Chapter 20: The White House Falls
May 16, 2010
5:51 AM

1
The shit hit the fan early. Dante was still in bed when a rocket hit the South Lawn of the White House. He stirred a bit. He was used to rocket and mortar attacks now. After yesterday morning, when two entire European countries were destroyed with nuclear weapons, it would take a lot to horrify Dante. He opened his eyes and saw that Sarah was gone. After a soldier guarding the South Lawn was killed by a mortar strike yesterday afternoon, she was assigned morning sentry duty. Her shift was from midnight to eight in the morning. Dante knew with Jamie Blackwell captured, Leo Kaston would make him the new permanent note-taker for the daily meetings with the Cabinet.

He remembered yesterday afternoon as well. The few medics available did what they could for Gregory Seibert, but the Attorney General died an hour after the meeting ended with Atkinson’s arrest. No one was sure who the new Attorney General would be, and Dante doubted there ever would be another one.

He looked out the window. There was a helicopter to the north. The White House had one helicopter, a Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King that the President traveled in, better known as Marine One, and this helicopter wasn’t an Sea King. Dante sat up and looked. It was in the middle of a firefight with several soldiers. Dante woke Marshal up.

“Hey, I think we’re under attack.” Dante said. Marshal shrugged.

“We’re always under attack here, man.”

“No, I think this time it’s for real. The NAMA’s trying to storm the White House.” This was a full-scale assault, not just a bombing raid.

Marshal sat up when he heard the helicopter’s chain gun go off. The two got out of bed and got dressed. He knew the tool shed to the north had the Barret M82 sniper rifle. The .50 caliber rifle would make short work of that and any other helicopters flying around.

A Humvee drove onto the South Lawn, tire tracks tearing up the grass and gardens. It had blown the gate open with a rocket launcher.

Dante was fully dressed, and went to retrieve his Glock 19. It was time for war.

2
Miles Atkinson was being held in the Queen’s Bedroom opposite from the Lincoln Bedroom. With Jamie Blackwell missing and presumed captured, the Queen’s Bedroom was turned into a holding cell for the President. He supposed he was still President, as he didn’t think that Sparkly had been sworn in as acting President yet. His shoulder had stopped bleeding around two yesterday afternoon. He was barely holding on to his sanity.

I’ve lost everything, he thought. My family, my country, everything. The explosion shook him out of his misery. He saw the Sikorsky helicopter on the North Lawn. Normally the helipad on the South Lawn was used, but the helicopter was moved to the North Lawn three days ago for easier access in case the White House had to be evacuated.

As for Stephen Stiller, no one had heard from him in some time. Rumors had said that he had been moved from Beijing to Xi’an. The White House had no way of contacting the Chinese, and the Chinese government refused to allow the Vice President to return to the United States, claiming that it wasn’t safe. HIV-3 had spread around Japan, Korea, and last time Atkinson had heard, the Philippines had reported cases as well.

In Europe, the situation was just as dire. What few reports the White House had received confirmed that all five missiles struck their targets. Over ten million were believed dead in Europe now, after only a day. The entire nations of Belgium and Luxembourg was gone, as were large portions of eastern France, southern Germany, and the Netherlands. The explosions were felt as far away as Moscow, Reykjavik, and Gibraltar and windows cracked in Warsaw, Rome, and London. Riots had begun throughout many European cities. The first fatalities from riots were reported in Marseilles, France. Rioting broke out all over Europe, at least what portions weren’t reduced to ashes by the nuclear bombs. Great Britain and France both wanted to strike back with nuclear weapons, though the heads of both nations knew that there would be no point. America was already destroyed, and further nuclear attacks would destroy property but kill no one. Britain’s Prime Minister was killed in Brussels, though the head of France had stayed in Paris. The heads of eight different nations were confirmed killed in the blasts.

Now it looked like attack helicopters were flying around the White House grounds. Atkinson knew what was happening. The NAMA was finally attacking in earnest now. Odds are the White House would fall today. A stray bullet broke a window in the bedroom.

Two Secret Service ran into the Queen’s Bedroom. They walked to the shattered window.

“Sir, are you all right?” One asked.

“I’m fine.” Atkinson replied.

“Good, we have to take out several soldiers who are trying to get in here from the North Lawn.” They were armed with submachine guns. They pushed the rest of the glass off the window and opened fire. A Humvee fired a volley of machine gun rounds and killed both agents.

