National Alert Part 3

Washington, DC, Pentagon

A man wearing an extremely elegant military suit walked through the corridors, accompanied by several decorated military personnel, all of the highest rank and prestige on the battlefield.

"We need a new countermeasure for this situation, we are running out of viable options." A general said with irritation in his voice.

"Our weapons are ineffective against this barrier, we have lost more than 3 F-22 fighters in the last 3 hours. Everything we fire at the forest comes back twice as strong." Said the marshal responsible for commanding the air combat troops. "Now there are reports of giant metal eagles flying over the energy dome above the clouds, attacking anything that approaches. We had to cancel dozens of commercial flights heading to or near the area."

"Secretary of Defense, I recommend that we isolate the area and..."

"ENOUGH!" The Secretary of Defense turned, his expression serious and imposing for the most decorated men in the country, even at his advanced age. "We are not going to launch military grade nuclear weapons on American soil, have you lost your mind? The population would panic and the president would rip my head off."

The current Secretary of Defense has worked for more than 20 years to ensure the security of his country. He is dedicated to his work of preserving the freedom of the citizens. His name is John Keller. He is a war veteran who, even after years away from the battlefield, still practices his marksmanship and studies military strategies to adapt to the new era of weapons.

"We need to think about a new strategy, but our priority is to protect our citizens. Until we have a countermeasure, we will isolate the region," said John Keller, who wants to avoid having to worry about civilian casualties before creating a viable offensive plan.

"Secretary of Defense, what are we going to do about the expansion of the forest area? Every minute we waste, it grows." Said another bald-headed marshal, quite tense because he could never imagine a situation in which the military arsenal would not be useful.

John Keller looked to his left and saw a brilliant analyst who had been with him since the beginning of the crisis. "How long do we have before this forest takes over all of America?"

The careless analyst held his tablet and made a series of mental calculations to answer the question for his superior. "Sir, at the current rate recorded by the satellites, our national territory will be taken in one year, and the continental shelf we are on will be completely taken in two or three years, swallowing Canada and Mexico, and possibly spreading to other neighboring countries, but we do not know if it can spread through the water."

"This is the greatest crisis we face, a challenge we can see but can't attack." John Keller whispered to himself, trying to figure out how something of this magnitude could magically appear right in front of him. "If we don't solve this, other nations will attack us with nuclear weapons under the pretext of destroying the forest."

A 28-year-old woman with light skin and black hair, dressed in a black suit, approached with a tablet in her hand and a look of urgency on her face. She ran through the corridors and accidentally turned a corner, carelessly interrupting John's progress and bumping into him. "I'm sorry, Secretary of Defense, I was looking for you and..."

"You careless thing! Don't you realize we're..." One of the marshals complained at the woman's carelessness.

"We don't have time to argue!" John Keller rolled his eyes, he had neither the patience nor the time to argue. He wasn't worried about the girl bumping into him, as he had already seen dozens of people running in different directions inside the Pentagon because of this sudden crisis. "Don't worry girl, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"The President wants to talk to you." The woman said quickly, still embarrassed that she had bumped into the Secretary of Defense so carelessly, surprising the military and John, as it was something that easily needed urgent attention.

"All right, gentlemen, go to the conference room and join the others and try to find a solution that doesn't involve nuclear weapons." John Keller ordered, causing the military men accompanying him to nod their heads. "I'm going to my office first to talk to our president."

John Keller started to walk towards his office, but he noticed that the young woman who had informed him of the President's call was accompanying him, now her expression had changed, now her eyes seemed cold, losing all their delicate composure to be replaced by the serenity of an experienced soldier, a subtle transformation that was quite impressive on her part.

"Are you by any chance a spy?" John Keller said seriously, unaware that he was talking to a spy from another country. He really recognized that kind of eyes in a person, someone who has seen everything in life and is not afraid of the consequences for himself. "I didn't notice any accent in your voice, so you must be quite fluent in English or you're a foreigner, I'm curious to know how you got into Pentagon."

"I apologize to you, Secretary of Defense, but don't worry, I'm on your side, I was sent to take you to a private meeting." The woman said calmly, keeping a watchful eye so that no one would suspect her.

"Why would I go to this private meeting?" John Keller asked suspiciously, wanting to know more about who might be waiting for him in his own office, since it was obvious that this meeting would take place in the very room where he spent part of his time working.

"If you want to protect our country, you must know the truth that has been hidden since World War II." The woman said with surprising severity for a woman of such supposedly delicate appearance, reflecting someone quite experienced on the battlefield.

John Keller looked at the woman out of the corner of his eye, curious and suspicious of her last words. When the two arrived at the office, John opened the door and walked in alone, seeing a man in black clothes and sunglasses sitting in his chair, his feet up on the table with an obvious sneer.

"You know I could have you arrested for contempt of authority and disrespect for the government, don't you?" John Keller took a few steps forward and saw the mysterious man looking at him with a subtle smile. "Not to mention the fact of trespassing on military property, which increases the severity of his punishment."

"It won't happen, even if you could. Only the President has the power to arrest me, but that's beside the point." The man got up from his chair and approached John without concern. "Our world is changing, and the truth we've hidden for so long is about to be revealed. Well... conspiracy enthusiasts are a little ahead on the spoilers, but that's beside the point.

"The truth? Who are you anyway?" John Keller stared at the man seriously, wondering if he was really a special agent or just an arrogant idiot.

"I am Agent Seymour Rutherford Simmons of Sector Seven, we are an organization that is almost 100 years old, operating from before World War II to the present day." Simmons said, showing his badge, which featured a gold American eagle surrounding a silver icosahedron object. "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, it must be pretty hard to have the weight of a nation on your shoulders."