Chapter 9

The president’s war room was oddly quiet. Frizen, along with the rest of the joint chiefs, could feel the ominous cloud hanging over all of them. Their forces and resources were all in place. They had boots on the ground and fighters in the air, and every single one of those guns was aimed at the stronghold of what remained of the Coalition’s forces in Topeka, Kansas.

None of the generals, including Frizen, had a problem with dismantling the Coalition brick by brick, but all of them understood that, despite how they felt, the people who worked for the Coalition, which was funded and created by the US government, were all American citizens. Once they received the all clear from the president, more American blood would splash against their soil, staining the earth red.

It wasn’t a decision the president had come to lightly. It wasn’t something any of them had come to lightly, but the lack of acumen over the past three years during Gordon’s reckless tenure as head of the Soil Coalition needed to end. The onus of the capture and trial of Gordon Reath rested on everyone in the war room. And they didn’t have anyone to blame but themselves.

Frizen rubbed the dryness out of his eyes and reached for the Styrofoam cup of cold coffee he’d been sipping since his arrival. The bitter taste flooded his mouth, and he could feel the slight burst of energy enter his bloodstream from the influx of caffeine. He never liked coffee, and it wasn’t something he ever felt like he needed, but the puffy bags under his eyes were a response to the long days stretching into longer nights he’d brooked for the past week.

The president entered the room, and Frizen and the rest of the joint chiefs snapped to attention. The president seemed to have been suffering from the same sleepless affliction that plagued the rest of them.

“Where do we stand, gentlemen?” the president asked.

“General Cooley has locked down the air space around Topeka, and all of General Mears’s men are in understanding of their assignments,” Frizen answered.

“What will be the main point of entry?”

“The bulk of the Coalition’s forces have positioned themselves on the west side of the city,” Mears answered. “That’s where the main point of conflict will take place. We have forces completely surrounding the city, which we don’t believe will cause us considerable resistance. Once we penetrate the west, we’ll have a clear line of sight to the heart of Topeka.”

“And what about Gordon?”

“We received confirmation an hour ago that the Chinese reached out to him with an offer,” Frizen said. “Now, we don’t have the details of that offer, but we believe Gordon will try and meet up for some type of exchange.”

“Have we reached out to the Chinese about this?” the president asked.

“We have, sir,” Frizen answered. “They’re denying any allegations that they’ve been in contact with Gordon.”

“You don’t think they’ll send forces over, do you?”

“No, Mr. President. I don’t believe Sheng is willing to risk an international incident over the data, but I do believe they’ll try and make something happen off the Canadian coast between Alaska and Washington. Neither the Canadians nor us have any type of naval presence in that area.”

The president leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes and rubbed his palms on his forehead until the skin turned red and raw. Frizen could tell that the president was weary, worn, and frail.

The president had been the one to appoint Gordon into the Soil Coalition during its formation, and he’d been the one to approve all the executive orders that granted Gordon as much power as he had. The war-weary look was from a man who had battled everything to try and bring an end to the very monster he created.

“Gentlemen,” the president said, “today we are dismantling not just the Coalition, but the line of thought that created it. Once this is done, I will be resigning from the presidency and will give a brief to the solicitor general of my involvement during the Coalition’s formation, as well as the cover-up of GMO-24. The country has experienced enough of my failures, and I will stand ready to receive the consequences.”

This was the first open acknowledgement of what most of the room already knew, and a moment of shock and silence followed the president’s statement as the rest of the room processed what was said. Then, one by one, each of the generals in the room rose and saluted, a final sign of respect to their commander-in-chief.