A Time for Patriots

The president of the United States, Kenneth Phoenix, strode into the press briefing room, followed by the vice president, Ann Page, and the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justin Fuller. The reporters assembled in the room shot to their feet, wearing surprised expressions — they had not been told that the president himself would be attending the daily press briefing.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,” Phoenix began. “Please take your seats.” The president was just forty-nine years old, tall and ruggedly handsome, but the past year had taken a toll on him, and he looked much older. Ken Phoenix’s career — as a former Marine Corps attorney, U.S. attorney general, and vice president of the United States — had, to say the least, been a series of challenges. He was always able to overcome them, but the journey had never been easy for him and his family. His face told everyone that the hard journey was still under way.

“I know that you had been briefed that Vice President Page and I were at secret undisclosed locations until the full examination of the attack in Reno was concluded,” Phoenix began, “but that was not the case. Our responses had to be immediate, and although we have very good emergency facilities all across the country, Vice President Page and I, who as you know serves as both my chief of staff and my national security adviser and press officer, decided to stay in Washington.

“Let me give you the latest information that I was just given by FBI director Fuller. Based on his investigations and the fact that there haven’t been any more attacks, the FBI is recommending to the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Northern Command, which is in charge of the defense of the continental United States, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which is in charge of the air defense of the United States and Canada, that the airspace around the United States be reopened, with strict limitations. All aircraft will be required to be on flight plans filed on the ground. Any aircraft not on a flight plan may be attacked by ground or airborne air-defense units without warning. These limitations will be relaxed as the investigations proceed, but I agree with the director that we exercise an abundance of caution.

“Next: The radioactive material detected at the Reno crash site was iridium-192, used in medical radiography as well as industrial nondestructive testing facilities,” the president went on. “It was not a nuclear bomb… I repeat, it was not a nuclear bomb . Iridium-192 is relatively widespread in industry and medicine and has a short half-life, which means its toxicity degrades in a matter of days, and decontamination procedures are common and well known.” He paused for a moment, then said, “The source of the material was positively identified as part of a shipment of radioactive materials stolen from the FBI by suspected domestic terrorists yesterday morning.”

The room erupted into sheer bedlam, with every reporter leaping to his or her feet trying to ask a question. Phoenix held up his hands and spoke in a soft voice, which forced the reporters to quiet themselves so they could hear the president’s remarks. “It was my decision not to reveal the theft, in order to prevent a panic,” Phoenix went on after the reporters took their seats again. “The materials were stolen in an FBI sting gone bad north of Sacramento, California. Several FBI agents and deputy sheriffs were killed.” A ripple of shock and disbelief swept through the room. “FBI director Fuller briefed me and outlined a plan for an investigation and arrest of known terrorist leaders, and I approved the plan. Unfortunately, no arrests could be made that could have stopped the attack on the federal building in Reno, Nevada.

“I want to assure the American people that I am in Washington and I’m in constant contact with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies across the country, and we are on the hunt for the terrorists who launched this horrible attack,” Phoenix went on. “I am personally overseeing the government response, and it is my highest priority. We have no way of knowing if there will be more attacks, but since the other stolen materials haven’t been recovered yet, we are operating on the assumption that the terrorists intend to use them. We will do everything in our powers to stop them from doing so.”

The president paused, then waved a hand as reporters started to raise their hands with questions. “I’m not going to take questions right now. I’m going to say one more thing before I get back to work. At first, I was concerned about creating a panic, so I didn’t want any information released until we were further along in the investigation. I realize now that was a mistake. Instead of worrying about the American people panicking, I should have enlisted your help in tracking down the terrorists.