Area 7 (novel)

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Title Area 7

Thomas Dunne Books edition cover
Author	Matthew Reilly
Country	Australia
Language	English
Series	Shane Schofield
Genre(s)	Techno-thriller
Publisher	Pan Macmillan
Released	October 31, 2001
Media type	Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages	596 pp (paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-333-90626-8
Preceded by	Ice Station
Followed by	Scarecrow

Area 7 is a novel written by Australian thriller writer Matthew Reilly. It is his fourth book, published in 2001, and is the sequel to Ice Station.

[edit] Synopsis

Area 7 opens with a prisoner at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary being granted his last request before being taken to Illinois for execution. Watching the inauguration of the new President, Charles Samson Russell is revealed to have been sentenced to death for treason against the United States of America. Despite the delay from watching the ceremony, Russell is taken to Indiana and executed. Twelve minutes later, in the back of an Air Force Ambulance, Russell is revived, the hyperoxygenated blood in his veins keeping him alive despite his heart having stopped.

Six months later, on the third of July, a maintenance crew at Chicago's O'Hare airport find a type-240 blast plasma warhead set up in an unused hangar. A quick check reveals the hangar belongs to the US Air Force, but further investigation reveals no-one has set foot inside the hangar in six months and the Air Force has no information about warheads being stored in civilian aircraft hangars. Reports soon come in, revealing that the plasma warheads - second only to a nuclear device in terms of destructive capacity - have been found across continental United States from New York to Los Angeles. All are armed. All are waiting for a signal.

In Utah, a small group of helicopters fly across the desert to a remote mountain complex known as United States Air Force Special Area (Restricted) 7. Led by Marine One, the presidential entourage is visiting some of the nation's most secret facilities, having previously visited the nearby Area 8 earlier that morning. Following the incident in Antarctica, the Marine Corps had been left with a problem regarding Shane M. Schofield: where to put him. A potential target for assassination following the collapse of the Intelligence Convergence Group, he is assigned to the one job that will put him in the public eye whilst keeping him safe - as a part of the president's detachment of Marines on-board Marine One.

Flying in to the former NORAD headquarters near Lake Powell, Marine One detects an unauthorised outgoing transmission originating from the helicopter, though a sweep reveals nothing. Ordering another helicopter to investigate the Secret Service's advance team, the remaining two helicopters continue to Area 7. On-board Nighthawk Two, Elizabeth Gant attempts to study for Officer Candidate School, though is interrupted by a member of the Preident's domestic staff, the pompous Nicholas Tate III, who attempts to charm her with a birthday present. Gant is rescued by Mother Newman - now with a prosthetic lower leg following the events of Ice Station - revealing she had been seeing Shane Schofield. The third helicopter, Nighthawk Three, arrives at Area 7's Emergency Exit Vent, where they are ambushed by another force.

Arriving at the facility, Schofield meets Major Kurt Logan, commander of the Air Force's 7th Squadron as the President disembarks Marine One. Moving the helicopter into the facility to avoid potential detection by foreign satellites, Schofield encounters the 7th Squadron itself, regarded as the deadliest fighting unit in America. Armed with the futuristic FN-P90 sub-machinegun, the 7th Squadron has achieved near-legendary status for their exploits during the Cold War. As the Preisdent is shown around the facility, Schofield notices one of the 7th Squadron's sub-units is guarding a closet. The other Marines swap conspiracy theories as to the nature of the facility, a young Marine making reference to the "spaceship" from Ice Station, while another suggests the planet-killing Superbomb, a nod to another of the author's works.

The President is taken to the subterranean Level 4 laboratories where he encounters the secrets of the Utah base and Project Fortune. A series of glass cubicles like telephone booths play host to some of America's worst criminals, including Seth Grimshaw, a man who tried to assassinate the President, Lucifer Leary, a cannibalistic medical student, and Leon Roy Hailey, a sadistic torturer and killer. All have donated their living bodies to science as opposed to serving life (or death) sentences. The President witnesses Hailey being subjected to a mustard-coloured mist under the supervision of South African scientist Gunther Botha. Hailey's reaction is violent, throwing up as his internal organs liquefy. Leary is subjected to the same treatment, though he has been given the necessary antibodies and survives. Area 7 is a biological warfare facility and home to the latest Chinese bioweapon. The Sinovirus is an "ethnic bullet", the first artificially-created virus that can target certain ethnic groups based on the proteins that determine skin colour. Following the demonstration, the Preisdent is taken to the Level 3 living quarters.

