Pro Aris et Pro Focis (P&S: New York City)

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The city government might have to pull out sooner than that...the Kassel nuke explodes at 6:55 a.m., EST, with the second nuke exploding at 9:30 a.m. EST (this is from Land of Flatwater).

Dreading, dreading what's coming.

It will be a busy day tomorrow (for all the wrong reasons).

Hope the Lieutenant survives. I kinda like him as a character.
 
I'm wondering how stable the situation really is, or is not, in NYC. Even if you don't take the Walter Cronkite quote on Gen_Patton's The Day After thread as canon, it's clear the networks are operating up to the activation of the EBS. And the newspapers are still publishing. Or would the media have their own contingency plans to flee, like the city government did?
 
Part 26: We Can't Steal a Backhoe, Lady.

Monday, 20 February 1984
Hadleyburg, Pennsylvania
1300 hours

The winter sun was pale, but it was warm.

"No," said Captain McDonald. "You can't steal a backhoe, Joan."

"Why can't I steal a backhoe?" said the Lieutenant's wife. "We stole a salt mine."

"Because we're under martial law. You CONFISCATE backhoes." The injured officer shifted in his plastic chair. "By the way, how did you get so many chairs?"

"Everyone was buying building materials... no one was buying the outside furniture. My brother offered the owner to take them off his hands for $50. We have a chair and bedding for 300 people. More importantly, we have water and food for 300 people for three months."

"It's a shame we can't get more batteries," R.J. said. "I got the library set up like wanted, Aunt Joan. How are we going to read them?"

Two trucks came up. Robbie got out of one. "We didn't get a backhoe, but we got two snowplow trucks. They will put a nice berm where we need it."

"So we're ready to go."

"All we're doing right now is futzing around. Maybe we get a few more things, but if we had to seal up right now, we could. Joan, everyone should start sleeping down in the mine tonight."

They watched the snowplows scrape out a berm.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Jail
1430 hours

"Testaturco. Moscone. Silvani. Come along with me," said the jailer.

The three men followed him out the jail. A local attorney was waiting for them. The jailer said, "Here they are."

"Gentlemen, I am Walter Schumpfel. I have the privilege of knowing my colleague Moscone. He asked me to make bail for you. You are being released. Your hearing will be in a couple of weeks, depending on the war situation."

"Yeah, we heard about that. Now, can we get a ride into Hadleyburg?" Testaturco said. "We have a matter to discuss with that bitch."

"I can provide you with a ride, certainly. Can you wait a little while until I finish the paperwork?" Schumpfel said.

"I guess so."

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Courthouse
1525 hours.

Detective Paul King looked through his field glasses. "Bruno. Alberto. Look who's here."

Bruno Wallerstein looked up. "Well, well. What is Testaturco doing out?"

"He must really want to get out of jail," Alberto Gomez Rubio said. He put the NYPD plainclothes car into motion and discreetly followed the lawyer's car.

He turned the police radio to Mutual Aid and contacted the Pennsylvania State Police. "Our birds are starting to head to the nest," he said.

"Roger," the State dispatcher said. "We'll relay that."

68th Precinct

Detective Sergeant King received the phone call. "Right." He turned to the two uniforms with him. "Let's go."
 
What's the distance between Harrisburg and Hadleyburg?

I have a feeling that this will all reach a climax on the morning of the 21st, which is also the morning everything goes to hell in a handbasket.
 
I wonder what mayor Koch is doing now?One thing is certain he will be the last mayor of New York in this timeline.
 
I'm wondering how stable the situation really is, or is not, in NYC. Even if you don't take the Walter Cronkite quote on Gen_Patton's The Day After thread as canon, it's clear the networks are operating up to the activation of the EBS. And the newspapers are still publishing. Or would the media have their own contingency plans to flee, like the city government did?


There's a book on WW3 from the early '80s (googling... YES!), "Warday," where the two protagonists find a copy of the last edition of the New York Times, it's moving stuff. The paper gave a shout out to reporters taking life-ending risks to get the material for stories, etc.
 

