April 21st, 2005, London
While the death of Tucker pungled the gobernment into chaos, there were still key members of the bureaucracy and the security services along with the Secretary of Industry, Albert Steele, in their working places, withj the Secretary trying to raise the morale of fellow ministers, functionaries and selected journalists. However, as news began to arrive to London, Steele made a call o the nation calling for resistance and total war to the nation, which was still trying to guess what was going on. Meawnhile, the Home Guard began to mobilize and spread through London.
Arthur O'Neal, who was in control fo the territorial police, part of the conspiracy, informed the Thompson and Oliver that the French part of the plot had failed to even to try to take control of events. France is lost, those are the news. Thompson and General Paul Hobbs, the commander of the London Garrisson, agreed at once that they had to get rid of the members of the government still loyal to the sytndicalist regime, and therefore tasked O'Neal with the arrest of all the members of the cabinet. O'Nela rushed with a group of his men and a company of Home Guard troops, and blocked the exits to the Government quarter while the lines were cut. Eventually, O'Neal and his men broke break through the area and into several ministries and offices and scads of party members and bureaucrats are taken prisoner, informing the secretaries present there of their arrest for treason against the party. Thus, the cabinet was completely neutralized.
By 15:45, withh the support of General Hobbs, orders begin to pour out to the London units, to the military districts of the Home Guard, and to the Commanders on the field, explaining that Tucker had been murdered by some unloyal elements of the party and the security forces and that a new cabinet is being formed under General Beckett, wtih Field Marshal Chevallier as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
However, around 16:30.the first few companies of the Security Minister began to enter London. One of them is blocked by a Reserve Army unit led by a Major Reynolds, who attempted to force the Securty Forces (SF) officer to surrender. The SF men replied by opening fire, and soon a dozen men laid dead on the ground. Around the same time an SF force arrived at the headquarters of the Home Guard, bringing orders for the arrest of Thompson. Home Guard troops surrounded the SF force and another gunfight broke out in the street.
To be true, Francis Urquhart was as delighted as surprised by the unexpected development of events in London and Paris. Apparently, the Almighty had listened to him and the Syndies were at each other throats.
Terrific, he though while smiling. Then the phone rang. Uruqhart picked it up. "Yes?"
"Makepeace here, Prime Minister," said the voice of his Defense Minister. "Something has come up on the South China Sea.; It seems that the Qings have tested a ballestic missile."
"Go on."
"The missile was aimed at the vicenity of our Far Eastern Squadron, now on patrol between China and Taiwan. Admiral Fraser, on his own authority, ordered the missile shot down with an anti missile launched from the Aegis destroyer
HMS Ulysses. The Qing missile was intercepted and destroyed in mid flight."
"Jolly good."
"Naturally Fraser has placed all his ships on alert, as has the American Admiral commanding the Lincoln task force."
"Good. I want a meeting of the War Cabinet in one hour. We'll have to make a call to Washington. Then we'll make some sort of public statement."
"Yes, Prime Minister."
"Oh, by the way, as the events in Europe seem to be on the verge of changing the course of this war, there is an additional topic to deal there. See you in an hour"
Uruqhart hung up the phone. "Well, well, well... there is no rest for the wicked, it seems?"
"No, Prime Minister," replied his dogfaced security chief.
