Читать книгу The Crusaders of the Saltire - William Speir - Страница 9

December 23, 8:05 PM

Washington, D.C.

The commentators announced that they were going live to the White House. The image changed to show Vice President Sanborn standing behind the podium looking grim.

“My fellow Americans,” he began, “it’s with great sadness that I inform you that President Hampton was assassinated this afternoon in what appears to be a terrorist attack on his motorcade.

“From what we know at this time, a hand-held rocket was fired at his car when it was returning from the National Cathedral. This trip was unscheduled, and we don’t know how anyone could have known where the President would be at that exact time. Three cars within the motorcade were destroyed. The First Lady, the President’s son, his Chief of Staff, and his Press Secretary were also killed in the attack.

“At this time, we have no clues as to who was responsible for the attack, but we’re investigating with all available resources. I swear to each and every one of you that we’ll find out who was responsible and bring him or them to justice for this cowardly and dastardly attack on our President and our nation. We’ll keep you informed as we get more information.

“I ask all Americans to join me in prayer tonight. President Hampton was a great man and a great American. He will be sorely missed by everyone. Pray for his soul, pray for the Presidency, and pray for our country. We need to be strong in this hour of darkness. God bless us, and God bless America.”

The nation went into mourning almost immediately. By the next day, flags around the country were flying at half-staff, and black bunting hung from most buildings.

The news reports were unable to provide any more details on what had happened. Photos of the scene of the attack were released, showing the extent of the devastation caused by the rocket. The explosion was so forceful that it was difficult to separate the remains of President Hampton from the other occupants of the limousine. The decision was finally made to cremate the remains. The urn was placed within a specially-designed coffin that was laid in state under the Capitol rotunda for a week, so mourners from around the world could say goodbye to the President.

In a quiet ceremony in the Oval Office, Vice President Sanborn was sworn in as President of the United States. His inaugural address was short and to the point: the culprits would be captured and brought to justice, and steps would be taken to ensure that nothing like this could ever happen again. The safety and security of the nation would be his highest priority.

President Sanborn selected Senator George Irwin Sheppard to be his Vice President, and the nomination was swiftly approved by Congress. Vice President Sheppard was a freshman Senator, and many wondered at the choice. But with the nation rallying around the new President, the speculations and comments quickly ceased.

President Sanborn wasted no time settling into his new position. He immediately began recalling military forces from around the world, and he placed them on highest alert so they’d be ready to deal with any situation. He appointed the Secretary of Homeland Security to coordinate all activities related to preventing any future attacks on American soil and placed combined resources from the military and the Department of Justice under Homeland Security’s oversight.

A number of new laws and regulations were quickly passed as well that were applauded by most Americans. He eliminated the H1B Visa program and ordered all foreign nationals working in the United States to return to their home countries. He cancelled all student visas and had all foreign nationals attending American universities and schools sent home. Outsourcing American jobs to other countries was made illegal, and he gave companies who had offshore outsourcing contracts six months to bring all of those jobs back into the United States. He had the borders sealed to immigrants and cancelled all green card applications that were still pending. Foreign nationals were given one month to get their affairs in order and leave the country. Seasonal agriculture work permits were also cancelled.

Sanborn eliminated social welfare benefits to non-citizens. He implemented a National ID Card program that not only had a photo of the individual, but also had a smart chip that contained personal information, medical history, and fingerprints, retina scans and other biometric information about each citizen. He changed the law that allowed for any person born in the United States to automatically become a citizen. “If your parents aren’t citizens,” President Sanborn stated when he proposed the law to Congress, “then you’re not a citizen either just because you’re born here.”

Unemployment began to drop dramatically as a result of President Sanborn’s new social and economic initiatives. Government spending on crime prevention across the country rose, and the crime rates dropped. Americans felt safe and secure, and they praised the President for making life better for everyone.

The mainstream press was unusually positive about the President and his Administration. No President had allowed the press to have as much access as President Sanborn did, which gave the members of the White House press corps the sense that they were part of the Administration, rather than outside observers of its inner workings.

As the deadline approached for foreign nationals to leave the United States, a number of incidents occurred all around the country. Car bombs were set off in over a dozen major cities. Two commercial airliners, filled with passengers, were shot down by the same type of rocket that had destroyed President Hampton’s motorcade. Several utility company stations were bombed, causing an instability in the power grid that led to a major blackout across the mid-Atlantic region. A missile was fired at Boulder Dam, but overshot and exploded in the water instead.

President Sanborn was quick to respond to these terrorist attacks. He accelerated the deportation of all foreign nationals – in some cases, rounding up whole families and putting them on airplanes with only the clothes they were wearing.

He created a new security force within the Department of Homeland Security that would be separate from local police and the FBI. “Their job is not to investigate crimes, but to prevent crimes that could jeopardize the safety and security of America and its assets. Just like the Transportation Security Administration protects our ports of entry, the Homeland Security Force will protect our important national assets, such as energy distribution, telecommunications, ground transportation, and other assets that are deemed vulnerable or targets of our enemies.”

Most Americans welcomed President Sanborn’s actions for keeping them safe. The attacks demonstrated all too clearly how vulnerable America was to terrorism. President Sanborn promised to keep everyone safe, and so far he was keeping his promise. Most Americans were happy, but others wondered what the true price of safety would end up being.