Read 2012 for Free Online

them to become increasingly active, and on that day, to destroy human civilization. Attempt to.”
    The president stood up, went to the window. “Bo?”
    “Sir, we don’t have any information like that.”
    “Tom?”
    “This is-I can’t call it a fantasy, obviously. The things are there. But I think we need to wait a little longer. If we have to fight, we also need to know what to fight, and how.”
    “Al, I want to revise your orders. I want you to do the following. You execute a nuclear strike against the most isolated of these things-“
    Tom Samson leaped to his feet. “That’s out of the question!”
    “Tom, you already have your orders.”
    “Sir, not if I’m seeing this dangerous, impetuous tack you’re taking-no, sir, I will not!”
    “Al, will you execute?”
    “Sir, I’m a notch down in the chain.”
    “I want you people to understand something here. I am not hearing what I need to hear. And I’m not just going to be asking for resignations. In just another minute, I’m going to be carrying out arrests. Here. My Secret Service, your ass!” He glared straight at Tom, and Martin thought that he would not like to be in that man’s shoes.
    Al came to his feet. “Sir, I’ll get the strike going at once.”
    “And you’ll continue to fulfill your oath, Tom?”
    “As I understand it.”
    “‘I will faithfully execute lawful orders…’ That’s the part that’s relevant here.”
    “Sir, I will issue the alerts and the War Warning. But I urge you to address this other matter to the National Security Council and to Robbie. Don’t leave your Secretary of Defense in the dark. And for God’s sake, let the British and the French know-all the empires. Don’t surprise them, Sir.”
    “Nobody’s gonna be in the dark,” the president muttered. “Now, let me tell you something incredible. You know what I have to do right now? I have to go out into the Rose Garden and slap a smile on my kisser and pardon a goddamn turkey! Happy Thanksgiving.”
    He left the room, and Martin thought he would follow that man anywhere. He had completely revised his opinion of the president. He was smart, decisive, and a master of the art of managing powerful men like the ones in this room.
    They followed him out. Martin was left behind, completely forgotten. His role in this meeting would probably be lost to history, but he understood what he had done. If they were going to stop what was about to happen, immediate, decisive action was essential.
    It had been a year since NASA had made its announcement about UFOs, and he wondered, now, if that had been a good idea. If they were aliens from another planet, it appeared a harmless enough thing to say. But if parallel universes were involved, whether or not we believed they were real might have a lot to do with their ability to enter our world. The mind might play a part here, a very unsuspected part. Our belief might be essential to their ability to use their gateway, meaning that NASA could have unwittingly opened a door that had been closed by the wisdom of the past, then sealed with the sacred sites that had just been destroyed.
    He pulled out his cell phone. Would there be a signal in this place? Yes, good. He called Lindy. “I’m coming home, baby.”
    “I thought you were on a plane!”
    “I took a detour. A quite incredible detour.” He looked around, saw a man in the doorway, a Secret Service agent, apparently his minder. “Excuse me, I need to get to Kansas City,” he said.
    “National Airport. TAT and Braniff both go to K.C.”
    “Actually, I was brought here on an Air Force jet, and I thought-“
    The agent smiled. “Our job was to get you here. You’re here.”
    “And that’s it?”
    “That’s it.”
    “Martin, what’s going on?” Lindy asked. “Who are you talking to?”
    “I’ll call you from the airport, let you know when I’m getting in.”
    He swallowed the terror that had been building in him. He just hoped to God he could make it