“If you do this you are going to be out of office so fast it will make your head swim,” the Speaker said. “I’ll enter the impeachment documents the next day.”
“That’s a chance I’ll have to take,” the President said. “Mrs. Everette, I understand that you do not have any recollection of your…message.”
“No, Mr. President,” Barb said. “I’ve seen the recording, though.”
“Do you have any thoughts on the nature of the prayer?” the President asked.
“Oh, good…You’re not asking a soccer mom to write your prayer for you?” the Majority Leader said.
“Do you mean, do you have to say ‘Dear Lord God of all the Christians of this land, please destroy the Gar for me’?”
“More or less,” the President said.
“No,” Barb replied. “It can be ecumenical as you’d like. But it’s going to have to be somewhat specific. ‘Dear Higher Power, we’d sure like you to like us’ won’t cut it. If you’d like, I can work something up and then you can debate this while we are running away.”
“Mrs. Everette, I don’t know if this is a divine message or not,” the President said. “But the Lord seems to work through intermediaries. You are, as I understand it, the most powerful member of the Special Circumstances network. Is that right, Germaine?”
“Very close,” Augustus said. “And for this, undoubtedly the most powerful.”
“I doubt that God will choose to work through me,” the President said, somewhat ruefully. “As such, when the prayer is given, I would like you to be available in the area of the Beast.”
“Yes, Mr. President,” Barb said. “I’ll be there.”
“And, yes, send me a rough draft,” the President said. “Break this down.”
“This is Mary McCrory with CNN live from the vicinity of Goin, Tennessee. Overnight, the rumor has spread that the events in Tennessee are anything but a major methane buildup. What is going on is unclear but the area has been sealed off from entry. Our news crew has managed to slip through the cordon to a position very close to the small town that is near the center of the restricted area…”
“Mary,” the anchor said, breathlessly. “Can you see what might be happening?”
“Not exactly,” the reporter said, ducking through trees. “We’ve seen military vehicles moving out of the area all night, as if they are in full retreat. But what they are retreating from is unclear. We’re trying to get to the top of a hill where we can get a better view.”
“According to our legal correspondent, it’s a clear violation of the Constitution to prevent the free movement of citizens for anything other than a natural disaster,” the anchor said. “Were you molested by the military in approaching the area?”
“Well, the military is stopping anyone from coming in. We managed to evade several roadblocks. But this area is particularly well patrolled so we’ve had to go on foot for the last few miles.”
“The main guess is that there’s been an alien landing,” the anchor said. “Can you confirm that?”
“We may be able to in just a moment,” the reporter said excitedly. “The trees are opening up ahead and…”
She suddenly began screaming and the picture from the camera wobbled erratically. For just a moment it showed a swath of destruction in the distant valley and then panned towards the head of the swath. There was a brief glimpse of something and then the picture blanked out.
As the voice feed from the camera crew cut off, the anchor was left sitting with her mouth open.
“ We’re having some difficulties with our reporting team in Tennessee,” she said after a moment of her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. “ We are now taking you to our legal analyst, Rebecca Shelby, for a look at the legal ramifications of forced resettlement and denying access to the area on the part of citizens. Rebecca?”
“The President is doing his speech at eleven AM,” Graham said, entering the briefing room.
The FBI team had moved back to the Knoxville headquarters. The military was keeping as many people out of the area as possible, and the investigation part of the incident was pretty much over.
“It will be to Maynardville by then,” Barb said, looking at the map on the wall. It was some sort of interactive screen, and it showed the approximate progress of the Gar as well as all the major military positions.
“Yes, it will,” Graham said. “Which they’re evacuating. He’d prefer to wait until prime time, to get the maximum viewers, but this is going to have to do. All of the TV networks and radio stations have been informed that it is under Emergency Broadcast rules. We’ll have to see what the cable channels do, but most of them are probably going to go along. And we’ve basically given up on the methane story after what happened to the CNN team. But the point is…we’d probably better get moving.”
“Okay,” Barb said, picking up her purse and gesturing to the door. “You first, Laz. And yes, you’re coming along.”
The cat flicked his ears, then walked to the door as if it was his own idea anyway.
“Think he’ll use your script?” Janea asked as they walked down the corridor to the elevator.
“God willing.”
“Ladies and gentlemen of the United States, my fellow citizens, citizens of nations around the globe, I come to you in this, our nation’s hour of need to beg for your help.
“As President, I see many things that are secret and terrible. There are constant threats to the lives of peoples all over the world that never make the news, that are never known but to a very few. The threat this nation, and the world, faces in Tennessee must, for the time being, remain one of those secrets. My fellow Americans, peoples of the world, you don’t want to know.
“However, there is one thing I must ask of all people, of all people of…faith. I do not care if you are Christian or Muslim. I do not care if you are Jew or Mormon or Sikh. I do not care if you are Vishnaya or Syncretic neo-Pagan. In this, our nation’s hour of need, I need you to join me in prayer. I need you to bend your heart and your soul and your belief to ask for intercession by the Almighty, however you may choose to speak to Him, Her or It. I ask you this with all my heart, with all my soul and, yes, with my gathering belief. Now, please, I beg of you with all my power, join me in a prayer.
“Dear Higher Power, we, the believing people of this nation and of this world, ask for your intercession in this, our hour of need. Grant unto your chosen the power to destroy the fell beast which besmirches our land. Give us your blessing and aid, Lord, we ask by all your Nine Billion Names. Amen.”
He bowed his head for a moment and shook it. And then clearly went off script.
“Please, God. Save us. We know we’re not worthy, we know we have strayed far from Your path. But please don’t do this to us. Please. Send us your power or we will fall into the blackness of everlasting night. Amen.
“And now…we wait for an answer.”
“Sharice,” Barb said, looking over her shoulder at the crackle of underbrush. “What are you doing here?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for all the chocolate in Switzerland,” Sharice said. “It down there?”
“Yep,” Barb said. “We were just getting ready to take a peek. You don’t have FLIRs.”
“If the Lady isn’t willing to shield my mind, I guess I’m pretty much over the hill,” Sharice said. “I’ve seen a few things in my time. I think I’ll be okay.”
“That does it,” Janea said, dropping her FLIR to the forest floor. “I can’t be Asatru and fear. And I’m afraid. I will face the test of Fir. I shall overcome it or be blasted. Whichever way it goes, I’m not going to fear.”
“Let’s go, then,” Barb said, pushing aside a screen of privet.
The Gar was moving through the outskirts of the town of Maynardville, leaving its usual wake of destruction.
“Is it me, or is it getting bigger?” Janea asked, her voice a little too firm.
“It’s bigger,” Barb said, calmly. She could feel the horror, but it was washing over her like light rain. “There was a lot of minor cattle ranching in the valley. Lord hope everyone was evacuated safely.”
“That is rather ugly, isn’t it?” Sharice said. If she was bothered it wasn’t apparent.
“Yes, it is,” Barb said, cracking a grin.
“I’m glad you guys think this is funny,” Janea said, her voice shaking.
