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there’s suspicion our own government manufactured the disease in a laboratory, or some other government did.”
    “On the question of where the plague came from, do you have any info on that?” Nate asked Donovan.
    “No. It started in countries that are U.S. allies. That looks like terrorism. But then it spread around the world. If someone wanted to attack us, it backfired on them and killed their own people. Of course, it could’ve been a doomsday thing and they wanted to die along with everyone else.” He shrugged. “If Washington and the Pentagon know something, they haven’t told me. Either way, knowing how, who, and why the plague started isn’t going to solve our problems.”
    Steering the conversation back on course, Donovan continued. “Hatred of government authority is growing all across the country. Americans have been and are still killing one another for little or no reason. I’ve been getting warnings from down the chain of command about warlords popping up and people forming their own little governments. Even some military officers have… Colonel Hewitt isn’t the only officer to go nuts. Societal degeneration is still a problem in many areas.”
    “So this little community is actually doing better than some,” Tyrone said.
    “Better than most.” Donovan crossed his arms. “Soldiers have found pockets of children who were left to fend for themselves.” He looked down. “It was like Lord of the Flies. Sure, people are getting their act together in some areas, but in other areas they’ve devolved back to medieval times. Some in Washington have deluded themselves into believing we’re well on our way to recovery. We’re not.”
    “How about other countries,” Nate asked.
    “I’ve been told that Americans are actually faring better than most.” Donovan moved to a map on the wall and pointed at the American South and West. “Those two areas are doing much better than the rest of the country and the rest of the world. We ‘ugly Americans’ have proven ourselves to be civilized compared to most of Europe. Jolly old England isn’t so jolly nowadays.”
    Nate glanced at Deni and then directed his attention to Donovan. “Expect Washington to react harshly as soon as they have the means. As the people harden their attitudes toward troublemakers, so will government. The innocent will suffer along with the guilty.”
    “I don’t think there’s any way to tell how things will go,” Deni countered. “Yeah, it may get worse before it gets better, but there’s no real reason why the government or the people should drag us backward. If enough people all over and in Washington fight for not only law and order but human rights at the same time, we should be able to stay on course. After all, most people are basically good.”
    Brian looked worried. “I remember reading The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank in school. She wrote something like that even though her and her family were arrested and taken to concentration camps to die.”

Chapter 3
    President Russell Capinos sat at a large English oak table. Vice President Piers Trant sat on the opposite side, and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Shirley Montobon, sat to his left. Soon, her position would be obsolete, as the president planned to have the military take over most federal law enforcement and national security duties. Capinos hadn’t told her yet, but it was a done deal. Many federal agencies were going to be merged or shut down completely. Outside threats were considered to be nonexistent. It was hungry, lawless Americans Washington feared and needed to control. He still hadn’t decided whether to cut the NSA to a bare minimum or just close it down completely. There just wasn’t any Internet, phone, or anything else in the way of electronic surveillance to be done. Only fears enemies abroad might restart their most sophisticated technologies sooner than anticipated caused him to hesitate to close the