FOREWORD Read online

  Beth tightly gripped Martin’s arm as he stood to leave the room. “Do you have to go?” she pleaded. “Can’t you just pretend that you haven’t heard about the alert?”

  He shook his head sadly. “I can’t, honey. I’m sorry. This is what I’m trained for. My unit is relying on me being there.”

  “I’mrelying on you beinghere ,” Beth protested. The possibility that one day Martin might have to face a real alert was something they had occasionally discussed on those long, dark nights whenever conversation had dried up and physical desires had been satiated. But neither of them had realistically expected that it would ever actually happen. It occurred to Martin that by this time tomorrow, he might be responsible for the deaths of thirty million innocent people, and Beth might be nothing more than vapor in the upper stratosphere. That was a sobering thought, but then again, hadn’t that always been the case? He didn’t know who the perceived enemy might be, but an educated guess told him that it was Russia. Yes, it had to be Russia, didn’t it? They wouldn’t scramble America’s entire strategic bomber fleet for anybody else.

  “We should head back to Chicago,” Cathy suggested to her husband. She was more concerned about being left alone with Beth than the implications of the unfolding crisis.

  “No, Mom,” Martin snapped. “I want you two and Beth to head up to Dad’s cabin in Iowa. You should be able to make the state line in a couple of hours. I need all three of you to look after each other, okay? Besides,” he added as an afterthought, “if this is a full alert, you may have problems getting into Chicago.” He knew that in an emergency situation, the military authorities could quite legally commandeer transport facilities and highways if they deemed it in their interests to do so. At least he thought they could. There was no precedent for this, was there?

  Cathy and Patrick exchanged an awkward glance. “Oh, come on, Cath,” Patrick reasoned. “We can’t leave Beth here on her own, can we?”

  Reluctantly, Cathy hung her head. “No, I don’t suppose we can.” She looked up at Martin. “If we can’t go back to Chicago, we might just as well stay here. Nobody would want to waste a bomb on this town.”

  Sometimes, his mother’s naivety beggared belief, Martin thought. “Mother,” he said, fixing her with a hard glare, “We’re sitting about ten miles away from Whiteman Air Force Base, home to twenty B-2 strategic nuclear bombers. That makes us a pretty major target. I don’t know why this is happening, but the fact of the matter is that they don’t call general alerts for the sheer hell of it. If this thing is for real, then everything from here to Kansas City, right the way down to Sedalia Springs will be vaporized. The only mercy you’d have is that you wouldn’t know a hell of a lot about it.” Seeing the color drain from his mother’s face, Martin reproached himself for scaring his family even more than they were already scared. “Hell,” he remarked unconvincingly, “it’ll probably come to nothing anyway.”

  “So what does it matter, then?” Cathy snorted.

  “My point exactly,” Beth stated, for once finding common ground with her mother-in-law. Even Patrick blinked at that. “What does it matter, Martin? What does it matter whether you stay here with me or go away to blow up Russia, or wherever the hell they send you. As you say, you’d have no home to come back to if there’s a war. If we’re going to die, I’d rather us die together. And if the world’s gonna blow up, it’s gonna do it with or without your help.”

  Martin could sympathize with Beth’s logic. Perhaps had the roles been reversed, he might have used the same argument. But the rolesweren’t reversed, were they? Bethhadn’t sworn an oath of allegiance to protect her country against all enemies. Itwasn’t her responsibility to ensure that the strategic war aims of the United States were met, for better or for worse. All of these thingswere , however, his responsibility. As frightened as he was, he would never be able to live with himself were he to fold at the most important time of all.

  Despite Beth’s weak attempts to physically restrain him, he went upstairs to start packing his overnight bag, leaving her sobbing into her hands. She didn’t give a damn what Cathy or Patrick thought of her for doing so. Only a vague part of her mind registered what the talking heads were saying on the TV.

  “And now, the President of the United States.”

  THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON D.C.

  “My fellow Americans.” President Mitchell began to read from the TelePrompTer. His neutral expression masked the abject terror he felt inside. “It is with deep regret that I report to you on events that have transpired this evening. Events that pose the greatest threat to world peace since the Second World War.”

  THE KREMLIN, MOSCOW

  President Pushkin lit a Havana cigar and reclined in his chair, listening impassively to the dubbed translation of Mitchell’s address, which was now being broadcast live around the world.

  “Just over an hour ago, the Secretary of State received notification from the Russian Ambassador to the United States that the use of nuclear weapons against Ukrainian ground forces had been authorized by Russian premiere Pushkin. Although the Ambassador has given assurances that this operation is not intended as a precursor to any further use of nuclear weapons, this administration treats the use of such weapons as a matter of the gravest consequence.”

  It had been just over two hours since Pushkin had issued the authorization codes for the attack. Anytime now, he knew, six TU-95 ‘Bear’ bombers would take off from bases in Southern Russia for their designated targets inside the Ukraine. Each of them was carrying two AS-15 ‘Kent’ ALCMs, both tipped with a twenty kiloton tactical nuclear warhead. Big enough to blow up a small town. Or indeed an armored brigade. The weapons, Yazov had told him, were relatively ‘clean’, which apparently meant that the fallout would be limited to the immediate vicinity of the targets. Prevailing weather patterns would carry any radioactive fallout south, away from the Russian border, or so the Russian Army’s meteorological office had claimed.

