Jennifer stepped out of the car and looked around. There were many men in black suites with dark glasses on (even though it was overcast outside). Well they certainly went out of their way to make it obvious, she thought to herself.
She took a moment to look at the building. It was a tall luxury hotel. Usually there would be a lot of people coming in and out of the entrance, but now there were only the men wearing black suites. They were standing around waiting for her. Not even the street had any cars on it. I guess that is one of the many benefits to being president. You don’t have to deal with ordinary people anymore.
“This way miss,” another black suited man said and pointed her towards the door. “The president is waiting in the lobby.” He escorted her to the door, along with several other men. There were 2 men waiting by the door. One spoke into his sleeve while the other opened the door.
She walked in, and her escort followed. It was a large luxurious room with colorfully decorated walls and furniture. There were hallways to the right, presumably leading to the conference rooms. The left lead to an open dining area.
There were more black suited men, but she expected that. She looked for a large group. That would be were the president was. She found them near the bar next to the dining area. She began walking towards them, with her escort in toll.
When she walked into the vicinity, the president put down his glass of booze and rose to his feet. He smiled and said, “How are you doing this evening, Mrs. Stone.” He reached out his hand to shake hers.
She shook his hand, and said, “Very well Mr. President. Thank you for asking.” She smiled and tried to be as pleasant as possible. “They told you what I wish to speak to you about, did they not?” she asked.
“We would not be here if they didn’t,” he said. “First, let me say I had no idea about your daughter’s situation. I would not have allowed it if I had. Please take a seat. May I offer you a drink?”
Jennifer wanted nothing more than to yell and scream at him, and then destroy his entire life. She could do it. She had the means and ability. Instead, she continued to smile and said, “I’ll have a glass of brandy if one is available.” The president motioned to the waiter, and he rushed off to get the drink. “I’m only interested in seeing her return to me safely,” she said as she sat down. “Can I assume you are able to do so?” she asked. She shouldn’t have said it, but she couldn’t resist.
The president frowned at her words. He apparently got the insult, but didn’t retaliate. “Yes,” he said. “You can rest assured I control the actions of our military.”
“When can I see her?” Jennifer asked, as she took her drink from the waiter. She swallowed a good third before the president had time to answer.
“I can have her brought here after I leave,” he said. “However, I would like to attach a condition, if I may?”
Jennifer took a sip of her drink, more to delay her response than anything else. She considered refusing his request. She wasn’t sure she trusted him. He would still be forced to hand over Myra regardless. In the end, she decided it would be worth the risk to hear him out.
“What is it?” she asked.
The president smiled, leaned a bit closer, and said, “I want you to help us forge a plan against this alien threat.” Jennifer was surprised at the offer, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. She was a worldwide hero now, what better way to control her, than to invite her to be a member of the team working under him and the military.
Furthermore she had no interest in helping them. She only cared about making sure her daughter was safe, and hanging out with the military would be the least safe thing she could do. They would be the first targets.
“Before you answer, understand by you, I mean all of you,” he said. “That includes Michael, John, this alien person helping you, and your daughter Myra.”
She smiled. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline,” she said. “I’m sure Michael and John will be eager to help in any way that they can. Rogalia, our alien helper as you put it, may or may not decide to help.”
The president was surprised at her rejection. There was silence between them for several seconds. Finally he said, “I enjoyed your speech yesterday. You made quite an impression with the public.”
“Thank you, Mr. President,” Jennifer replied.
“It was very smart to give the credit to the Professor that determined the location of the next attack,” he said. “And then to the local militia members, most of whom died did they not?”
“Yes,” she replied. “It was unfortunate. I wish there were another way, but when someone hurts your friends and family, then what else are you going to do? As I said in my speech, they are the real heroes. We only had the good fortune to listen to the professor and give them a fair warning.”
“Yes,” the president replied. “Still it was also fortunate for you. All of you are world heroes now. Have you seen the morning polls? Nearly 75% of Americans believe we have a better chance of defeating these aliens if you join the government. Hell, nearly 20% think you should replace me as president.” The president leaned back in his chair and took a large drink from his glass. “What do you think about that?”
Jennifer considered it for a moment, “I think those aren’t the numbers your really interested in.”
The president smiled. “You’re much smarter than I had give you credit for in the past,” he said. “I take it you know the numbers I am interested in?”
Jennifer considered how to answer the question for a moment. “Just over 30% now think we can win this war,” she said. “which is up by about 30%”
“We need to drive those numbers up,” he said. “Or we won’t stand a chance. You are the key to that. Your country needs you, are you really going to turn us down?”
“That isn’t the reason you asked me,” she said. “If it were, you would take John and Michael and spin the battle as if they were the heroes. You know I wouldn’t stand in your way.” She leaned forward. “You don’t trust us.”
The president considered how to answer. “No,” he said. “I don’t trust any of you, Rogalia included, but that isn’t the only reason. I believe you will betray us, even if you do not. But I also think you will be useful in the mean time. And yes, it is better that we keep you near so we can watch you more closely. You seem to have a knack for sneaking around otherwise.”
The president leaned forward to gage Jennifer’s reaction. Jennifer remained emotionless, giving him nothing. “What I said before still applies however,” he continued, “Your country needs you. Your world needs you. This is the toughest challenge the world has ever faced, and you could be a key player. How can you sit on the sidelines, watch the world destroyed, and do nothing?”
“The truth is, I don’t care about the world, or what it thinks of me. My focus is on Myra,” Jennifer replied.
The president smiled. He stood, and she followed suit. “Well it was nice seeing you again Mrs. Stone,” he said holding out his hand to shake hers. “As promised, your daughter will be brought here after I leave. I just have one more thing to say. Your daughter lives in this world. If it gets destroyed, so does she.”
He walked towards the door. Jennifer stood, all of her thoughts were on Myra. The president stopped and turned to face her again. “Oh, I almost forgot. I was asked to remind you not to interfere with your location device.”
Jennifer smiled. “I’ll take that under advisement,” she said. She watched the president leave the building. The black suited men began to leave the hotel as well. There were so many of them it seemed to take forever. Jennifer decided to sit back down in the chair to wait.
It seemed to take forever for Myra to arrive. Excitement about seeing her daughter again turned to nervousness, and then fear about what condition she was going to be in. Was she injured? It’s unlikely they would hurt her physically, but were there emotional scars? Were they permanent?
Jennifer waited for 15 minutes, and spent most of which in a blind panic about what state here daughter was in. Finally she heard people enter the hotel entrance. She jumped up to see four men in military uniform escorting Myra.
She rushed over to her. She started to give Myra a hug, but Myra jumped back. Myra was terrified of her. “Myra? Are you ok? Don’t you recognize me?” Jennifer said.
“Mom?” Myra replied. She leapt into her mother’s arms, and began crying.
“It’s ok now Myra. I’m here. I’m going to take you home now,” Jennifer said and began to cry herself. How could I let this happen to her, she thought to herself. I’m her mother. I’m supposed to protect her. The two women cried in each other’s arms for a long time.
No comments:
Post a Comment