up at Gibbs. "What's the Director's favorite theme park?"

"Disneyland. And tell DiNozzo not to bother askin' him about it."

"Okay," McGee said, typing the word into the prompt. Another prompt quickly appeared, requesting an iris scan for approved NCIS personnel. Gibbs grabbed the laptop and turned its screen towards himself, and leaned in until his eyes were inches from the laptop's camera.

"Wow," McGee said as the screen unveiled a series of manila folder icons, each labeled with a random series of numbers and letters. "I didn't know those iris scanners were built into laptop cameras. Is this laptop from--"

"McGee," Gibbs said in a tone that suggested to McGee that he shut up. The senior agent moved the cursor onto the folder in the upper left corner of the screen and clicked. The folder opened and showed three dozen files in a list, all prefaced with an acronym: S.H.A.D.E.

"Uh, Boss, should I leave?" McGee asked.

"You two are cleared, but we all will be debriefed by the Director himself," Gibbs replied as he opened the first file in the list.

There were more folders with their own dozens of files, and Gibbs clicked on the ones which looked especially important. Even so, it took him nearly an hour to skim through his selected files. What he uncovered was progressively more unbelievable by the folder, and none of the men spoke as they read the files' contents.

McGee wondered what it all meant, and decided he'd keep his skepticism to himself for now and defer to Gibbs regarding whatever they found. He had countless questions about the files for McCallister, but his greatest concern at the moment was how to avoid tipping off the other team members -- especially Tony -- on what he had seen.

Wells, a man accustomed to undercover investigations and security details, couldn't keep his silence. "Gibbs, I'm sure the director told you the same thing he told me, but this is all crazy talk."

"I wouldn't say that," McGee interjected. "Animal experimentation definitely sounds realistic."

"Dalmatians as big as horses?" Wells whispered. "What about the Army stuff -- 'one man corps'? Or 'European Union Hercules project'? Dimensional travel. This must be code. You can't take this at face value."

Gibbs's glance suggested that he was.

"You are?" Wells continued. "Our briefing on you said you were the definition of no-nonsense. If anybody could see through B.S., it'd be you. So...this is code for, say, military actions, right? Spy stuff?"

"He told me 'what you see is literally what you get'," Gibbs replied, all but certain this was one of McCallister's 'loyalty' tests. Wells was about to find out how loyal Gibbs was.

"Without going into details of a conversation with the director that I'm not allowed to divulge without permission, I did as much due dilligence as I was able to," Gibbs said, pointing to the screen. "He says all this is legitimate."

"So you take his word on this without checking it out? That's unlike you, Gibbs."

"That's not what I said I did, or weren't you listening, Agent Wells?" Gibbs replied in a calm and deliberate tone. McGee asked himself what side of Gibbs he'd show next. "Besides, I can't tell you how or what I'm checking out and you wouldn't believe me anyway."

"You take this as something more than code, then?"

"Yep. You still wanna keep talking about this?"

Gibbs shot Wells his infamous glare, a look that made Wells freeze in place and cringe a bit. Wells remained quiet while pondering what Gibbs had just told him and if he should give the older man more benefit of the doubt.

His, Gibbs's and McGee's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Agent Katherine England walked in with a look of urgency. "Agent Gibbs, Agent Franks is being held at our roadblock along with your pickup truck."

"Roadblock?" Gibbs said. "Why didn't you let him through?"

"Agent Gibbs, he's not on the authorized list," she answered. "He's authorized to stay with you at your home, not to come here, not without clearance."

She froze momentarily when he shot her a look of annoyance, and with great relief followed his turn towards Wells. "Mike Franks isn't a threat to anyone or anything except the enemy and the air on my front porch," Gibbs grumbled.

"Let the man through and have him park behind that fancy car McGemcity drives," Wells told her.

"The, uh, Porsche," McGee said in response to her look of confusion.

Franks drove up to the house and parked behind McGee's Boxster. "I understand security, son; I worked it myself when I worked at NIS," he complained to the two men walking with him up to the house. "Do you really have to not let me into Ducky's house because somebody says I'm supposed to be staying with Gibbs? That's a bit overkill, don't you think?"

Neither suit said a word as Gibbs met them at the front door, and walked away at Gibbs's nod.

"They got roadblocks set up a mile from this place, Jethro. I didn't take ol' Riley to be that paranoid," Franks said.

"Yep," Gibbs said. "Walk with me."

They stopped behind the house, within view of the suits patrolling the backyard but, Gibbs hoped, outside of their clear earshot.

"How's Kate?" Franks asked.

"Hurtin'," Gibbs said as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number six times. Franks noticed Gibbs looking more and more concerned as he placed his calls and, finally, slapped the phone shut in frustration.

"What's going on, Jethro? Who are you trying to get ahold of?"

"Hollis," Gibbs said. "She's not picking up."

Arlington, Virginia

The Pentagon

Colonel Steve Trevor had a headache, and the four Advil he had just popped in his mouth weren't helping. His back, though, felt a little better.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he watched the three TV monitors in his office, tuned respectively to Fox News Channel, CBS and CNN. The career Air Force man had been an optimist all his life, and he saw numerous paths that could keep the Indianapolis bomb from leading to World War III.

His gut, though, was telling him something else. Something he did not want to be told, or think about.

Trevor was also a man who prepared for any possibility; he had a plan for every potential scenario he could think of in a given situation. That trait saved his life in Iraq, on 9/11 and during that strange trip he took to that Mediterranean island that, officially, never existed. He planned his way to where he was now: part of what is called the Joint Staff, a group of officers from the five armed services of the United States government that assist the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in discharging their duties. Officially, Trevor was charged with overseeing domestic threats from anti-American sympathizers. In reality, he oversaw something radically different.

The Colonel's position was new, so new in fact a formal name still had yet to be settled upon. What Trevor did was oversee 'unusual phenomena', a very broad term that covered everything from UFOs to zombies to aliens. It was an extension of what he had been responsible before while working for the Department of Defense, and it made him privy to some incredible and terrible secrets the government was desperate to cover up. Trevor sometimes told friends and associates that "99 percent of what I'm responsible for is bullshit. It's the one percent that I have to be deadly serious about".

That one percent included the ring complex, such as the one underneath the former mall just blocks away from his office. He, effectively, ran the rings operating within U.S. territory from here to Guam, and had the power to open them up to the public or shut them down to all but a small elite. So far, he had openly heeded his bosses's 'encouragement' to limit access to 'approved' personnel. From them, he kept secret the various clandestine groups of people -- federal agents, military officers, police officers, adventurers -- investigating these rings, and even taking trips through them.

It was because of Steve Trevor that Hollis Mann and her group knew as much about the rings as they did, and their still being alive to tell the tale to others.

[Brky2020]

Chapter 34

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Ducky's house

After checking on Kate and leaving her with Gibbs and the others in the crowded rec room, Ducky went upstairs to check on his mother.

Mrs. Mallard slept soundly while one of her caretakers, LaWanda, checked her vitals and two female suits quietly stood guard nearby. They smiled at Ducky as he walked in; he smiled back and briefly talked with the caretaker about Kate's and his mother's conditions before Wanda abruptly changed the topic.

