"John Ringo - Into the Looking Glas" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ringo John)

secretary and the Chief of Staff. The Vice-President was aboard Air
Force Two circling over the Midwest but in contact by speaker phone.
"He's been talking to the local National Guard commander. His survey
teams so far report no evidence of radiation and there was no EMP.
He also says that it does not appear to be a meteor strike. I'm not sure
about how high a certainty to put on that, he's apparently depending
upon the opinions of a private and evaluation of meteor strike is not
part of his training."
"The private agrees with FEMA," the national security advisor said.
"And Space Command. The evidence is not consistent with a meteor
impact and I'm suspicious of meteors that hit research facilities."
"So what was it?" the President asked. He had taken a twenty
minute catnap and now paced up and down the room occasionally
looking at the TV. "What's the estimate of casualties?"
"We don't have one so far," the director of Homeland Security
said. Technically he should have given the FEMA report, since it was
under Homeland Security. But he liked and respected the NSA so he
didn't make an issue of it. He also was phlegmatic by nature, a man
who never hurried in a crisis but stayed calm and made rapid, rational
decisions. Many thought that he had been tapped by the President
because he was the former governor of an important swing state but it
was his unflappable manner that had gained him the post. "FEMA
didn't want to give even a wide estimate but the lowball I extracted
from them was fifty thousand."
"My God," the President whispered.
"Yes, sir, it is very bad," the director admitted. "But it's contained
and local emergency services are responding as well as can be
expected."
The phone rang and was answered by the national security advisor,
who held it out to the President. "Your brother, sir."
"Hey, Jeb," the President said, calmly. "A black day."
"Yes."
"Okay, right away. Good luck and God Bless."
He handed the phone back and nodded at the Homeland Security
director.
"That was an official request from the governor to declare a state of
emergency. I think this counts."
"I'll tell my people," the director said, standing up and walking out
of the room.
 News helicopters that had been loitering near the dust-ball zoomed
in on a white and green helicopter that bore the logo of the Orange
County Sheriff's department as it approached the scene of devastation.
An area could now be seen that was stripped clean of all vegetation
and homes although some foundations remained. The helicopter came
in slowly and hovered low, stirring up dust from the ground to add to
the pall that was drifting lightly to the west.
"There goes the first survey," the defense secretary said, quietly.
The National Military Command Center had already sent in its estimate
of casualties. NMCC had programs and protocols dating back to the
Cold War for estimating casualties. The estimate they had given him,