Collapse pt 2

The next character we see in Collapse is Richard Dupree who is an inmate at a prison rivaling the security of Alcatraz. When we first see him he is part of a white supremacy gang but we very quickly find that he has little choice to leave the gang and is completely disgusted by the thought of it.Later in the book we learn Richards backstory, ever since he was a boy he had adored the Navy Seals and had dreamed of becoming one. In his senior year of high school Richard learned that his long time  girlfriend,(who was also African American) was pregnant. They had spoken of marriage but Richard decided that instead he would break up with her to pursue his Navy career. After being deployed Richard changed his mind and married  his high school girlfriend. Several years later Richard became suspicious that his wife was not being faithful to him while he was away when he returned home his suspicions were confirmed and he planned to kill his wife's secret lover. His plans were ended when he caught a pedophile abusing his children and brutally murdered him. The murder he committed showed a HUGE change in him, from a prestigious military officer to a homicidal criminal.


The next important character in the story is the 43rd  president Malcolm Powers. At his 7th year in office Malcolm is facing a major decision that could decide the fate of America or even the world. He has 2 and only 2 foreseeable options and those are to continue the war efforts in what us becoming the 3rd world war and let the citizens who suffered a catastrophic hurricane die, or he can send an aircraft carrier from the Port of Gibraltar  and let the empire of Iran invade Europe where they will surely take over. To help him make this decision the president has called the heads of a few departments. In the middle of this fateful meeting explosions begin to go off outside the White House and the president is carried away by the secret service.