"Have you heard about the explosion in East Germany?" she asked. "Good Lord, you don't think it's the end, do you?"

"I saw the retraction five minutes after the initial, and false, report," he replied. "As best anyone knows, someone there in West Germany jumped the gun and put something on the air before confirming it. In these times, that was not a wise thing to do...but, if I may ask you, LaWanda, what would this be the end of?"

"The end times."

Ducky had grown to like LaWanda in the two years she worked as Mrs. Mallard's caretaker, albeit in a platonic manner (despite his mother's occasional attempts to set them up). He could do without LaWanda's connections of current events and biblical prophecy, though.

LaWanda's explanation of how the Soviets, Syrians and Iranians were going to invade Israel was interrupted by another 'SPECIAL REPORT' graphic on the screen of the television at the foot of Mrs. Mallard's bed. Ducky reached for the remote and turned up the volume.

--inaccurate reports of a nuclear explosion in East Germany, combined with the very real explosion of a nuclear device earlier today in Indianapolis, have had very real consequences throughout the country. Since the explosion, martial law has been declared in dozens of cities. We told you about rioting in Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles, and with reports of people jamming any and every road headed away from a potential target.

In Kentucky, State Police officers and National Guardsmen have their hands full with thousands of motorists traveling into small towns thought to be safe havens. This is happening across the nation.--

"Good Lord," LaWanda muttered. Ducky changed the channel.

--ignoring orders to shelter in place, nearly 100,000 people are here in Central Park for an impromptu peace rally led by legendary musician and activist John Lennon--

--Governor Cobb says the Virginia state government will invoke price controls and will punish gas station owners who reportedly are charging as much as $6.50 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Richmond and the Norfolk area--

--people in cities under martial law and not under martial law are making their way towards the nearest church, synagogue or mosque--

--Charles Todd was sworn in as the new Indiana governor in an undisclosed location. A spokeswoman said Todd's first official action was to invoke Emergency Powers Act giving him complete power until the General Assembly can recovene and the Supreme Court is seated. He then declared martial law throughout Marion County and ordered the evacuation of the three-mile area around the speedway plus a five-mile-wide area stretching on either side of a straight line from the speedway to the U.S. 36 along the Ohio state border--

Ducky continued clicking through the channels on the remote. As was the case on September 11, 2001, nearly every television station carried news coverage. The few that weren't had hosts discussing the news. Two stations carried children's programming.

--every sporting event across the country cancelled in the wake of the Indianapolis attack--

--ALL U.S. military installations throughout the U.S. and the world are reportedly on lockdown: no one in, no one out, unless you have business there or you need to leave--

--frenzied activity here at Geneva International Airport, as if the various delegations were preparing to leave the city. No one is commenting--

"When was the last time you've had something to eat, LaWanda?" Ducky asked, the TV showing security clearing the course at a professional golf event. "You've been here quite a while."

"This morning, before I left for church. But don't worry about me, Donald. I'll be fine--"

"I insist you go downstairs and fix yourself some dinner," Ducky said. "Eat, and rest for a little bit. I'll stay up here with Mother while you do so."

Satisfied that Ducky would stay upstairs, the caretaker -- at his insistence -- went downstairs to eat dinner and catch up on the day's events. He went through the channels, stopping at one of the network affiliates, and turned up the volume.

--Katie? Are you there?

Desmond, I'm here. What about the Secretary-General's address--

Katie, I've just spoken with a source very high up within the U.S. delegation. That person tells me that after the Leipzig explosion, there was a terse two-minute telephone conversation between President Boehner and General Secretary Khalinin. The source didn't go into details but told me after the conversation, the President ordered everyone back on Air Force One, that they're going home a-sap.

The President and his delegation are heading back to the U.S.?

Yes. The only other thing the source told me besides what I just told you was, and I quote, 'if we're going home, you can bet the Russians and everybody else are, too'.

Desmond, have you seen any sign of that happening, the American delegation, the Soviets, or the British, French--

I haven't seen anyone from the Allied Eight or the Pact in the last hour. I have seen U.N. officials as well as Swiss, Indian, Chinese officials, and of course a sea of Peacekeepers separating them from us in the media.

Desmond, you mentioned the word 'terse' regarding the conversation between President Boehner and Secretary Khalinin. Did your source go into any detail about the conversation itself?

No, Katie. The source didn't say a whole lot...um, excuse me, it appears the U.N. Secretary-General Rajapaksa has arrived at the podium...(Desmond listens into his earpiece) the network's not using the U.N. feed?...WE'RE the feed, okay...(Desmond looks back up, into the camera) This is CBS News, live from Geneva, I'm Desmond Littner, and we go now to Secretary-General Rajapaksa as he addresses the media.--

The United Nations Secretary-General confirmed what the reporter had said: leaders of the Allied Eight nations, along with the Soviet, East German, Cuban and Angolan contingents, had left or were in the process of leaving Geneva.

Ducky looked at both suits in the room. Seeing the fear and dread in their expressions, he briefly tried to console them and realized he himself needed quite a bit of consolation. He pondered the implications of the Secretary-General's speech for himself and his loved ones.

He likely would be drafted into some branch of the U.S. military as a doctor; his obligations as NCIS medical examiner would be overshadowed by the need for trained physicians near one of the fronts. Gibbs would likely stay, his experience and talents making him too valuable for the agency to lose. Perhaps he would draft Mike Franks into service, making for an intriguing dynamic with Boss and Probie switching roles.

Ducky thought of Tony, Abby, Kate, McGee, Ziva and Palmer. What would happen to them if war broke out?

Ziva certainly would return to Mossad. Tony, Kate and McGee might stay where they currently were, get sent undercover, or drafted into domestic security work -- or sent to one of the fronts. Due to her forensic skills, Abby had been on a short list of essential personnel called to federal government service in the event of war.

Palmer's prospects were the most uncertain to Ducky. Palmer could stay on as the assistant to a new (and likely inexperienced) M.E. Since NCIS was low on the list of federal agencies to get qualified replacement examiners, Palmer might take over for Ducky on an 'interim' basis. Or, Palmer could be sent to one of the fronts as a medic.

If things got bad enough, Ducky thought, Palmer might be ordered to put down his scalpel and pick up a gun.

Ducky sighed, glancing at the TV screen before turning to his still-sleeping mother. "Who will take care of you?" he said softly as he lightly stroked one of her hands. He then had a stroke of inspiration.

"Perhaps Mr. Palmer can perform double duty in the event of my absence," he said to himself with a lift in his voice. "He will be quite busy for certain, but it may keep him off the battlefield. Perhaps a word with Director McCallister will suffice--"

Ducky's train of thought was interrupted by the buzzing of his cell phone in his pocket. With the knowledge that the suits would carefully watch over his mother, Ducky excused himself and stepped into the hallway to take the call.

"Dr. Mallard."

"The hawks are about to fly, old friend."

Ducky recognized the caller's voice, a colleague from the British Army Secret Air Service special forces unit. "You, and your colleagues, find the ring."

"...is this you, Mon--"

"Don't say my name. It's me."

"How are you doing?"

"Listen. It's going to at the least turn as bad as one can imagine, probably much worse. So find the ring, and save yourself."

Ducky lowered his voice into a whisper while he looked for any eavesdroppers. "What do you mean, the ring?"