TheKinkster

Banned
Yes, but you have to remember, in Warday, Manhattan doesn't get clobbered like it's going to here--in Warday the three warheads heading for Manhattan all hit in Nassau County, Long Island.

The book states that the NYT 16-page extra was produced in New Jersey before electrical power there went out.
 
Part 27: We'll Sort That Out after The Bombs Fall

Tuesday, 21 February 1984
National Guard Armory
125 West 14th Street
New York, New York 10017
0654 hours

"WINS News Time, 6:54 a.m. The weather: cooler, cloudy, highs in the low 40s, lows in the low 20s tonight.

"WINS. You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world."

The civilian cooks at the Armory listened as they prepared breakfast. This was going to be a special meal; they couldn't take the "wets" to Kingston, so they made bacon and eggs and pancakes. Normally someone would have the local R&B station on, but with the war going on, and the situation in the City being what it was, the news station was a more prudent choice.

"Now for the traffic -- We interrupt this program for a special bulletin. A nuclear device has been detonated over West Germany. The device, believed to be a low-yield tactical weapon, detonated at 6:55 New York time over Kassel, West Germany. There are no indications whether the Warsaw Pact or NATO set off the device. Initial reports indicate heavy casualties in both the civilian population and enemy forces. Again, a nuclear device has been detonated over West Germany."

Sergeant Martinez stuck his head in the men's shower. "Lieutenant? Officer and senior NCO call."

The Lieutenant hastily finished adjusting his slightly damp BDUs as Capparelli spoke. "Our mission has not changed. We are to escort key elements of the City government to Kingston. However, the schedule has been speeded up, as you can imagine." Grim chuckles.

"We're going to move in three hours. Get your breakfasts and get your forces ready."

Hadleyburg, Pennsylvania
0658 hours.

Step by step the longest march can be done, can be done,
Many stones can form an arch. Singly, none, Singly, none.
And in union what we will can be accomplished still,
Drops of water turn a mill. Singly, none.


Words from a 19th century Mining Union rulebook.

"... indications are that civilian and enemy casualties are high. We take you now to NBC News studios."

"That's our cue," R.J. said to Walt. He turned off the car radio. "You go left, I'll go right." They ran into the store. "Recall! Recall!"

"What's happened?" someone asked them.

"The bomb's gone off in Europe, sir," R.J. said politely.

Sheryl, Patrick, and Robbie left the store. "Okay, boys, good work." Sheryl threw the packages of dish soap and two twenty-pound bags of cat food into the car.

"I can't believe those cats don't eat anything but Purina brand," John's sister noted.

"They have a right to be fussy; they're cats! Let's listen to the radio..."

"We bring you David Brinkley, who is speaking from a location that is classified..."

"This is David Brinkley. We do not know who initiated the use of nuclear weapons, but we suspect this incident will not be the only one. If the Soviets initiated the attack, the West must respond; if the West initiated the attack, the Soviets must respond. The question remains: what will be the nature of that response?

"Let us hope that it is not one of mutual destruction. Let us hope that reason prevails. But let us prepare for the worst."

Testaturco said, "Do you know where this mine is supposed to be, Mr. Schumpel?" He was making a special point to be polite. It wasn't Schumpel's fault he and his men had been held for two days in the Harrisburg jail. Schumpel had been professional and scrupulous. However, he was edgy and wanted to get home to his family.

"No, I don't," the local attorney said, "But it shouldn't be hard to find." A pair of cars were pulling out of the Giant parking lot and heading up the road.

"They're full of people."

"So?"

"I see what he means, boss," said his driver. "They're moving with a purpose."

Wallenstein said, "They're following those cars."

"Look. One is a white van," Gomez said. "Do you think we finally found our shooter?"

"Does it really matter?" Wallenstein said. "The spit has hit the fan." He got on the radio, using an NYC frequency. "Robert Three-Nine, this is Robert Two-four."

"Robert Two-Four, go," said Sergeant King.

"The local attorney is following a couple of vans up a local road; turn left two miles after you get on State Road 1223."

"K."

"I'll leave you someone to guide you in."

"K."

"Alberto?"

"Sure," the detective said, getting out of the car.

