Order of Succession Read online

  Order of Succession:

  Getting Away with Murder

  Book Five of the

  Brian Sadler Archaeological Thrillers

  Bill Thompson

  Published by

  Ascendente Books

  Dallas, Texas

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and any reference to specific places or living persons is incidental. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal rights to publish all the materials in this book.

  Order of Succession

  All Rights Reserved

  Copyright © 2016

  V.1.0

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic or mechanical without the express written consent of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Published by Ascendente Books

  ISBN 978-0996467100

  Printed in the United States of America

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to my wife Marjorie, who patiently puts up with me when I’m writing. We’ve traveled to places I’m sure you never expected to go. We’ve climbed Mayan temples in Belize, experienced the wonders of Petra and the pyramids of Egypt, navigated ancient tunnels in Israel and seen the sun sink like a ball of fire into Banderas Bay at dusk. And we’ve just begun. We have many more things to see!

  I love you and appreciate you more every single day.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  As always, I thank my beta readers Bob, Peggy, Jeff, Ryan and Margie. Each of your efforts contributes to the critical review process and I appreciate your time and willingness to help.

  CHAPTER ONE

  The First Day

  Tuesday, March 31, 9:30 p.m. Eastern time

  We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news.

  When one of ABC's senior newscasters, a man with decades of experience, appeared flustered and uncertain, it could only mean one thing – something catastrophic had happened. The familiar anchor behind the news desk had obviously been pressed into service quickly. His shirt collar was open and he wasn't wearing a jacket. His microphone had been so quickly affixed to his collar that it hung to one side.

  We go now to the White House for a special briefing.

  The press secretary walked to his usual place behind the podium, glanced at his notes and began to read.

  Air Force Two, with the Vice President and the Secretary of State on board, disappeared from radar less than half an hour ago over the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii. The plane was en route from Honolulu to Hong Kong, where Vice President Taylor and Secretary Clancy were meeting tomorrow with Xi Jinxing, President of the People's Republic of China, to discuss economic issues.

  The last radar transmission showed the plane near the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the ocean. There were no apparent weather issues. A squadron of military aircraft is en route to the area.

  At the moment, President Harrison and his family are aboard Air Force One en route to the United States from the Caribbean nation of Barbados, where he attended a conference. The President has been briefed on the situation and he urges citizens to remain calm. For now we simply don't know what has happened.

  The Secretary of Defense announced that as a precautionary measure, the nation's security level has been raised to DEFCON 3. The President ordered the level increased from DEFCON 5, the lowest level, where it has been for many years. The last time the nation was at DEFCON 3 was after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

  The press secretary ended the news conference without taking questions for which there simply were no answers. How could a Boeing 747 simply disappear? Had there been mechanical trouble? Did the plane explode? Americans prayed this wouldn't end up as a terrible tragedy.

  President William Henry Harrison IV was in his office aboard Air Force One when the head of the National Security Agency and the Secretary of Defense called to report Vice President Taylor's aircraft missing. Secretary Clark recommended the President's plane immediately divert from its flight plan, aborting the trip to Dallas and instead flying directly to the nearest air base, the Naval Air Station at Key West. The President concurred, and within minutes the radar station at Marathon, Florida, noted the aircraft's new course.

  The night's second horrific announcement came just twenty minutes after the first. This story sent the world into a tailspin of dread. This day would be remembered forever, just like that beautiful Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, when one horrific plane crash became two, then three, and everyone realized this was all part of a plan, the largest terror attack ever waged against the United States of America.

  Shortly after the world learned that the Vice President's plane was missing, the media watched the White House press secretary as he returned to the podium for his second news conference in thirty minutes. This time he brushed away tears before he spoke.

  _____

  Please bear with me as we get through this together as a nation drawn into confusion. Now tears were streaming down his face. A few moments ago Air Force One disappeared from radar, exactly as Air Force Two did earlier. The President, his wife and children, the Chief of Staff and the plane's crew were over the Caribbean Sea en route to the Naval Air Station at Key West. After the Vice President's plane disappeared, President Harrison's plane was immediately diverted to the closest military installation.

  Massive search-and-rescue operations will soon be under way at both locations. It's daytime in the Pacific where Air Force Two was last on radar, but there are several hours of darkness left in the Caribbean Sea where Air Force One disappeared. Regardless, massive efforts are already beginning.

  The press secretary paused to compose himself. President Harry Harrison was loved and revered by his staff and most American citizens. He was a man whose vibrant personality and quick wit made him seem more like an average guy than the wealthy former senator he was. The press secretary had become particularly close to Harrison, and he choked back a sob as he read the next words.

  Speaker of the House Chambliss Parkes is next in the order of succession to the presidency. Although no final word about the President is known at this time, the Speaker and his family have been moved to a secret location until more information develops. Several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the National Security Agency, the FBI and CIA are working jointly with the Department of Defense in the ongoing investigation.