3
Sarah Robins was with three Marines. She liked the jarheads. They were smart, witty, and didn’t care if she was a woman. Sarah often encountered sexism in the Army. These days however, anyone who could fire a gun was valuable. The Marines did know what the NAMA did to women. Gang rapes, beatings, torture, stuff like that. Sarah had already decided that if the NAMA took the White House, she was going to stick the barrel of her M9 pistol in her mouth and spare herself what was probably the closest thing to hell that she could imagine. She came from a Catholic family and normally didn’t condone suicide, but she figured in a case like this, God would understand.

Several attack helicopters flew over the South Lawn. The Marines saw the helicopters coming.

“Shit, we’ve got company.” One Marine said. The Marines knew their assault rifles wouldn’t do a damn thing to the choppers.

The four hid behind shrubbery. Three Humvees arrived at the south gate and one soldier fired a grenade launcher. The gate blasted open and the Humvee stormed onto the lawn. The grass was torn to shreds by the tires. Sarah knew that under different circumstances, such a thing would be a major crime against the Presidency. Now, it was just what was to be expected.

Sarah stood up and fired her M16 at the Humvee. There was a machine gun mounted on the back. Sarah managed to hit the gunner. He fell off the vehicle and landed in the grass. The others in the Humvee took notice. One soldier got out and fired a blast from the grenade launcher. Sarah and one of the Marines managed to get away, but the other two Marines were blown to bits.

They got to the west gate. More soldiers were climbing into the White House grounds. Sarah fired at them, but others fired back. The remaining Marine was injured, and Sarah tried to help him. Another shot hit him in the neck. His throat exploded, covering him and Sarah in blood.

She ran. She wanted to get away from these NAMA pricks. A soldier got inside and fired at her. Three shots went into her back. She landed on her stomach. A large lump stuck in her belly. Three NAMA soldiers approached her.

“Hey, doesn’t it feel really good when you fuck a dying chick?” One asked. Sarah had to wonder what the fuck was wrong with these people. She reached under her. The lump was a hand grenade. She was certain that’s what it was.

“That’s what I’ve heard. We should try it on this bitch.” A second soldier said. She reached the grenade with her arm. The soldiers came closer. One kicked her in the ass. She pulled the pin out of the grenade. She couldn’t move or feel her legs. Her spine had been severed, but she still had use of her arms.

“Bitch, you are about to get the fuck of your life.” The first soldier said.

“Oh, you know it.” Sarah said. She managed to turn over partially, revealing the grenade.

“Oh fuck!” The grenade went off. The soldiers would not have their way with Sarah Robins after all.

4
No one in what was left of the Cabinet knew where Atkinson was. Valerie, Chad, Leo, Antonio, and Edward were in the Map Room on the Ground Floor of the White House. They were discussing what to do to officially make Cullen the President. No one had any real constitutional solutions. The Constitution had no provisions for such a disaster as this. The President was clearly unable to carry out his duties, but Congress had one remaining member, and the Vice President was in China.

Edward Cullen knew that he was next in line for the Presidency until Stephen Stiller got back to the United States, if and when he did. Randall Orbins was sent out to find a Bible to swear Edward in as President.

Randall was gone when the attack began. An explosion shook the Map Room.

“We’re under attack!” A Marine yelled. “The NAMA are storming the place.”

“Goddamnit, where’s Randall?” Edward asked. He was eager to get the swearing-in done.

Gunshots shattered the windows of the Map Room.

“We need to get out of here.” Chad yelled. The five ran out into the Center Hall. Secret Service, Marines, and soldiers were running all over the place. Several troops were at the entrance colonnade, shooting at the NAMA. Chips of Aquia sandstone flew around the entrance.

“We should go to the PEOC.” That was the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. It was a bunker under the East Wing that was designed to be able to survive a nuclear explosion.

They ran down the Center Hall. So far no NAMA had actually gotten inside the White House itself, but they would be in soon.

When they reached the Library, they saw that three NAMA were breaking into the room. A Secret Service agent pushed the Cabinet members out of the way and shot at the raiders. He wounded one before being taken down by a three-round burst from an M16. Antonio ran into the Library and grabbed the agent’s FN Five-seven handgun. One of the raiders fired at him, grazing him in the ribcage. He fired back and got the raider in the head. He fired a second shot and struck the remaining NAMA in the leg. He then ran back into the Center Hall.

“Good job. How many rounds do you have left?” Antonio ejected the magazine and looked in the four pinholes that Five-seven magazines had. He had between ten and fifteen rounds left.

“Enough to get to the East Wing. Let’s get moving.” Antonio said.

5
Randall Orbins was searching for the Bible. He didn’t know what had become of Cullen’s Bible, but he figured this was a Christian nation, and that there should be a Bible somewhere in the frickin’ White House. Randall was a devout Baptist, and he had often said America was a nation founded on Christianity. The ACLU didn’t like him for it, but he considered it the truth.

