"Executive Command" Author: Hugo "Animal" Chikamori E-mail: hchikamori@yahoo.com Rating: PG-13 Classification: Webb/Other R; Harm/Mac R; Animal/Meg R Spoilers: None, except whatever comes out of Animal's demented mind... Summary: This takes place in the future. Harm is now JAG. Mac is now head of the Marine Special Investigative Service. A bomb in the Capitol building kills off the entire Line of Succession, and Animal ends up holding the "football". Disclaimers: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., AJ Chegwidden, et al. belong in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended. Characters from Iron Eagle make appearances in this story as do characters from Top Gun. It is not my intention to make some of this appear like Air Force One. The similarities are purely coincidental. All characters belong to the creators of those characters and all rights are reserved by them. Author's Note: Note that I am taking extreme literary and political line of succession LICENCE here. Usually when a joint session of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives meets, at least one of the line of succession to the Office of the President of the United States is asked to be not present. This is so the line of succession will not be broken in the event of a situation such as in this story. Plus as several list-members mentioned, the Office of the President of the United States is limited to those who have were naturally born citizens of the United States. (meaning that they were born somewhere in the Continental US). ******************************************************** (Part 4 of ?????) WHITE HOUSE General Chappie Sinclair, United States Air Force and head of Air Combat Command, had been enticed out of retirement. He had just been called into the White House by a very agitated president. "Chappie...What's Air Combat Command's status?" the president asked. Chappie looked at the president, noticing the strained look on the young man's face. It wasn't easy having the eyes of several millions of citizens focussed on every move that the president made. "We are ready to deploy at any time. The squadrons are on full-alert." "You've seen the situation, Chappie," Animal said..."The Libyans are up in arms. And the Iraqis support them. Iran has just made peace with the Iraqis. Never thought that would come about, until now. The only forward base that we have is Al Kharj, in Saudi Arabia. Syria has declared alliance with Iraq. Jordan has declared neutrality in the matter. Things are going to hell in a handbasket over there, Chappie. The spooks aren't giving me any answers..." Animal said. "Well, Mr. President, I can send the 335th FS and the 77th and 78th FS to Al Kharj, at least then we'll have 2 squadrons of F-16Cs and one squadron of F-15E's in the Gulf." Chappie suggested. "It's going to wreck their Christmas, isn't it?" Animal grunted. "Yes, sir. We're going to hear a lot of grumbling about it...sir." the tall African American general replied. "Well, as much as I hate to admit it, national security is at stake here and I want as much firepower between the bad guys and us as possible. I hate to wreck a lovely Christmas atmosphere with a call to arms, but we have to make sure that we keep a presence that the long-haulers don't have." "Yes, sir." "Make it so, General, make it so..." Animal said. Can you ask Admiral Clime and Admiral Johnson in?" "Yes, sir." Chappie replied. The two admirals came in as the Air Force general went out. "Well...we've got Air Force presence in the gulf...Admiral, can you tell me what NAVINTEL has procured in the way of threat assessment." "Well, sir." Admiral Michele Clime pulled out a sheaf of photos about an inch thick and laid them down on the Oval Office table. "Sir we have had some of our KH-12 satellites positioned around the Gulf. As far as we see we see troop movement and assembly by both Iranian and Iraqi forces. The Libyans have been doing a lot of air cover of their perceived 200 mile limit. Much like what the Koreans were doing 15 years ago." Animal nodded. He had been a Lieutenant Commander back then flying F-14s and a friend and squadron-mate had lost a RIO when they were shot down over the Yellow Sea. He nodded, his mind thinking of the orders that he would have to give to CINCLANTFLT in order to relay to the Eisenhower battle group currently in the Gulf of Sidra. "Admiral, what are our options?" he said putting a halt to what appeared to be a lengthy briefing. "Well, Mr. President," Admiral Harmon Johnson replied,"We can opt to let the Libyans have their 200 mile territorial limit, which severely re- stricts our mobility in that region or we can put a show of force, thereby causing the Libyans to quite possibly retreat on their position, and also intimidate the Iranians and the Iraqis into standing down." "The latter was just what I was thinking, Harmon, Michele, sit down for a minute..." Animal replied. Pacing the Oval Office he looked around at the ornate paintings. He turned back to them and said,"As you know, I am not going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs while these characters in the Middle East work themselves into a feeding frenzy and the religious lunatics start getting the balls for their so-called jihad. It may not win me a popularity contest, but I am all for putting three carrier battle groups in the Gulf of Sidra and I'll get on the phone-line with Colonel Mummy, and tell him that if he doesn't back down, I'm going to bomb him back into the Stone Age..." Animal said forcefully. Then remarkably sounding like a rather sarcastic version of Jack Nicholson in 'A Few Good Men', Animal raised his left hand index finger and said," But no, we can't do that...that will probably lower our position within