WE LIVE AND WALK AMONG YOU

iUniverse, Inc.

Chapter One

Just outside the two-stoplight part of town was the century-old abandoned Minefield Cavern. Sometime around 1850, this once-active silver mine had its fifteen minutes of fame during the California Gold Rush. There were a few known East Coast families who "struck it rich," as the cliché goes, but they were also the same folks who exhausted the only two silver veins within the cavern. Because of the close proximity to the Mississippi River, they excavated the area as deep as the water table would allow.

But life had come back to the forgotten cave site over the last year. Fronting as a team of paleontologists on an assignment from the Smithsonian Institution, a new group took up temporary residence at the Nook Inn. They told the locals that two of their colleagues had found rare prehistoric remains after a recent visit to the cavern. No one questioned their somewhat-believable story, because all the permits and credentials seemed authentic and, more importantly, the team spent lots of money. The town officials, especially all the merchants, welcomed their presence.

They cleared about an acre of land around the area where the find was to have occurred. Making sure all the bases were covered, several members of the party were always visible to onlookers during daylight hours. As weather permitted, they lay in prone positions and meticulously dusted off soil and rock from unearthed bones. As dusk settled in every evening, four men of the archeological team always stood guard. The same routine occurred every day, and as the weeks passed, no one gave them a second glance. When the leader of the squad determined that their presence was accepted, phase two was to begin. It was time to bring in the device his fellow brothers and sisters of the Sons of Allah had been assembling at their camp in Nunavut, Canada, over the last three years.

As usual, the day's business grinded away above ground, but deep within Minefield Cavern stood two anxious Middle Eastern scientists. They had rehearsed the same drill every day for weeks, but now argued as to what their next move should be. "It has been two days and the Ruler has not answered my daily calls. You know what we are to do at precisely 9:00 a.m., Washington DC time if he has not replied after forty-eight hours. We must proceed. We have two minutes."

"Let's wait one more day."

"No, Allah is with us. Put in your code, and I will follow. Now do it."

The junior of the two men needed both hands to steady himself in order to punch the correct keys. As they each entered their separate six-digit set of instructions, a sense of calm fell over them. The digital clock reflected the countdown.

The senior man said, "We will soon be with Allah." As they knelt toward Mecca, the bomb exploded.

The deafening blast caused an enormous glowing dome to form. But what followed immediately would be scarred into everyone's mind. The towering nuclear pillar grew into the atmosphere. As the recognizable mushroom cloud took on its ire and harrowing shape against the once beautiful blue background, there was something very different about its appearance. Something very different indeed.

* * *

As Derek Chase, Tony Lopez, and his wife, Meung Lopez, were escorted into the majestic room, seven high-ranking officials, including President Roland Jennings, stood and applauded. These CIA operatives were surprised and moved as they looked at the smiling faces standing in front of them.

Derek led this band of three who made up the Terrorist Elimination Unit. The TEU was instrumental in finding and ridding the world of the Ruler of the Sons of Allah, Omar Fahee. This diabolical, murderous mastermind had orchestrated the assassinations of the former president of the United States, the vice president, and Speaker of the House—all of which had taken place on Memorial Day, at the same time but at different locations. Fahee further took the lives of thousands of innocent people at three prominent US sites.

After receiving more accolades than he and his team had expected to receive, Derek's cell phone rang with the identifiable ringtone of his fiancée, Cindy Johnson. He froze, as did the others.

"That's Cindy, and she knows I'm at a debriefing meeting and would not be calling me now." He pulled out his phone and placed it on speaker. "Hi, what's up?"

"Mr. Chase, we have your woman and want you to know we live and walk among you." With that, the line went dead. As the president was about to speak, his chief of staff rushed in unannounced and shouted, "A nuclear explosion just occurred in Missouri."

Homeland Secretary Marjorie Washington jumped out of her seat and cried out ...

* * *

The Midwest had been experiencing beautiful weather for the past few days, and a sense of composure slowly settled in across the country. Americans started to lift their heads up, but no one could ever forget the sad events that had shaken the world over the last week and a half. Gradually lives got back to normal, even though woeful history was made. Americans had been led by three presidents during the last ten days. That sequence started when their beloved President Whitcomb was assassinated.

With the top three US officials lost in the blink of an eye, the third individual in presidential succession in the United States was the president pro tempore of the Senate. That person was Senator Herman Sunderland of California, who was the oldest active member of the majority party. After the terrorist leader responsible had been eliminated, Sunderland resigned the presidency by admitting he was not qualified for the position. The general public bought the deduction, but it was not the whole truth. Sunderland, planted by the Sons of Allah, won an earlier senatorial election by default over the favored incumbent senator, who had died of an unexpected heart attack the night before the polls opened. After he was removed from office, Herman Sunderland seemed to have simply disappeared.

Government representatives, corporate executives, school chancellors, and many other figures of authority all encouraged the American people to show their continued resolve and move on. Of course, many grieving individuals were forever petrified by the horrific acts that had manifested only a few days earlier. It's been said that time heals all wounds, and soon, most believed America was once again safe. That was until the earth started to move.

Just a few minutes before 8:00 a.m. Central time, maintenance crews were busy with their daily upkeep of the grounds which surrounded the ever-so-popular Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. It was early, but still a few tourists started to approach the structure. Perhaps some would later make their way to the top by...