Footfall

There was a sound, almost subsonic, as if a tremendous gong had been struck. Wes saw a wall come at him: he was falling! He struck. They were all piled against the damp padding … and then the thrust eased off and left them floating.

“So. We still have some defenses,” Arvid said.

“Zapsats?”

“Ground-based beam weapons, I would think. The aliens will know all about it before we do. At least it tells us we can still fight.”

“I wish we had a window,” Wes said.

I wish we had a suitcase fission bomb, Arvid thought. Do I? It would end my life too. That will come soon enough. Patience.

The B-1B flew just above the treetops at near sonic speed. For a while Je

There was a bright flash off to starboard. Je

“What?” Jack asked. He touched her hand, then moved his away. She reached for him and brought his hand back and held it in both of hers.

“Another dam,” she said.

She listened as the artificially calm voice from Colorado Springs spoke into her earphones. “Spring Lake Dam, near Peoria, Illinois,” it said. “They’ve hit most of the dams from there north and west. Floodwaters are rising all along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. We’re ordering evacuation, but it won’t be in time.”

“Isn’t there anything else?” The President’s voice interrupted the Air Force talker. “Get the National Guard out with helicopters—”

“Sir, we’re trying, but we have almost no communications. Most of the reports I’m giving you come from direct observation by Air National Guard pilots flying wherever they see a flash.”

We could lose a lot of pilots that way.

“Is there anything more on the Russians?” Jack asked.

“No. Just a lot of damage reports,” Je

“Then we don’t even know if we’re at war?”

Je

“Could the aliens be allied with the Russians?”

“Don’t know. I don’t think so,” Je

“Yeah.” He leaned back in the bombardier’s seat and closed his eyes. In seconds he was asleep.

Je

I wish I could do it.

The reports continued. Missiles launched against the smaller alien ships. The large alien ship remained invisible behind a screen of noise, charged particles, and chaff. No confirmation of any Soviet missile landing in the United States, and no confirmation of any cities destroyed.

Je

The bomber flew on toward Colorado Springs.

The steps of the bank were cold and damp. Harry settled as near the door as he could reach, and turned on the transistor radio.

“Power failures throughout Southern California,” the a

The long blue flame sank into the east. Harry settled against the bank door. He thought of what else he could do. Steal a car. Steal a motorcycle. Break into the shop and steal his own motorcycle: Any of that might work, but it might not.

I’m not as quick as I used to be.

He tried to think of someone who’d help him, but anyone who’d believe him either wouldn’t be any use, or would already be doing something. After a while he closed his eyes and slept a little.

He woke again when someone moved in beside him: a small, pudgy man who puffed from his climb up the steps. He settled on the step below Harry. “Mind?”

“No,” Harry said. “Did you see the sky? Or the news?”

“Both. The TV’s gone off, though. One of the radio people keeps saying it’s all a big mistake, but I can’t get through to New York.”

Sure can’t. Or to Dighton, Kansas. Harry nodded, The pudgy man was shivering. Harry thought he should have worn more.

“I keep remembering The War of the Worlds. What are they, what do they want? They could be … anything.”

“Not my department,” Harry said, and he closed his eyes. As he drifted off, he felt grateful for his brief military stint. He had learned to sleep anytime.

And if everything went just right, it was going to be one miserable day.

— =

He kept waking to watch the sky. “There,” the pudgy man said. He pointed south. “Like — what did they call it? The high-altitude atom bomb test. Back in the fifties.”

“Wouldn’t remember,” Harry said. He frowned. Something came back to him. They’d blown off a nuclear weapon in the stratosphere, and mucked up the ionosphere and communications all over the world, and it had taken months for things to get right again. And that was one bomb.

There was nothing but static on the radio. Harry tuned across the band. Sometimes he heard stations but he couldn’t really make out words. He shrugged and kept tuning.

There were a lot of faintly phosphorescent smudges, north, south, and west. East was getting pink, and he couldn’t tell if explosions were there, too.

War of the Worlds? In that movie, the aliens had landed. His random sweep picked up a news station. He listened, but there wasn’t much news. Official a

When the sky turned light a dozen were in line. Only two had thought to bring sleeping bags. One weathered-looking man brought an entire backpack, with sleeping bag, self-inflating mat, a blowup pillow, a tiny stove. He got himself settled, then made coffee and sent it up and down the line in a Sierra cup. He seemed to be having a wonderful time. So were the two Boy Scouts with him.

They talked in low voices. A thin woman’s voice kept rising into hysteria, then chopping off. Harry dozed.

The voices changed. Harry rolled over and was looking up at two blue police uniforms. He exposed his hands, then carefully reached into his sports jacket and opened his wallet. “Harry Reddington. I’m here to make a withdrawal.” He didn’t bother to smile.

“Sir, why are you here?”

Harry suppressed an urge to point to the sky and giggle. “I told you, I’m here to make a withdrawal.”

“The Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued orders for all citizens to stay home,” the older policeman said.

“Sure,” Harry said. “We always do everything Washington says, don’t we?” This time he couldn’t help the grin. “How’d they learn to deal with this situation? Experience?”

“Sir—”

The younger officer interrupted his companion. They whispered for a moment. Harry used the opportunity to take out his Baggie-wrapped letter. He held it out.

“If you’ll shine your light here,” Harry said.

The older policeman moved closer. His light showed the Capitol stationery clearly.

“… Mr. Harry Reddington, whom I have authorized to stay in my house and guard my possessions and interests …”

If they had read further they’d have come to the weasel words, but they didn’t, and Harry swallowed his sigh of relief.

“Yes, sir?” the officer said. This time the “sir” sounded a great deal more sincere.