NATO and other countries will pro- test the heavy handed position that we take within the Middle East. There is a matter of diplomacy. Yes, I'm certain I read that somewhere. As much as I'd like to raise mushroom clouds in Ayatollah's, Saddam's and Muammar's capital cities, that would not be a very profitable position, so, Admirals ...I want you to tell CINCLANT that I want patrols increased around the clock and that I am going to task the TR with augmenting our position within the Gulf of Sidra. That puts three F-14 squadrons on full alert, as well as 5 F/A-18 squadrons which can take some of the heat off the Tomcat squadrons. I don't want any sector of the Gulf of Sidra unpatrolled. I'm sure that can be accomplished...am I right?" "Yes, sir..." Admiral Clime restrained a grin at Animal's copying of Col. Nathan Jessop's tone. "Thank you..." Animal said in a self-satisfied tone,"I appreciate that, Admirals, I knew I could count on you." "Thank you, Mr. President." they replied, getting out of their seat. "Will you also tell SECNAV, that if he has any objections whatsoever in this particular matter, that he can stuff it up his rather substantial ass...Presidential orders." Animal said with a smug smile. "Yes, sir...with pleasure, sir." They all thought that the SECNAV was a pandering, self-absorbed son of a bitch whose only reason for being there was to grease the career ladders of those who he objected to. Animal had several run-ins with the bastard over the years and the only reason why he had deigned to keep the SECNAV around during his administration was the fact that he might get some other self-absorbed bastard worse than the current SECNAV. (Middle East) The call of the caller from the mosques echoed throughout the sandy streets of the city as a dusty cloud emanated from the road. In the center of that dust cloud was a jeep being driven at high speeds. Chickens squawked as they fled out of the way. No insults were hurled as the people who had moved out of the way knew who was in the jeep. A beady eyed security guard within the jeep manned a 50 caliber machine gun. "Esteemed Leader, the weapon that we have would have been completed much more quickly if the lead scientist had not been executed." "Major Muktyabar," Serani replied,"The infidel scientist will have to work that much harder if he did not have someone to chat with. I just re- moved a distraction from his work. The plans stated a calibration point that did not coincide with what was showing on the instruments. We have a glorious jihad. We want a weapon that will work as specified, not a weapon that will only take out a stadium." "As you wish, Esteemed Leader." The weapon had been finished, There was also a second one just in case. They would test the second one to see that it worked, but that would be much later when they ran the tests to see if the calibrations were right. "Where shall we test it?" was the next question from the Major. "In the desert south of Palmyra in Syria. Iraq and Iran will then know that we have a weapon of mass destruction." Serani replied. "Then after that second blast, the whole world will know." Major Muktyabar rode in silence watching the endless sand rush by the tires as he pondered the perilous course which this coup was taking. This was the price of martyrdom, he thought as he resigned himself to the fact that he probably would not live to see the end of this glorious jihad being planned by the man beside him. The men below him were ready to die for the cause, but Major Muktyabar was having doubts, and doubt was the precursor of disaster. JAG HEADQUARTERS FALLS CHURCH, VA "Harm, do you think that Animal's going to be able to handle the situation if it gets out of hand?" Mac asked. "I think he's got a pretty good handle on it. Ever since he got into office, he's managed to re-institute the Line of Succession, he's got a new CNO into place and he's chewed the SECNAV a new rear-end hole. So, I'd say he's doing pretty well." Just last week, SECNAV and Harm had a heated dis- cussion about certain departmental procedures, but since Animal had chewed out SECNAV, there hadn't been an 'eep' from him. There was an envelope on his desk which a very harried looking Captain Sims-Roberts, USN dropped on his desk, with a "Here you go, Admiral." "How is AJ?" Harm asked. "He's fine, Admiral, looking forward to high-school graduation next year." Captain Sims-Roberts replied sighing. "They grow up so fast." she turned to go with a "By your leave, sir." "Very well...dismissed," Harm smiled. Captain Roberts was so formal; she had been ever since she had received her Lieutenant Commander's stripes. Commodore (Rear Admiral lh) Bud Roberts, came into the office. Working as the head of NIS, he answered to Harm, "Bud, how are you?" Harm asked. "Very well, sir...how are you and Major General Mackenzie?" Harm grin- ned, even with stars, Bud could not restrain his deference to his friend and superior officer. "Bud, you have to relax, look, you're wearing stars..." Harm just about nearly laughed as Bud's gaze turned towards the shoulders of his whites and nearly jumped as he noticed the gold braid of his own flag- officer's shoulderboards on his white working uniform. "I did that on purpose, sir." Bud grinned back. Mac snorted. Bud never could lie very well. "Well..." Harm said,"Let's see exactly what the letter inside this envelope says." he opened the little white envelope and found a letter with the Presidential Seal on it. "You have been asked to be present at the memorial of the 47th President of the United States, Robert William Jackson, on the 16th of Jan., 2007 at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C." Animal's signature was at the very bottom of the letter. Bud, Harm, and Mac silently agreed