In a darkened room within the facility, a transmitter is activated, arming all fourteen warheads across America. Every TV screen within the facility is activated, showing the face of General Charles Samson Russell, call-sign "Caesar". Caesar informs the President of the situation regarding the warheads and issues him a challenge: to stay alive. Should the President die, a transmitter attached to his heart will stop and the fourteen warheads will detonate. If the President lives, America lives. As further incentive to stay within the base, the Nuclear Football has been set to a ninety-minute repeating timer, the expiration of which will also detonate the bombs. As Caesar's message finished, Kurt Logan's 7th Squadron unit "Alpha" attacks, the Secret Service escorting the Chief Executive from the living quarters.

In the ground-level hangar, Schofield has an argument with his superior about the offensive arrangement the 7th Squadron has adopted. Threatened with a court-martial, Schofield returns to the other Marines as the 7th Squadron attacks. Most of the White House staff are killed, though the Marines survive, broken into two distinct groups: Schofield, Mother, Gant and a fouth Marine with the call-sign Brainiac head for the ventilation shafts, while the other Marines, consisting of Book II (son of Ice Station's Book) and three other Marines known as Elvis, Love Machine and Calvin, who make for the elevator.

Schofield's team descend to the Level 1 hangar cross-ventilation shaft, pursued by the 7th Squadron's Charlie Unit when they encounter the aircraft elevator, a two-hundred foot square elevator designed to transport planes between levels. Evading the 7th Squadron by hanging from a gutter carved into the walls of the shaft to hold cables, Schofield's Marines circle around to the hangar proper with the intention of using an AWACS surveillence plane to determine if Caesar is telling the truth. As they board the plane, Brainiac confirms the story and Charlie Unit arrives with aid from sister-unit Bravo.

Meanwhile, the President is taken to the Level 6 X-Rail Platform, a high-speed train system linking Areas 7 and 8 with a loading dock at nearby Lake Powell. The Secret Service's leader is killed by a waiting Delta Unit, promting Agent Juliet Janson to turn around and race upstairs. Caught between the advancing Alpha and Delta Units, Janson leads the President into the Level 5 Containment facility, playing home to Kodiak bears and Komodo Dragons on one side, and the prisoners of Area 7 like Leary and Grimshaw on the other. It is here they pick up immunologist Herbert Franklin, who reveals that the 7th Squadron units have had their immune systems augmented by the Komodos and bears, while they also take steroids.

Schofield's team comes under fire from Bravo and Charlie, the 7th Squadron destroying the AWACS' tail section to storm the plane. A pair of Stinger missiles launched from Humvees destroy the level's cable junction box and water supply, causing Book II's group to try for another level as they hear the sounds of gunfire and the water from the elevator shaft. Making their way down to Level Five, they finally acquire weapons other than their ceremonial nickel-plated handguns, and meet Janson and the President, retreating up a ramp to Level 4's laboratories.

Faced with no way out of the situation, Mother starts the AWACS plane. Citing her capacity to drive her husband's 18-wheeler truck and having seen Kurt Russell drive a plane in a movie, Mother invites the team along for what she calls a "Sunday Drive". Schofield takes over, killing a member of Charlie Unit by firing the ejector seat when he comes in through the roof, and proceeds to drive in circles as he looks for a way out. Finally, he decides there is only one way, and tells everyone to buckle up. To the astonishment of Charlie's leader, Schofield pilots the AWACS plane out of the hangar and down the elevator shaft, crashing onto the elveator itself on Level 4 and escaping into the laboratories.

Here, his team encounter one of the secrets of Area 7: the final stage of Project Fortune. In a large glass cube on the floor below, Schofield and Gant encounter Kevin, a young boy whose blood can be harvested for the antibodies necessary to counter the Sinovirus. They have little time to question this turn of events as they notice the lights on the other side of the partition dividing the level in half abruptly go out. Book II's team with the President in tow seal the ramp leading to Level 5, preventing Delta Unit from following. Faced with the darkened laboratories, Book II and the Marines start to explore the darkened room, walking into an ambush by Alpha Unit. In the resulting firefight, Calvin is killed, and Alpha move in for the kill. They are forced to retreat when someone else starts shooting, Schofield and his Marines killing six Alpha members and forcing Logan into retreat.

