Chapter No.17. Eventful.

The big event occurred on July 4th at the White House. After a short introduction by President Lawrence, Robert stood while the President placed the Medal, a white star with tiny blue stars on a gold pentagon surrounded by gold eagles, around his neck. That's when Robert got a glance at the President's wrist and it contained a tattoo of a skull.

Robert kept his cool and didn't react. He smiled and shook hands with the president. The Vice President also shook his hand and praised him for saving his wife and child.

The ceremony and the aftermath were as expected. The President said nothing that would indicate that he was the Son of Wickedness. Everyone expressed their accolades, and the press covered the event without a lot of fanfare.

Later, when Robert and Janet were waiting for their plane back home in the airport, Robert suddenly felt shock at what was happening.

"What's wrong?" Janet whispered.

Robert held a hand up but remained concentrated by something that Janet couldn't see. Janet knew something was wrong, but she was clueless about what it was, until she looked up and saw that flight after flight was being canceled and that security agents were rushing around while the lights dimmed. Her husband was no help. He was locked in a trance.

After fifteen minutes of just staring at nothing, Robert turned to her. "I can't believe that he did this."

Janet looked at him with her brow furrowed and her eyes wide. "Who? Did what?"

He stared at her for a moment before replying. "The President launched a nuclear strike on Russia."

She looked around before looking back at him. "Are we in danger?"

"I don't think so. I deactivated the missile warheads. Several of them fell into the ocean. Others simply struck but didn't detonate."

"What about the President? Is he going to launch another attack?"

"I don't think so. One of the missiles fell onto his limousine, demolishing it. I believe he perished."

A security officer rushed up to them. "You must take cover. This airport is under attack."

Robert looked at him. "Actually, it isn't." He stood up and took his wife's hand. "Have a nice day," he said before he and his wife disappeared.

James greeted them with excitement. "Did you just cause a nuclear strike, Dad? The warning sirens have been blaring like crazy."

"Not me, Son. The President did that. I just deactivated all of the warheads." He sighed. "Of course, there's going to be some problems cleaning up the mess. I think it best that I go to the Pentagon and convince them that there is no need to continue trying to destroy all of us."

His wife and son stared at him as if he were crazy.

Robert appeared in the main war room of the Pentagon. Military security rushed over to him, but he made them freeze in place. "Gentlemen, there is no need to panic. I'm here to repair the damage that the President has caused."

"Who the hell are you?" General Watkins growled.

"I am the one who saved all of you from a nuclear disaster. I sensed that a nuclear strike had been launched and that Russia had retaliated, and I deactivated all of the warheads. Other than some collateral damage, no real harm was done."

"He's the guy who just received the Medal of Freedom," another officer exclaimed, pointing.

"How could you deactivate a warhead in a launched missile?" the General asked, his brow furled.

"I can do just about anything except cause harm. I saved the daughter of a guy who once worked for the AEC and he allowed me to see all of the nuclear triggering mechanisms in his memory."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Has any nuclear detonations been observed by your satellite system?" Robert asked.

"Well . . . no, they haven't."

"There you go. I think it would be wise to contact the Russians and explain what happened."

"That would be the President's call."

"Well, he's no longer with us," Robert said before turning to the Vice President. "It's your call now."

The Vice President wasn't sure what to do.

"Let me talk to the Russians," Robert said. "I think I can explain what happened and calm them down."

"Do you speak Russian?"

"I can speak any language. What you will hear is the English translation. They'll hear it in their own tongue."

A technician handed the Red Phone to Robert.

"Greetings," Robert said. "I am representing the Vice President of the United States. I apologize for the nuclear strike. Our President, who is now deceased, launched it without proper protocols. As you might have noticed, none of the launched warheads, both yours and ours, detonated. That was not an accident. The United States has no reason to attack you and will never do so. I will clean up the mess that our war heads did to your property. I believe we can come to an agreement to stop any such nuclear strike from ever occurring."

"Why did the warheads fail to detonate?" a Russian General asked.

"It's a long story, but I will come there and explain it to you in person."

"How will you come here?"

"Just trust me. I'll be there." Robert handed the phone to the technician.

"If you don't mind, I will go calm them down and then we can all relax. However, I require your permission to offer them concessions. After all, this was our fault."

"Yes, by all means," the Vice President said.

Robert vanished and appeared in the Russian's war room, which was underground.

They looked at him with alarm and one of the security men fired his gun at him.

"Bullets don't seem to affect me," Robert said. He turned and gestured to the wall behind him. "You made a mess of your wall there."

He turned back to them. "I am able to do just about anything except cause harm, so there's no reason to fear me. The President of the United States was an evil demon who was determined to destroy mankind. He's no longer able to do that. One of your missiles landed on his limousine and destroyed him. I thank you for that. I am incapable of causing harm to anybody or anything, so I was not sure how I was going to stop him from destroying all of us."

"Who are you?" the general asked.

"I was a Marine combat medic during the Iraq War. When I left the service, I was in a car accident that left me in a coma for ten years. While in the coma I came in contact with an agent of God, and he assigned me the job of stopping the evil one from causing Armageddon. He said I would have the powers to do just about anything except causing harm."

The General pointed at him. "You are the healer we have been hearing about. If you are what you say you are, will you cure our President from a serious condition?"

"Yes," Robert said with a hint of a grin. "I would be honored to do that."

"Take him there," the General growled.

Robert was escorted to a special room where the Russian President was hanging out during the crisis. The man's condition was obvious the instant that Robert placed his hand on his head. He had a serious case of lung cancer, probably from smoking most of his life.

"I can fix that," Robert said.

After a few minutes, the Russian President stood up and smiled. "Thank you."

"I hope that this will secure a lasting peace. I will make sure that the United States does nothing to instigate war with you." He smiled. "Oh, and I've cleaned up and repaired all the damage done by our missiles. Have a nice day."

He appeared back at the war room at the Pentagon. "Everything's okay now."

They stared at him before reacting. "What did you do?"

"I cured the Russian president's lung cancer."

They exchanged glances before the Vice President spoke. "I will need your assistance to repair the damage that has been done."

"I am at your service," Robert replied. "But I'm not sure how long I will be permitted to live. Technically, I died when I was in a coma."

They stared at him for a moment before the Vice President replied. "I . . . we owe you a debt of gratitude that we will never be able to fully cover."

"Actually, you don't owe me anything, All I care about is helping all of the people on this planet to live a life of freedom and peace."

The Vice President smiled. "I could surely use you as my speech writer."

The others laughed.