Free Gnash by Brian Parker

Constitution of the United States.”
    “… the Constitution of the United States.”
    “Congratulations, Mr. President,” the Chief Justice said as he held out his hand to be the first to shake hands with the newly appointed President of the United States.
    “Thank you, John.”  He shook the Justice’s hand and walked to the podium.  The cameras readjusted their angle and a member of the staff standing near the cameramen gave him the thumbs up.  “Today we grieve the loss of our nation’s president.  Allan Gosebeck was a true patriot and he died in service to his country.
    “Yesterday, April 15, that patriot was murdered by a coward who misled us all into believing that he was something different than he really was.  He murdered our president and the heads of state of four other nations.  My sincere condolences go out to our friends from Russia, Japan, France and Germany who, even as I speak here today, are grieving the loss of their own leaders and making the difficult decisions of how to carry their countries through these dark days of random terror attacks across the globe.
    “In a coordinated attack on both the life of President Gosebeck and our nation’s military, we have been dealt a savage blow.  It doesn’t matter if these attacks were orchestrated by the same group or if they were separate incidents, I promise you that we will find those responsible for the planning of these events and they will be brought to justice to answer for their crimes.  We already have the man who allegedly carried out the attack in Portland yesterday in custody and it’s only a matter of time before we seize the others involved.
    “The situation at the Pentagon is still critical and is a developing story.  I have never made a habit of keeping information from my constituents, first at the local, then the national level.  Now, my constituency is every man, woman and child in the United States and I will not withhold information from anyone. 
    “As I speak, efforts are being made to enter the Pentagon in order to determine what happened and why they stopped responding to outside communication at approximately 3:45 Eastern time this morning.  The situation, as we know it, is that yesterday at roughly the same time that the president was assassinated a group of armed men attacked the crowd at a retirement ceremony and another of their group set off a chemical agent that locked the building down.  The group on the inside was subdued, but not before a significant loss of life was inflicted on the attendees of the ceremony at the Pentagon.  We know for sure that thirty-seven people were pronounced dead on the scene by the Pentagon medical personnel.
    “We were in regular contact with the police force inside the Pentagon and tests of the air were negative inside the building for any chemical agents.  The all clear was given and attempts were made to open the doors but they would not open due to some type of electrical malfunction to the computer system controlling them.  Then, in the early morning hours, all communications from the inside stopped.
    “We will get the answers to our questions and the public will know the truth, regardless of the outcome.  But in the meantime, I urge you to pray for the men and women of our military and to assist your local authorities in whatever way they may need as we carry out the investigation into these crimes.
    “Our nation will carry through this crisis and we will emerge from the ashes stronger than ever and our enemies will tremble before the wrath of the sleeping giant they have awakened.”
    He stepped away from the podium and beckoned for his staff to follow him.
    ***
    16 April, 1845 hrs local
    Karakoram Mountain Range
    Afghanistan-Pakistan Border
     
    Malik al-Nusurim turned down the volume on the laptop.  He’d been watching streaming video of the new president for the infidels who had just finished his speech.  Things were going better than anyone could imagine.