Schofield consults Juliet Janson and outlines his plan to stop the 7th Squadron by launching an assault on the ground level hangar to re-arm the Football when the lights go out. Dropping Mother and Herbert Franklin at the cable junction box to kill the security cameras when the power comes back on, Schofield's team set up for the attack. Bravo, Charlie and Echo Units have predicted their movements, establishing a well-defended barricade around the Football, but Schofield's plan is audacious. After detonating a high-powered grenade in the wreckage of the AWACS plane, Gant and Elvis pilot Marine One around the hangar while Love Machine drives a "cockroach" towing vehicle around, scattering the 7th Squadron. In the carnage, Schofield and the President make their way to the Football while wearing stolen 7th Squadron uniforms, successfully stopping the coutdown and retreating to the aircraft elevator. Love Machine, however, is caught on the wrong side and is forced to drive all the way back around, getting shot in the process. Schofield goes to rescue him, driving the towing vehcile wildly and finding the Football unattended. Using a small explosive, he severs the tie-down stud and takes the briefcase before driving the towing vehicle into the wreckage of the AWACS plane, thirty feet below ground level, and taking a smaller detachable elevator to rendezvous with the others on Level 4 with the aid of a Maghook.

On Level 4, they discover the locks have been cut with an industrial laser and worse, Kevin has been kidnapped. Schofield is puzzled, but the President believes Gunther Botha is responsible, allowing a team of South African Reccondos in during the power outage and escaping with Kevin. Schofield wants to go after him, but his superior resits, telling him his duty is to protect the President, but Schofield's counter-argument is that Botha has given them a way out and with the Football being in their possession, there's nothing to stop them leaving altogether. The President agrees and they return to the X-Rail Platform to find the bodies of Delta Unit, killed by the South Africans. Taking an X-Rail - essentially a train so fast it requires rails both below and above it - they are ambushed by Bravo Unit and the wounded Love Machine is killed. Worse, the President is seaprated from Schofield, who is carrying the Football. An angry Elvis sacrifices himself, killing five Bravo combatants with a high-powered grenade and buying Gant's sub-team time to get to the stairwell.

A frustrated Schofield, with Book II, Brainiac and Herbert Franklin follow the South Africans to Lake Powell, where Schofield asks about the terrifying nature of the Sinovirus and the facility lock-down procedure. Franklin reveals that Area 7 has been plced under a Cold War-era alert system, and a failure to input an authorised code will result in the detonation of a thermonuclear warhead. Schofield is forced to cut him off as the Lake Powell loading dock arrives. Narrowly avoiding a trap set by the South Africans, Schofield's men give chase in small river boats while in Washington D.C, a young cryptographer named David Fairfax identifies as series of unauthorised signals from Area 7. Frustrated as others are monitoring signals from a recently-launched Chinese rocket, Fairfax identifies the signals as being in the language of Afrikaans, and a co-worker gives him some insight into an organisation known as "Die Organaisse" ("The Organisation"). Die Organaisse are a group of rich, racist South African expatriates who fled the nation with the collapse of the Aparthied regime, and Fairfax questions why they are in communication with the Air Force base before his very angry supervisor arrives with a group of Military Police.

In the chase through Lake Powell's canyons, Schofield and Book gradually catch the South Africans, with Brainiac and Herbert franklin following in a second boat. Charlie Unit arrives via helicopter and in the resulting three-way chase the South Africans become trapped, but Schofield watches helplessly as Botha escapes with Kevin. Brainiac attempts to board a South African hydrofoil, but the boat is boody-trapped and the resulting explosion kills both him and Herbert Franklin in the small boat alongside. Schofield and Book II turn around and try to chase Botha, the last South African boat being destroyed by a 7th Squadron torpedo. Realising the fruitlessness of the situation, Schofield stops and uses his Maghook to board and hijack a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter to give chase from the air, encountering a 7th Squadron helicopter along the way. Armed with only a small gun on the helicopter, Schofield challenges the Charlie operatives to a "draw", tricking them into using a variety of missile with a plastic nosecone. By firing at the missile's weak point, Schofield detonates the rockets before they are fired, destroying the helicopter. They then find Botha stopepd in the middle of a larger section of Lake Powell and order him to surrender Kevin to them before being shot down by another 7th Squadron helicopter. As the Super Stallion helps, Schofield is forced to watch as Charlie Unit kills Botha and re-takes Kevin. Faced with their air rapidly turning rancid in their sinking helicopter, Schofield and Book II start looking for a way out.

