The Last Full Measure Read online

Buzz went on. “Obviously, that question upset you a great deal. And I can see … I can tell from looking at you that this is tough. I only mention it because so many citizens of Idaho and Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Texas have endured incredibly painful losses. As someone who shares their pain, what would you like to say to them right now?”

  People were missing husbands, brothers, mothers, and friends and family of all kinds. Thousands of people were dead, and I was supposed to say something that would make it all better? “We need to end the war,” I said. Then, catching Buzz’s disapproving look, I went on. “I know it hurts, but we can’t let our losses be for nothing. We have to make it count. We have to … sacrifice … so that we can be free. We need to beat the United States of America.” I needed to jazz this up, make it sound like something I would have wanted to hear back when I was burning for revenge on the Fed. “And we can win this war! All we have to do is have courage and stay in the fight. Rise up! We will give them a war!”

  I hated the words even as I said them, but Buzz smiled and clapped.

  “That’s the spirit!” Buzz said. “I couldn’t have said it any better myself. That’s about all the time we have today for the interview, but thanks for being on the show, Danny. And to all our brave soldiers out there fighting for our freedom against the tyranny of the United States, I think I speak for Danny Wright, and for all of us, when I say keep up the good work. We’re all counting on you, and you’re doing a great job. We’re going to turn it over to several important updates from the Republic of Idaho Radio News, and then we’ll be right back.”

  “You’re clear, Danny,” Paul said through my headset. “You can come on out now.”

  Back in the control room, Paul shook my hand. “Thanks a lot, Danny. Buzz wasn’t kidding. We don’t have a lot of guests on the show, and you did great. Can I get you some coffee? Water?” He shrugged. “We ran out of water bottles months ago, but the tap is still pretty clean.”

  “I’m fine. Thanks.” I joined JoBell in front of the wall-sized screen, and she pulled me into a tight hug.

  “I know that was tough,” she whispered. “But this is almost over. We’ll go home soon.”

  “Buzz has another segment after the short news break, and then he wants to talk to you off the air during the longer hard break. Do you mind hanging around until then?” Paul asked.

  We had no place to go around here and no ride to get there, even if Major Leonard allowed us to leave, so I nodded. “At least you can watch your news again,” I said to JoBell.

  “All of it bad.” She picked up a comm and tapped to switch the large center feed and the sound to a different channel.

  “— tactical redeployment was a terrible idea. By the time US Army and Air Force assets cooperated to retake Fort Sill, insurgents had already seized weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and hardware. So we suffered a demoralizing defeat in Idaho to gain what amounts to a bombed-out shell of a former Army base on some useless ground. The same is true of Fort Hood and other bases in Texas. The US military has control of those places now, but they’re essentially destroyed.”

  JoBell flopped down in a swivel chair. “Old news.” She tapped the comm hard to switch feeds again.

  “You’re watching United States Television. USTV. Hope for a united America. The latest combined federal, rebel combatant, and civilian casualty estimate has topped twenty-five thousand, an increase of about eight thousand deaths since —”

  Not again. At least three times a week, one side or the other gave us casualty figures. The reports were never in agreement. The US always said more rebels were dying. Idaho said the opposite. “Jo, I can’t stand to hear about —”

  She changed feeds. “In an Entertainment Television exclusive, Kat Simpson, star of the teen vampire blockbuster Nightfall, will be disappointed to learn that her onetime on- and offscreen romance Ron Porter is the father of singer Molly Curtis’s future child. Molly, who only confirmed baby bump speculation last week, says her tour will continue, and daddy-to-be Porter can watch her, quote, ‘twerk that baby into the world.’ Certainly much-needed happy news in the face of the civil war. The baby’s name? Are you ready for this? Ron and Molly plan to name her Peace.”

  “Oh, goody for them,” said JoBell. She shook her head and switched the sound and main screen to another channel.

  “President Griffith and the National Nuclear Security Administration are working with the FBI, the NSA, and the military to recover the two missing nuclear warheads —”

  “— for a hearing regarding accusations of price gouging for generators, emergency rations, chemical toilets, and other high-demand items —”

  “— the largest manhunt in United States history, in the history of the world, is ultimately hampered by a lack of trust. Air Force Colonel Arnold Woodruff and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Doyle, the assumed masterminds behind the theft, were in command at what we are calling Missile Silos One and Two. Both possessed the technical knowledge for removing the Minuteman IV five-hundred-kiloton warheads and for disabling certain security protocols. Both are missing. But with the United States accusing rebel leaders of harboring these men and their accomplices, and with rebel leadership accusing the United States of orchestrating these thefts for its own purposes, the task of finding the suspects becomes increasingly complicated.”

  “— for Disease Control in Atlanta has issued a warning about the danger of infection from direct contact with or inadequate storage of human remains. Effective immediately, the following policy has been —”

  “— theft and armed robbery through the roof. You know how many homes have been flat-out abandoned by people leavin’ the city? Now we gotta deal with squatters, vandalism, turf wars. And this ain’t just Brooklyn. Ain’t just New York. Got an old cop buddy in Dallas. His homicide division can’t handle all the bodies. How’s they s’posed to separate normal murders from combat deaths? Who handles that? You tell me! Lagging police response times? Get out of here —”

  “— If you see something, say something. It will save lives —”

  “Damn,” JoBell said. The news might be getting her down, but I think at least a part of her secretly welcomed being informed, that feeling of connectedness to the world and current events she always seemed to crave. She switched the main feed again.