  The press secretary paused as an aide walked to the stage and handed him a piece of paper. He looked at it. The people seated in front of him couldn't miss the involuntary shudder as he read what was on the note.

  The Defense Secretary contacted Speaker Parkes moments ago. The Speaker ordered security raised to its highest readiness level, DEFCON 1. The United States has never before been at DEFCON 1.

  As the news conference continued, the correspondents began furiously typing on their cellphones, searching to see what impact the highest threat level carried.

  I will now read a brief statement from Speaker Parkes. I quote, "Although we have no tangible reason to believe the country could be threatened at this time, both the President and Vice President are missing. The Secretary of Defense recommended we go to DEFCON 1 as a prudent measure and I agreed. I urge the American people to remain calm. There is no reason to panic." End quote.

  The press secretary paused, wishing to God there would be no questions, yet knowing that wasn't going to happen. The handful of reporters who had been hanging around the White House this evening were suddenly the world's news sources. Hands flew into
the air and reporters shot rapid-fire questions with the urgency that accompanied fear and lack of understanding.

  He called on a reporter who glanced at his phone and said, "I'm reading verbatim from the Defense Department's website. 'DEFCON 1 means the nation will be at maximum readiness for what could be an imminent nuclear attack.' Does implementing DEFCON 1 mean Speaker Parkes and Defense Secretary Vernon believe there's an imminent possibility of nuclear war?"

  I'm giving you what information has been made public at this point. The Speaker asked us to remain calm and not panic. I think that's important now as we try to learn what's happened tonight.

  "Is Speaker Parkes going to be sworn in as President? If so, when will that happen?"

  All of us in this room know that two years ago we went seven days without a President. Tonight there simply isn't enough information yet to say what's happened to President Harrison and Vice President Taylor. We can't jump to conclusions. We have to wait for now.

  "This is obviously no coincidence. Two planes are missing. Has any group claimed responsibility?"

  I'm not aware of anyone claiming responsibility at this time. We're not even sure if there's anything to claim responsibility for. We just don't know right now what happened.

  The beleaguered press secretary did his best in a situation he never envisioned having to face. He told them there simply was no more information available. With his shoulders slumped, he walked out of the room.

  _____

  The nation had heard the first report – news of the disappearance of Air Force Two – at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time on a Tuesday. After that sobering press conference, Wall Street experts predicted the stock markets would open significantly lower the next morning. No one had an inkling how shortsighted that prediction would be. As bad as things were, just thirty minutes later they were multiplied a thousandfold when a second news flash took the events from horrific to unfathomable. Governments around the world braced for a panic of global proportions, and it took very little time to happen.

  On October 19, 1987, the day of the stock market's greatest crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped twenty-two percent. This time investors would have been thrilled with that number. Although US markets wouldn't open until tomorrow morning, the Asian exchanges were in the middle of their trading day when the news was announced. Stocks plummeted twenty percent before the closing bell rang. The same thing happened in Europe. When their markets opened, fail-safes designed to avoid a crash like 2008 shut the exchanges down within minutes.

  The Fed convened an emergency meeting at 3:30 a.m., considering moves to prop up the market if necessary. Their efforts would be for naught; no one could stem the tidal wave that would hit in a few hours. When the market opened the next morning, the experts knew exactly what was going to happen. Sell orders from around the world would flood the Internet as investors large and small rushed to beat the hysteria that always seemed to accompany a catastrophe.

  Many people didn't hear the story until they woke the next morning to a horrific reality. The top leaders of the United States were missing. The Dow Jones had closed yesterday above seventeen thousand. This morning it opened down an astounding six thousand four hundred points. Nothing before had ever remotely approached the magnitude of panic that was unfolding worldwide. There was no stopgap – no fail-safe – to deal with massive selling and zero buy orders to offset it. Investors around the world were literally hysterical and in panic mode.

  Just before the New York Stock Exchange opened, the Hong Kong exchange announced it would not open for the rest of the week, a total of four trading days. That monumental announcement was the last straw for the markets. The massive computer system serving the New York Stock Exchange crashed thirty seconds after the opening bell. In a fruitless attempt to create order from chaos, the exchange stayed open seventeen turbulent minutes before the governing board pulled the plug. An orderly market required both buyers and sellers, but today only one side of the market existed. When the Stock Exchange closed at 9:47 a.m., the Dow was down seven thousand six hundred points, a mind-boggling, paralyzing forty-three percent loss from yesterday's close.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Brian Sadler and Nicole Farber had begun that Tuesday morning eager to see Harry and Jennifer Harrison and their girls Lizzie and Kate. The President called Brian around noon to confirm they would leave Barbados after he spoke at a dinner. They looked forward to seeing everyone tonight around ten at Love Field in Dallas.