that they would have to be present. The memorial notice put a noticeable silence into them. WHITE HOUSE 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue "What the hell am I supposed to say?" Animal snapped frustrated. "Geez, I hardly knew the guy. There were over 16 people that were supposed to take over the office. Heck, I wasn't even in-line..." Meg knew that her husband had to work this out for himself. "And now I have to go up there in front of the whole nation and talk about how much this man meant to the United States?" "Honey, Amy is working on the speech...she'll know what to do." Meg said calmly. It almost seemed impossible to deal with Animal's moods. He was not happy to be in the spotlight. Meg knew that. It was hard to even think about what pressures that her husband was going through. Not only making policy changes that affected the course of the country, but national security rode on his shoulders. The Armed Forces leapt to his bidding, but they had to respect him. If he couldn't do the job, the support would not just dwindle away, it would recede in a massive wave. There was a subtle knock on the door. Meg opened it when Special Agent D'Angelis cleared it. It was Amy. "Mr. President?" Animal looked up, "Yes?" "President Jackson has two sons and a daughter." Animal knew that but it didn't strike home until now. President Robert William Jackson had been a single parent, yet shouldering the duties of President, and still managing to be a father to his three children. Now they were orphaned. "Oh...god..." Animal said quietly as Meg gripped his hand. Their own children came to mind. Animal looked pained as he looked into Meg's tear- filled eyes. "Will...they be at the service?" Animal asked barely getting the sentence past the choked feeling in his throat. "Yes, Mr. President." Animal gripped his own right hand tightly...as he rested his forehead on the knuckle of his index finger and closed his eyes. Quietly he said," Thank you, Amy, that will be all." NATIONAL CATHEDRAL WASHINGTON DC JANUARY 16, 2007 The cold clear January morning was much like the morning of that fate- ful day back in December. Animal stood there in a dark black suit. Meg beside him. He could see Harm, Mac, Bud and Harriet in the sea of military officer's caps, but decorum did not permit him to be familiar with them. He was the President, and as such, had to personify dignity. He watched as the gun-carriages came to a clattering halt by the door of the Cathedral. The caskets being carried by the Special Forces soldiers of which the late former president had been a part. His heart went out to the three children of the late President Jackson, and he mourned for the fact that those children would grow up without the loving arms of their father. Animal's heart nearly tore, as he heard little Willie Jackson who stood in front of him, whisper brokenly "Daddy". Animal's hand rested on the young boy's shoulder as the young boy reached his hand up to grip Animal's. Animal knew that the cameras were on him, but he didn't care. This young child needed reassurance. The caskets were carried up the steps of the National Cathe- dral and the entourage, including many heads of states of different countries, followed the caskets in. The speeches from the religious leaders were long and laborious. Each of them a soliloquy directed at a nation in mourning. Animal felt that there was something missing. Not one speech was directed at the children. 'Dear God, the children were suffering, yet no one took the time to even consider their pain.' It was at that point that Animal thought, to hell with the speech that he had received from the White House writer. It was the Catholic Cardinal that started out his speech with "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called..." that was the final straw. To Willie, to Sandy, to Kevin, their father wasn't a peacemaker, he was Daddy, their daddy, who had been violently ripped out of their lives by an unknown lunatic with a bomb. Daddy wouldn't be their to see them finish grade school, to see them graduate from high-school, to see them get their first job, or to see them get married. Daddy was in an oak coffin, gone out of their lives forever because of an unknown man with a hidden agenda and the means and the resources to do such a violent act of terror. The Catholic Cardinal had thankfully finished, and Animal had to go up to the podium. His eyes gazed upon the rows of leaders and of close colleagues. His eyes also met the eyes of another former President Jack Ryan who looked up at him. Ryan's eyes showed a sense of deja vu, and draw- ing strength from him, Animal began to speak. "Willie, Sandy, Kevin, I knew your father briefly, but in that brief of a time, I began to understand, how much he gave up, in running this country. Willie, Kevin, there were times that your father had to go away for long periods of time, times when your father couldn't sit down and read you a bedtime story, or go out and play basketball with you. Sandy, there were times that your father couldn't spend talking with you about what went on in school. He was a good man, and it was my honor to work for him. He was a great President but in my years of working with him, I came to under- stand why he worked as hard as he did. I know that he tried to spend time with you, because he loved you. More than being President, more than any- thing in the entire world..." Jack Ryan smiled sadly. It was a repeat of Roger Durling's funeral all over again. As the new President spoke he listened, seeing his own speech to Roger and Anne Durling's children unfold in his own mind and in the words that this young President used. This new President had looked him in the eye in silent unity of the pain that they both shared in trying to understand the situation that they were both thrust into. "Some people think that the President of the United States is the most powerful person because they think that he has all the answers. I wish it were that simple." 