Of course, he thought, America pretty much no longer exists.

He was on the second floor when the battle erupted. He ran into the Dining Room. Two chairs had been knocked over. NAMA were rappelling down the façade of the White House. One smashed a window and detached his cable. Randall took one of the chairs and bashed it over the head of the soldier. He stole the man’s M4 Carbine next and fired at a soldier who entered in another window.

“Bastard hit me!” The soldier yelled. Randall ran out of the Dining Room and back into the West Sitting Hall. He then crossed into the Center Hall and found President Atkinson in the Queen’s Bedroom. Randall would have to get used to the President being Cullen and not Atkinson. Then again, if this keeps up, he thought as an explosion shook the Kennedy Garden, it might be a moot point.

6
Someone had gotten into the Garden Room. They had a mounted machine gun and were firing at anyone they saw in the East Colonnade. An aide made the mistake of running to the East Wing and got the top half of his head blown off for it.

“We should go through the theater.” Chad yelled. The White House had a movie theater next to the colonnade. It was normally used to rehearse for speeches, but the President could watch movies in there any time he wanted. During happier times Atkinson would often watch movies with Chad and Antonio in the middle of the night. All three men were night owls. The meetings had been held in the morning because most of the other soldiers were diurnal and it proved easier to give orders when decisions were made in the early morning.

They went inside the theater and ran across the seats. They found a teenage girl hiding under one of the cushioned front seats. She was wounded and they knew she didn’t have long. Edward hoped she died, knowing what she would go through with the NAMA if she lived. They ran through the theater and came out near the machine gun. Antonio fired three shots and killed the raider at the machine gun.

An Abrams tank burst through the east gate. It fired a round through the East Wing Lobby. The entire room was destroyed and the East Wing itself began to collapse. The five ran back toward the theater.

Another soldier had manned the machine gun and had it aimed at the Cabinet members. He opened fire.

Antonio went down first. The NAMA soldier knew to fire at him. Antonio’s hand was blown off, his fingers flying onto the carpet. Valerie was then gunned down, along with Chad.

Leo Kaston and Edward Cullen kicked open the Garden Room door and went inside. The machine gunner fired at them, but they both ran from the White House and went onto the Kennedy Garden, now a series of dirty craters.

Two NAMA saw the two and opened fire. Leo was hit twice in the chest, and Edward once in the leg. Both men fell onto the scorched soil. The two NAMA walked over to Leo and Edward.

“Hey, it’s the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State.” One soldier said.

“Edward Cullen? Ol’ Sparkly.” The other soldier said.

“Yep. Let me take care of Kaston.” He fired two shots into Leo Kaston’s head.

“What do we do with Edward?”

“He’s a vampire, right?” The other soldier laughed. “So stick a wooden stake in his fucking heart.” He took a piece of what was once a holly tree. The wood had a razor sharp end. He got Edward’s arms pulled behind his back.

“Please, don’t do this…”

“Shut it.” The soldier plunged the wood into Edward’s chest. The damage to the heart killed him almost instantly.

“I read the Twilight books at one point.” The soldier said. “My ex-girlfriend was obsessed with them.” The other soldier just laughed again. They then left. They had more work to do at the White House.

7
The ground floor of the White House had been set on fire. Miles Atkinson saw the smoke coming up through the air vents. He wandered out of the Queen’s Bedroom and ran into Randall Orbins.

“Mr. President, thank God I found you.” Randall said.

“Glad to know I’m still the President. Where’s the Cabinet?”

“I don’t know. Considering the floor of the White House they were on is burning, I imagine they’ve been killed. We need to escape. C’mon, we can get out through the East Bedroom.” Randall opened the door and found two men inside.

Oh shit, Atkinson thought. It was Dante Williams. The guy who arrested and shot me. Dante turned around and aimed his gun at the intruders.

“Damn it, you scared the hell out of me.” Dante said. “Are you two all right?” Dante instantly recognized Atkinson and Randall.

“We’re fine, but we need to vamoose.” Randall said. “We can use the helicopter on the North Lawn. The north wall of the East Bedroom has been blown off.”

“Can you fly a helicopter?” Marshal asked.

“Yeah, I flew helicopters during Desert Storm.” Randall said. “I know Dante, but who are you?”

“Marshal Franklin. I’m Dante’s boyfriend.”

“You’re the gay couple, right?” Randall asked. Dante nodded.

