Chapter 46
Cindy Becket wept silently with her son and daughters as the vigil for her husband slipped into the cold April night. Congressman Becket was not long for this life. At 79 years of age, he had made his peace with God, and it was just a matter of time before his spirit would leave this world and the good life on this earth that he had been blessed with. Congressman Becket had served the State of Connecticut for nearly forty years as a staunch blue-dog Democrat. His wish that his terminal cancer be kept a secret was honored by his physician and family members. Samuel was a proud but humble man who didn’t want any undue lamenting over his death before he departed from this life. Only a few public servants knew of his illness, including President Roberts and Vice President Buchanan, before his own death the previous fall. At 12:06 in the morning, the good people of Connecticut lost Samuel Becket as their faithful servant and friend. He had lived much longer than his physician had given him, although it did not ease his family’s sorrow.
*****
When the news broke, all the news outlets and social media blogs were abuzz about the untimely death of one of the greatest Congressman to grace the halls of the Capital, with pundits on both sides of the aisle praising his decades of leadership, wise counsel, and his total dedication to his country and the state he represented proudly. He had served under many administrations with grace and dignity. Truly, the country had lost a great man.
President Richards gave a prime-time news conference praising the man and his legacy, and all government flags throughout the country were placed at half-mast to honor the fallen political giant. The only thing left to do was to lay the great man to rest.
*****
It was a gorgeous spring afternoon, with temperatures in the mid-70s, as the procession slowed and entered Elm Grove Cemetery off Greenmanville Avenue, just one mile north of the Mystic, Connecticut harbor. The beautiful garden cemetery would be the final resting place of one of Connecticut’s finest statesmen. Elegant swans graced the ponds, songbirds were singing, tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, and flowering plum and apple trees were in full blossom, offering pleasant aromas and stunning scenic beauty.
The U.S. Stars and Stripes fluttered lazily on the four escort motorcycles as they passed under the twenty-foot-wide granite archway and through the wrought iron gates constructed in 1892 by the Westerly Granite Company. Over the arches, and just beneath the stone cap and dental work, were chiseled the words "I am the Resurrection and the Life," above the curve of the arch on either side were the Greek letters "Alpha and Omega." Just behind the escort motorcycles was the hearse carrying the body of Congressman Becket, followed by a solemn parade of family and prominent U.S. officials in Cadillac limos, black Chevy Suburbans, and high-end luxury automobiles all flying the nation's stars and stripes.
The Secret Service had spent days going over the cemetery in preparation for the solemn event, and all traffic into the cemetery had been restricted ever since the Congressman’s death. Bomb-sniffing dogs scoured the burial site and along the river bank. All vehicles in the motorcade were checked for explosives. Coast Guard Patrol boats stopped all traffic on the Mystic river a half mile in both directions from the cemetery, and just as the motorcade left the Union Baptist Church, all traffic on Interstate 95 was diverted to other routes as it overlooked the cemetery.
*****
The motorcade wound its way through the cemetery and stopped at the family burial plot, just a short distance from the River’s edge. President Roberts was among the dignitaries who were there to pay the great man his final respects. Following his secret service escorts, the President stepped out of his black Chevy Suburban into the clean, crisp air and abundant sunshine. There were just under one hundred souls attending the ceremony. They all stood in silence as the casket was reverently removed from the hearse, and the six pallbearers silently carried Congressman Becket to his final resting place. The site was just below a slight rise, with an old elm tree positioned just above his grave. A few minutes later, the burial site was surrounded by a select few guests. Reverend Collins presided over the final rights, and after finishing his eulogy, he turned the proceedings over to the President.
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President Roberts stepped forward and shook the pastor’s hand before facing the crowd.
“I am honored and humbled to be here today, to honor this great and noble man. Our nation has lost----”
The President never got a chance to finish his sentence. His words were cut off by a massive explosion that erupted from an elm tree just fifteen feet away. A radio signal had set off a blasting cap, igniting the ten pounds of C4 plastic explosive hidden inside the old tree. The small blast set off a chain reaction of expanding gases that raced out at over 26,000 feet per second, causing a shock wave that leveled everything in its path. However, the two thousand stainless steel ball bearings embedded in the C4 did most of the damage. The ensuing fireball reached over one hundred feet into the air, and a small mushroom cloud followed.
The shockwave knocked down everyone standing within one hundred yards of the epicenter. The once beautiful gardens were instantly transformed into a surreal landscape where color, like an old movie, was paradoxically reduced to black and white.
As the air cleared, the tragedy was evident. Bodies of the dead and dying were scattered everywhere. Injured people were crying out for help while others just moaned in pain and shock. The explosion killed the President instantly and then ripped through the crowd, killing and maiming a third of those present. The casket containing the body of the late Congressman was no longer on the structure designed to hold it above the grave. It was lying on its side, riddled with holes but amazingly still sealed. President Roberts was unrecognizable. He had been standing directly in front of the blast area, and he seemed to have just disintegrated.
*****
A swarm of Secret Service Agents with their H&K MP5s and Remington 870s searched for possible follow-up attacks. It quickly became apparent that the President of the United States was not among the living. Four Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawks were dispatched from the Groton New London Airport immediately following the blast. The Blackhawks made the 5-mile trip in less than 5 minutes after receiving the call. Several uninjured Congressmen and two Senators were swiftly placed in waiting armor-plated SUVs and driven to a pair of Blackhawks that had just touched down in the nearest opening from the blast site, just one hundred yards away. The Blackhawks then proceeded back to the airfield, where a Gulfstream G5 was waiting on the runway with several doctors on board.
A squadron of F-18 Hornets and six F-22 Raptors scramble from Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts to escort the G5 back to Washington and fly cover over Mystic and Groton. All air traffic throughout the country was grounded, and any incoming transatlantic flights were ordered to return if possible or land at the nearest airport. The Joint Chiefs of Staff placed the U.S. Military on DEFCON 3 alert, fearing a nuclear attack after the successful assassination of President Roberts. Whoever was behind this heinous cowardly attack could deliver a death blow to the country without its top leadership in place.
Unlike Lyndon Johnson after the John F. Kennedy assassination in 1963, Sydney Williams was not immediately sworn in as President of the United States. It took just a bit longer.
Sydney was walking the halls of the Capital Building when she received the news. Her secret service team immediately ushered her through the secure underground tunnel system and into a secure bunker where she was soon met by the heads of the NSA, FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Three hours after the assassination of President Roberts, Sydney Williams was sworn in by Chief Justice William Rehnquist as the next President of the United States.