'good...' Ryan thought.'speak to the children. They're the ones that are in pain, not the country.' "Sandy, Kevin, Willie, You want to know why this happened. I wish that I could talk to someone who knows all the answers. But I could never find that person, and unfortunately, I don't have the answers." Animal stumbled through the rest of that speech,"You have your family beside you, and now you also have mine. You can come to Meg and myself whenever you want. You're not alone. You'll never be alone." He gazed at the three children who were now crying openly. "Your father was a big man, and he did big things for the country. And it denied him a lot of time with you, but remember that your father always loved you...and...and he always will..." Mac, strong Marine that she was, wept openly as Harm comforted her. The fact that she saw three orphaned children hit too close to home. Her own children and her god-child sitting up there with Animal's family; the First Family. "We'll never know why God wanted to your father to come to Him, and he doesn't explain these things...but we can't fight it when it happens..." Animal's voice finally failed him, as he left the podium to sweep the three Jackson children into his arms. They sobbed openly as they enfolded him with hugs. Animal's eyes met his wife's. Meg's eyes were full of tears. Jack Ryan thought 'exactly as it happened before.' He looked over at Cathy who had tears in her eyes. WHITE HOUSE that night "The President did not use his pre-written speech today at the funeral of the late President Robert William Jackson. Instead, in a speech directed towards the late President's children, he spoke words of comfort..." Presidential Advisor Matt Krensky looked over at his colleague as he shut the TV off with a quick flick of the remote,"He's going to get crucified." "I don't know...Matt..." his colleague Art Leonard looked at him. "He seems like he's winning the popular vote. "But you know that it isn't the popular vote that's going to carry him through the elections. It's the political insiders and they're screaming blue murder..." "He's like Ryan..." Leonard replied. "Yeah, too much like him, and you saw how fast he ended up getting shuffled out of office. The political players know how to play the game. He's just a walking time-bomb. We're going to self-implode the party if he's in power." Krensky replied. "So what are you suggesting?" Leonard asked. "A deal..." Krensky said." An ace in the hole." "Yeah?" Leonard replied,"Like what? We don't have anybody...Krensky." "Well, we can try for a vote of no-confidence." the advisor shot a glare at Leonard. The presidential advisor was of the opinion that Leonard thought too much. "Give me some time to think about it..." WHITE HOUSE LINCOLN BEDROOM "Honey...you have to get some rest..." Meg said as she watched Animal pacing the bedroom. "But did you see the children's faces?" Animal said, haunted by the memory of the Jackson children."Their father is gone...they don't have a father anymore." The unspoken thought was,'It could happen to us, Meg.' Meg felt a shudder go through her. But she saw Animal straighten up and look at her...with different eyes. "But..." he continued,"But we're all that's left. We're the ones that will have to clean up the mess." There was a new strength in his voice, a new set to his jaw that proclaimed his new- found determination to set the country straight. "Are you with me? Honey?" Animal asked as he extended a hand out to her. Meg took it, enfolding it with both of hers. "Always..." Meg replied as she gazed into Animal's eyes. HARM & MAC'S RESIDENCE WASHINGTON D.C. Mac had a pained look on her face."God, Harm, did you see what Animal had to go through today. I've never seen him so haunted before." Harm nodded. "I know...Mac. Did you see that President Ryan was there too?" "The former President Ryan?" Mac asked, stunned. "The very..." Harm replied. Mac was speechless. "He locked eyes with Animal. I remember Animal being unable to think of what he was going to say, but the second he locked eyes with President Ryan, he knew exactly, almost as if they communicated to each other...and it just came out." "The speech was touching..." Mac reminisced. "That's the type of President we need, is someone who can appeal to the masses. That's the type of President I want to serve." "But they don't serve very long." Harm said,"Nowadays, unless the President is willing to play the political game, he usually only gets one term and that's it. He's out of office. Game over, see ya, we'll detach a couple of Secret Service Agents to make sure some nutcase with a few bricks short of a load doesn't go for an easy target and shoot a former President." he said, looking up at Mac. "I have a gut feeling that Animal's going to be in for a real rough time of it during his term of administration." Harm concluded. A young child's voice interrupted his train of thought "MOOOOM...Matt is bugging me..." Harm snorted,"Well, back to the real working world." he said. Mac said,"You don't really think that the White House is a paid vacation, do you?" "No, not really, but the perks are nice." Harm mentioned as he peeled back the covers to the bed and slid himself in. "Yeah, but the risk of getting shot outweighs that, I think..." Mac retorted."Animal may as well paint a target on his back." "Glad we're not doing it..." Better him than us... was their general concensus as they dropped off to sleep. ********TO BE CONTINUED******* Feedback requested..."How do you like it so far?" Hehe.