"Ask Gibbs, away from your guardians. And find it quickly before you realize you've run out of time. This will likely be the last time we talk, so Godspeed, my friend, to you and your family."

Ducky heard the click in his earpiece, and made a minute for himself to ponder the conversation.

Before he realized it, he was headed downstairs towards the kitchen, first to have LaWanda return to his mother's side, and then to find Gibbs. There was an urgent conversation to be had between he and Gibbs, and anywhere the suits were at was not the place to have it.

Arlington, Virginia

The Pentagon

"Your car is waiting, Colonel."

Steve Trevor acknowledged his secretary's message, grabbed his briefcase off of his desk, and headed out of his office. Seven minutes later, he stepped into the back of his vehicle -- a Ford Expedition -- and told his driver to go to Washington, more specifically a northeast neighborhood named Capitol View.

"Capitol View?", the driver asked, rather unexpectedly to the Colonel. "Sir, is that..." The USAF Second Lieutenant's voice trailed off.

"Lieutenant," the Colonel said, softly but with a steely firmness to his voice, "when you're given an order, you do it. But you know that already."

"Of course, sir," the Lieutenant replied, chastened by his response, but no less concerned. He had heard the wild rumors about the violence in the civilian parts of the city, fueled by rumors and reports of similar violence in other large cities across the country.

The Ford Expedition left the Pentagon complex and got onto I-395, beginning its short journey into the city.

Passing the U.S. Capitol building, Trevor noted the presence of a small Army battalion in the vicinity. He counted at least seven Patriot anti-ballistic missile systems in the area, some camouflaged, some right out in the open for anyone to see. One was mounted over the hall of the House of Representatives, to the left of the building’s dome.

The Expedition took I-395 to New York Avenue NW, then turned right, and drove a short distance before turning right onto Florida Avenue NE. The vehicle drove past the entrance to Gallaudet University, and a dozen students and professors holding peace signs behind a row of at least two dozen police officers dressed in riot gear sealing off the entrance.

“Lord Almighty,” Trevor muttered.

Florida Avenue NE became Benning Road NE, which soon ran into East Capitol Street SE, which the Expedition turned onto. As the vehicle approached Trevor’s destination, he was struck by the crowds of people walking on foot towards one of eight churches in the vicinity. Given his experiences the past two decades, Trevor had gone through stages of indifference, atheism, and belief. He currently believed in God, and had taken to exploring a deceased aunt’s Episcopal faith.

Trevor decided he would have liked to visit one of these churches on a day like this. Instead, he was headed for a meeting that, officially, would never happen.

He told the driver to pull into the parking lot of a mall that had seen better days. The only store still open was St. John’s Kitchen, and Trevor was sure the cafe would be empty. He knew this because the man he was here to talk with would have made certain that the cafe was free of anyone who had no business there. The presence of four black SUVs in the otherwise empty lot affirmed it.

“Stay here,” Trevor told his driver, who wasn’t about to do otherwise.

Trevor got out of the Expedition and walked inside, nodding to two men in black suits. One pointed towards the back, where Trevor’s contact waited impatiently.

“I figured the perks of being a Colonel in the Air Force meant something,” said Riley McCallister, as he got up to shake Trevor’s hand. “Like being able to speed down the street.”

“The speed limits are there for a reason, Director,” Trevor replied. “Even an officer like me has to obey them.”

“Well, I did want you here and not in intensive care, Colonel,” McCallister said. “Don’t worry about a thing. This restaurant’s secure. My people swept it and the adjacent businesses.”

“Couldn’t you have at least picked something a little better, Director? One of my people knows someone who runs a Greek restaurant.”

“Send me the address and I’ll pencil it in for next time,” McCallister said. “I have a favor to ask you, and I realize I owe you one, or two—“

“Two? Try four.”

“Yes. But you owe me one, too, that I’ve never called in.”

“You’re about to call it in.”

“Yep. The ring.”

“The ring.”

“Exactly.”

“Who?” Trevor knew McCallister wanted to get someone access to one of the rings within the domestic ring complex.

“Some of my people.”

“Like an assistant director?”

“Like some of my agents, including Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You know his girlfriend, Colonel. I want him and his people to get through, when the shit hits the fan.”

[Brky2020]

Chapter 35

--President Boehner will address the nation at 9 p.m. Eastern time--

Washington, D.C.

Capitol View neighborhood

St. John's Kitchen

"You get right to the point, don't you?"

Colonel Trevor leaned back in his chair while McCallister waited for him to say yes to his 'request'.

Trevor did owe McAllister a favor, though, several times over, for all the times the wiley old fox saved his ass during one of their numerous missions. Trevor knew he would not be here if McCallister and his people hadn't been there during a shootout with the KGB in Afghanistan. Nor would he be here if McCallister hadn't radioed him to stay in place, which kept him from walking on a landmine planted by a member of the Reynosa cartel in northern Mexico.

There were the numerous black ops missions that McAllister was heavily involved in, that everyone in Washington who knew about them had gone to great lengths to keep hidden. Some of those missions would fuel his nightmares for the rest of his life: how many lives were taken, how much was covered up, in the name of national security? If another path had been taken, Trevor had asked himself on several occasions, would the world be at peace?

Probably not, Trevor had decided. Perhaps the best thing the black ops missions had done was erase all real evidence of extraterrestrials - and eliminate whatever threats they posed.

Perhaps, with the knowledge of alien artifacts and societies somewhere out in the vastness of space, Earth would be at war - or conquered by one or more of those races.

But what about the threats covered up, and eliminated, from Earth?

Years ago during the Balkan War, Trevor and seven other USAF jets flew from their base in Belgrade westwards, to support Greece Air Force jets which were on an intercept course with a dozen Soviet jets over Greek territory. In an instant everything whited out around Trevor, and he briefly thought he was dead. Instead, he found himself crashing into the water near an island that never showed up on any charts or satellite photos, rescued by some of the most beautiful women he had laid eyes on.

Most of them were interested in Trevor only as some potential invader from 'man's world'. Some took a more personal interest. One in particular came to care about and for him.

She haunted his dreams for years, especially after the General jammed the syringe in his neck to knock him out, when he wanted nothing more than to stay with her even if he had to live and die on a boat.

He was told about the nuke when he woke up on the C-130. All to protect the country, the General assured him.

Trevor has never forgiven the General for that, nor for the other actions taken in the name of national security.

The alien lantern with the bright emerald hue. The fight with the winged warriors from God knew what planet. The young, scared half-human, half-cyborg man fighting a losing battle against a platoon.

The humanoid baby, laying on the autopsy table and bathed in that depressing red light, scientists mining the corpse for scientific knowledge or whatever it was they used to rationalize infanticide.

She, though...she no longer haunted his dreams, but sometimes she made an appearance in them, always telling him to fight for truth and justice, to do what was right, and to fight evil wherever it may be found. She couldn't do it herself, she would tell him, so he had to do that for her.

McAllister was involved in some of those operations, and he probably knew things that Trevor would never find out in this life. But Trevor knew McCallister objected to the killing of the alien infant, and the small, strange group of superpowered individuals who wanted nothing more than to be heroes, and the half-cyborg young man, and the young woman who could breathe and live underwater...

