Page 28 of State of Retribution

“Duty calls, but check in later.We have some catching up to do on important topics, such as the Caps’ playoff run and the Feds’ spring training.”

Juan smiled.“Yes, sir, Mr.President.I’ll stop by at the end of my tour.”

Nick shook his hand.“Thanks again for not being murdered.”

Laughing, Juan said, “I’m at your service, sir.”

“Excellent.”

As he walked with Terry to the briefing room, Nick said, “I wonder how much of this will be about Alaska and how much will be about the drones.”

“Probably fifty-fifty.”

“Which is annoying.This should all be about Alaska.”

“It’s never all about any one thing, is it, sir?”

“If that’s not the truth, I don’t know what is.”A day in the White House was about everything all at once.And right when you had things somewhat under control, there was more.Such as a mudslide that struck out of nowhere.

When he stepped up to the podium, the room went quiet.“At approximately eight o’clock this morning Alaska Standard Time, a mudslide and flood struck the Valley Elementary School in Juneau, Alaska.Located in the Mendenhall Valley neighborhood, the school serves pre-K to grade five and has three hundred and twenty-five students enrolled with twenty-three teachers plus support staff.In addition to the school, a number of nearby buildings, businesses and homes were impacted.We’re in the earliest stages of determining the full scope of the disaster.

“We’re working with state and local authorities to determine how many people were inside each building at the time of the incident.The governor of Alaska has deployed the National Guard to assist in the search and rescue operations, and numerous federal agencies have been activated, including the Coast Guard and other military members stationed at nearby bases, as well as FEMA and other relevant federal agencies and staff.I’ve directed everyone involved to deploy the full resources of the federal government to assist in this effort.Although we’re in the earliest stages of this incident, it’s believed that a larger-than-average snowfall followed by a warmer-than-usual spring may have contributed to this catastrophe.

“Needless to say, a heartbreaking scene is unfolding in Juneau, and our hearts are with the families of those trapped in the school as well as the greater Juneau community.I’ll take a few questions.”

“Mr.President, what do you know about the drones that were deployed yesterday?”

“I have no new updates to give you on that matter other than to say a massive investigation is underway at the local and federal levels.”

“Mr.President, is the drone incident being treated as an assassination attempt?”

“That’s all for now.We’ll keep you informed on the events transpiring in Juneau.”

“Mr.President!”

It seemed to him that every person in the packed briefing room was shouting his name as he walked out.Probably because they were.

“Not one question about more than three hundred kids buried alive in their school,” he said with disgust.

“To be fair, the attempted assassination of a sitting president is big news, sir.”

“Understood, but at the moment, the possibility of three hundred twenty-fivechildrenburied alive in mud is bigger news to me.”

He returned to the Oval Office to deal with the unfolding crisis with a feeling of dread hanging over him.As a father of young children himself, he wished he could go to Juneau and do something useful to help with the search without being the world’s biggest distraction.

At the Adams Morganhome of Nate Andrews, Sam and Freddie were greeted by a young blonde woman whose swollen, red eyes bugged when she saw Sam standing on the stoop of the brick-fronted townhouse.

Sam showed her badge while Freddie did the same.“Lieutenant Holland.My partner, Detective Cruz.”

“Y-yes, I know who you are.”

“We know this is a terrible time, but we’d like to speak to Mr.Andrews’s family.”

“The other police were here.We… we told them what we know.”

“I understand, but I’m following up with some additional questions.May I speak to Mr.Andrews’s wife?”

“She’s…” The woman shook her head.“She’s in very bad shape.”

---