Chapter 38

The afternoon courier stopped by the office with a memo from headquarters for Mike. Opening the envelope, he read the memo with a frown. The Asian Sections were scheduled to begin moving to Texas in two months. Although he had been the one who had suggested distributing analysts around the country, the reality of it coming to pass bothered him. He had family and friends in the area that he would have to leave behind.

He dropped the memo on his desk and looked around the room at the people who worked for him. Although everyone had known this day was coming, he wondered how they would react to the news. Putting off the delivery of the bad news would not accomplish anything. He turned to his computer and entered the command that would initiate a conference call among all of the offices that he oversaw.

Everyone looked up from their computers when the three beeps announced that a conference call was being established. Usually that was a sign that something significant was happening that would require everyone’s immediate attention. Fifteen seconds later, the screens at the front of the room showed all of the locations managed by Mike.

Clearing his throat, Mike said, “First of all, let me tell everyone to relax. This is not an emergency.”

There were visible signs of relief as everyone sagged in their seats. He gave everyone a moment to regroup and said, “The reason I called is that I just received news that we’ll begin moving to Texas in two months. I know that a lot of people have been concerned about this move and question the need for it. Let me just say that it was initiated at a time when we were clear targets of forces aligned against America. That situation doesn’t seem as imminent today as it did then, but there are signs that others would like to harm us.”

Shirley said, “Like someone trying to kill you.”

“That hasn’t been established as a fact, Shirley,” Mike said turning to look at her.

All attempts to locate a photograph of the assailant with sufficient detail to enable the face recognition software to recognize him had failed. The search had come to a complete dead end. Frustrated and angry, Cathy said, “Right. It’s just a coincidence that another guy by the name of Mike Bowman gets called to a mall to find out about a potential terrorist attack and gets shot.”

“This isn’t about me and my situation. This is about moving to Texas,” Mike said putting a halt to the digression that was about to derail the conference call. He looked back at the monitors at the front of the room and said, “A complete schedule and an information packet describing the economic support for the move will be distributed to everyone by the end of the week.”

“What kind of support are we talking about?”

“I’m not sure. I assume that it will be the same kind of package that you received when you first joined up. I imagine it will cover the costs associated with selling your house, packing up, moving, and buying a new house,” Mike answered looking at the faces of everyone on the monitors. They didn’t look all that pleased by the lack of real information in his answer. He understood their feelings.

“When you find out, could you tell us?”

“As of this minute, you know as much as I do. I suggest that we have another conference call late Friday after the information packets have been distributed. I might not have any answers, but I’ll listen to your questions and take them to someone who might be able to answer them,” Mike said.

“That’s a good idea.”

Smiling at the comment, Mike said, “Thanks. I’m glad to know that I occasionally have one of those.”

His reply produced the expected round of laughter.

Getting a little more serious, he said, “I know this is going to be a major disruption in your lives. It’s no less of a disruption in my life. After all, I have to pack up and move to Texas just like everyone else.”

His answer reminded them that he was going to share their problems. He said, “I don’t want this move to disrupt our ability to operate effectively. Our work is important and a moment of inattention could have long lasting consequences.

“I know that the move will require us to take care of personal matters during business hours when banks, insurance agents, realtors, and others are available. Take care of business when you have to, but don’t abuse it. Make sure that someone is in place to cover your specific area of interest when you have to leave.”

Mike held out his arms as Karen made her way to him. He picked her up and hugged her when she reached him. He said, “My goodness, you walk real good.”

“Unk,” Karen said with a giggle.

“You’re such a big girl,” Mike said as Karen toddled off. She returned half a minute later with her favorite toy and showed it to Mike. It was one of the stuffed animals he had given her. Mike said, “Oh my, that’s such a pretty tiger.”

Standing off to the side, Cathy and Teva were watching Mike play with Karen. Cathy could feel her biological clock ticking and knew she was looking at the man she hoped would turn off the alarm before it rang. She whispered to Teva, “It’s hard to believe how comfortable he is with kids.”

“He’s a good man,” Teva said grinning at Cathy. She understood exactly what the young woman was feeling.

“Yeah,” Cathy said feeling a little down. It seemed to her that the relationship with Mike was progressing in slow motion.

Patting Cathy on the arm, Teva said, “Don’t worry. He’ll ask you to marry him.”

Mike looked across the dinner table at his in-laws and said, “I got the news that I’ll be moving to Texas in two months.”

Vincent didn’t think there was anything unusual about having to move around for a job. He’d been stationed in a lot of different places over the course of his career. He did know that it was a little difficult leaving behind one area and moving to a new one.

He said, “Although we knew that it was coming, I’m sorry to see the day arrive.”

Sally looked at Mike and said, “I hope that you’re going to marry Cathy before you move. I’d really like to attend the ceremony.”

Mike fidgeted in his seat and said, “I don’t know. Things are a little complicated at the moment.”

Sally raised an eyebrow and asked, “What is so complicated that you can’t marry her?”

“I’d rather not say,” Mike answered.

Rather than allowing Mike to duck the issue, Vincent asked, “It wouldn’t have something to do with the fellow with your name getting shot, would it?”

Throwing his hands up in the air, Mike admitted defeat. He answered, “Yes. It was just too coincidental for me to believe that they meant to get him and not me.”

“I thought so the minute that I read the news article,” Vincent said.

“We haven’t found the man who attacked him,” Mike said, “I’m not making any long term commitments until I know one way or the other. I don’t want to leave a grieving widow behind.”

