The War Planners by Andrew Watts

through different means.  What am I missing here?”
    Most of the classroom looked at Lena but she didn’t say anything back.  Instead, the answer came from Henry.   
    He said to Lena,  “Ohhhh.  I see what’s going on here.”
    Everyone stared, waiting for him to continue.
    Henry said, “There is a countdown.  Isn’t there?”
    Eyes shot back to Lena.  She nodded.
    David then said.  “That was it, wasn’t it?  That’s how you knew that they are really going to attack.  That’s what this new intelligence was that your dead agent uncovered.”
    “Part of it.  Yes.” she said.
    Some of them put it together and some didn’t.  Someone whistled.  A few swore.  Up until now, David still had a skepticism built up inside of him.  He hadn’t truly believed that China was going to attack the United States.  Sure, there may have been intelligence that they were thinking about it.  But in David’s heart, he believed that somehow this was all going to go away.  Cooler heads would prevail.  The Red Cell would just become some crazy what-if scenario planning session.  David had harbored these thoughts since Tom had first told him about the project.  But the evidence was now falling into place.  The reasons for secrecy.  The signs of war.  Suddenly this all became very real. 
    He gazed outside, thinking about the implications of a war of this scale.  He could see tropical thunderheads on the horizon, each with a white mist streaming down to the distant ocean.  Storms approaching.  Fitting. 
    Someone said, “What’s the countdown matter for?”
    David sighed and said.  “It means that they’re going to follow through.  The satellite-killer is a first-strike weapon.   And the countdown means they’ve already pulled the trigger.  It’s true that they probably have missiles that could do this.  They’ve had them for years, actually.  But if there is a countdown, then that means that they have a plan in motion.  And everything that we’re doing here matters a whole lot more.” 
    “Well, when does the countdown stop?” Henry asked.
    Everyone in the room locked their eyes on Lena.  She looked as if she wasn’t sure whether she should answer.  
    Finally, she said, “To be honest, we don’t know.”
                 
    *****
     
    David woke up to the green-glowing beep of his watch alarm.  He had collapsed on his bed at 5:30 p.m., intending on just to shut his eyes for thirty minutes.  But the fatigue of his jet lag and the all-day sessions had drained him.  While just about everyone else had filed into the cafeteria as soon as the afternoon team meetings ended, David took a nap.  It was now 7:15 p.m. and David would have to hightail it to make it to dinner before they closed.
    He threw on a tee shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of reebok sneakers, and then rushed over to the cafeteria.  He walked into the meal hall to the clatter of metal dishware being cleaned in the back.   Bill was the lone diner.  David walked through the buffet line, scooping heaping piles of mashed potatoes, green beans, and what looked like a pot roast onto his plate.  He grabbed a few bottles of water and a banana and walked over to the table where the other man sat.
    “Mind if I join you?” David asked.
    “Sure, sure.” Bill was in mid chew.  He took a gulp from his cup and said,  “Helluva day, huh?”   
    Bill ran his hair through his thick, fluorescent white hair.  He dressed in a collared shirt that was tucked in to a pair of light blue jeans.  Black sneakers completed the outfit.   David thought that he looked like he could have been a grandpa.
    “Where are you from again, Bill?” David asked.
    “West Texas.  But I’ve lived in Nevada for the past few years.  And honestly, before that I was Air Force so I’ve lived all over.  Yourself?”
    “Virginia.  Right outside D.C.  I’m a Navy BRAT myself.”
    “I’ve been there.  Nice area.  Lousy