In Area 7, Elizabeth Gant reveals her plan for the President, to "do something about that transmitter". Fighting off the protests of her superior, Gant and Mother lead the President to the Level 2 hangar with the intention of finding an AWACS plane. Recovering the flight data recorder - otherwise known as a black box - Gant imitates the signal coming from the President's heart and suggests they find the device that actives the President's transmitter before continuing. On the Ground Level, the remainder of Charlie Unit returns with Kevin to find Echo Unit waiting for them. Charlie's leader is puzzled to see the four men who recovered the Sinovirus with Echo, before Echo Unit opens fire on Charlie.

Under Lake Powell, Schofield and Book II are looking for an exit when Schofield questions Botha's choice of location, believing the South African scientist had a specific reason for choosing this location when he spots a petrol station, abandoned when Lake Powell was flooded. Hading over the Football in the event he dies, Schofield swims to the air pump and tests it for toxicity after picking up a container Botha threw overboard. Finding the air to be barely acceptable, he signals to Book and swims out to investigate the surrounding area, finding an abandoned mine shaft; Botha's exit. Swimming back to Book II and taking a new lungful of air, the two climb the mineshaft, almost suffocating in the attempt. They discover one of the mines had been re-fitted to house a group of commandos while they hide for however long is necessary before escaping to South Africa. Climbing out of the mines, Schofield and Book II kill one of Botha's accomplices and steal a crop-dusting biplane for the flight back to Area 7. Checking the container Botha threw overbaord, Schofield gives Book the Sinovirus antibodies and questions why the younger Marine doesn't trust him. Book II questions his father's death and reveals his mother committed suicide shortly afterwards, stating that Schofield's reputation for high-risk tactics precedes him and asking if he had anothering to do with Book Senior's death. Schofield reveals the grisly details of his father's murder at the hands of the British SAS and the two land at Area 7's Emergency Exit Vent with a handful of minutes remaining until the Football's timer expires and America dies. They hide on Level 6 as a group of 7th Squadron commandos leave in the direction of Area 8, escorting Kevin with them. Schofield questions whether Caesar has ordered the boy be moved, but realises from their stealthy movements that they are stealing him from Caesar.

Using the Maghook to ascend through the ventilation shaft, Schofield spots Gant, Mother and the President on the opposite side of the elveator shaft, and with the elevator itself on the Ground Level, they don't have enough time to stop the countdown. Mother suggests a "Sydney Harbour Bridge", firing two Maghooks at each other in the hopes of connecting and doubling the length of the rope. Schofield counters that it's never been done before and sends them up to Level One. Each side fires a Maghook part-way across the shaft, aimed at the underisde of the aircraft elevator, and Schofield and the president swing out to each other, re-arming the Football three hundred feet above the world. As Schofield returns to the shaft, the cries of the prisoners reach them; the rising water on Level 5 has shorted the locks on their cages, allowing them to escape. Above, Caesar and Kurt Logan are forced to leave as the prisoners attack the control booth.

Schofield and Gant and the President are re-united, with failed assassin Seth Grimshaw amused at their impromptu civil war. Schofield, Mother, Gant, the President and Juliet Janson are forced to fight against the 7th Squadron men who were left behind by Caesar and Logan's escape. During the fight, Schofield and Gant are once again separated as Gant instructs him to help the Chief Executive. Mother fights with the man who surrendered the Nuclear Football to Caesar, using pieces of the crashed AWACS as swords. She kills him when he attempts to take her leg off, only to meet with the solid steel of Mother's prosthetic leg. The team is forced to watch on in horror as the base's commanding officer discharges a Sinovirus grenade, stating that he has already been immunised against it. He is foiled by Schofield, who sends the live grenade skyward, the resulting detonation killing all but two prisoners: Seth Grimshaw and the hulking Goliath. Schofield's team adopt breathing masks on the President's order, Juliet Janson surrendering hers to Mother as her Asian background protects her from the effect of the virus. Elizabeth Gant escapes the pit before coming into contact with the Sinovirus and races for the control centre and a chemical protection suit before being knocked unconscious by an unseen asailant. Juliet Janson is taken captive by the leader of Bravo Unit before he is shot by Book II.

