Whitehall.
Stuart Pullman had dismissed his confidantes for the time being. In the run-up to the Prime Minister's return to London and the momentous cabinet meeting due to begin later this morning he wanted to be alone with his thoughts in anticipation of the battle which surely lay ahead.
When the earthquake struck his initial thoughts were that it was a bomb going off or an improvised mortar attack; what with the sudden rumbling sound, the vibrating of the bullet proof windows and the frames of the government owned paintings on his office wall clattering against the venerable wooden paneling distracting him from his meditation. But then he understood this wasn't a blast wave at all. His concentration was scrambled by the deafening emergency alarm which had just begun to sound, but once he retied his broken mental threads he began simultaneously considering how to deal with this emergency and what this event might mean for his political ambitions. It was a certainty Ian Campbell would try and use the fact of this new tremor against him, the bastard.
The heavy wooden door to Pullman's office burst open without ceremony and two of his bodyguards rushed in; they wore kevlar helmets and had thrown bullet proof vests over their normal suits. Though their weapons remained holstered they looked nervously around for any potential threat.
"I know!" said Pullman, preempting their instructions. "Down the Hole we go." referring to the emergency bunker. "No, I'm not going to bother putting on my helmet and vest; let's just get going!"
With one guard leading the way and the other following Stuart the trio made their way down the wide flights of plushly carpeted stairs to ground level. As they exited an obsequious staff member arrived on cue to lock Pullman's office door.
Once they reached the 'rabbit hole' - the name given to the inconspicuous door which led to the subterranean levels and passed through, the opulence above was replaced by austere governmental functionality. Following the route practiced so many times before during rehearsals Pullman reached the Operations Centre which was rapidly coming to life.
"What's happened?" he demanded of the Duty Officer.
"First reports indicate a powerful earthquake has struck London and the south east of England. The Prime Minister has been informed and will be returning to Downing Street by helicopter immediately rather than travelling by road. Plan Cascade has been activated; all members of the royal family, along with cabinet level ministers and their families are being accounted for: As prearranged they will be convening here shortly or moving to their designated Safe Locations."
"Very well." Pullman replied. "In the meantime until the PM returns, I will be taking charge."
"Very good Sir."
"I'm convening an emergency cabinet which will operate in rolling session until further notice; we'll be in the Situation Room, so direct any data streams there."
"Yes Sir."
With that the Deputy PM, along with John Fanning, his private secretary who had caught up with him, turned away and walked the short distance to the situation room. They were closely shadowed by a naval officer carrying a toughened black attaché case - the nuclear 'button'. Once there Pullman settled himself in at the head of the large oak table which dominated the room. No sooner had he done so a civil service functionary placed an open ring binder in front of him; in it was a single sheet of paper requiring his immediate signature, a written confirmation he was assuming executive responsibility for the time being. Even in the midst of a developing disaster there were still bureaucratic formalities to observe, documents to be signed and minutes to be taken. With a flourish he scrawled his name in the space provided at the bottom of the form and handed the file back.
Pullman was suddenly struck by the fact that this wasn't an exercise; it was for real and he was in charge - at least until he would have to vacate his place for the PM. An almost electric jolt ran through him, one he'd felt before when he'd been first selected as a candidate, then elected an MP, and every time his career had progressed since. Now that he occupied the prime ministerial hot seat - even if only for a short time - the feeling returned, but this time it was different, reaching a heightened intensity. So this was how it felt to have Made It!... I like this... I must not allow myself to be cheated of what is my right...
However Stuart couldn't luxuriate in his new authority for long. With a bustle the Home and Health Secretaries arrived along with their aides, both ministers looked pale and shocked. Soon they were joined by other members of the cabinet who arrived via the network of reinforced Whitehall tunnels. Officials began removing protective wrappings from binders of emergency procedures and standby secure government laptops were booted into life. While everyone was getting settled in around the cabinet table Stuart looked across at the large wallscreen, currently divided into eight segments. Some were blank while one of the tiles displayed the Connect24 news. Bizarrely the network knew as much as the government did at the moment, which was very little apart from the fact an event had taken place.
"Ah! There you are Sir John! I'm pleased to see you safe and well. We shall be relying heavily upon your expertise in the times to come." Pullman's confident greeting to the newly arrived Sir John Underwood, the Chief Civil Servant, silenced the room's muted hubbub. "When might you be able to give us an initial briefing on the emergency?"
"In approximately five minutes when the intelligence has been collated, Deputy Prime Minister." Sir John replied.
"Excellent! In the meantime ladies and gentlemen, I suggest we call this emergency cabinet meeting to order. As you are no doubt aware, the royal family and the Prime Minister have been safely accounted for, with the PM returning here from Chequers. He's expected back shortly. In the meantime we will be holding the fort as well as coordinating the response to this event. As per the standard procedures we'll follow the generic Major Incident Contingency Plan until we learn enough to tailor our response to the specific requirements of the situation.
What I would say at this moment is that it appears this earthquake has been a far stronger event than the previous tremor, so accordingly the government's reaction will have to be equally larger in scale..." Stuart felt in his element as he continued, buoyed by the effervescence of power, almost euphoric in fact, though he couldn't allow it to show. He hoped this sensation would keep him energised through the interminably long hours that were certain to lie ahead.
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