Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 48: The president folds.

President Finch had a problem: Secretary Ceaser Rommel. The man had become a thorn in his flesh, always throwing his weight around. Lately, Rommel was going about making decisions like he was the president which was shaking Finch’s power.

A few times, he had considered firing the man but he had majority support from the members of the Republican party and worse he had something that could undermine Finch’s presidency and ruin his image.

Ceaser Rommel had caught him with his pants down having sex with press secretary Marina Hinn in the Oval office. Somehow, Ceaser had managed to plant a camera in the office, and he had a recording of everything.

He had walked in, smiled smugly and waved the little bug he had planted in their faces. Ceaser wanted them to know that he had them in the palm of his hands. With such blackmail material, Ceaser was untouchable for now.

President Finch was hoping to run for his third and final term in the next elections. Pictures of him with his private parts in his hands and Marina’s bare ass on the top of every newspaper would kill that dream.

And there was the voice recording...it contained a lot of things that he did not want anyone alive hearing him saying.

There was no man alive that the president hated more than Ceaser Rommel and looking at his face made him sick. What he was demanding for was even worse. He wanted Carson Warnock to be handed to him and tested as a lab rat because he thought he was an alien!

But that was not the most urgent problem President Finch had currently. The tsunami was. Like everyone, he had watched the footage and he was still being updated on what was taking place on the island.

He had yet to come out in person and give a statement. This was because he wanted to have all the facts straight before he addressed the nation.

He was in a meeting with different parties that had crucial roles to play in case of such an event. Secretary Ceaser was among those people. It was his duty to mobilize the military support for rescue, logistics and security.

"We should..." President Finch was beginning to say something after hearing from his Chief of Staff but Secretary Ceaser jumped in.

"People are going to need someone to blame for this mess and I say we hand over the head of the NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.]. We invest a lot of money in weather forecasting, ocean research and climate research and yet a fake prophet beat an entire government agency. How the fuck does that happen?"

Astro Moore, the Secretary of Homeland Security winced. He thought Ceaser had used the "f" word a little too many times in this meeting. And, the director of the NOAA was in the room with them. The least that Ceaser could do was know what and what not to say.

Director Linda Chan of the NOAA stood up, snarling at Ceaser. "There were no signs of a tsunami, the seismic censors detected nothing until the first wave hit. The DART buoys did not confirm tsunami waves, tide gauges were indicated a normal sea level. I don’t know how Pastor Salem did it, but there were no warnings. If one piece of equipment died, we could blame it on that but how could none of the warning systems work?"

"Do we have the statistics? How many people died? I need to address the people with estimated numbers." The president took off his coat, even with the air conditioners running, it was extremely hot.

Images from the satellites were uploaded on the large monitoring screen.

Director Linda provided the update. "The islands are gone completely, all swallowed by the ocean. I don’t know how to say this but I think everyone is dead. That is all 1.6 million people that live there. It is hard to say how many tourists were on the island and we must add those that were on the cruise ship and other boats...." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Lets just round it off to 2 million."

Chief of Staff Gillian Walker spoke up on what she though was the burning problem. "The numbers don’t matter right now. What people need the most are answers. How did we fail to catch this and how Pastor Salem’s prophecy ties in. The phones are ringing off the hook with people asking if the tsunami was man made or the apocalypse has arrived as he preached?"

Releasing a sarcastic laugh, secretary Ceaser narrowed his eyes at Gillian. "Apocalypse, like zombies or triple six? This has to be a joke, right?"

"No it is not." Coast Guard Commandant Andrew Baker joined the conversation. His wife was a devout believer in Pastor Salem and she had already bought the stupid tickets and started stocking supplies. "Pastor Salem and Divine prophetess Moon Raine have been sharing these predictions.

They say that in eight to nine days from today, the rain will become acidic, burning everything in its path and a long bitter winter will follow lasting four months at least. They are also claiming that the world as we know it is coming to an end."

President Finch leaned backward. "So you are telling me that some one is talking about the end of the world and things are working out in their favor? These seem like terrorists to me." He issued his official stance.

No sooner had he aired his view on the matter when almost everyone agreed with him. It made more sense than a biblical apocalypse.

"I agree with you president Finch, these are bloody terrorists that need to be brought in immediately." Secretary Ceaser’s fist smacked the table.

Discussions on the issue arose with some saying that Pastor Salem may have done something to awaken the oceans wrath. Nuclear weapons were the most likely candidates.

Director Linda suggested that the church ferry which had been out on the ocean, was related to this and it carried the weapon.

"Bring them in, I want to be there when they are interrogated." President Finch’s gaze shifted to the most beautiful woman in the room, his mistress. "Marina prepare for a press conference this evening." He ordered as he stood up to leave.

No sooner had he taken one step when Ceaser Rommel raised his voice. "Mr President I believe that I have your permission to take Carson Warnock into custody now. He could be related to the terrorists."

President Finch’s shoulders slumped like a puppet attached to strings. A long sigh escaping him, not relief but surrender. "Do as you wish Rommel." His gaze shifted to Marina for a fleeting second.

He could not give up Marina, Carson had to be sacrificed for the greater good.

Ceaser smiled smugly. He had noticed something in the footage that others had missed. It was the mist which looked familiar to the one at Fort Slide. What the idiot Finch could not find, he would find, solve and beef up his image.

"Mr. Secretary, Carson Warnock left a few hours ago." Liam Johnson, the head of the secret service announced, after the president left the room.

Ceaser lurched to his feet. "What do you mean gone? Who let him go? Where did he pass?" He snorted like a provoked stallion, chest heaving.

"He passed through the main gate, Sir." Liam twisted his lips to the side. "No one told us that he was not to leave, and the white house is not a prison." He answered lightly.

He was the one that whispered to Carson that he should run and that was over four hours ago. Johnson knew what Finch had over the president and he had anticipated that the cowardly president that made decisions basing on Marina’s ass would fold like a noodle in a wrestling match.

Johnson and Carson were brothers-in-arms and he would not allow Ceaser to cut and slice his brother as he wished.

Secretary Ceaser detonated like a grenade. "Find him!"

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