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Faced with an immutable outcome, Norris can only think about how to step down, that is, justify himself. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

When the vanguard of the 4th Infantry Division entered Central Park, the secretary reminded Norris, who had returned to his room to rest, and when he arrived at the strategic command center, the first scout had already entered the passage blown up by the attackers, and was groping his way into the rehabilitation center to investigate the situation inside.

"How's it going?" Norris asked Archibald.

The Minister of Defense looked back at the president, then shook his head and said, "It won't be too ideal, the instrument shows that the oxygen content in it is very low, and there are a lot of toxic components." ”

Norris frowned and asked the Secretary of Defense to continue.

"It's too late, I'm afraid everyone inside has already been killed." Archibald gritted his teeth, "Thankfully, in this case, the attackers can't get in, and hopefully no secrets have been revealed." ”

"What do you think the attackers were blowing up those passages for?"

Archibald was stunned for a moment, and quickly said: "After the bombing, our unmanned reconnaissance aircraft has been circling in the sky and has not found anyone entering. ”

"Just because you haven't found it doesn't mean that no one has been in."

Seeing Norris's not in a good mood, Archibald kept his mouth shut.

The president was right: After the bombing, the US military used several unmanned reconnaissance planes to continuously monitor the situation at the bombing site. The problem was that within minutes of the bombing being over, smoke was over the bombing site, making visible light cameras and millimeter-wave synthetic aperture radar useless, and the high temperatures of the flames made infrared cameras useless. Archibald could only believe that in that extreme situation, it would be impossible for anyone to get close to the bombing site, let alone enter the rehabilitation center through the passage created by the blasting.

"Found Cologne?" Norris shifted the subject, not embarrassing the atmosphere.

"He's mingling with civilians, and he's been on his way back with Sternberg when he heard that the attackers released him."

"Sternberg?" Norris furrowed his brow again.

"The secretary of state has already arranged the work over there, and he doesn't need to take care of the rest."

"It's good to come back, there's a lot of stuff to be done here."

"President, we have to think about the aftermath."

"I know." Norris sighed and said, "Tell General Robert that the military operation is over, and ask him to hand over command to Brigadier General Copperfield and come back to report the results of the operation." ”

"Now?"

"Yes, now!" Norris glanced at his watch, "Two hours later, I was in a meeting at the White House, and I wanted all the important people to be on time. ”

Archibald didn't dwell further and immediately called Admiral Robert.

As expected, the scout's search turned out that the Renovation Center had been severely damaged, all of the scientists trapped inside had died, and the most important Conversion Room and Control Room had been buried by the collapsed earth and rock in the blast, and it would take at least several months to complete the cleanup.

For Norris, the first problem was how to clean up the Future Soldier experimental center.

At a meeting attended by senior generals of the army and senior officials of the federal political axe, Norris first raised the issue of how to deal with incidents related to the "Future Warrior".

It's a hassle for anyone.

The reason is very simple, the "Future Soldier" project has never been made public, the funds used are also from illegal channels, and the [***] experiments carried out in the project are serious violations of federal law.

In Norris's view, the biggest threat is not the Republican Party, but the informed populace.

The Future Warriors program has been in place for more than two decades, with two Republican presidents in the process, so Republicans will be dragged down when it comes to accountability. In political interest, as long as Norisken lowers his profile, the Republican Party will compromise on this matter.

The problem is that the population will never compromise with the political axe.

There is already ample evidence that the attackers, in addition to the looting of the Federal Reserve Bank, aimed primarily at destroying the Future Warriors experimental center. In other words, it was this experimental center that brought disaster to Manhattan, leading to the abduction of millions of people and the incalculable loss of property. When it comes to this, even the president can't afford the heavy losses caused by it.

Everyone knows that the best thing to do is to hide the truth.

Here's the problem, something so big has happened that it's almost impossible to hide the truth.

Although military control can be used to prohibit civilians and journalists from entering Central Park, and if necessary, it is possible to fabricate an irresponsible lie, such as claiming that the attackers planted weapons of mass destruction in Central Park, but such large-scale explosions and bombings have left indelible traces on the ground, and have long been photographed by commercial remote sensing satellites, how to explain it has become the biggest problem.

This difficult task was finally proposed by the CIA and the Pentagon with a reasonable solution.

