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Chapter 42: America in Shock

The Secretary of Defense sat at the head of the table. He gazed at each and every one of the people in the room with an ice glare.

Hidden beneath his cold demeanor, however, was a profound unease. The corners of his eyebrows throbbed, and a thin layer of cold sweat covered his forehead. Perhaps if a mystic looked into his eyes they would see the confusion and concern that currently plagued him.

“Yes, sir!”

Every person in the room assented immediately. There were many faces, old and young, and each performed a respectful salute upon responding. The faces of the younger officials, however, were tinged with excitement.

In front of the table was a large screen. In modern warfare, soldiers granted critical tasks would often carry cameras along with themselves. These would record and broadcast the real-time events that transpired around them. Not long ago, Secretary Johnson had been called to witness the live broadcast of the expedition into the Amazon forest.

Shivering imperceptibly, he lowered his head once more and looked at the tablet in his hands. He replayed the events that he had seen over and over again. After watching that…thing… decimate the ground force and then proceed to demolish the aerial support, he didn’t quite know what to believe. Laughing bitterly he spoke, “This isn’t a movie, right? Someone, please tell me they’re pulling a prank.”

“Unfortunately sir, it’s exactly as you’ve seen.”

One of his men whispered to him.

“Then you tell me – what the hell is this monster? Why can it breathe fire, and what the hell was that weird thing it shot out of its mouth later?!”

“Sir, I believe that…… is a dragon……”

A younger subordinate replied with caution.

“Yeah I know, genius!! It’s a goddamn dragon. But why the hell is it here, on Earth, and not in some fairy tale?! Next thing you know we’ll be seeing unicorns…”

The secretary once again issued a questioning roar. This time no one dared answer him.

Johnson was confident that there were no secrets he was unaware of. As the world’s superpower’s greatest military authority, there should be no secrets he couldn’t access with a snap of his fingers. But this… this went beyond everything he ever dreamed.

“Phew…….”

Exhaling, the secretary calmed down, “Alright. Quickly dispatch another force to Brazil. Have them go where the dragon appeared, and make sure we get to it before any other country does, alright?!” He paused before continuing, “Also pore over all the satellite imagery we have access to. I want you to find out where that dragon is right now.”

There was a flurry of movement as various officials moved instantly to execute his instructions.

“Ensure this video is classified. And under the highest privileges as well. But before that, make a copy for me. I will take this to the president myself.”

Pressing a button on his desk, he spoke to the communication outlet in front of him“I need to meet with the president immediately, right now, at this instant!! This is an emergency, very urgent!!! Whatever he’s doing right now, in whatever meeting he is in, he must stop and listen to my report first!”

Grabbing his coat, the Secretary of Defense walked out very fast. At the same time, vehicles parked at the Pentagon were ready to go.

……

The Department of Defense was very efficient, and it didn’t take long for the Secretary of Defense to arrive at the White House. He walked into the President’s office in a hurry.

Once inside, the Secretary of Defense saw that the Secretary of State was also there. He nodded at her and briskly walked to the President’s desk.

“Johnson, what’s the matter? I’ll have you know I’m very busy. Those idiot congressmen don’t understand why the wall I want to build is so important.”

The President of the United States of America was a man over seventy years old. He sat behind his desk and complained. Although his tone was comical, he could be seen to be hale and hearty.

However, after seeing his cabinet member’s serious expression, his expression lost its humor instantly.

He waved his hand, and all the other staff members inside the office, except for the secretary of state, exited the room.

“Well, spit it out. What’s going on?.”

The President said while rubbing his brow.

“First of all, before I get to the main point, I would like to ask, Your Excellency, is there any clause in the American law that legally restricts certain secrets to be known only by the President and nobody else, even me, the secretary of defense?”

The president was stumped for a moment and thought for a moment before saying, “There is no such clause. You are my equal in terms of access to classified information. All the privileges I enjoy, you do as well.”

The secretary of defense sighed with relief upon hearing this and handed over his tablet device, “then please take a look at this video that was captured in the Amazon jungle not long ago. Allow me to preface by saying that this isn’t the work of any special effects. Everything you see is 100% real.”

With a doubtful expression, the president took the tablet and tapped on the play button. The Secretary of State came over to his side.

At first, the two were watching in a relaxed manner, but slowly, their faces warped in concern. Their eyes were full of shock and incredulity.

It didn’t take long for the video to finish, and silence descended on the office.

Suddenly, the Secretary of Defense stretched out his hand and pressed down on the president’s own. Besides the president’s hand was a smartphone.

“Ah, sorry sorry sorry…… Umm, I just realized, there was something I wanted to tweet earlier…”

The president gave an embarrassed smile.

“No!”

The Secretaries of Defense and State shouted in unison.

“Okay, okay. I get it. I’m not going to tweet it. You guys don’t have to be so loud……”

The president rubbed his hand that had been pressed down.

After hesitating for a moment, he once again carefully raised his hand and said, “Let me ask again, do you guys think… that it’s too late for me to learn magic?”

The Secretary of Defense felt a headache. Although the president in front of him had an extremely keen sense of business, sometimes he felt like a live comedian.

He pressed on his head and spoke in a bad mood, “Sorry, Your Excellency. I don’t think you can..”

“Well, that’s a shame.”

The president grunted.

At that moment, there was an urgent knock on the door of the president’s office. The president frowned and said, “…… come in!”

The person who came in from outside the room was a staff member of the Defense Department. His face was filled with anxiety that he didn’t even pay attention to courtesy as he shouted, “……. not good, sir! Those videos have been posted on U-Tube!”

The Secretary of Defense was stunned. Before he could say anything, the President stood up excitedly and said, “Since they’ve been posted on U-Tube, there’s no problem if I tweet about it!”