The White House, Washington, D.C.

 

Bayer slid the last of the photo packets across the polished surface of the conference table in the Situation Room and dropped back into his chair. The President, seated at the head of the table, had already seen the report and the pictures from the takedown of the Al Calipha in a private briefing, so he didn’t open his folder. He simply stared at the ceiling, hiding his emotions and waiting for assembled members of his National Security Council to get a good look at what Bayer’s strike force had encountered in the South Pacific.

When sufficient time had passed and Bayer felt certain everyone had a chance to absorb the images, he cleared his throat and got everyone’s attention: “The Al Calipha is currently being sailed to Koror, where the ship will remain anchored well offshore and under strict quarantine. We’re assembling reps from all the appropriate agencies to fly out there right now. To keep this under wraps until you decide how to approach an announcement or make the necessary complaints to the parties involved…or whatever the President directs as the appropriate course of action. We’ll be keeping the crew and the scientists involved under wraps aboard the ship. I understand Interior is dealing with the Palauan government. An FBI team is already on the way to Koror. They’ll be conducting the interrogations and compiling the evidence.”

Bayer grabbed a packet similar to the ones he’d just passed out and held it up. “As to the what and why of the effort, much of that information is speculation at this point, but our best opinions are included in your packets along with the photos. There’s a good, plain English report in there that describes the danger these contaminated specimens could have presented if they had been introduced into the food chain. You won’t have time to read it now, but I urge you to do so at your earliest convenience. It’s some scary stuff.”

The Secretary of State tapped one of the photos with a polished fingernail. “And you believe the initial target was the Philippines? Why the Philippines?”

“Who knows for sure, Madam Secretary? There are likely two factors involved. The Philippines are nearby and maybe they wanted to conduct a test. You know, see how this thing would work in a population that relies heavily on seafood in the diet. And one of our people out there who used to know Ignacio Felodon believes the man was looking for revenge against the Philippine government. Details on that are in the report from Chan Dwyer, our DIA rep on the team. That’s also included in your packet. She believes, and I agree with her, that the people involved at the highest levels thought Felodon would make a perfect fall guy and take the heat off of them when we started looking around for culprits.”

The President leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. All eyes turned to him and he swept the room, looking at each face before he spoke. “Let’s not get distracted with speculation just now, folks. They may have been going to conduct a test attack in the Philippines, but Bob Bayer believes the ultimate target was the United States. I’m inclined to agree, given what we know about the backers in this thing. The Saudis and the Iranians don’t give a damn about the Philippines, but there are zealous factions in both of those countries that would dearly love to kill a bunch of Americans with a credibly deniable biological weapon. It’s twisted but I believe it’s true. We’ll deal with those nations as evidence is developed over the next couple of weeks.

“Meanwhile…” The President stood and leaned over the table. “The threat is still out there and we need to deal with it forcibly and quickly. I’m talking about what’s left on Peleliu and the surviving players who are likely still on that island guarding their stock of biological weapons. And let’s be clear about this: They may be just a bunch of fish that these guys have genetically altered, but they represent a serious biological weapon if deployed or introduced into the world food chain. We are not going to let that happen.”

The President started toward the door of the Situation Room and then paused. “That’s all for now, but I had better not hear one whisper about this outside this room. No leaks, period. None at all. No backgrounders. No nothing with the press in any way shape or form. I’m deathly serious about this. If word about this threat gets out and people start to panic, heads right here in this room will start to roll.”

He checked his watch and pointed at several people around the table. “Sidebar in one hour in my office: National Security Advisor, NCTC, State, Interior and Press Secretary.”