  “Federal investigators have confirmed the identity of the human remains found in a hog confinement outside of Shawano, Wisconsin, as those of Army Specialist Randal Bishop, who had been assigned to security at Missile Silo One. Due to the condition of the remains, it was impossible to determine the cause of death, but this discovery might lend some credence to the theory that those responsible for stealing the nuclear warheads, and the warheads themselves, have quite possibly left the rebel territories —”

  “Change it,” I said. “Nothing new there. They keep blathering on about the same stuff. They’re looking for the bombs. We get it.”

  “— Laura Griffith is strong, but she’s also a mother. A grieving mother. She even gave the order to rush the Air Force Academy cadets through their pilot training, which may have contributed to her son being shot down over Idaho. It might not be inappropriate to ask if she is really mentally fit for her current position. It’s a medical fact that there are certain hormonal differences, and when that is coupled with grief, fatigue, and —”

  “Exactly the kind of sexist crap I’d expect from Fox News,” JoBell said. “Can we get radio in here?”

  “This is a radio station,” Paul laughed. He made a few taps on the control comm and the audio switched to a radio feed. JoBell swiped and tapped some more.

  “From NPR News, this is Everything That Matters. I’m David Benson. New fires have broken out at Texas oil wells and refineries as a result of military —”

  Buzz came into the control room. “The only toxic air in here is coming from NPR! Someone switch off that liberal propaganda!” He snatched the comm out of JoBell’s hands and changed the main wall screen to a debate in Congress. “Li
ttle C-Span. At least then we can see what those crooks are up to.” The senator on-screen said something about an Emergency Agricultural Bill and a food shortage as Buzz lowered the volume. He puffed on his cigar. “Not bad for your first time, Danny.” He patted my back. “Now for next time, we’ll set you up with a list of good talking points to help you with —”

  “Next time?” I asked.

  He looked confused. “Well, yes. Didn’t President Montaine tell you? He believes that ongoing appearances on my program will be the best way for you to help with the war effort, the best way for you to motivate people, and I agree.”

  “My friend has been in Boise for surgery, but he should be ready to go home soon,” I said. “I was hoping to go with him.”

  “And Danny isn’t going to be your sock puppet,” JoBell said. “He’s not going to read some propaganda script that you plop down in front of him.”

  Buzz laughed. “Little spitfire, this one, eh, Danny?”

  JoBell folded her arms. “I’m standing right here.”

  “Honey, I’m not talking about providing him with a script or making him say anything he doesn’t want to say. I just want to remind him of those parts of his story that so many people have found so inspiring. You gotta relax, sweetheart. You’re starting to sound like Lazy Laura Griffith.”

  JoBell glared at him. “I’m not your honey, or your sweetheart.”

  Buzz’s jaw stiffened. In the silence, the senator on-screen continued. “It is our job, our responsibility to the people we represent, to make sure they have enough to eat. Their very lives depend —”

  The lights in the Senate chamber went out. The image shook, and I could just barely make out senators gripping their seats. “Oh no —”

  The image cut to static and then to a blue screen. A second later, a dozen or so other feeds on the wall screen did the same. “Paul, what’s going on?” Buzz said to his producer. “I thought Montaine’s people had this fixed.”

  “I don’t get it.” Paul checked some readouts on a different screen. “We should be up. This is showing all our equipment is —”

  At nearly the same time, all the blue screens switched to black with the words “Emergency Alert System” in bold white letters near the top. Three short screeches sounded, followed by a long, high-pitched tone. Seconds later, our comms began to buzz the same way.

  “No,” JoBell whispered. “What now?”

  “This is an automated emergency recording from the United States federal government.” The male voice from the screen sounded completely fake, like it was coming from an antique computer. “A debilitating thermonuclear detonation has been detected in Washington, DC. If you are receiving this message take shelter immediately and conserve all food fuel and water. If you are outdoors find shelter immediately within a sturdy structure ditch or low-lying area. Remain sheltered and await instructions from federal authorities. All government officials designated for the line of presidential succession must immediately transmit their identification codes on Homeland Security Emergency Channel One. Repeating. This is an automated emergency recording from the United States federal government….”

  Thermonuclear detonation. The missing warheads. Griffith had been trying to find them, but she was too late. Now she was gone.

  This couldn’t be happening.

  “All those people,” JoBell cried. I wrapped my arms around her shaking body. “How many live in DC?”

  There were tears in the producer’s eyes. “I think … Buzz. That we’ll kind of wrap up … I mean, it will be all news now. God help us all.”

  Buzz hadn’t moved the whole time. A long piece of ash dangled from the end of his cigar. He dropped it and slammed his fist into the center feed of the wall screen. “No!” The screen cracked and sparked. Three lines of deep red blood ran down over the scramble of bright static. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way! We were building a true conservative nation! Not a damned … Not a nuclear … The US is going to blame Idaho for this. They’ll nuke us for this! Damn it!” He kicked over a swivel chair on his way into his studio.