Asking Trevor to help him get some of his NCIS people to the rings was, Trevor decided, McAllister's way of repentance for his sins of omission and commission.

"They don't deserve to die, Steve," McCallister said of Gibbs and his team.

"A lot of people don't deserve to die, Riley," Trevor replied. "A lot of people will die when -- if -- we go to war. A lot of people will deserve to go through those rings."

"You're right."

"Why them?"

"I can do something to save them. With your help. Because you're already helping the Lieutenant Colonel, and you made sure she and Gibbs weren't caught by the wrong people."

Ducky's house

With the sun lowering on the horizon, Ducky began his search for Gibbs in the backyard.

He saw Abby and one of the suits walking with Kate. He briefly rebuked himself for not having her up and about earlier, and for not checking on her more than he had.

Nonsense, he chided himself. Caitlin's outside, willingly so it appears. Everything has been so frenzied since...since the explosion.

Abby looked back and saw Ducky looking on. She mouthed 'Kate's gonna be okay' to him before turning back to her friend. Realizing that Kate was in good hands, he resumed his pursuit of Gibbs, and found him in the front yard with Mike Franks.

"Ah. Jethro," Ducky said as he walked up to both men. "There you are. Mike, I would have expected you to stay at Jethro's house, especially given the current circumstances."

Mike took a draw from his cigarette. "The house will be just fine, Ducky. Nobody's gonna think about waltzin' inside with all that security the director's providing for us, free of charge. Locked the front door, though, just in case." That drew a chuckle from Ducky and Gibbs, who briefly looked back to where Mike parked the truck. "Figured I'd be of better use here than back there. Ducky, how's Kate?"

Ducky summarized Kate's current condition and groaned when Gibbs said McCallister had given her 24 hours to recover while the rest of the team was on indefinite active duty. "It should be obvious to the director, as it is to the rest of us, that Caitlin won't be in any condition to work for quite some time. Psychiatric care is just the beginning; everything she needs will take time--"

"Time we may or may not have much of," Gibbs interjected. "You know I'm not gonna let McCallister do anything to her. You won't, either."

"He'll have to go through all of us, Jethro. I do need to speak with you privately, and I'm afraid it can't wait."

"Ducky, if you wanna get rid of me, just say so. Somebody once told me I didn't have any feelings to hurt," Mike quipped.

"Nonsense, Mike. You're always welcome here," Ducky said. "But please don't litter mother's yard with those cigarette butts. I know ordering you not to smoke is a futile endeavor, but I'll have to ask you to do so in the back--"

"Say no more, Duck," Mike replied as he headed to the back yard. Ducky quickly looked around for any unwelcomed interlopers, suited or otherwise. Satisfied he and Gibbs couldn't be overheard, he whispered "We need to talk."

"Talk," Gibbs said.

"Not here. Not in the house, either," Ducky continued whispering. "I spoke with a friend earlier whom you've never met and told me to ask you about the 'ring'. And I don't mean a wedding ring, either."

Gibbs understood exactly what Ducky was referring to. "How'd you find out--"

"I don't want to discuss this here. We need privacy, away from listening ears."

Gibbs told Ducky to follow him to his truck that Mike had driven to the house. Gibbs looked over the vehicle for bugs, which drew the attention of three of the suits.

"Sir?" one asked in a friendly manner. "Is everything alright with your truck?"

"Everything's good," Gibbs said in a polite tone. "Mike Franks drives like a crazy man sometimes. So I wanted to look her over, make sure he didn't tear anything up." Ducky chuckled as Gibbs tossed him the keys. "Duck, go ahead and get in, unlock my door for me."

"Of course, Je--"

"Dr. Mallard, are you supposed to go somewhere?" said another of the suits, who put his hand on the passenger door above the handle.

"I need some fresh air, and to make a grocery run if one's open. We're running low on fresh eggs and milk," Ducky lied as he deftly removed the suit's hand from the door. The suit, briefly taken aback, quickly placed her hand over the lock.

"Is there a problem?" Gibbs said as he shot her a glare that caused her to move her hand off the lock.

The third suit, a towering giant of a man whom Tony had nicknamed 'Tiny', nervously stepped in between his colleague and the doctor. "Ah, Agent Gibbs, no problem. We can get those things, or try to, I'm not sure if anything's open--"

Gibbs looked at Tiny, who became even more nervous under the older man's withering gaze. "I'm gonna go for a drive, in my own truck. Ducky's gonna go with me. That a problem."

"Ah, sir, uh, I'm not sure--"

"We haven't heard the director give his approval for unauthorized trips from the secured facility," interrupted the suit who had tried to keep Ducky from unlocking the door. "We will have to--"

"DON'T interrupt me, Sheila," Tiny whispered. "We can go with you. We can take you in one of our secured vehicles--"

Tiny then shut up, swearing that Gibbs was glaring a hole through his soul. That was something he thought was merely apocryphal. Then he thought it would be good to try to get back on the man's good side. "Agent Gibbs, uh, please keep your phone on, and let us know if you run into a problem."

"Yeah," Gibbs dismissed the giant man. "Duck. Unlock the door."

"With pleasure." Ducky got in, unlocked the driver's door and handed Gibbs the keys as he got in. After Gibbs drove away, Tiny and his colleagues jumped into their SUVs to follow them.

--as the nation awaits the President's address, FEMA has moved into Indianapolis, setting up operations at the airport which is now closed to the public. Evacuation continues at this hour of areas in the city and in Marion County affected by blast and fire damage and fallout--

--the President is expected to address who the government believes was behind the bombing--

--Fox News has learned, from a source in the Pentagon, that it's currently believed that either Al-Qaeda or one of the Mexican cartels planted the bomb--

--the District itself is under total lockdown--

--travel is still allowed in the suburbs, although drivers are having to deal with checkpoints, and many stores are open. The Army is assisting National Guardsmen and local police protect and maintain order at supermarkets, gas stations and drug stores--

"Sure you don't want some eggs," Gibbs said to Ducky as they drove past a Giant supermarket. Military vehicles outnumbered civilian vehicles four to one.

"Jethro, are those missile launchers on top of those vehicles?" Ducky asked.

"TOWs: tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless anti-tank missiles," Gibbs replied. "You're not supposed to see them around here unless--"

"Unless there's a severe threat to the homeland," Ducky added. "Terrorists shouldn't warrant that much firepower."

"You're right, they don't." Gibbs turned into the lot, glancing in the rear view mirrors. The SUVs stayed at the same 20- to 30-yard distance they had maintained since they left Ducky's home. "See those vehicles lined up near the door? Marine Growlers."

A National Guardsman waved Gibbs into a parking space about 40 yards from the front door. It was the closest open space alloted to public use, and next to a green Marine light assault vehicle with a single occupant: a Marine gunnery specialist armed with a weapon who appeared to be looking for potential threats.

Gibbs and Ducky got out of the truck and saw two Homeland Security agents coming their way. One led a German Shepherd and held a handheld scanner and the other a metal detector. "Security," they said when Gibbs asked them what they were doing.

He and Ducky looked around the lot as they headed towards the supermarket. They both saw the suits' SUVs parked, 30 yards away, and one suit exiting each vehicle. Ducky looked back towards the truck, where he saw one of the officers give the others a thumbs-up.