The solution is also very simple, that is, to claim that there are weapons of mass destruction planted by the attackers in Central Park, to conduct military control of the surrounding area, and then to carry out a comprehensive excavation of the experimental center on the pretext of dismantling the weapons of mass destruction, remove all useful equipment, and dispose of the corpses of scientific researchers by the way, and finally completely bury the experimental center on the pretext of preventing the spread of toxic substances harmful to the human body.

Of course, to deal with this matter, it is necessary to give reasonable explanations for the causes of death of thousands of scientific researchers.

Thankfully, this wasn't a nuisance, as there were quite a few deaths on the island.

The second major issue that needed to be addressed urgently by Norris was the ransacking of the Federal Reserve Bank's underground vaults.

This time, instead of letting the military and the CIA use their brains, Sternberg proposed a feasible solution for the president: directly claim that the attackers dissolved all the gold with a highly toxic solvent and discharged some of it into New York Bay, and the rest was completely burned in the bombing of the US military, and most of it had entered the atmosphere.

Shifting the blame to the attackers could also be considered a solution.

Of course, there are many things that need to be pushed to the attackers, such as the collapse of thousands of high-rise buildings, the huge casualties suffered in the battle, and so on.

According to Sternberg's suggestion, the first thing Norris did was to settle the three million "refugees".

At this time, it is most important for the president to come forward in person and convince the American people that the president has always been with them and has been with them through this difficult time.

By doing so, the president will also reassure frightened American citizens and boost public confidence in federal politics.

It's just that no matter what Norris does, there's no way to avoid a very serious question: who will be responsible for this catastrophic massive attack?

No one raised this issue at the meeting, but everyone knew that someone had to come forward.

What's more, the one who takes responsibility is definitely a big shot!

After the public discussion, Norris left Sternberg behind.

"How's your talk to Robert?"

Sternberg was stunned for a moment and said, "President, now is not the time to discuss this matter, there are still many things waiting for us to deal with......

"I know, and I believe, that you can do your job."

Hearing this, Sternberg suddenly understood.

"We are all saddened that something like this has happened, but someone has to step up and take responsibility." Norris shook his head with a smile and said, "I know, you're going to make suggestions, such as shifting the blame to the CIA and letting Turner take the blame." Maybe he's not qualified enough and needs to add a few big names, like Archibald. If it was just a 911-like attack, I would do it. Unfortunately, 911 was not a terrorist attack at all. Asking the federal political axe officials to come forward and take responsibility will not only fail to convince the public, but will also make everyone think that I am a president who has no responsibility at all. ”

"But ......"

"In a few days, I will hand over power to the vice president and let him lead the federal axe through his final term." Norris laughed and said, "No matter what, I hope you can keep going and overcome this unprecedented challenge." All of this is happening, and we need a leader with a long-term strategic vision, or it will not just be Manhattan that will be destroyed, but the whole of America. ”

Sternberg knew that the president was not joking, and his heart became extremely heavy.

After a moment of silence, Norris spoke again: "I know you're a little hesitant right now, but we can't have any illusions about the future. You have to face not only foreign enemies, but also enemies around you. I believe in your political prowess, and I believe that you can steer this chariot that is about to get out of control. ”

"It's a pity that I'm not the vice president."

Norris was stunned for a moment, and heard what Sternberg meant.

"President, as long as I'm Secretary of State, I'm going to do my duty, and we can't predict what the future will look like, no one can predict." Sternberg smiled and said, "Anyway, this is a historical incident, and I believe we can overcome all challenges." ”

"That's up to who's going to lead our country."

Sternberg smiled again and did not answer the president's words.

After reading the Secretary of State's thoughts, Norris sighed and said, "I don't force you to do anything, and I don't have the right to let you do anything." In any case, the years ahead will be very difficult, and we will all be witnesses to history, witnessing the gradual decline of this vast empire. ”

No sooner had Norris finished his sentence than there was a knock on the door.

The secretary pushed open the door, and Archibald hurried in.

Seeing the Minister of Defense's panicked look, Norris and Sternberg were both startled, and then stood up.

Something very bad must have happened, otherwise the Minister of Defense would not have been so anxious, let alone break into the president's office before the secretary briefed.

(To be continued)