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[b][i]An Undisclosed Location[/i][/b]



President Jefferson Blake stood at the makeshift podium before the cameras in a daze. Just an hour ago, he had been pulled from his office in the West Wing and hurried away from the Whitehouse, to a series of underground tunnels that beneath Washington, DC that had been built during the height of the Cold War. The tunnels lead to what could almost be described as an underground city, which had been meant to function as a safe house for the entire US government in the event of an attack on the Capitol. And while Washington, DC itself had not been attacked, the country itself was under siege. As he was relocated from the White House, his security staff had briefed him on the attacks that had been carried out on Paris, Texas, Nautican Island, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

He knew that he needed to be strong. Not to put on some self aggrandizing show of power to stroke his own ego and to appeal to his base, but he had to be strong for the American People as a whole. He needed to show that although things were bad, he was still here for them, and he would be sure that everything would be alright. 

Even though he wasn’t so sure that it would be. 

The man behind the camera began counting down to the moment they would be going live to address the nation. 

[i]Three…[/i]

[i]Two…[/i]

[i]One…[/i]

As the red light on the camera came on, indicating that they were now live, President Blake’s mouth was dry. Without the aid of a teleprompter, he tried to find the words that had been dancing around in his head from the moment that he learned of the attacks. As he tried to speak, his tongue felt like sandpaper. 

The words just wouldn’t come out.

So he looked down at the podium and took the small plastic cup that was sitting off to the side and took a sip of water, and then a deep breath and looked directly into the camera.

“My Fellow Americans.” He began.

“Earlier today, the United States was attacked by the terrorist organization The Hounds of Humanity. Over the last several months, these terrorists have waged their personal war against the people of this great country. However, none of their actions, as heinous as they were could have prepared us for the devastation that they caused today, in an attack that is completely unprecedented in the history of not only the United States, but in the history of the world. Three cities, full of hard working people, full of families, full of hopes and dreams, completely and utterly devastated by the Hounds and their so called ‘Finger of God.’” He paused for a moment as if to collect his thoughts.

“Today we pray for the people who were lost in Paris, Texas, Philadelphia, and Nautican Island. We mourn with the families that were left behind, and we grieve together as a nation.” He paused again as he attempted to put what he was feeling into words.

“I know that you are frightened, however, now is not the time to give in to your fear. Now is the time for the people of this great country to stand up together and tell the monsters that were responsible for these attacks that we will not be beaten, we will not be bullied, and we will not stand for such evil acts of terrorism on our shores, or against our people.” He said, his voice becoming stronger as he spoke, the anger that he felt beginning to show in his words.

“I am authorizing the use of the full strength of the United States Military in order to hunt down the so called Hounds of Humanity and bring those responsible for the atrocities witnessed today, to justice, as well as to search out and destroy the orbital weapon from which they launched their attacks.” He pounded his fist against the podium, clearly impassioned as he spoke.

“There is no place in this world or the next, where these monsters will be able to hide. As I leave you today, I have a message for the Hounds of Humanity themselves. You have hit us. You may have hurt us, but you can rest assured, we are a strong and resilient people, and we will persevere. You can run, you can hide. But we are coming for you, and hell is coming with us.”