by James Huber
“I’ll bet Willis Polk got a kick out of that,” Ray said.
He also read that the new President of the United States would visit the king of England, with various unofficial visits along the way. The president had been to London many times, but he was happy to visit again under the current circumstances. He’d been elected from an independent party, the first time that happened in US history. No further information was available concerning the president’s itinerary.
“Well, now,” Ray muttered. “Visiting the king? Isn’t that fancy?”
“I don’t know, Sir Raymond,” Catherine shot back. “When the king laid his sword on your shoulder, you seemed to enjoy it.”
“Yes, I did.” He chuckled. “I sort of like being called Sir Ray.”
They heard a commotion in the street nearby. Ray sent his Secret Service detail out to see what was going on.
The Secret Service officer returned and said, “General Green, Lady Blakely-Green, the President of the United States.”
“How the hell are you, Ray?” the president asked.
“I’m well, JJ. Congratulations on your win. I’m happy to see an independent can become president. You’re doing a fine job from what we hear. What happened to some of the old retainers? I don’t keep up with that much since Catherine and I moved here permanently.”
“I’ve never been to Putney before,” President JJ Kirby said. “I’m delighted to see such charm. As to your question, Lillian’s doing well. I appointed her as legislative liaison to Congress.”
“She’ll also be my primary legal advisor. I nominated Tony Hamilton for his second star. He’s been assigned as military liaison to the secretary of defense. He turned down an invite to run for Congress in Illinois.
“I think you know the rest of my cabinet. None of them are luminaries, but they’re steady, serious people who’ll get the job done.
“Ray, I need you to come over and help us. Elliott Randall has put out feelers for reconciliation. With Amalia Espada out of office, there seems to be a more-moderate government down there. Willis Polk’s retiring and will work with Randall. I don’t see anything in the way of reunification, but we can set up friendly relations. You can help.”
“I’m not sure, Mr. President. I like it here, and Catherine keeps me busy around the house….”
Lady Catherine Blakely-Green laughed, almost choking on her drink.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE