Martial Law (15 page)

“Good,” said Sarge as he finished his latte. “My last stops for the day are the Lodges, Tudors, and Samuel Bradlee. They all live near each other on Beacon Hill. I don’t think I’ll take Art on this trip. That will allow me to chauffeur them all at once—assuming no surprise items of luggage or
pets
.” Winnie the Frenchie ran through the Great Hall with a plastic water bottle in her mouth.

“I just called all three of them, and they understand. They will be waiting for you. Can you make it back before dark?”

“Easily,” replied Sarge. “But I have to say, as the day progresses, the amount of activity in the streets increases. I’ve also noticed a rise in unsavory characters. I believe this evening will be a rough one for some.”

“Then you better get going and stay safe.”

“A couple of more things. Did you get in touch with the Endicotts?”

“No,” replied Julia. “I assume they’re at their condo at the former Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel. Remember, they purchased the penthouse unit next to Patricia Cornwell.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I don’t mind getting them, but I don’t want to gallivant all over Boston if they’re not home. Doesn’t General Endicott travel a lot with his new bride?”

“I’ve heard she is new,” Julia said sarcastically. “She’s younger than all but one of his children. You know all of these ladies were good friends with Jane Anne, his first wife. I’m not sure the latest and greatest Mrs. Endicott will get along with this crew.”

Sarge laughed. The shit had hit the fan out there and would in here as well when they showed up.

Chapter 30

Sunday, September 4, 2016

7:55 p.m.

100 Beacon

Boston, Massachusetts

Julia made Mrs. Lowell a cup of hot tea. Mrs. Lowell was having difficulty adjusting to her new life. Julia assumed her husband had shielded her from the threats their nation faced. Like so many husbands, Lowell, most likely in an attempt to protect his wife from stress or worry, avoided the subject. She was in a state of shock.

After Sarge’s return with the last of the Boston Brahmin, except for the Endicotts, who were still out of contact, they decided to gather the group together and discuss the events of the last twenty-four hours. Julia spent the day scouring the Internet for news reports. Fluent in Chinese, Julia spent some time on the official website of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. Premier Li stressed that China was not involved in the attack on the United States power grid and pledged to build the EHV, extra-high voltage, transformers and replace parts necessary for damaged units as quickly as possible. However, the time frame for replacing the massive transformers was estimated to be one to three years, and the premier stressed payment must be made in gold or equivalent—
not the almighty dollar
.

The U.S. interconnected grid had three main components:
generation
—creation of electricity;
transmission
—the cross-regional transportation of electricity; and
distribution
—connecting the electricity to the end user. America had eighty thousand miles of EHV transmission lines making up the backbone of the power grid that enabled the long-haul transport of electricity.

Ninety percent of consumed energy passed through a high-voltage transformer at some point. As these transformers failed in large numbers, a cascading effect rippled throughout the entire western and eastern interconnected grid. Reports indicated these EHV transformers were damaged beyond repair, except in Texas, which was not connected to the eastern and western grids.

EHV transformers were huge, weighing hundreds of tons, making them difficult to transport—in some cases requiring specialized railcars, which were also in short supply. Before the cyber attack on Saturday night, the EHV transformers installed in the U.S. were approaching or exceeding the end of their forty-year design lifetimes—increasing their vulnerability to failure.

The vulnerability of the critical infrastructure was a frequent topic in the
Boston Herald
newsroom and among the Loyal Nine. It was agreed that a grid-down scenario was the worst possible scenario for America. While many would die from the lack of power to medical devices, most would die from disease, starvation, and violence.

After the last pickup of the day, Sarge began to show concern about the conditions outside 100 Beacon. As the day progressed, unrest escalated. Bostonians began to learn through the limited cell phone service that the grid was down nationwide. Julia suspected many were in denial as to whether this event was going to be long-term and catastrophic in nature. Her online research reported unrest across the nation. A brief trip to the rooftop earlier in the day revealed fires burning out of control toward Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. The sounds of sirens from first responders filled the air—together with black smoke.

She closed the laptop and whispered to Sarge, “Should we tell them everything we know? I don’t think the husbands have kept their wives informed as to the severity of the situation.”

“Have there been any news reports directly affecting Boston?” asked Sarge.

“No—other than what we’ve observed from the rooftop or your outings,” she replied.

“I think it would be a mistake to sugarcoat the situation. Let’s be factual, but not over the top. A few people in this room need a wake-up call, but there are a couple of the ladies that concern me. Especially Mrs. Lowell. She seems genuinely upset by what’s happening—more so than the others.”

“What do you think is troubling her, besides the obvious?” asked Julia.

“I don’t know,” replied Sarge. “Try to engage her in conversation tomorrow. Maybe enlist your aunt’s assistance. She might be in denial, but I sense something else. Anger maybe.”

Julia recalled a book she’d read on grief counseling. If Mrs. Lowell was grieving over the circumstances or a loss unknown to the rest of the group, she and Sarge would have to choose their words carefully.

“Let’s get started.” Julia walked into the Great Hall and offered everyone something to drink. Candles were burning throughout the space. Sarge stood in front of the televisions.

“I wish we were gathered here under more pleasant circumstances,” said Sarge. “We all have questions and concerns. Julia has spent the better part of the day gathering information and staying in contact with our friends at Prescott Peninsula. Before I let her relay the details to you, I would like to take a moment and outline some logistics.”

“Where are the Endicotts?” asked Mr. Lowell.

“I’m sure
she
insisted on the south of France?” sniped Mrs. Cabot, dragging out the pronunciation of France with a considerable
aaahhh
. Some of the ladies nodded and snickered.

“We’ve been trying to reach them continuously, to no avail,” replied Sarge. “I’m sure Mr. Endicott was instructed in the procedures to follow. He also knows about 100 Beacon. He is either traveling or perhaps failed to keep his satellite phone unit charged. I will assess the situation tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll go with you, Sarge,” offered Dr. Peabody. Uncle Art had become a valuable ally to Sarge as the day progressed. Julia and Sarge were able to have frank discussions and assessments with him without fear of raising a panic.

“Thank you, Art,” said Sarge. “I know there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding this event. There are long-term questions, but the actions we take in the short term will determine our safety.” Julia brought Sarge a bar stool to sit on. She thought he might revert into
Professor Sargent
if he continued to stand in front of his new
class
.

“Thank you, darling,” he said to her. Aunt Stella beamed. She was for
Team Julia and Sarge
.

“After the power went off, we immediately prepared 100 Beacon. As you know, John Morgan tasked us with this responsibility many years ago. We hoped a collapse event of this magnitude would never occur, but we prepared nonetheless. All of us equated this plan to insurance. Many of you have insured your homes against fire, tornado, and earthquakes, yet never experienced a loss. Our plans involving 100 Beacon, Prescott Peninsula, and the protection of you were another form of insurance.”

“Thank you, Henry,” said Mr. Lodge. Julia patted Lodge on the shoulder and mouthed
thanks
.

“We have established a protocol for a catastrophic event,” continued Sarge. “Before we picked you up today, Julia and I assessed the situation, conducted a threat analysis to our building, and then established communications last night with a predetermined contact list. These initial steps were deemed critical to secure 100 Beacon in the event human threats developed rapidly.”

“What kind of
human threats
?” asked Mrs. Winthrop.

“Desperate people are capable of doing desperate things,” replied Sarge. “Most Americans only have a few days of food and water in their cupboards. They live paycheck to paycheck. Those families on America’s vast social welfare network will be panicked as they learn their government benefits no longer exist. The majority of humanity will become a very real threat to those of us who have prepared in advance.”

“Simply put,” interrupted Dr. Peabody, “they will do whatever is necessary to take what we have.” Most in the room nodded in agreement. Mrs. Lowell remained stoic, staring out the window.