  But the material damage was of little interest to Pushkin. He was more concerned that he had shown enough resolve to be the first leader to use a nuclear device in the twenty-first century. Today would be remembered as the day that Russia once again became a superpower feared by all mankind. And Pushkin would be the champion of that renaissance. Yes, that was much more important than radioactive clouds, wasn’t it? Radioactive clouds faded with time, but reputations did not.

  “I regret to inform you that I have been unable to contact President Pushkin,” Mitchell was saying. “But, if he is watching this broadcast, I urge him to refrain from this murderous course of action.”

  Pushkin thought that his American counterpart looked scared. So, they had finally started taking Russia seriously. That was a start, wasn’t it?

  ARNOLD, MARYLAND

  Jo pulled on her coat as she listened to the President’s address. If there was going to be a war, there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it other than to carry on doing her job until the world went up in a puff of smoke. Somehow, she doubted other people would see things quite the same way. Her mind clouded with images of panic buying and civil unrest on a hellish scale. The vision caused her to shudder.

  “… and are in danger of losing the conflict in Ukraine,” the President was reporting, “However, this does not excuse an action which, if carried out, will set a dangerous precedent for generations to come. The use of nuclear weapons is an abhorrent act, which contravenes binding treaties that have been ratified by both the Russian and US governments over the past several decades. This development simply cannot be tolerated. Russia’s actions, if carried out, would be those of a reckless and cowardly government which clearly has scant regard for world peace.

  “Accordingly, I have ordered that all American military forces around the world be placed on a state of general alert as a purely precautionary measure. I am also consulting with my advisors and America’s allies to discuss further punitive measures against Russia, including the use of economic and trade sanctions. Further
more, I issue this message to the Russian President. Any use of nuclear weapons that either directly or indirectly causes harm to American interests, or those of our NATO allies, will be considered an act of war.”

  Jo involuntarily flinched at that remark. This was as real as it got.

  “My advice to you, the American people, is to stay home. Don’t panic. Your government is working to resolve this crisis in a timely and peaceful manner. I will keep you informed of developments as they unfold. In the meantime, goodbye, God bless you all. And God bless the United States of America.”

  It occurred to Jo that the responsible thing might be to head north to Canada. That’s what her husband -ex husband, she corrected herself - would have advised her to do.

  “Damn,” she muttered to herself. “If it all goes to hell, not even Canada will be safe.”

  With that bleak thought, she switched off the TV and left her house for work. She couldn’t help wondering if she was doing so for the last time.

  CONROE, TEXAS

  Tabatha kept glancing in her rear view mirror. Although she knew there was no way Dick could possibly track her, that didn’t stop her being afraid. She’d spent her whole life being afraid of him, so why stop now? Actually, what really concerned her was the prospect of being pulled over by the cops. That was why she was driving so carefully. Tabatha knew that the first thing the cops would do would be to call her parents. And then she’d find herself in a world of hurt. Fortunately for Tabatha, her mature looks defied her fifteen years -fifteen today! What a fucking birthday, huh? - and weren’t likely to attract undue suspicion.

  Nina sat in the front passenger seat, staring blankly at the road ahead, an anxious look etched on her face. She hadn’t said a word since passing through Houston’s city limits. Rhonda and Gary were in the back; Gary sound asleep with his head rested on Rhonda’s lap. The fact that Gary was sleeping and not crying prevented Tabatha from turning on the radio. She didn’t want to disturb him.

  “How we doin’ on gas?” Rhonda whispered.

  Tabatha checked the fuel gauge. Not good. And the four children didn’t have enough money between them for a gallon, never mind a full tank. Tomorrow, once the banks were open, she’d be able to cash a check on her mother’s account. But not tonight. And it was tonight that she needed money.

  “We’ve got enough to make it to Huntsville,” she said. “They’ll have banks there. We might have to hunker down for the night, find a side road or sum’ tin. You mind?”

  Nina shrugged, frowning skeptically. The look didn’t go unnoticed by Tabatha.

  “You got a problem wit’ that, girl?”

  “How long d’ya think we’re gonna get away wit’ this?” Nina muttered. “Sooner or later, the old man’s gonna catch up with us. The longer we’re gone, the worse it’s gonna be. I say we turn back.”

  Tabatha nodded as if she understood. Then she eased the pick-up into the right hand lane and slowed down, pulling to a stop on the roadside. Nina shot her a quizzical stare.

  When Tabatha spoke, there was an explicit challenge in her tone. It was herI-won’t-take-any-shit voice. “You wanna go back?” she offered. “Then git. You walk back, girl, and you explain to the old man whass gone down. But you gonna be lonely, cos the rest of us are headin’ north.”

  Nina stared at her.

  “I ain't kiddin’, Nina. You go. Should make it to the city limits by dawn. You’ll be dead by midday, once the old man gets his hands on you.”

