Supply List

Having finally managed to calm her daughter down, George Stacy breathed a sigh of relief and handed the phone back to Henry.

Henry, who was about to put his phone away, noticed that many of the people tidying up in the command center were looking at him furtively; of course, there were also those who were looking at him openly.

Henry, understanding the implication, tossed the phone over, saying, "Go ahead and call if you want to contact your family. But don't send my phone to the Arctic."

"Thanks, Henry," many people echoed. They then gathered around Henry's phone, preparing to take turns calling their families.

With one worry gone, George Stacy looked again at the unexpected young man beside her and asked, "What supplies do you think we need? Could you make a list so I can ask the mayor to get them from all over?"

Henry then took the radio and began broadcasting. "Attention all units, the World Trade Center North Tower has begun to collapse. Personnel within 100 meters of the North Tower, beware of falling rocks."

At 10:28 AM, 29 minutes after the South Tower collapsed, the North Tower of the World Trade Center followed suit. Having been mentally prepared beforehand, the rescue workers responded more promptly this time. Everyone continued their rescue work in an orderly manner.

Henry and George Stacy retreated to the command tent. This time, the tent walls were lowered, and those not on duty helped stabilize the tents and keep them sealed to protect against the dust and smoke from the collapsing North Tower.

Although some ash and smoke still managed to seep into the command tent through the cracks, it was still much better than before when he looked like he had been covered in dust and rolled around in it.

Once the dust had settled, Henry asked over the radio, "Reports from all units on the situation."

Unlike in movies or TV shows where radio can only receive or transmit audio over a single line, the latest full-duplex digital radio technology allows people on the same frequency to speak and receive simultaneously, much like in a bustling market.

However, with many people talking at once, whether you can hear clearly is another matter entirely. To avoid such chaotic situations, there are certain rules and regulations for using radio.

But who cared about such things at the moment? The radio crackled with a cacophony of voices, essentially reports from various units almost simultaneously. This phenomenon was common with the latest radio technology when discipline was not followed.

However, most people couldn't hear clearly, except for Henry, who also couldn't hear clearly. He quickly pointed out three units that hadn't reported back, and each of the three units reported back on the situation.

One group intended to follow radio regulations and didn't want to speak in front of many people, so they were a step behind.

One group was inside a nearby building when they saw people trapped and were assisting with the rescue; they didn't have time to report back immediately.

The last group was stationed on the perimeter, negotiating with a group of newly arrived firefighters.

After inquiring about the other side's units, number of people, and equipment, Henry dispatched his men directly to the newly collapsed North Tower. He also sent some of the manpower that had been searching the South Tower to the North Tower and redistributed the search areas for each unit in the South Tower.

Such dispatches were naturally recorded by other personnel at the command center, and people were sent over to verify them.

This is equivalent to conducting the inventory and distribution simultaneously, rather than concentrating all personnel or supplies at the command center and then distributing them. Each additional procedure means more wasted time.

This feedback was like flipping a new switch; people kept reporting what they had seen or encountered, or asking for help about injuries, evacuation locations, or manpower shortages. Henry answered each question and allocated manpower accordingly.

Before the Police Station's forward command post was established and began to function, it could be said that all actions and deployments depended on Henry alone and a radio.

While Henry was busy talking, his hands didn't stop either. He found paper and pen and wrote down several lists, categorizing them by type.

The initial list contains common first-aid supplies, as well as basic dry food and drinking water. The more of this, the better; take as much as you can.

Then there's the equipment for upgrades, including generators, searchlights, and other tools that can be used for disaster relief. In particular, there's virtually no limit to the amount of personnel protection equipment needed, such as masks or respirators.

The subsequent lists increasingly demanding professional requirements. Life detectors are considered basic; Henry also listed multi-functional tactical platforms, drones, acoustic detectors, and other equipment that are clearly not intended for civilian use.

George Stacy stared blankly at the last list, especially the note at the end that she hoped the companies providing the services would also provide trained and qualified operators.

The Police Station looked at the list somewhat guiltily and asked, "Does anyone know how to provide this? Would it be faster to call in the military?"

Disaster relief is not the primary mission of the U.S. military. Assistance is only provided when local policing and fire services are overwhelmed and the local government requests U.S. military support. Generally, this is unlikely to occur.

Even if some specialized equipment is needed, local governments will prioritize the National Guard rather than directly approaching the U.S. military.

However, if the central government can't stand it anymore, it might proactively send in the military to intervene. But this also means that federal government intervention in local affairs is a significant taboo in the United States.

Henry temporarily stopped directing the search and rescue operation via radio and said to George Stacy, "Didn't the mayor say he wanted to handle this? Just go directly to him."

"However, we can fax these lists to Stark Industries, Oscorp, Lockheed Martin—basically, all those big, wealthy, and technologically advanced companies. We'll see which ones are willing to send support, and then we'll use theirs."

George Stacy, lacking confidence, stared at the last few items on the list and muttered, "Will this work?"

"There's always an opportunity if we ask. If we don't make a request, they won't even know what supplies to send, and will only be able to send the usual necessities. Isn't that a waste of resources?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Henry returned to the radio conversation. George Stacy, who was watching, couldn't understand how he could hear the message he needed from the chaotic radio communications and give the correct response.

Many of the sounds were completely mixed up.

In short, all I can say is that the Gifted.

George Stacy, abandoning her research into why others were so capable, went to the telephone inside the command tent.

Even when mobile phone signals are completely disabled, wired telephone communication is still functioning. At most, reconnecting the broken wires will restore telephone network communication, including fax machine functionality.

Therefore, George Stacy immediately instructed personnel with the necessary skills to establish communication channels between the frontline command and the outside world.

Following Rudy Giuliani's instructions before leaving, he managed to contact the mayor, who had returned to the New York City Hall, and explained the situation regarding the need for supplies. He also sent the list to the City Hall via fax.

Rudy Giuliani was quite surprised. Normally, in disaster relief efforts like this, the government is essentially the passive recipient, with donations coming voluntarily from all kind-hearted individuals. No one is specifically named or asked to provide particular supplies.

However, special cases require special measures. What New York is facing today is an unprecedented disaster, and they do need more support to get through this difficult time.

Moreover, Rudy Giuliani, upon returning to the City Hall, learned a shocking fact: the planes that caused the accident today were not just the two that crashed into the Twin Towers.

At 9:37 a. m., a plane crashed into the Pentagon. Around 10:03 a. m., the same time the South Tower collapsed, another plane, supposedly slated to hit the White House, crashed in Pennsylvania.

Whether it crashed on its own or was shot down by the U.S. military is still a matter of much debate.

In any case, air traffic control has already been implemented, all international flights have been diverted to other countries, and all aircraft are prohibited from flying within the country's airspace. And President George W. Bush is on Air Force One, now flying somewhere in the sky, no one knows.