“I had a feeling you were. It ain’t a problem. I remember I ticked off a bunch of my constituents as a state senator when I voted against legislation banning gay marriage in Idaho.” Dante didn’t know that. It was surprising considering Randall was a staunch conservative. “Not that it matters now. Let’s get the hell out of here.” The four ran into the East Sitting Hall and into the Center Hall. Indeed, the wall of the East Bedroom was gone. Before anyone could make a move, a sniper’s bullet exploded Marshal’s head.

“Oh shit!” Atkinson threw Dante and Randall down. Dante saw that Marshal had been killed. He was too pressured to be sad about it now.

“My boyfriend’s dead.” Dante whispered. He was angry. He thought he could see the sniper. He was in a tree on the northwest corner of the North Lawn.

“I’ll see if I can’t get that jerk.” Randall said. He crouched down and aimed the carbine. He fired and emptied an entire magazine at the tree. He could see blood drip down from the branches.

“I think I got him.” Randall said. Dante saw that the rubble allowed the three to avoid having to jump down two stories. He slid down a large piece of sandstone and jumped just three feet to the ground. Randall and Atkinson followed. They looked out toward the Sea King helicopter.

“Shit.” Atkinson said. There were five men by the helicopter, along with two women whom they assumed were going to be sex slaves.

“The M82 is in the shed, right?” Dante asked.

“Yeah.” The shed was about a hundred feet away. The three ran to it. Dante saw that the soldiers were all armed with assault rifles. Any attempt to shoot it out with them would be doomed to fail. However, Dante was good with the M82. He opened the shed and got out the rifle. He loaded the magazine of .50 caliber rounds and got on the grass. He aimed and got a soldier in the crosshairs.

He fired. The round hit its mark. The soldier’s head exploded like a grape hit with a BB gun. Blood and brains splattered all over the women and the helicopter.

The soldiers realized there was a sniper. Two men opened fire on the women. They were riddled with bullets and fell dead on the ground. Dante, angered even more by that, got a bead on another soldier. This man ended up with a hole in his chest that one could throw a cat through.

Dante fired another shot and blew a soldier’s leg off at the thigh. He had to admit, he was impressed with this rifle. He’d practiced on targets and there was that helicopter he shot, but this rifle was like the finger of God against a human target. He aimed and fired a fourth shot. He struck the man’s back and almost blew him in half. The final soldier got the hint and ran away.

“That takes care of that.” Dante said. The three ran to the helicopter. Randall got in the cockpit and started the rotors. He gave the M4 carbine to Atkinson.

“I’ve never shot at anyone before.” Atkinson said. He’d never been in the military and was known for being very pro-gun control.

“Then this will be a new experience for you. You’ve killed millions of people already, at least have the balls now to do it with a gun instead of a missile.” Randall yelled. The rotors spun faster and faster and the helicopter finally took off. Randall flew to the west and turned south after crossing the Potomac.

It wasn’t until they reached the edge of Arlington National Cemetery that two SuperCobras stolen from Quantico found them. They followed the Presidential helicopter and started shooting at it. Dante opened the helicopter side door and fired at one of the helicopters. Aiming was difficult while aboard a moving helicopter. He managed to damage one’s Gatling gun before the other helicopter fired a Sidewinder missile. The missile hit the tail of Marine One and badly damaged the rear of the helicopter.

“We’re gonna crash!” Randall yelled. The helicopter plunged downward, smashing into a mass of graves at Arlington National Cemetery.

8
Dante was stunned by the helicopter crash. He stood up and realized the chopper was on its side. He looked out and saw Randall Orbins’ brains were smeared all over the glass of the cockpit. It didn’t take a genius to recognize that he was dead.

“Ughhhh…” A voice said. It was Miles Atkinson. He was pinned beneath the caved-in side door of the helicopter. He saw that the gunshot wound he’d gave the President had been enlarged a good deal. He also heard Humvees approaching. He was trapped inside the helicopter. A large tree had fallen on top of the opening. Several soldiers got out of the Humvees.

“Wasn’t one of the people on this chopper a nigger?” A soldier asked.

“I think so. Danielson told us any darkies were to be captured alive and brought back to Baltimore as slaves.”

“What about anyone else on board?”

“Women, harem if they’re hot. If its ugly or fatty women, or men, kill them.”

Dante was scared. If he was captured, he’d be a slave. He thought about turning the M4 or the sniper rifle on himself. That way, he could avoid the toils of slavery. He remembered the Gettysburg Address and how Sarah Robins spilled coffee on it. He wondered what happened to Sarah. She had been out on the South Lawn when the attack began. She was dead, most likely.

The soldiers climbed on top of the helicopter. Dante knew if he wanted to take the easy way out, now was the time. He found he couldn’t do it, though. He decided he preferred slavery over the void.