“Very true, Art,” said Sarge. He continued. “Our primary purpose of today’s activities was to gather together our group—all of you, and the Endicotts, of course. I have been in contact with General Bradlee’s nephew, whom we call Brad, at Fort Devens. Many of you know that Brad is the battalion commander at Devens and will be instrumental in protecting all of us in the coming weeks.”

“Weeks?” asked Mrs. Lowell, snapping out of her trance.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lowell, I shouldn’t have been loose with my estimates,” sugarcoated Sarge. Julia shot him a glance.
You’ve already buckled under pressure, mister
. “We do not have sufficient information to make that accurate of an assessment yet. Julia will expand on that in a moment. At this point, Brad is making arrangements to move you to the safety of the Prescott Peninsula. There are active-duty soldiers from Brad’s unit on site and he will assign more, I’m told.”

“When will this happen?” asked Mr. Winthrop.

“In the next few days,” said Sarge. “In the meantime, while I want everyone to be comfortable, we must also remain vigilant. We must be prepared to react to any threats from outside, and we must undertake certain operational security measures to minimize our exposure to others.”

“OPSEC,” added General Bradlee.

“Yes, sir,” said Sarge. “That’s a military term for operational security. OPSEC is a discipline and a mindset. Our goal is to survive and avoid conflict with others until we can safely deliver you to Prescott Peninsula. We need everyone to stay within the confines of the two penthouse floors and stay off the roof unless assigned there.”

“Are you going to assign jobs to us?” asked Mr. Cabot. “If so, I would like to be in charge of the wine cellar.” The room burst out laughing, easing the tension. Even Mrs. Lowell managed a smile.

“I would be happy to assist you, Cabot.” General Bradlee laughed, the unofficial social coordinator of the Boston Brahmin.

“No foxes in the henhouse, gentlemen,” Mrs. Cabot chimed in.

“We need everybody’s help in these critical first days,” said Sarge, after allowing the playful banter to subside. “I want to establish a watch team. Some of you are early risers, others may be night owls. We will create shifts to maintain a two-man rooftop observation post. Also, we need to set up a meal schedule commensurate with our generator operating. The generator will be limited to four hours per day, most likely in the afternoons when the outside activity masks the noise. I’ll let Julia coordinate showers, meal prep, etc.”

“We’d be glad to do our part, Henry,” said Mrs. Lodge. “Please tell us what you’ve learned, Julia. I, for one, am very nervous about this. I trust that you and Sarge will take the utmost care, but we’re facing a greater danger than an extended power outage.”

Very astute woman
.

Julia walked around the couch and traded places with Sarge. “As the day progressed, I was able to learn more from American news networks,” replied Julia. “We have confirmed that the power grid has been taken down by some sort of cyber attack. The collapsed grid does not include Texas, Alaska, or Hawaii—where the President was on vacation.”

“How did they get a reprieve?” asked Mr. Winthrop.

“Texas and Alaska have their own separate power grids,” replied Julia. “For an unknown reason, their grids were not attacked or the attack failed. Hawaii relies on imports of oil and coal for their power, although they also have an extensive solar and wind power program. It was fortuitous that the President was in Hawaii at the time.”

“Indeed,” snorted Lowell.

“Has anyone claimed responsibility?” asked Mr. Lodge.

“Not officially, although ISIS immediately praised the attack,” replied Julia. “The Chinese have officially denied involvement and actively denounced the attack. The North Korean response has been ridicule of America and its way of life. The official Iranian statement was similar.”

“What about the Russians?” asked General Bradlee. “They have been very active on the border of our territorial waters of late.”

“They have?” asked Mrs. Winthrop.

Sarge interjected. “This is concerning, of course. Remember, some of this is conjecture. But the Russians have used cyber intrusions in the past in preparation for military action. We don’t know this to be the case, but the possibility is there.” The room grew silent for a moment. Sarge continued. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there is no benefit to hiding the facts.”

“Sarge is right,” added Julia. “From all accounts, the cyber attack caused extensive damage to transformers and substations across the country. Some estimates claim damage in the trillions to the infrastructure alone, not to mention the loss to our economy.”