  Major Leonard came back from the corner where he’d been on his radio. “I have orders to take you back to your hotel room,” he said to me and JoBell. “You’ll be secure there. Obviously, the situation has changed.”

  I rubbed the old, aching ghost wound in my left hand. “Sir, the situation has just gone straight to hell.”

  —• mean the box is bigger on the inside and can travel anywhere in time and space? But that’s … that’s fantastic. Doc —”

  “This is BBC1. Now a change to the schedule as we join BBC News 24.”

  “We’re int … We’re interrupting normal programs to bring you terrible news from the United States, where at about half past six United Kingdom time, two nuclear devices simultaneously exploded in New York and Washington, DC. The devastating loss of human life is still being calculated but is easily in the millions, with hundreds of British citizens among those killed. British intelligence is unsure whether United States President Laura Griffith has survived. She was scheduled for a trip to California, but at present, her location is unknown, and it is unclear what form the American government will take, if it has survived at all. Prime Minister Carman’s office has released a statement assuring citizens of the United Kingdom that the British military stands at the ready, and preparations are being made in the event that this is the beginning of a nuclear war.

  “Taking you now to live footage of a spontaneous vigil taking place at St. Paul’s Cathedral here in London, where we are told Her Majesty the Queen will be making an address later tonight.

  “We have many more details to relate to you, but we are cutting now to startling footage from New York. Here you see •—

  —• Please stand by for an emergency announcement from the president of the United States.”

  “I am horrified to have to report to you from our new, temporary national capital aboard Air Force One. A short time ago, two … two nuclear devices were detonated on American soil. Washington, DC, has been completely destroyed, and catastrophic damage has been inflicted on New York City, with ground zero in the heart of lower Manhattan. So far, there have been no other detonations, though the United States military is on guard against further attacks. My senior military advisers have informed me that … based on the magnitude of the explosion and the radioactive fallout … the damage is consistent with that caused by a five-hundred-kiloton nuclear device of the kind that we have been searching for — stolen from the Minuteman IV intercontinental ballistic missiles in Montana.

  “We have no reason to believe this was an attack perpetrated by foreign powers. No missiles, submarine launches, or bombers were detected before the explosions. I wish to assure the nations of the world that the United States is in full control of its nuclear arsenal. We are absolutely not launching any nuclear counterstrikes.

  “We are still learning all we can about this devastating attack, and we will share more information as soon as possible. While the electromagnetic pulses released by these ground bursts were much less severe than they would have been had we suffered a nuclear air burst, my advisors estimate severe damage to electronic equipment and electrical infrastructure along the entire Eastern Seaboard. As a result, millions of people relatively far outside the blast and radiation zones may be without power. Many may not be able to receive this message. Our nation’s military is moving into the affected areas as quickly as possible. Nevertheless, I appeal to all of you. If you are receiving this message, please do what you can to pass it along to those who cannot. I’m urging everyone along the Eastern Seaboard to take shelter, and to conserve all necessary resources. Remember, even if your area appears unaffected, you increase your risk of exposure to deadly radiation when you go outdoors. Have hope. Help is on the way.

  “My fellow Americans, we must prepare ourselves for terrible news and for incredibly sad days ahead. The information we have is only preliminary, but casualties are estimated to be in the m
illions. As both the House of Representatives and the Senate were in session, most of Congress has been lost, along with many senior government and military officials. Today we grieve a loss that is almost unfathomable, but I want to assure the nation and the world that the United States of America lives on, our government lives on, and together we will rise from the ashes of this, our darkest day. Further updates will follow. •—

  —• I’m Al Hudson, and I promise you, we’re going to stay on the air here in the CNN Civil War Situation Room in Atlanta. We’ve suspended our paid subscription format to bring you our programming for free. We will also be letting you know which of our competitors’ networks have resumed broadcasting. Competition and profit don’t matter at a time like this, and we want to help people get information no matter where they are.

  This is what we know, and, God help us, the situation is terrible. Beginning with Washington, DC. As many of you saw a few hours ago, President Griffith is still alive and apparently in some kind of control of the country, though how much control anyone might have at a time like this is uncertain. Reports suggest that ground zero is in the very heart of the capital. Despite stringent security measures designed to prevent the missing warheads from moving into DC, the origin point of the blast appears to be right along what used to be Pennsylvania Avenue. Everything — the Capitol, the White House, the Supreme Court, and nearly every residence — has been completely destroyed. Casualties are nearly 100 percent. The radiation dispersal pattern appears to be spreading as far northeast as Paterson, New Jersey, and Philadelphia and Baltimore are currently exposed to dangerously high levels of radioactive fallout.

  Turning to New York. All of Manhattan as well as parts of Brooklyn and New Jersey have been leveled. Burn injuries are being reported from Staten Island to Upper Manhattan. Elevated radiation levels have been detected as far north as New Hampshire and as far west as Pittsburgh. Evacuation of these and many other irradiated cities has begun, but the task of moving millions of sick and injured people is daunting.