President Smith walked as quickly as decorum allowed into the Situation Room. "As you were. What do we know? Short version first." He lowered himself into his seat carefully.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff answered in a clipped, precise tone. "Explosion on the outskirts of Moscow, at one of Ivanovich's residences. Witnesses report a purple beam of light going straight down. The New Hope had just changed orbits and moved to hover over the spot."
Monitors lit up; one showed an orbital plot with a zigzag line. Another had a satellite view of a fire on so kind of estate. The fire did not appear to be widespread. Not a nuke, thank God.
"Was Ivanovich killed?"
"Unknown."
"Casualties?"
The Chief glanced at an aide, who quickly answered, "Estimating at least fifty."
"Reaction?"
"Nothing official yet."
"The hotline?"
"Test call was answered by General Dmitri Bolnyev, who said, 'don't fuck with us right now' and hung up."
Smith snorted. "Can't say I bla him. Other orbital strikes? Where is the New Hope now?"
"They appear to be returning to their previous orbit, and are not responding to calls."
"What about the Guranaki lor?"
"No response."
"News channels?"
"Not reporting yet."
"Analysis?"
Admiral Grant spoke up. "The aliens could have tried for deniability by throwing a rock. They didn't bother."
"Ah, that might not work," a lieutenant interrupted nervously. "Throw the rock too slow, Russian radar picks it up and he dodges. Too fast, and they level Moscow." He had the ashen face of a man who thought he had just destroyed his career. Check on him later, Smith signaled to an aide.
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General Parks said, "Alien hit squads have been taking out targets for days. They probably resorted to this because Ivanovich was so paranoid. They're showing that nobody is safe, and they don't care who knows it."
"And that human shields won't stop them," Smith observed. "Strikes up to now were more surgical. This ti, they were willing to get their hands dirty."
"Mr. President." Kyle McNally had just entered the room.
"Kyle. What does the CIA have?"
"Assassins just took out Bolkovich and Rostova," the Director reported. "This is a decapitation strike."
"What about Abradov and Popov?" The President demanded.
"No word yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're next."
"That's not military high command; that's the oligarchs," the Admiral pointed out. "Generals in the Kremlin will be fighting for control, so it might be a while before we hear who ends up on top."
"Defensive steps?" Smith asked.
"DEFCON 3, and move the Second Fleet into the Bering Sea," the Admiral said at once.
McNally added, "I don't think we know enough to ddle yet, so you could reassure them if we're sitting this out."
"Keep us at DEFCON 4," Smith ordered. It had been at that level since the alien ships had arrived. "Don't shift the fleet yet. We don't know how many more assassinations are coming, or where. Let's find out where the ships are most needed before we move them."
"Yes, Mr. President."
"Any announcents from the aliens?"
"They've gone silent for the mont. Nick Tomsun is not taking calls either."
"Kyle, do we know who they're targeting next?" The CIA Director shook his head, looking grim. Lost our asset, or at least her access. Well, it was unexpectedly good luck to have as much as we did for as long as we did.
Smith rubbed his forehead a mont. "Big picture. How are other nations responding?"
"China is stirred up but nothing definitive yet. So far, they're launching extra recon drones, and there's a lot of extra encrypted chatter."
"Nothing out of India."
"The EU is willing to share intel when they get any."
"Well, that's an improvent," Smith muttered dryly. He took a deep breath. "Captain Telnik claims that his orders from Nick Tomsun are to promote Truth, Justice, and Freedom for all humans."
"He's got a funny way of showing it," a general grumbled.
Smith nodded. "We need to understand their plans. When soone makes a move, ask who benefits. I want a full analysis of the state of the Russian military in four hours, and the state of their governnt by this ti tomorrow. What is Telnik specifically trying to accomplish in Russia? All intelligence agencies, top priority is figuring out the pattern of these attacks and predicting the next ones. I'm going to try again to reach Captain Telnik."
He stopped and took a breath, looking each of the Joint Chiefs in the eye. "We will get through this, like we always do. I know you're ready. But we will figure out the correct weapon to use before we act, unless developnts force our hand. I suspect this conflict will be on my battlefield much more than yours, gentlen, but I know I can count on you when you're needed. Thank you."
President Smith stood, and the officers all stood respectfully. He nodded at them and left the Situation Room.
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