6 hours later
"The Director of FEMA has been on the line. They are going on standby as of this moment. Let's hope they're not needed." Rob said, refraining from his urge to bite his nails "If we can roll this thing back and contain it, we won't need to use FEMA."
Jim, leaning back in his chair in the Oval Office could only sigh. His mind was not on FEMA. His mind was on the CDC and what he had been told only two hours earlier. The dead were walking. First reports started filtering through of strange incidents at hospitals and morgues. Nobody in the White House had paid much attention at first, but then the reports starting to flood in. The Centres for Disease Control had dispatched teams to New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago where the "riots" were starting to escalate in an effort to find out just what on earth was wrong with these people. Then the tests came back. It was some kind of new, unidentified virus. It killed it victims, then brought them back to "life" with a taste for human flesh.
"If it gets to the stage where FEMA has to get involved, then it will already be too late to control." Jim replied.
"We can still contain this thing. I've spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs half an hour ago on the phone. All five branches of the Armed Forces are ready to spring into action on your order. So far National Guard units in the affected states have been placed on standby, and Governor McAndrew has informed me that 800 members of the New York National Guard will deploy in Manhattan tonight to support the NYPD. He will announce a state of emergency at a press conference in under an hour." Rob informed his boss.
"How bad is Manhattan?" Jim asked, knowing he would not like the answer.
"Well Mayor Stevens is panicking, it was him who asked the Governor, or really begged the Governor to deploy the National Guard. At least sixty four people have been killed outright by infected people in past five hours. The rate of infection is increasing exponentially. Over 800 suspected cases of the new virus in Manhattan alone. Health authorities have attempted to quarantine all those infected, but its proving troublesome. On top of that, we are now seeing outbreaks in isolated, rural areas across the North East. So far New York and Boston are seeing the majority of cases, but Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are catching up. The outbreak in Chicago is the furthest west so far, and that too is growing worse. So far the public have remained calm, but once the realise these are not just riots then…" Rob was cut off as the National Security Adviser practically barged into the Oval Office.
"Sorry to burst your bubble Rob but they won't stay calm much longer." She said not looking at the President or his Chief of Staff, instead marching over and turning on the TV.
The Presidents jaw dropped open.
"Oh God."
The screen was showing live feed from a CNN camera in New York's 5th Avenue. A clearly spooked looking female reporter was speaking frantically as she looked into the camera, occasionally taking a look behind her. The road was bumper to bumper with cars honking their horns whilst pedestrians ran in every which direction screaming and shouting. Two police officers could be seen on screen firing on a crowd of people surging towards their barricade. Their bullets were having little impact on the assailants, though the occasional lucky headshots took them down. In the sky above a police helicopter was hovering, advising people to get off the streets.
"We've just received word a State of Emergency is to be declared shortly and that the National Guard is on its way into the city to restore order. The sudden spree of murder and cannibalism has bewildered and overwhelmed the police department and hospitals across the city. What is perhaps more baffling is the fact that some of the people who have been attacked are suddenly getting back to their feet, and attacking others. One witness described a paramedic being attacked and badly injured by a patient he was attending to, then suddenly getting back up and attacking an innocent bystander."
Off screen something explored. The camera panned around to show a van and a truck burning out of control, presumably due to a crash. Two people staggered out of the burning van covered in flames and fighting with each other. One eventually went down as the other looked to be eating his face.
"Close the bridges." Jim said.
"What ?" Rob replied, still glued to the TV.
"The bridges, the tunnels, the airports. Seal off that damn island! Only military traffic is to be allowed in." Jim ordered. "It may not stop the spread of the virus, but it should at least slow it down and buy us sometime."
Already the media was picking up on the fact that the crisis was biological in nature. The CNN news ticker read "BREAKING: Source at CDC : Reports indicate virus behind recent violence in North East"
"We need to go public. People are already leaking information. We can't be seen as being behind on this." Rob said still staring at the chaos on the TV.
"I know you're right, but…the panic will be unreal. Looting, protests, you name it !" the President said. His heart was racing. Only the highest levels of the US government and elements of the World Health Organisation knew the real risk that faced the human race. The weight of the world was on his shoulders
"They're going to panic anyway, especially after this" Rob said gesturing to the carnage engulfing New York on TV. "We have to get ahead on this thing. The public need up to date information on how to keep themselves and their families safe. If we are honest with people, they will trust us, therefor cooperating with us more."
"Alright, you've convinced me. Get a hold of the press and let them know I will hold a press conference on the situation. Contact the CDC and let them know we are going to go public." Jim said standing up to stretch his legs. "And gather the Cabinet, after press conference we need a meeting of the National Security Council to figure out what we're gonna' do about this mess."
"Yes sir." The Chief of Staff said. "I'll organise everyone from the National Security Council to meet in the Situation Room as soon as the press conference is done."
On the TV, New York still burned as the first trucks of the National Guard crossed the Brooklyn Bridge.