  Since their days as college roommates, Brian and Harry had maintained a close friendship while one became a renowned antiquities dealer and the other rose quickly in politics. Harry had first been a congressman from Oklahoma, and then he was elected to his father's Senate seat when Henry Harrison retired. Republican presidential nominee John Chapman picked Harry as his running mate, and the two were swept into the White House by a comfortable margin three years ago.

  That afternoon Brian spoke with the head of the Secret Service detail that would be handling security for the President. The agent had briefed him earlier on this evening's plans; this call was to nail down the specifics.

  A government sedan would pick up Brian and Nicole at nine p.m. They'd go to the nearby airport and wait in a VIP lounge for Air Force One's expected arrival around ten. They would greet the President and his family and ride in their limousine to the Crescent Hotel, where the first family was scheduled to spend the night. After a quick nightcap, Brian and Nicole would go home to their condo in the Ritz-Carlton, a couple of blocks from the President's hotel.

  Love Field had both commercial and private aircraft traffic, and there were a dozen operations along the airport's east side that catered to corporate jets. For the rest of his life, Brian would never forget what happened just as he and Nicole were being escorted into the VIP lounge. He'd glanced at his watch and saw it was 9:16. Suddenly both Secret Service agents with them stopped, pressing their earpieces, alert to the communication they were hearing.

  "Code Orange!" They all heard the yell from the next room as the agents grabbed Brian and Nicole by their arms and roughly pushed them forward. Six more agents were rushing from the tarmac into the lounge through large glass doors. Everyone's weapons were drawn.

  "What the hell?" Brian yelled as they were told to sit.

  An agent said, "There's an emergency situation, sir! Sit down! Now!"

  The Secret Service men waited for orders as their chief, the one who'd spoken to Brian, was on his cellphone. The evening news on CNN was on a muted TV opposite them. Suddenly Brian saw a breaking news flash and pointed to the screen.

  "Turn that up!" the lead agent shouted.

  As they heard about the disappearance of Air Force Two, Brian and Nicole realized that Code Orange was a signal that the Vice President was in trouble. They knew this could change Harry and Jennifer's trip completely. Now wasn't the time to ask – the agents were huddled in a corner opposite them, getting orders from their leader.

  Moments later six of the agents left the building, returning to a stretch limousine sitting near the aircraft parking area outside. It was undoubtedly the vehicle intended to carry the President and his family. The senior agent came over to them and said, "I apologize for the inconvenience, but we're going to take you both home. For the President's safety, Air Force One's being diverted to a base in Key West. They won't be coming to Dallas."

  "Not at all?" Nicole asked.

  "That's my understanding, ma'am. It's too early to know anything and things can change, but I'd say President Harrison's going to be in a secure facility until people figure out what's happened."

  They talked quietly as they rode back to their building. The two agents who'd brought them over were in the front seat. Brian and Nicole could hear static and chatter from a radio mounted in the dash. They were five minutes or so from the Ritz-Carlton when the words CODE RED, repeat CODE RED were broadcast loudly through its speaker.

  "Oh God!" the driver said, activating red lights and turning on hi
s siren. "We've got to get you home!" He accelerated sharply as his partner's phone rang.

  "What's going on?" Nicole screamed. "What's happening? What does Code Red mean?"

  The agents said nothing. One concentrated on driving and the other spoke quietly on his phone. When they pulled under the porte cochere at the Ritz, the driver screeched to a halt, jumped out and walked around the car. The building's doorman, startled at the red lights and the siren still screaming in his driveway, opened the back door, and they hopped out.

  The driver was obviously frazzled and in a hurry. "Apologies, folks. Sorry, there's no time to explain." He ran back to the front and the car sped away.

  Brian asked the doorman if there was any more news about the Vice President's plane. Something had just happened, but they had no idea what it was.

  "Nothing since the news conference. The news is on in the lobby." He pointed to the screen just as the same words – Breaking News – appeared again.

  Half a dozen residents who were coming or going joined Brian, Nicole and the doorman in the lobby to watch the report. Nicole began to sob as they heard the President's press secretary solemnly announce that Air Force One, carrying the President, his wife and two children, the Chief of Staff and a crew of seven persons, was missing too. It had disappeared less than thirty minutes after the first plane vanished.

  CHAPTER THREE

  The Second Day

  Wednesday, April 1

  The stock market was only one manifestation of the hysteria that swept the nation. The people who had been asleep when the events unfolded learned the news the next morning. It was April Fool's Day, and some listeners wondered for a moment if this was someone's idea of a tasteless, insensitive joke. But it couldn't have been. The news was literally everywhere, and it was devastating. This was no joke.