Well it seems I actually have to do something on Fridays now, and it would be in bad taste to get Erika here for a full time position as a troll (It looks bad on a resumé) so I guess I'll post some of my actual writing (instead of trying to do stuff like, I don't know, explaining stuff.)   So here's the prologue to my book- Coldfront (working title).


Prologue.
March 24, 2020. Pentagon, Sub-Level 3.

Two men walk down the dimly lit corridor, towards the end of the hall is a large door labeled “Satellite Espionage Department.” The men are followed by a group of black-suited secret service agents, almost invisible against the dark backdrop.

“What’s all the commotion down here, Markus?,” said the taller of the two.

“President Benton, sir, it seems South Korea has been developing something big. It isn’t confirmed, but all sources point to it being a nuclear device of some sort.”

“What do you mean something big? Where is it and why didn’t we notice earlier?” He said, gruffly.

“They are building it under one of their cities… it looked simply like municipal work, like a subway or sewer. Something harmless that we wouldn’t even look twice at. We just noticed when they piercing the ground.”
“If it is nuclear… under one of their cities?,” He looked worried, “If something like that accidentally went off, it would take out a large section of the countryside and everyone in it. Are they insane?”

“They obviously didn’t want it to be found. They seemed determined to keep it a secret from us at any cost.”

“What happens when the UN Inspectors snoop around there? If they do find something, the Koreans may feel threatened and they might set off whatever it is.”

“True,” Markus mumbled, “We’ll just have to see how it plays out.”

The men reached the door as Benton motioned to the entourage to wait in the hall. The two walked into the usually quite room, now bustling with a many workers moving back and forth from screen to screen, monitoring the changing visuals on screen. Papers cluttered the desks, and various scribbles and notes were posted all over the board at the back of the room.
“What’s the current situation here?” Benton belted.

The room suddenly became quiet, save the hum of computers in the background. A few of the men looked up silently.
“Sir,” said one of the men, standing up, “I’m afraid we just received bad news. The UN Inspectors followed up on our lead, and arrived at the scene of the construction around 1200 hours, about twenty minutes ago. When they asked to be allowed into the building site, they were refused. After they threatened to use extreme measures, they were forced out of the site. Just now we intercepted a message to their superiors to authorize the use of force, but it sounds like they were cut off and possibly executed or captured. We’re positive now that there is something that they are hiding.”

Just then a sharp beeping pulsed from one of the computer speakers.
“It’s intelligence,” said a man in the corner, holding a headset up to his ear. “They are broadcasting on Korean news, some live feed showing them with the hostages.”

“Someone turn on the television!” Yelled Benton, causing Markus and several other men around to jump.
The T.V. in the corner buzzed on, one of the operators transferred the feed to Korean news. The image showed the group of U.N. investigators bound, sitting on the ground, their captors making speeches to the slowly gathering rabble. One man in the room started translating. “It sounds like they said they want to ‘Teach the West a lesson’ and that ‘our doom is eminent.’” The man speaking on screen waived his hands in the air wildly, as if calling upon the heavens.”

The radio in the room buzzed again. The man closest to it picked it up and let open the speaker. A voice cracked through the static and echoed through the room. “They know we’re too late to do anything.” came the voice of the vice president, who had been keeping up on the situation from the oval office. “Their government is now demanding a full withdrawal and a release on their nuclear restrictions.”

“There is no way in hell we would do that,” pondered Markus, “We have to take the first action. These dipshits are backed into a corner; they could go off at anytime. Do we even know if their superiors are at the controls of these so-called nuclear weapons?”
Benton put leaned his hand on the desk, as if he were sick. “Well it seems our next move would—“
A loud siren rang throughout the room, the secret service officers burst through the door. The man listening to the broadcast in the corner suddenly stood up and shouted. “A warning shot has been fired!”

“Shit!” Yelled Markus. “That means-.” An automatic intercept missile had already been fired from the United States Military Base in Okinawa, Japan. “They are going to think it’s a counter attack!”

“That’s it, they’ve fired everything.” Called out the operator once again. “It’s all over.”

The room jumped into a frenzy. Papers went flying as operators rushed to their desks to monitor the situation. Frantic typing was heard as the news of an impending nuclear disaster was spread.
“How much time do we have?” yelled Markus over the commotion.

“Enough time to launch a proper counter attack,” bellowed Benton, “Hit them with everything we have.”
“Sir” said Markus, “That would end up in M.A.D ”

A secondary siren started blaring as well.
“What in the bloody hell is that!” Screamed Benton.

Markus pushed several men to the side and bent down to look over one of the monitors. He stood up with a look of death on his face.

“Both the Middle Eastern Defense Pact and the EU have fired as well.” Markus sighed. “Targets from both sides include Here, The West coast, Britain, Korea, and Iraq. There is no way to counter them all. At this rate there will be no one left to bury our bones.”

“Well boys, it seems this is World War Three. This day in age, a few missiles can bring down an entire nation, an entire continent. Pretty damn short for a war, don’t you think? It’s funny how one man with one button can reduce something to nothing but radioactive ashes. Thus is the fate of humanity…”

The remaining men in the room sat quietly despite the siren blaring, some silently praying, others weeping. There would be no escaping the massive explosion and fallout that loomed in their near future.

Next week, Chapter 1!  Stay Tuned.