He then noticed Gibbs looking at the LAV parked in the next space. "Something wrong, Jethro?" he asked. "I must admit, all of this appears to be overkill--"

"His weapon, Duck."

"The scanners?"

"The Marine on the LAV. His weapon. Looked like an M27, not an M249. And...yeah. A bit much for a supermarket," Gibbs said as they approached the entrance. Four Guardsmen apiece covered the entrance and exit; in between them hung a large yellow sheet of paper with a message written in marker:

TEMPORARY STORE HOURS 10 AM - 9 PM

THROUGH MONDAY

FIVE ITEMS PER CUSTOMER PER VISIT NO EXCEPTIONS

ONE VISIT PER CUSTOMER PER DAY NO EXCEPTIONS

Ducky glanced at the Guardsmen, none of whom seemed inclined towards conversation of any kind. They were stopped by two Homeland agents standing by a set of 12-foot-high body-scanners.

"Weapons?" asked one of the officers. Gibbs pulled out his NCIS badge, Ducky his NCIS identification.

"Handgun, SIG Sauer P229 in its holster, backup Smith & Wesson Model 37," said Gibbs.

"None," Ducky told the officers, one of whom raised her eyebrow. "I have all the weaponry I need by my side," Ducky replied; Gibbs smiled at the mention, while the Homeland officers did not.

Four minutes later -- with the suits standing outside looking right at them -- Gibbs and Ducky stepped away from the scanners, with Gibbs allowed to keep his weapons.

There were a handful of customers inside the store; like themselves, the other customers were shadowed by police or security. Ducky made quick observations of both groups: some of the customers were calm, anxious or in some kind of hurry, or a combination of the three. None of them appeared to pose any type of threat.

If someone had pulled a gun or exposed a bomb vest, the person would have been quickly surrounded by the police who were well-trained in fighting threats from potential cartel and Islamist terrorists and Soviet-backed special forces. Security personnel -- all of whom were in top shape, trained primarily to handle civilian threats -- were able to backup police and federal agents in such a case.

Unlike the store employees who made every effort to appear approachable and friendly, Ducky noted police and security weren't. Go about your business -- if it isn't creating mayhem -- and you'll be fine, Ducky thought as he glanced over one of the heavily armed police officers. If you dare to attempt something you shouldn't, God help you.

The aisles were mostly empty, although the men managed to pick up a carton of eggs, two one-gallon cartons of almond milk, a box of saltine crackers and a frozen pepperoni and sausage pizza. Every aisle with anything one could eat, drink or use as medicine was sparse, including the candy and pet sections. On the other hand, if someone wanted one of their five alloted items to be a magazine or a bestselling paperback, they were in luck.

"Five items per customer?" Ducky asked the cashier as they checked out. "That isn't very much."

"Nope, but we're pretty sure we're going to get restocked tomorrow night," the cashier replied. "Then you'll be able to buy five non-essential items, ten essential. Once they secure distribution, we'll go up to 20 or, maybe, 25."

Ducky and Gibbs went through the scanners exiting the store and walked to the truck. The suits kept their distance and began heading back to their SUVs, watching the men as intently as the men were watching them. Gibbs looked over his truck, then nodded at Ducky.

"I believe we're better off getting our groceries from our friends inside the agency," Ducky said as he got inside the truck. "Something is nagging at me. A nuclear explosion occurs inside the United States. The U.S. is obviously showing restraint although it and the Soviets walked away from Geneva. War has not been declared by either side."

Gibbs nodded for Ducky to continue. "So why the excess security at the supermarket?"

"The 'excess' security could be needed to handle the crowds," Gibbs said. "You saw the shelves in there. People showed up before we got there, started buying everything in sight."

"Yes. And the store severely limited the number of purchases one could make."

"Yeah. So what bothers you?"

Gibbs drove past an Exxon gas station. There appeared to be no customers, but there was a beige Humvee parked on the side of the building and four armed, black-garbed security personnel roaming the parking lot and fuel pumps. He slowed slightly to get a better look; in response, the closest of the four men waved his M4A1 carbine assault at him, then stopped after looking behind the truck.

Ducky looked in the side mirror and saw an arm sticking out of the closest of the suits' SUVs, the hand holding a badge. "Our 'friends' seem to be of some good use," Ducky quipped.

"They're private contractors," Gibbs said of the security at the gas station. "Darkmirror. Recognize the uniform and the weapons."

"Civilian military contractors?" Ducky asked. "They aren't allowed to conduct operations domestically by law except in..."

"World war," Gibbs replied.

"What aren't we being told, Jethro?"

"Probably a lot, Duck."

Ducky looked in his side mirror at the SUVs following Gibbs's truck. "I need to revisit our previous discussion."

"Shoot."

"Is there anything you haven't already told me?"

"Duck, I already told you everything I know about the ring."

"And you believe what you saw."

"Believe it, yeah, Duck. I was there, saw it myself along with Hollis. Understand it? I can't begin to explain how it does what it does."

"It's just that...the story is so fantastic," Ducky said. "I would more easily dismiss it coming from just about anyone else, even a respectable authority like President Boehner. But you, someone I've known for years, who is not given to telling tall tales...Jethro, can you get me there to see this for myself?"

Gibbs glanced in his rear-view mirror. "Not gonna be as easy getting you out anywhere, Duck. On top of that, I haven't been able to contact Hollis."

"Jethro, perhaps she is on assignment."

"Yeah." Or found out, Gibbs thought.

"Jethro, if things were to turn for the worse, whom have you--"

"Everyone on the team, Duck. Everyone I can."

"And how do you plan to do so?"

Gibbs had been thinking about that since he and Hollis visited the ring. He still hadn't come up with a plan that didn't involve arrests or shootouts.

--we go live to the Brady Briefing Room at the White House. Press Secretary Brent Hobard is at the podium:

"I know you have a lot of questions. I can answer some of them now, although I can't disclose anything the President plans to discuss tonight. I'll start by telling you that President Boehner is safe and in an undisclosed location discussing the Indianapolis attack...er, bombing, and the situation in Geneva with his advisors, the Joint Chiefs, Congressional leaders--

--Vice President Mitch McConnell's call for calm seems to have resonated with most of the nation even as unrest continues in several cities--

--continued rioting in Baltimore after reports that trucks carrying food and medicine were rerouted away from inner-city neighborhoods--

--Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on CNN:
"President Boehner's absence at this time is inexcusable. Hours after the greatest tragedy in our nation's history he is nowhere to be publicly seen. I understand the need for his security but now is the time when our country needs not just to hear from its Commander-in-Chief, but also to have already heard from him."--

Gibbs and Ducky arrived safely in Ducky's neighborhood, and Gibbbs parked in front of McGee's car. Neither Gibbs nor Ducky stopped when one of the suits called out for them, walking straight into the house.

Gibbs headed for the first empty room but stopped momentarily when he saw Kate and Ziva in the kitchen. Kate had a cup of coffee in her hands, and Ziva was preparing a Hebrew dish for her. Kate locked eyes with Gibbs, who gave a sympathetic look in response, then nodded to Ziva before resuming his search.

