The War Cloud

25

Sachs texted her daughter from inside the infirmary of the Nightwatch plane: J, where r u? But Jennifer wasn’t responding since they had been cut off. She tried calling again, at least getting a ring this time. She waited for what seemed like an eternity when Jennifer’s voice came through. “Say what you gotta say and leave me alone, loser.”

She had reached Jennifer’s voicemail.

“Jennifer, it’s mom,” she said, trying to sound calm but forceful. “You know what’s going on with the attack. I have to know where you are and that you’re safe. We need to stay connected. Call or text me back right away.”

Knowing Jennifer, she was probably heading home to Dina’s, which would be the first place anybody after her would be waiting.

“Don’t go to Aunt Dina’s,” Sachs pleaded into the phone, then said it again quietly. “Don’t go anywhere near the house

Sachs hung up and paced back and forth in the medical center, deciding what to do next. She tried all of Dina’s numbers, getting only voicemails or service interruption messages. She had to reach somebody on the outside, someone in government or media, she decided, to let them know where she was and find out what was going on in the outside world. Someone beyond the D.C.-New York beltway. Maybe California. Rhinehart’s former press secretary, Vicki Blaze, was the news manager at NBC in Los Angeles. She might even put the call live on the air right there and then. Assuming NBC was still on the air on the West Coast.

She typed in Vicki’s name on her BlackBerry to call up the number and was about to hit “dial” when Colonel Kozlowski burst through the door with Captain Li and two armed Nightwatch officers.

Sachs froze as Li rushed over to Nordquist slumped on the floor. “He’s unconscious, sir.”

Kozlowski gave her a wild look and pointed an accusing finger at her BlackBerry. “Did you just make an unauthorized call?”

Before she could answer, he grabbed the phone and waved it in her face. “Our flight plan is secret!” His face was red with fury, the gentle touch gone. Somehow she was the enemy again. “You’ve compromised our location to anybody listening! Enemy missiles could get a lock on us because of your stupidity!”

He was shouting at her now. Her ears hurt.

“Listen, Colonel,” she replied calmly, the way she whispered to a rowdy classroom so the kids had to shut up to hear her. “I’m having a tough time getting up to speed on my new responsibilities. No thanks to the medication you gave me. I’d appreciate it if you treated me with a little respect and were more gentle.”

Koz looked at her like she was from another planet. “Gentle?” he repeated. “This isn’t the Lifetime Channel. This isn’t about you being a symbol of spunky feminism making her mark in a male-dominated world. This is war. You think the enemy is going to be gentle on you?”

“No,” Sachs replied, “but I expect my friends to be. Are you my friend, or are you my enemy, Colonel?”

Her words seemed to have an effect on him. He was looking at her as a real woman now, not some anonymous civilian. He seemed to be aware of the gravity of his verbal assault, because his tough facade began to melt.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Am I or am I not the designated president of the United States?”

Koz, aware of his officers, slowly nodded. “You are, Madame President, as soon as we swear you in.”

“And you have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I may not be everybody’s idea of a president, much less a commander-in-chief,” she told them. “But I used to teach American History. And the history of America taught me that right is stronger than might. Right now, the U.S. Constitution has decided that there is only one right person for this job, and that person happens to be me. If we stay on the right side of history here, we will win.”

She looked into the eyes of the various crew members. Some seemed barely older than the middle and high school students she once taught. Others, with weathered faces, had clearly endured much in previous wars and in the life that is the American military. She watched their heads nod, acknowledging her appeal to their moral conscience, deeply impressing her.

“Now may I please confer with my military commanders?” She fixed her gaze squarely on Koz. “Before we waste any more time?”

“Yes, ma’am. But first the Constitution.”

Koz glanced over at a disheveled medic being slapped into consciousness by Captain Li. “Nordquist, get up off the floor and fix those cuts on the president’s face,” he barked. “Li, go grab your Bible and a camera and some make-up. We need to release an official photo of the swearing-in.”

Then Sachs watched his hazel eyes look into her own, look through them and deep into her.

“She seems fit to me,” he declared.