  “I ain’t goin’ alone,” Nina said weakly.

  “Then you ain’t goin’, period,” Tabatha stated. “Now you gonna put a sock in it, or what?”

  Nina didn’t have to think long about that. She nodded in dejection, not meeting her older sister’s eyes.

  As Tabatha pulled into the traffic again, she addressed her siblings in an even, matter-of-fact fashion that left no room for argument. “We’ve been ‘fraid for a long time. We can deal with anything now, as long as we all remember the reasons we runnin’. Now I’m gonna get you kids through this. You just gotta believe in me. Got it?”

  Nina didn’t react, but Rhonda nodded fervently. She’d seen Tabatha in this mood before, and knew that her older sister was in no mood to tolerate dissension. Big Sis had her bossy hat on. That meant no arguments, no complaints. Period.

  “Ain’t nothin’ to be ‘fraid of now,” Tabatha muttered, trying to convince herself as much as convince the kids. “Nothin’ at all.”

  V

  FIRST STRIKE

  "It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens."

  Baha’u’llah

  NEW YORK CITY

  No sooner had the President’s speech finished than the terror began to set in. Late night supermarkets found themselves besieged by frightened hordes. People were buying as much as they could, as quickly as possible. Batteries, bottled water and canned food were especially in demand. Within ten minutes of the President’s address, the shelves of many late night stores across America were virtually empty.

  Surprisingly, the panic buying was for the most part orderly to begin with. But, inevitably, that would change. The first reported incident of civil disorder occurred in the Crown Heights district of New York City, where Charlie Benzotti and his wife Carla owned a small grocery store.

  The Benzottis had two grown up children, neither of who had anything to do with the family business. Robert was a Sergeant in the U.S. Marines, while Amy was at college studying for a Law degree. Both were a source of great pride to their parents, who like many post-war immigrants, had arrived in America with little more than a strong belief in the importance of education and family values.

  The Benzotti grocery store was well established in the neighborhood and, apart from the occasional robbery that was to be expected in this part of town, Charlie and Carla shared a good rapport with their hard core of regular customers. They prided themselves on being able to offer everything the locals might need at reasonable prices. It was often said that the Benzottis’ shelves were never empty. That was because Charlie’s brother-in-law, who ran a discount warehouse in New Jersey, was their main supplier. Otherwise they would have gone bankrupt years ago.

  After hearing the presidential address on his wireless, Charlie had suggested to his wife that they should keep the shop open late that night, since people would be wanting to stock up on food and other necessities. Besides, he’d told his wife, the extra money would come in useful for Amy’s twenty-first birthday next month. Privately, the Benzottis were as worried about the crisis as anyone else, especially with Robert being stationed at Okinawa, but by unspoken mutual consent, that was an issue they didn’t discuss. Charlie hoped that matters would be resolved peacefully. Just as they had during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

  So, with some reluctance, Carla had agreed to help him keep the shop open until 2am to service their customers as the Benzottis had been doing for over forty years. That way, at least they would still be awake when Amy returned home from her date. She had gone out that evening with her latest spotty, longhaired boyfriend, a musician or something of the like. Carla hoped her daughter - who seemed to be returning home later and later every night - had remained pure. So many bad influences in the world today…

  The panic started no more than five minutes after the President had finished his address. Even Charlie, who considered himself a keen observer of human nature, was surprised at how quickly people reacted. Normally sane individuals rushed through the aisles, grabbing things they wouldn’t normally buy (and in many cases couldn’t afford). Charlie urged his customers to calm down, but nobody seemed to be listening. He didn’t know whether they were buying things through genuine fear or just to make sure that nobody else got them first. Whatever the reason, his till enjoyed its busiest night ever. Nuclear War was good for business, he mused to himself, so long as it didn’t actually happen.

  As word of t
he crisis spread among those who had missed the President’s address, the panic buying intensified. A population that took for granted the bare necessities of life had suddenly been gripped by the collective fear that bare necessities might not be in such plentiful supply in future. Bottled water, tinned food and condensed milk were by far the most popular items. Cigarettes, sanitary towels, and medicines also sold out quickly. One woman bought thirty tubes of toothpaste, as if clean teeth would be of such importance in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.

  The amazing thing was that nobody seemed to be worried about overspending their monthly grocery budget in one night, money having been relegated in importance by a far greater fear than that of poverty. This wasn’t a wealthy neighborhood, and Charlie hoped that his customers wouldn’t come back seeking a refund once the crisis had blown over and they realized how much unnecessary shopping they had done.

  Within an hour, the Benzottis’ shelves were almost empty for the first time either of them could remember. Carla gleefully estimated that they had taken over a thousand dollars in barely a couple of hours, and her mind was already calculating ways in which to spend it on Amy’s birthday. Meanwhile, late night shoppers, realizing how late they actually were, began to demonstrate the first signs of hysteria. Charlie tried to explain to his desperate customers that he was not expecting another delivery of supplies for at least two more days. One man reminded him that the world might have blown up by then.