The rec room had just two suits inside watching the news. Gibbs told them he wanted the room, and both women walked out quietly. He then pulled out his cell phone and placed a call.

At the Navy Yard, a cell phone buzzed in Director McCallister's pocket as he read some intel on his laptop. He had been there just a half-hour, checking on field offices around the world, and pulled the phone out of his pocket to answer the call. "McCallister."

"Director. You're a busy man," Gibbs replied.

"Very, Gibbs. You're a persistent bastard, aren't you?"

"Very," Gibbs said. "Got a question for you."

"Let me guess. It's about that thing."

"Yeah. You wanna verify it or tell me it's a bunch of bull?"

McCallister sighed. Damnit, he thought. Why did Shepard talk Gibbs out of retiring to Mexico? Things would be easier with one of my men in charge down there. "I'll verify it. Now. You be in my office tomorrow, 0800, to debrief. Any case you catch, DiNozzo can lead."

"0800."

"That's right, and if you're not there it better be because you're dead. And if you call me tonight, it better be something big."

"Director--"

"You have no idea what the hell's going on behind the scenes, Gibbs. There's stuff I don't know about, and what I do know about I can't openly divulge without clearance. We can talk about that thing tomorrow morning, and as I said, you call me before then better be for something big."

Gibbs heard the click in his earpiece, snapped his flip phone shut, and pondered what McCallister had told him. A knock on the door shook him from his thoughts. He opened the door and saw the two suits standing behind Tony.

"Sorry, Boss," Tony said. "They" -- Tony held his fist up with his thumb pointing behind him -- "and the rest of us wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine, DiNozzo."

"That's good to hear, Boss. People want to get in here, too. The President's about to speak."

"Yeah. Kinda want to hear him myself."

The room quickly filled up, and Kate made her way to Gibbs, leaning into him as he put his arm around her shoulders. The TV picture cut from the CBS newsanchors to a picture of the Presidential Seal, then to President Boehner sitting behind his desk in the Oval Office.

--"My fellow Americans. Today, May 27, 2007, is perhaps the worst day in the history of our great nation. It is a day we will never forget...--

[Brky2020]

Chapter 36

--"...President Boehner will, at any moment, speak publicly for the first time since the Allied Eight leaders spoke in Geneva and since the explosion in Indianapolis. We do not know where he'll be--excuse me. We're going live in moments--"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States."



"My fellow Americans. Today, May 27, 2007, is perhaps the worst day in the history of our great nation. It is a day we will never forget.

Today, a nuclear device exploded in Indianapolis, Indiana, outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, before the scheduled start of one of America's great sporting events, the Indianapolis 500. Hundreds of thousands of men, women and children, Americans and non-Americans alike, perished and tens of thousands more were injured. We believe the device detonated with a yield of around 30 kilotons just outside the Speedway. Because the device exploded on the ground, it produced fallout that is expected to extend into Ohio, although the worst of it will impact northern Indianapolis and Marion County.

For comparison's sake, the bomb that destroyed Kyoto at the end of World War II was a yield of 30 kilotons, the same yield as in Indianapolis earlier today. The bomb that destroyed Nagasaki was 20 kilotons, the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima 15 kilotons. The four bombs detonated by the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and China during the crisis of 1986 were 100 megatons each. The bomb detonated by the U.S. approximately 90 miles north of Barrow, Alaska in 1986 was 3,333 times as powerful as the one that detonated in Indianapolis today.

At that time, I and the other Allied Eight leaders were in the midst of the peace talks with Soviet General Secretary Khalinin at the summit in Geneva, Switzerland. Unfortunately, Mr. Khalinin walked out of the talks and returned to Moscow, and ordered his subordinates to return to their respective countries. The leaders of the Allied Eight nations, including myself, thought it useless to remain in Geneva given the absence of the representatives of the nations we need to reach an accord with. Although these specific talks have broken down, I remain committed to finding a peaceful solution to our ongoing disagreements with the Soviet Union. America and her allies, the nations of the free world, want peace, but not at any cost, and not at the cost of freedom and liberty and the right to live and prosper within a free and open democratic society.

I learned of the devastation in Indianapolis earlier today while I was in a discussion with Soviet General Secretary Khalinin on how to resolve the growing tension between our two sides. I was, like all of you, shocked and heartbroken upon hearing the news. In any other scenario I would have immediately departed for the U.S. homeland; this was the exception. These talks in Geneva were vital to the United States and the entire world. Unfortunately, there was a breakdown in the talks. After a brief discussion I subsequently made the decision to return here to the States.

My sympathies and condolences go out to each and every person who had a parent, a child, a sibling, a family member, a friend, an acquaintance die today in Indianapolis. Your anguish is shared not just by myself, but by every American and every free person on Earth, in body and in spirit. We lost not just race car drivers and celebrities, we lost people from across the great spectrum of society: business people, factory workers, parents and children, those who were independently wealthy and those who worked two, three or four jobs to provide for their families. We lost people of faith. We lost young people with their entire lives ahead of them who could contribute greatly to our free society. We lost people who worked hard, every single day, to contribute to the common good.

We also lost a great number of public servants, including Governor Kelley and Mayor Hudnall. However, because of the state constitution's amendment providing for continuity of government, Charles Todd was sworn in as the new governor. He is working to help keep the state government moving forward during this emergency, as are most of the members of the General Assembly. The Indianapolis/Marion County government is under the emergency management of the state government. All agencies are working hand in hand with federal agencies, agencies from other states, private relief organizations like the Red Cross, and private businesses to bring order to the chaos and aid and comfort to those who are suffering.

I am heartened at the response of civic leaders in unaffected cities and towns throughout the midwest. Injured survivors are being treated in hospitals from Chicago to Nashville, Tennessee, from Pittsburgh to St. Louis. This has reaffirmed my faith in America as a land that rallies to its broken in times of great need. Even now, members of the New York City Fire and Police Departments are traveling to Indianapolis to help with relief efforts, just as their brothers and sisters journeyed to New York City in the wake of 9/11.

To those left behind: we will not abandon you in your time of need. I have implemented our government's emergency response plans in dealing with this type of tragic event. These are plans we prayed never to use, which will guide us through the coming days, weeks, months and years.

FEMA and other federal emergency teams are in the city coordinating rescue efforts, operating out its central headquarters at the Indianapolis International Airport which is well within the city's safe zone. Those agencies are also operating out of secured satellite locations throughout Marion County as well as areas of the states of Indiana and Ohio potentially affected by fallout.

nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&kt=30&lat=39.7952017&lng=-86.2396431&airburst=0&hob_ft=0&casualties=1&fallout=1&fallout_angle=80&fatalities=4596&injuries=17458&psi_1=55064&zm=13

indyh2o.org/wellfields/am-i-in-a-wellfield/

FEMA will coordinate one of the largest civil service projects in our nation's history, one we hoped never to have to implement anywhere. This is the evacuation of all of Indianapolis and Marion County and of the areas outside Marion County impacted by the fallout, including the towns of New Castle; Carmel; Plainfield; Brownsburg; Greenwood; Avon; Zionsville; New Palestine; and Greenfield.