Detective Sergeant King looked at the two cars following them. "All right, boys, I know you can do this." He increased speed and pulled out his red light to place on the dashboard. The two unmarked cars followed, lights blinking."

Wallenstein shifted to Mutual Aid. "This is Robert Two-Four, NYPD, on State Road 1223 in Hadleysburg. We're following a car with three suspects turning off the road to the left two and a half miles past the Giant."

The white van twisted and turned up a half-dirt, half-gravel road and turned right onto a railway right of way. Schumpel followed. A ridge gave way to a narrow valley. The van turned left. Schumpel followed.

Wallenstein followed.

King followed.

The two unmarked cars, with their families inside, followed.

The white van disappeared.

Schumpel stopped the car.

Wallenstein stopped the car.

Two soldiers in green fatigues and carrying M-14s walked up to Schumpel's car pointed to a berm that shown brown and wet with new dirt. "Drive there. Park your car, pop the hood, and follow instructions from there."

"What the hell?" Testaturco asked.

Wallenstein said, "Police officers," flashing his badge.

The specialist said, "Okay. Drive there to the berm. Park your car, pop the hood, and follow instructions from the people you see there."

Schumpel drove into the berm. A canopy of two by fours held up canvas and plastic, which in turn held the piles of earth. "Pop your hood, please, sir," a third teenager said.

"Why?"

"So we can disconnect your electrical system so the car will be usable after the attack, sir."

"What attack? That's in Europe."

"For now, sir," the teenager replied. "If we're wrong, we'll reconnect the electrical system and you can drive off. But hurry, please!"

Schumpel popped the hood. The car lights suddenly went dark.

"This way, please, gentlemen," a girl said, waving them on with a flashlight."
They climbed out of the berm and up a hill. They passed through a door, into a narrow space which jinked right, then left again, and then through another door.

Joan Boulanger stood by, a clipboard in her hand. "Ah, good to see you gentlemen. You're Mr. Testaturco. See Mrs. Sholmo at registration, please, and check your weapons there. Or go outside and risk canned sunshine."

"Your husband..."

"... Is going to be dead before sunset," Joan said. "My job is to save the living of New York. Your wife is downstairs, and so are your children and your Nonna. Fascinating woman. And who may you gentleman be?"

"Detective Bruno Wallenstein, NYPD."

"Good to see you. Do you have any personal gear? See Mrs. Sholmo at registration, please, everyone, and check your weapons with Sergeant Major Zimmerman."

"Even police?"

"Right now, Detective, the only people carrying guns in this place are who I tell to carry." Joan said cooly. "This is a lifeboat and I am the officer in charge."

Detective Sergeant King appeared. "This is going to be interesting. I saw the van that did the Park Heights shooting, and I see Testaturco. Who arrests whom?"

"We'll sort that out after the bombs fall," Joan replied. "Mr. Schlempel, call your family. R.J., go with him to the lodge and make sure he has the right directions to get here. Bring your clothes and bedsheets. Now, Counselor, before I find you in contempt."

Schlempel and R.J. left immediately.
 
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Part 28: Free and at Peace

----
New York City Department of Corrections
Otis Bantum Correctional Center (OBCC)
Riker's Island
9:30 AM

Usually Lefty avoided the TV room; he wasn't a big enough man, in size or gang clout, to have a say what was on. Today, however, he didn't. The room was asses to elbows, but few complained and the violence was usually elbowing, not full fist fights.

The TV set was tuned to WCBS, Channel 2. A spokesman from the State Department was standing in the Press Room in Washington. "We are calling on the Soviet Union and its allies to refrain from the further use of nuclear weapons. The attack on Kassel which occured last night was not authorized by the National Command Authority of the U.S. As soon as the responsible party is identified, he or she will be punished..."

The screen changed. A card read SPECIAL BULLETIN.

"This just in from the BBC: A second nuclear weapon has been detonated in Western Germany, over a NATO military position. The weapon used has been confirmed to be Soviet. More details will come."

Lefty watched some of the Latin Kings and the Gangster Disciples leaving the TV room together. They were all grim and silent.

He headed back to his cell. He had been working on a shank; it should do.