Janson and Book follow Grimshaw and Goliath outside via a hidden entry in the elevator, only to find Goliath waiting for them. Book attempts to knock him out, only to meet with the steel plate in Goliath's skull. As Goliath is about to kill Book with the stolen Maghook, Book turns the magent on and fires, the Maghook bending Goliath's skull backwards while Janson has a standoff with Grimshaw. The assassin dies and Janson recovers the Football. Schofield's team head downwards, encountering Nicholas Tate III as they reach Level 6 and find a series of syringes in the X-Rail and inoculate themselves against the Sinovirus with Schofield's supply of the vaccine and learning that Caesar's team missed the hourly window to input a code. If the next window is missed, the facility's self-destruct sequence begins. The President is also concerned with Caesar, revealing that the former General had been a member of "The Brotherhood", a racist organisation within the Air Force; Schofield had noticed not a single member of the 7th Squadron was of African-American descent. The President also reveals that no airport south of the Tennessee border has a warhead in it; Caesar is only attempting to destroy the norther half of America and return it to its pre-Civil War state. He also says that with even a fraction of his resources - planes, weapons, etc - Caesar is quite capable of defending this new America, and speculates darkly as to what would happen if the President survives.

David Fairfax, meanwhile, has finally talked his way out of his situation. Although most of the unauthorised transmissions were in Afrikaans, several had been in English. These had been going to a different source, the source his co-workers had been investigating. Fairfax comes to the conclusion that there is a rogue unit at Area 7, a rogue unit communicating with the Chinese shuttle Yellow Star. He quickly determines that Echo Unit - the only unit not to have suffered any casualties - is responsible and after a few questions determines their exit strategy. He is placed in charge of the Area 7 mission and starts searching for any outgoing transmissions within a fifty-mile area.

Schofield, Mother, the Preisdent and Nicholas Tate arrive at Area 8, Tate growing angry with someone who cuts across his mobile phone line. Schofield seizes it and starts communicating with David Fairfax, who warns him of the South Africans. Schofield assures Fairfax that he's already dealt with them, and the cryptanalyst warns of Echo Unit's betrayl. He describes his suspicions of their plan, telling Schofield it sounds far-fetched, but Schofield says he's willing to believe anything. It is then that the elevator doors open and Schofield sees David Fairfax was right.

Caesar and Logan have already learned of Echo's betrayal and have taken helicopters to Area 8 where they see a Boeing 747 emerging from the hangar. It is not the 747 that draws their attention, but the craft mounted on its back: the X-38, successor to the current space shuttle. Echo Unit intends to use the X-38 to take Kevin and the Sinovirus to the Yellow Star and return to China, placing themselves beyond America's reach before a chase shuttle could even be organised. Caesar and Logan attack, forcing Echo to start taxiing out onto the runway. Schofield, Mother and the President give chase in a towing vehicle, using the 747's electronic counter-measures to protect themselves against Caesar's fullisade. With no other option, Schofield and the President are forced to board the 747 as it begins its take-off run, leaving Mother to deal with Caesar, who destroys the vehicle. Investigations by Logan reveal a body under the wreckage, missing a leg.

Fuelled by Mother's sacrifice, Schofield attempts to ground the 747, only to find he needs an authorised access code. With no other choice, he and the President board the shuttle. Attaining a low orbit, Schofield reveals his plan to the President over a private radio. The two disconnect themselves from their seats and take Kevin forward to the cockpit as if showing him the view. The President seals the cockpit and Schofield takes the pilot, removing his visor and exposing him to pure ultraviolet light. After blasting the Yellow Star into oblivion with a pair of specially-developed anti-gravity missiles, Schofield forces Echo Unit's pilot to return them to Utah and Area 7.