Refugees will be relocated to FEMA camps currently being set up in Anderson; Lebanon; Martinsville; Shelbyville; Muncie; South Bend; Fort Wayne; Bloomington; Lafayette; Richmond; Terre Haute; Evansville; Jasper; Seymour; Bedford; and Columbus. We are discussing the addition of several more camps with city and county leaders in the rest of the state as well as in Louisville, Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio. This decision is solely mine, and it is one I made without hesitation once I understood the reasons presented to me.

One major reason involves the city and county's water supply. Two major riverways -- the White River and Fall Creek -- cross through the fallout zone. Four of the major well fields providing clean water to Marion County lie within the fallout zone. The Speedway wellfield, I'm told, will be unusable for the foreseeable future. The Riverside; Fall Creek; and Geist/Lawrence well fields will not be usable any time soon. The South wellfield in southeastern Marion County is outside the fallout zone but intersects in two places with the White River. Our experts in the U.S. Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency consider those five wellfields currently unsafe for use of any kind.

The Ford wellfield in extreme northwestern Marion County, north of the detonation site and the fallout zone, is considered safe for public use. It cannot possibly provide for the drinking, cooking and bathing needs of all of Indianapolis, so I have authorized emergency measures put into place to safeguard the Ford and the South wellfields. As those watching this address via television or the internet can see on your screen (reader: see above links), the fallout covers a roughly 32-block area north to south from where Interstate 65 crosses the river by Lake Sullivan south to where West Michigan Street crosses the river before intersecting with North White River Parkway.

Fall Creek also falls into the fallout zone, beginning near East 79th Street and ending near West 12th Street.

Food can be shipped into the region and electricity restored. However, because people need water to live, and because the vast majority of the water supply is now or expected to be contaminated, I have authorized the evacuation of all of Marion County, and of the areas of Indiana and Ohio expected to be impacted by fallout. As I said, we will place all displaced people in FEMA camps in safe zones throughout the region. These camps will be as comfortable and safe as humanly possible for people to live in. Our emergency teams are in Indianapolis helping ordered every federal agency to devote all available resources to Indianapolis. In conjunction with Indiana state agencies and the National Guard, I am confident we will be able to tackle the great challenge that lies ahead of us.

I know many of you are angry at those who perpetrated this atrocity; so am I. I know all of you want justice, even vengeance. So do I. Intelligence is coming in literally by the moment that brings us closer to finding out for certain who was behind this attack. Before we do anything we will know who that was, and we will then give you, the American people, as much information as we are able.

Allow me to turn for the moment to Geneva and to the talks with the Soviet Union we hoped would be fruitful. I am no friend of Communism nor of the Soviet regime's desire to spread its philosophy of Stalinist revolution across the entire world. But I had hoped to reach a rapport with General Secretary Khalinin. He believes in his country and his way of life as sure as I do in America and our way of life. He is human, and he knows the damage a conflict between our two countries would inflict on our peoples and on the rest of the world. I was saddened when Mr. Khalinin decided to break off talks and return to Moscow. All other members of the Soviet and World Pact party departed Geneva with him. After a brief discussion with my fellow leaders in the Allied Eight, and because of the ongoing situation in Indianapolis, I decided to return to the U.S.

I am currently in an undisclosed location but rest assured, I will not hide in a cave nor in a bunker. Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day in which we remember those who gave their lives so that others might be free. I had planned to commemorate Memorial Day in Geneva, hopefully having reached an accord with the Soviets and their World Pact allies. My thoughts, at some point, would be with those gathered at Arlington National Ceremony where we intern many of our nation's honored dead.

My thoughts will be with those at Arlington tomorrow, as I visit Indianapolis and speak with the injured, with those working to heal them, those working to assist in recovery efforts, and those working to manage this crisis in whatever capacity they have been placed in. Later that day I will be back in Washington, at the White House, visibly leading this nation.

To those who are suffering, our wings will shelter, feed, clothe and protect you until you are back on your own two feet. In America, we care for our wounded. We do not discard them, we do not punish them, we do not use them as collateral. For we too are wounded, and together we will walk forward, the stronger brother helping the weaker until he can stand, and walk, and return to life. Then, they walk together and help another who cannot stand on his own.

To those who are behind this devious attack upon this country and our way of life: we know more about you than you think, we will find you more quickly than you anticipate, and we will bring you to justice without hesitation and with full resolve. Do not think because great tragedy has befallen us that we are weak. I have every confidence that our great nation will fall back on the principles that guided it from the time of the Founding Fathers, those written by Almighty God. As Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke: 'He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.'

America, overall, remains deeply rooted in solid ground. Although it is wounded and although it mourns, America stands steadfast with faith in God. America also stands ready to wield the sword of justice on behalf of those who have been taken from us, for those who are left to carry on, and for those who suffer under the heavy yolk of ideological and terroristic oppression.

Now, as we did yesterday and today and as we will tomorrow, we stand as one nation under God, indivisible, standing for justice for all. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."


"You've just heard President John Boehner address the nation, hours after the devastating nuclear explosion in Indianapolis and World Bloc leaders walked out of the Geneva summit talks. This is ZNN, the Satellite News Network..."

[Brky2020]

Chapter 37

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Washington

10:37 p.m. EDT

Gibbs wasn't surprised in the least to see two suits waiting for him on the front porch of his house, just as he wasn't surprised about the NCIS SUVs parked nearby down the street.

He was surprised that only a few houses on the street appeared to be empty. The others had their lights on, their occupants staying put for the time being. Gibbs heard the faint sound of a television from his next-door neighbor's living room, and saw the neighbor's 11-year-old daughter Erica peeking out from behind the blinds in the front window.

From his sidewalk, Gibbs smiled at the young girl, who reminded him of his daughter Kelly. I hope YOU get a chance to grow up, he thought, before turning towards his guests on the porch.

"Pretty rough day, Agent Gibbs," said Ronald, a 42-year-old agent who worked a case in Norfolk with Mike Franks when Gibbs was a probationary agent. "Good to see you got home safely. Mr. Franks stayed behind at Dr. Mallard's, then?"

"Yeah," Gibbs replied as he walked past Ronald and Carey, a young woman Gibbs thought couldn't be more than a month out of FLET-C. "Gonna get some rest."

Ronald and Carey saw Gibbs grab a beer from the refrigerator before heading to his basement. A minute later, Carey's eyes widened at the sound from below of nails being hammered into wood. "Does this guy ever sleep?" she whispered.

Ronald grinned. "Yeah. Once in a blue moon."

Downstairs, Gibbs settled into his routine of sanding, hammering and varnishing as the minutes ticked down towards midnight, and Memorial Day. As he often did in his basement, Gibbs went over the most recent events in his life and that of his team. He pushed aside Indianapolis and its implications to ponder the things that directly affected his team.

His heart ached for Kate, for the unimaginable loss she would endure probably for the rest of her life. He would never get over the loss of Shannon and Kelly, and missed his own late father greatly despite their estrangement; but Gibbs would be damned if he didn't do everything he could to keep Kate from spiraling downwards into the same dark places -- or worse -- that the loss of his wife and daughter had dragged him.

Gibbs smiled as he reminisced over Kate's confronting Jenny after the Dempsey case nearly went south. He realized he hadn't thought about Jenny in days and cursed himself for it; had she died a few months earlier, before Broome's assassination, he'd have been working through his grief by growling at his team and tearing apart his boat. Instead, he had to investigate her death while dealing with her successor.

