Code Word: Paternity, A Presidential Thriller Read Online Free PDF

hole in the ground. I can’t hide!
    I
might as well begin with one who’ll probably be reasonable.
    “Helen?”
    “Mr. President, take us inside your head
for a moment. What are you feeling, what are your priorities, how are you
handling this shock yourself?”
    “Helen, I’m saddened beyond words by this
tragic event. Ella and I have seen the same pictures most Americans have on
television and the Internet. It’s heartbreaking—and also infuriating! As I told
the nation last night, this country is going to support the victims, rebuild,
deal with the killers, and take steps to keep this from happening again, not
only to Americans, but to any people!”
    The instant he stopped speaking shouts
filled the air. He picked a question that served his purpose, pointing to a man
in jeans and a wrinkled pink oxford, sleeves rolled up to forearms.
    “Mr. President, if it was al-Qaeda do you
believe they are capable of having made that bomb, or did some country sell it
to them?”
    Rick considered Paternity and the
probability that it would soon provide an answer. “I’m not an expert in this,
but while I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that al-Qaeda has the expertise
to build such a bomb, I think the odds are they acquired it, most likely by
theft, but perhaps with the knowledge of a nuclear-armed country.”
    As reporters scribbled, a booming, angry
voice cut through the clamor that followed his answer. “Mr. President, your
administration failed to protect the American people!”
    Shifting his gaze to the rear where a
damp stain marked the wall, the president saw a man whose name he didn’t
recall. Well, it didn’t take long to get
to that , he thought, and said, “Please repeat your question.”
    “Mr. President, the Martin administration
failed to protect the American people from this attack, despite years of
warning that terrorists could get a nuke. Why? What went wrong?”
    Several journalists exchanged knowing
glances.
    He and Sam had crafted his answer, but
Martin paused as if considering before saying, “Yes, the government did fail to
protect the American people. Today the government is led by my administration,
and having been president of the United States since January I
accept responsibility.”
    Several shouted questions were
follow-ups, but he didn’t want to go there and instead answered a sharp-faced
woman who said, “What about our nuclear forces—have you put them on high
alert?”
    “I don’t think our nuclear-armed subs,
bombers, and missiles are the most important part of our response right now. As
a precaution we have put our military, including nuclear forces, on higher
alert. But it’s really others—the police, the FBI, Customs and Border
Protection, the National Guard—that are the most important at this point.”
    “Mr. President, are you saying that
nuclear deterrence has failed?” Rick knew the answer was yes, but he wasn’t
going there until he had answers for the follow-up questions, so he was glad to
hear others shouting about Las Vegas.
Pointing to one of them, Martin said “I think you asked me about Las Vegas, but I didn’t
hear your question clearly.”
    “Mr. President, Americans want to know
how many people have been killed and injured and what’s being done right now to
help the victims and their families.”
    “I’m sure they do. Right now we don’t
know the numbers, although they are certainly in the hundreds of thousands.
Greater Las Vegas
has—had—a population of about a million. The scale of this attack, plus the
danger to rescuers from radioactivity, is delaying our efforts to identify or
even count the dead and assist the injured. FEMA, with the strong assistance of
the Nevada National Guard and surviving Las
Vegas first responders, has established an assistance
perimeter around the city. Survivors who are able to reach this perimeter are
decontaminated and given medical treatment and other assistance. Our military
is helping, too; evacuation by