Upon landing, they are confronted by one of Caesar's helicopters, who demand the release of the President and Kevin. Schofield complies, letting them out, before the helicopter fires on them. The President and Kevin witness Schofield ejecting as the missile hits, firing a single-shot missile launcher of his own and bringing the helicopter back to earth. They meet Book II and Juliet, once again in possession of the Football, and watch as Caesar makes a final broadcast in which he admits defeat but rveals his endgame: he too has a transmitter on his heart, and the warheads require both signals to prevent them from detonating. Schofield takes a helicopter back to Area 7's Emergency Exit Vent and finds Gant trussed up on Level 4 and at the mercy of the cannibalistic Lucifer Leary. After a savage fight, Schofield locks Leary in with the base's Komodo dragons, who eat him alive. Before Schofield even realises what he is doing, he kisses Gant (something he failed to do on their lone date). With the promise of talking about it later, the two race back up to the Ground Level. Schofield attempts to stop the base's self-destruct mechanism, but Kurt Logan holds him at gunpoint and Schofield watches helplessly as the ten-minute countdown begins, taunted by Caesar. Distracted for a moment, Logan is attacked by Schofield before being thrown out of the control tower's windows and onto a palette suspended above the hangar. Logan moves it away from the tower and proceeds to pound Schofield.

Gant initially fires on Logan, but Caesar forces shoots her in the ankle. Wounded, she watches as Logan is prepared to drop Schofield down into the four hundred foot abyss that is the elevator shaft. Schofield spots a way out and drops the entire palette, sending himself and Logan into the depths with a command to Gant to attempt a Sydney Harbour Bridge with their Maghooks. Schofield fires first, with Gant lining up her own shot and the two connect, bringing Schofield to a jarring halt a hundred feet short of the ruins of the AWACS plane. Kurt Logan is decapitated by the twisted wreckage as Schofield is reeled up by Gant.

The anihilistic Caesar Russell starts shooting at the two, taunting that they can't shoot back. Gant looks for the flight data recorder and with the aid of Caesar's remote, stops his transmitter and starts the signal from the box. Schofield shoots Caesar and kicks his gun away before carrying Gant back down to the X-Rail platform. Area 7's nuclear warhead is set off as the two flee in a high-speed maintenance vehicle, narrowly outrunning the collapsing tunnel and returning to Area 8. Charles Samson Russell is vaporised by the nuclear blast. Schofield meets with the President as Gant receives medical attention for her ankle, the Chief Executive telling Schofield that despite Caesar's intentions, America never knew a thing. A time-delay on the emergency broadcast network established by Lyndon Johnson as a means of preventing a panic message from going out for forty-five minutes, but Area 7's ability to broadcast any message was destroyed after just thirty-seven minutes by a wayward Stinger missile in the Level 1 hangar that morning. Mother is also found to be alive and well, faking her death and ripping her own prosthetic leg off for added effect in the crash.

The story ends with Schofield's team (and Ralph, Mother's husband), David Fairfax and Kevin being presented with classified medals for their deeds at Area 7. As Ralph and the President have a lively debate over the NFL during dinner, Schofield and Gant have their second date in a private dining room. As they leave the White House, Gant is surprised to find an entire motorcade waiting for them; Schofield has arranged to look after Kevin until they can find him a family to live with.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Shane Schofield

Following the events of Ice Station, Captain Shane M. "Scarecrow" Schofield (previously Lieutenant) has been placed in the Presidential entourage to protect him from the remnant of the ICG. Popular with the President's grandchildren owing to his trademark anti-flash sunglasses, Schofield is generally liked by the White House staff. Riding on Marine One on the events of July 3 in Utah, Schofield is awarded a classified bravery award for his efforts in thwarting Caesar Russell, Gunther Botha and Echo Unit.

[edit] Elizabeth Gant

Returning alongside Schofield along with Mother, it Elizabeth "Fox" Gant (also known as Libby) who comes up with a potential resolution to the situation when she demonstrates the use of the AWACS' black box flight recorder. Captured by Lucifer Leary, she is ultimately rescued by Schofield and uses the flight recorder to impersonate the signal from Caesar's heart. She too is awarded with a classified medal.

[edit] Gena Newman

Despite her injuries from the Antarctic mission, Gena "Mother" Newman is back with a brand-new titanium leg, but her attitude remains the same.

[edit] Buck Riley, Jr.

Son of the original Book Riley, Buck Jr. carries his father's call-sign with pride. Known as Book II, he is initially distrustful of Schofield and his high-risk strategies, questioning whether Schofield's tactics resulted in his father's death.

[edit] The President

The Chief Executive of the United States (who goes un-named for the duration of the novel) is the centre of the Area 7 crisis. During his ascension to power as a state senator, he underwent a minor operation to remove detritus from his lungs following his smoking habit. During the operation, a small biometric transmitter was placed on his heart, a transmitter that would trigger the detonation of fourteen plasma warheads across America. He is seen by Caesar as a symbol of the nation, and by killing him, he will literally kill what he sees as a corrupt and decadent country!