McCallister was there when McGee found Jenny and her driver dead at Rock Creek Park. Gibbs didn't like him years before when he briefly talked with the man in Washington; although McCallister's claims on the director's chair were legitimate, and the investigation into Jenny's death exonerated him, Gibbs still didn't fully trust him. He wanted more time to vet his new boss.

All of a sudden, his gut told him he wouldn't get that time. And that made him think of Hollis.

Would she, as DiNozzo once remarked (without realizing Gibbs overheard him), become 'wife number five'? The relationship between he and the Army CID Colonel had grown to the point that he was considering their future together. He found her intelligence, her competence and her willingness to challenge him attractive. She had earned his respect and trust, neither of which he easily gave.

Still, when Hollis told Gibbs the story about the ring, she realized he needed to see it for himself. He had, and he didn't know what to do with that information any more now than he did then, but the ring wasn't a priority right now.

Finding Hollis was.

Gibbs heard something loud hit his basement floor, then realized it was the hammer he threw. Before the hammer stopped moving, one of the suits was in the doorway of the basement and headed down the stairs. "Agent Gibbs! Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said in an angry tone, although he was angry at himself and not at the young agent slightly trembling before him. She was new on the rotation of agents assigned to his house, but there was something familiar about her demeanor. "Accident."

"Oh," she said. "Would you like me to stay--"

"Nope," he said, then kicked himself for his tone; she was doing her job, not intentionally pissing him off. "Sorry. Tough day."

"Yes sir, it has been...one of my friends from college. She and her husband lived -- live -- in Indianapolis. I...I haven't had time to try to call."

"Lines are down there," he said more gently. "Maybe they can't call anyone. Or they might be at one of those emergency camps outside town. Leave me their names and address and I'll have one of my people make some calls for you."

"Oh, Agent Gibbs, thank you so much," she said as he handed her a pencil and notepad. "I don't want to be a burden, any more than I already am."

"You're not a burden. You're an NCIS agent, doing your job, Agent...sorry. I forgot your name."

"Agent Carter, sir. Kelly Carter."

Gibbs looked at her and realized who the suited agent reminded him of.

11:59 p.m. EDT

--this feed is coming off of TASS's website and is airing over Radio Moscow's shortwave English service. ZNN has decided to air it for our viewers and listeners from the beginning, with our English translator speaking over the live feed which is about 25 seconds ahead. Here is Soviet General Secretary Khalinin's response to President Boehner's address:



'Relations between the Soviet Union and the United States of America have been strained for some time now. It has been the hope of the people of the Soviet Union and our allies in the World Pact that all nations can peacefully resolve their differences and come together in a spirit of global brotherhood. This is why I traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss peace. We have only one planet and it is imperative all of our peoples learn to live together as one.

Upon learning of the devastation and great loss of life in the American city of Indianapolis, I had hoped that what was intended to provoke terror and war might yet bring our nations closer together. Unfortunately, America and her closest allies seem ready to put the blame for the Indianapolis attack on us in the Soviet Union.

Without solid proof and out of great anguish, President Boehner angrily accused me and my country of planting the bomb. I saw all of the hard work our sides had put in before and during the Geneva summit burn in the fires of rage. Sadly, I realized the man who is the leader of his nation and the devout follower of another man who long ago preached peace and brotherhood was not interested in anything other than revenge. Therefore, I decided to return to Moscow, fearful for what may come next and obligated to ensure my own country is properly prepared for all potential outcomes from this event.

I want to emphasize to the American people that the Soviet Union and our allies unequivocally condemn the perpetrators of this vicious attack and offer our assistance to the survivors of those who were killed and those who were wounded. Your government, sadly, will not allow us to assist in aiding your wounded nor in finding the attackers. I fear the anger of President Boehner and the hawks in his cabinet, military and government will lead to unprovoked and unwarranted aggression against Soviet military personnel aiding our socialist brothers around the world. Therefore, I have directed our military leaders to prepare accordingly. Our forces worldwide are now at increased combat readiness. President Boehner, make no mistake: if you, as your American saying goes, 'poke the bear', do not be shocked if the bear pokes back. Do not be surprised if you were to persist, that the bear pushes back, and more.

I hope that things would not reach that point. I appeal to the peace-loving peoples of the so-called free world, to ask their governments to freely and honestly explain why they are so quick to place blame on the Soviet Union. I appeal to the same people to have their governments and leaders seek a quick and peaceful resolution to our disagreement. We do not want war, only peace. I know you do too. Ask your leaders if they want the same, and if not, ask them why.'

And that was Soviet General Secretary Khalinin, apparently speaking to the American people, claiming his country was not behind the Indianapolis bombings and that President Boehner was accusing the Soviet Union of doing so. The President, in his speech tonight, did not name the USSR nor any other country...--

[Brky2020]

President John Boehner's Cabinet, as of May 27, 2007

PRESIDENT John Boehner
VICE-PRESIDENT Mitch McConnell
SECRETARY OF STATE John Danforth
SECRETARY OF TREASURY John W. Snow
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE/WAR Norman Schwarzkopf
ATTORNEY GENERAL Alberto Gonzales
SECRETARY OF INTERIOR Tommy Thompson
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE Ann Veneman
SECRETARY OF COMMERCE Lucius Fox
SECRETARY OF LABOR Elaine Chao
SEC. HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICE. Mike Leavitt
SECRETARY OF EDUCATION Margaret Spellings
SEC. HOUSING/URBAN DEV. Alphonso Jackson
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORT. Mary Peters
SECRETARY OF ENERGY Spencer Abraham
SEC. OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Jim Nicholson
SEC. HOMELAND SECURITY John Ashcroft
CHIEF OF STAFF Paula Nowakowski
ADM. ENVIR. PROT. AGENCY Christine Todd Whitman
DIR. MANAGEMENT & BUDGET Rob Portman
DIR. NAT'L DRUG CONTROL John P. Walters
U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE Robert Zoellick

Advisors/Others of Note
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEF. Paul Wolfowitz
DIRECTOR, CIA Porter Goss
DIRECTOR, FBI Robert Mueller
DIRECTOR, NCIS Riley McCallister
ADMINISTRATOR, NASA Michael Griffin
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR Condoleezza Rice
DEP. NSA FOR USSR/PACT John R. Bolton
UNITED NATIONS AMBASSADOR Susan Rice
FCC CHAIRMAN Michael Powell
DIRECTOR NAT'L INTELLIGENCE John Negroponte
WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL Harriet Miers
WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY Brent Hobard

The Joint Chiefs of Staff
CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF General Samuel Lane, U.S. Army
VICE CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF General Jeb Stuart Jr., U.S. Marine Corps
CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY General Wade Eiling, U.S. Army
COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS General Jonathan Cloud, U.S. Marine Corps
CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS Admiral William Coburn, U.S. Navy
CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE AIR FORCE General Travis Morgan, U.S. Air Force
CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU General Nathaniel Adam, U.S. Air Force

[lordroel]

Looking good so far Brky2020, sad to know about the fate of a certain baby from krypton, wonder if we will see a certain amazon princess.