“I don’t blame you,” Vincent said.

Sally rolled her eyes and said, “She isn’t going to feel any better if you are killed before you get married than if you are killed after the ceremony.”

“I’m not sure of that,” Mike said.

Shaking her finger at him, Sally said, “My mother was a war bride. Lots of women marry men who are headed for danger without regretting the decision regardless of the outcome. Marry her.”

As if seeking her advice, Mike asked, “Should I ask her first?”

Vincent laughed at the question. Sadly shaking her head, Sally answered, “No. You should club her over the head and drag her off by the hair like the caveman that you are.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Mike said. Looking over at Vincent, he asked, “Admiral, you wouldn’t happen to have a club lying around handy, would you?”

“You can borrow the one I used on Sally,” Vincent answered with a chuckle. His comment earned him a swat on the arm from his wife.

The terrorists inside Pakistan launched their attempt to over throw the government of India well before Homeland Security and the Military had predicted they would. The attempt was a huge failure despite the fact that it was early. Homeland Security was not taken by surprise. The group that was monitoring the situation spotted the signs early enough to activate the preplanned response.

When the terrorists inside India went to collect their weapons, the warehouses blew up taking thousands of the terrorists with them. Massive raids led by police and military around the country rounded up hundreds of thousands of men who had planned to participate in the coup.

Although the arrests of people involved in the plot had taken the plotters by surprise, the number of military types involved in the raids convinced the forces inside Pakistan that it was time to invade. It seemed like a very good decision on their part. The order was given for the Pakistan military to move ahead.

Pakistani forces, consisting of over a million men, boiled over the border. They were accompanied by an equal number of Iranian forces. They had gone ten miles into India when they suddenly found that they were facing the American military rather than the Indian forces they had been expecting. It was a total shock as were the events that followed.

The news services had covered the arrival of some military advisers, but not the arrival of a hundred thousand members of the US Army, Marines, and Air Force. Few of the soldiers there even carried guns. The majority of them were technicians with a small force of armed men to provide protection. It had to be admitted that the Americans had brought a pitifully small force for a conventional war, but the Americans weren’t there to fight a conventional war!

The response to the first bullet fired in the direction of the American forces was overwhelming. The initial clash turned into a rout with more than half of the invaders left dead or wounded on the battlefield in the first five minutes of the engagement. The invading army retreated behind the border expecting the American forces to stop.

The handful of tanks and helicopters of the American forces didn’t even slow down at the border. They didn’t have to slow down, as they had no targets to delay them. Ahead of the tanks and helicopters were tens of thousands of smart bombs called Pigeons that picked their own targets. Although the amount of explosives carried by any single Pigeon was small, the group behavior destroyed any form of resistance. The results were even more spectacular when one of them would explode in a weapons storage area. If the Pigeons couldn’t destroy a target, they sent back data for a cruise missile to be sent to the target.

The technicians had launched a massive wave of destruction unparalleled in history. Once it was clear that the invading force had been destroyed, the tanks and helicopters returned to their protective positions without having fired a shot. Their role was to provide protection for the technicians.

When one wave of Pigeons was consumed, another wave was launched. The Americans weren’t interested in advancing or holding territory. The soldiers were too busy setting up the next wave of Pigeons. It took almost two hours for ten thousand men to set up a hundred thousand Pigeons for launch. The land based rail guns were staffed with another five thousand men who were raining destruction upon Islamabad and Lahore. The remainder of the forces was busy bringing up supplies.

While Pakistan might have been a nuclear power, it wasn’t once wave after wave of cruise missiles took out their nuclear capabilities. They had appeared over their targets within twenty minutes of the first shot fired by the Pakistanis. More missiles had been sent than had been necessary. The result was a radioactive wasteland.

The military was following a scorched earth policy implemented using high tech devices that struck without remorse. Rather than targeting bridges, moving automobiles were destroyed. Everything that moved was destroyed. Due to a minor bug in the software, that included herds of cattle and sheep. Buildings were flattened. Hiding places were taken out.

Parked in the Arabian Sea, the American Navy launched thousands of rounds from the rail guns that had been retrofitted onto the battleships, cruisers, and destroyers. Each two and a half kilogram round had the impact power of a cruise missile. Although they flew ballistic trajectories, there were enough of them launched to assure that Karachi and the surrounding area was leveled.

When night fell, the attack didn’t slow down. Three separate waves of Pigeons with infrared cameras were released. Anything with a heat signature that differed from the background was targeted. There were lots of targets fleeing to the northwest towards the tribal areas that had resisted attackers throughout history. Very few of them made it. By morning, a five hundred mile wide swath that reached almost across the full width of Pakistan was a smoking ruin.

The American forces were not done. More waves of Pigeons were released to demolish the few structures that had remained standing. There was nothing to be seen by the time the tanks and helicopters arrived to occupy the territory.

There was a pause of a single day while men and supplies were moved closer to the front. Soldiers worked out in the open without fear of being attacked. They knew there was no one alive within range of them to constitute even a minor threat. Even if there were, smart bombs circled the area providing constant and diligent protection. Inflatable buildings rose in a flattened field. Runways appeared almost as if by magic.

When night fell, another wave of Pigeons was launched towards the north. Well ahead of the smart bombs, the smartest and most dangerous of the terrorists flocked to the lawless region of northwest Pakistan. It was from this place that they had regrouped after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan. They felt safe and knew that if necessary they could slip across the border and into Afghanistan.