1100 hours

The Lieutenant packed his duffel bag once again. This time he would make the movement to Kingston, and from there he would head to Fort Campbell to rejoin the 71st and the 42nd Division before it deployed to ... well, probably France now.

That, of course, depended on whether the Russians and Americans would keep a level head. The Lieutenant shook his head, denying himself that comfort. Ogarkov firmly held to the Soviets' conventional wisdom about nukes. Nuclear weapons would be used on the battlefield - had been used - and the war could only spread.

He moved down the steps and found the buses were waiting. He climbed up into a front seat - rank hath its privileges - and waited for the Regimental command staff to show up.

Finally. He could get some sleep. Let the corps and division commanders worry for once. He was free and at peace.
 
Who arrests whom?"

"We'll sort that out after the bombs fall," Joan replied.

My first piece of advice would be to the attorney: find a phone (or, hell, ask Joan where the phone is, I'm sure she'll tell you) and call your family. Right. Now. And tell them to get out to the mine and give directions.

The second piece of advice would be to King: It won't matter in...two hours or so.

Hope the Lieutenant survives.
 
My first piece of advice would be to the attorney: find a phone (or, hell, ask Joan where the phone is, I'm sure she'll tell you) and call your family. Right. Now. And tell them to get out to the mine and give directions.

The second piece of advice would be to King: It won't matter in...two hours or so.

Hope the Lieutenant survives.

Thank you for reminding me of that. Now, what this shelter needs are TWO lawyers.
 
Yes, but you have to remember, in Warday, Manhattan doesn't get clobbered like it's going to here--in Warday the three warheads heading for Manhattan all hit in Nassau County, Long Island.

The book states that the NYT 16-page extra was produced in New Jersey before electrical power there went out.


Wow. Note to self: Acquire (a replacement) copy of Warday for re-reading.

(And they never bitched about Long Island Expressway traffic again ;) )
 
----
New York City Department of Corrections
Otis Bantum Correctional Center (OBCC)
Riker's Island
9:30 AM

Usually Lefty avoided the TV room; he wasn't a big enough man, in size or gang clout, to have a say what was on. Today, however, he didn't. The room was asses to elbows, but few complained and the violence was usually elbowing, not full fist fights.

The TV set was tuned to WCBS, Channel 2. A spokesman from the State Department was standing in the Press Room in Washington. "We are calling on the Soviet Union and its allies to refrain from the further use of nuclear weapons. The attack on Kassel which occured last night was not authorized by the National Command Authority of the U.S. As soon as the responsible party is identified, he or she will be punished..."

The screen changed. A card read SPECIAL BULLETIN.

"This just in from the BBC: A second nuclear weapon has been detonated in Western Germany, over a NATO military position. The weapon used has been confirmed to be Soviet. More details will come."

Lefty watched some of the Latin Kings and the Gangster Disciples leaving the TV room together. They were all grim and silent.

He headed back to his cell. He had been working on a shank; it should do.

1100 hours

The Lieutenant packed his duffel bag once again. This time he would make the movement to Kingston, and from there he would head to Fort Campbell to rejoin the 71st and the 42nd Division before it deployed to ... well, probably France now.

That, of course, depended on whether the Russians and Americans would keep a level head. The Lieutenant shook his head, denying himself that comfort. Ogarkov firmly held to the Soviets' conventional wisdom about nukes. Nuclear weapons would be used on the battlefield - had been used - and the war could only spread.

He moved down the steps and found the buses were waiting. He climbed up into a front seat - rank hath its privileges - and waited for the Regimental command staff to show up.

Finally. He could get some sleep. Let the corps and division commanders worry for once. He was free and at peace.

With only one hour until NYC is hit by multiple nuclear warheads, I fear that this convoy isn't going to get very far.

``````

"For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain." Hosea 8:7
 
With only one hour until NYC is hit by multiple nuclear warheads, I fear that this convoy isn't going to get very far.

``````

"For they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain." Hosea 8:7

Yeah....just one tiny nitpick, though: At least 3 and a half hours as of 9:30....or 2+ if you're starting from 11.
 
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