[edit] David Fairfax

A young cyrptanalyst working for the Pentagon, Fairfax is monitoring unauthorised transmissions originating from an Air Force base in Utah when he stumbles upon not one, but two separate conspiracies: an assault by a former South African military unit and a betrayal by one of the 7th Squadron units.

[edit] Kevin

A seven-year-old boy who has lived in a glass cube in Area 7's laboratories since birth. The result of Project Fortune, Kevin is unqiue in that he is the first genetically-tailored human being. He is of immense importance to all parties at Area 7 as his blood can be harvested for antibodies against the Chinese-developed Sinovirus.

[edit] Juliet Janson

A quick-thinking Secret Service agent in the Presidential Detachment who takes the lead by action as opposed to rank when the ranking officer is killed. Her Asian background makes her immune to the Sinovirus and its grisly effects.

[edit] The Marines

[edit] Gus "Brainiac" Gorman

A pudgy Marine with a photographic memory who knows something about everything, Brainiac helps Schofield verify Caesar's claims. He is killed when boarding a speeding South African hydrofoil in the chase on Lake Powell.

[edit] Ashley "Love Machine" Lewicky

An ugly Marine with a sense of humour and a slam-dunk call-sign. He helps Schofield on the assault on the Football, but is injured in the process and killed when the Marines attempt to escape.

[edit] Wendell "Elvis" Haynes

An African-American Marine who does not like the 7th Squadron as there virtually all members are of Caucasian background. He sacrifices himself when his best friend, Love Machine, is killed to buy Gant, Mother and the President enough time to escape.

[edit] Tom "Calvin" Reeves

A Marine captain fast-tracked for promotion whose call-sign stems from his resemblance to a Calvin Klein model. Taking command of Book II's sub-team in the initial attack, he is killed in Alpha Unit's ambush in the laboratories.

[edit] Rodney "Hot Rod" Hagerty

The Marines' White House Liaison Officer is universally despised among the Corps as he is more interested in being promoted than being a soldier. His rigid adherence to protocol, even when downright impractical, earns him the alternative call-sign of "Ramrod". When Rodney is captured by Lucifer Leary, Schofield frees him when hunting for Gant and Caesar.

[edit] Villains

[edit] Charles Samson Russell

Formerly an Air Force General known as "Caesar" for his brilliant tactics and certified-genius IQ of 161. Disgusted at the state of America, Caesar plans a revolution involving the highly-publicised assassination of the president at Area 7. A member of an underground racist organisation known as "The Brotherhood", he is condemned to execution via lethal injection for treason, though he formulates a plot to survive. Planning to return America to its pre-Civil War state by destroying the northern half of the America, he plants a transmitter on his own heart to guarantee he wins even if he is killed. Schofield shoots him after Gant imitates his signal, and Caesar is killed in Area 7's self-destruct blast.

[edit] Kurt Logan

A pock-faced commander of the 7th Squadron and leader of Alpha Unit, Logan is a highly-gifted field commander who out-classed other field commanders during wargames Schofield was a part of. Finally confronting Schofield on a palette suspended above the vertiginous aircraft elevator shaft, Logan falls to his death when Schofield drops the palette from the ceiling.

[edit] Guther Botha

A former member of the South African Medical Battalion - an offensive biowarfare unit - Botha is a scientist working on Project Fortune and the Sinovirus. Described as invaluable despite his security risk, the President's fears come true when Botha allows a group of former South African commandos into the base and kidnaps Kevin. He is killed on Lake Powell by a missile from Charlie Unit.

[edit] Lee Carney and Echo Unit

The fifth of the 7th Squadron's five units, Echo is the only ten-man squad not to sustain any losses over the course of the day. Two former members of Echo Unit extracted two Chinese scientists from the bioweapons laboratory at Changchun, though with Echo's help betrayed America by offering to bring back Kevin for ten million dollars each. Successfully taking Kevin and launching a next-generation space shuttle into orbit, Lee Carney and Echo Unit are killed on Caesar's orders after Schofield hijacks the shuttle and returns it to earth before it can dock with the Chinese shutte Yellow Star.