The Iran War

by Jack Strain

  “I got it, John. Sorry, but I really believed in the man.”

  Calming down a notch or two, Mitchum used a softer tone, “I get it, but all this bullshit from both sides has the country at each other’s throats. It’s time to serve your country Senator Feathers, not about auditioning for the next slot on Fox News. Can I count on you?”

  “You can count on me, John. I promise.”

  “Good, now go make some calls to some of your right-wing nut jobs you caucus with and calm things down. And while you’re at it, make some new friends and dump some of Baxter Davis’ mouthpieces. He’s done in this town anyway. I’ll be talking with you.”

  Then his longtime secretary rang through, “Senator, a Dutch Schultz on the phone. He says it’s urgent. Will you take the call?”

  About goddamn time. “Yeah Delores, connect him through.”

  Chapter Fifty Three

  November 4th

  Bloomsburg News Report

  “…to repeat our top story, the Pentagon is confirming that American and Japanese naval vessels are pulling back from their forward deployments near the Korean peninsula and Chinese and Russian naval task forces are also withdrawing back towards their coastlines. Acting President Martha Brentwood has announced plans to work with both the Chinese and the Russians to impose a naval blockade of North Korea to enforce a series of new sanctions intended to punish North Korea for the first atmospheric nuclear test in thirty-eight years. Chinese President Xi has expressed the Chinese peoples’ willingness to work with the new American administration to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons and to bring peace to the Pacific region.

  “Now to our other top story, political crisis here at home. Americans, who less than forty-eight hours ago were swamping supermarkets and banks in panicked shopping, are now back in the streets as supporters of President Wolfe and those who oppose his administration’s actions of the past month are clashing again in cities across the nation. Reports of injuries and property damage continue to grow as local police forces in many cities report being overwhelmed by the latest breakout of political violence.”

  The White House

  Momentum was swinging back towards reinstating President Wolfe as Republican leaders in both the House and Senate agreed to call for a special session of Congress one day before the November 6th mid-term elections. Party leaders were being overwhelmed by calls from RNC officials across the nation that there is such an upsurge of support by Wolfe supporters that a vote reinstating him could possibly swing the Congressional elections in the Republican Party’s favor if they acted fast.

  Democratic leaders meanwhile were only too happy to agree to such an arrangement as they cunningly believed that a vote to reinstate a clearly unbalanced President Wolfe would get their supporters out in droves to sweep their party to a major win on Tuesday.

  So, at a time of national crisis, the political establishments from both parties were acting in a perverse and wholly unpatriotic manner, both willing to risk placing a troubled President back at the helm for their own personal short-term political advantage. Clearly, neither party can lay claim to the greatness that each once represented.

  It was just after two in the afternoon as a supremely confident President Wolfe walked through the West Colonnade from the Executive Residence towards the West Wing in the White House. The president’s fiery red hair was perfectly combed, not a hair out of place, and he was sporting his favorite $60,000 navy blue Desmond Merrion Supreme designer suit and scarlet red tie with a simple American flag pin on his lapel. Behind him was Baxter Davis who seemed to finally get out of his funk as Stefan Measly’s social media campaign performed far and above expectations creating an amazing wave of support around the country.

  They were walking to a meeting with Acting President Martha Brentwood brokered by the cantankerous old senator from Arizona, John Mitchum, who claimed to be acting in the nation’s best interest to ensure a peaceful transition of power after tomorrow’s vote.

  It must be killing the old bastard that I’m a shoo-in tomorrow to be back in the Oval Office. Not a chance that two-thirds of Congress votes me out and not a thing he can do about it. Then I deal with Martha, miss holy roller herself.

  As they reached the West Wing, two Secret Service agents waited by the door to the Cabinet Room and held the door so he and Davis could enter. Inside, the surprisingly small neo-classically designed Georgian styled room was anchored by a fireplace on the far side with a bust of Washington and Benjamin Franklin on either side. Acting President Martha Brentwood was sitting in the high-backed chair reserved for the president, her Chief of Staff standing behind her, and Senator Mitchum to her right.

  Wolfe entered the room and walked directly towards the trio who came to their feet, and then without any hesitation, Wolfe offered up his patented shit-eating grin infamous now in an untold number of memes. “Martha, how good to see you again. Glad we could do this. Just think that I should say up front that it sure looks like your sitting in my chair, but that’s okay, you might as well enjoy it for another day or so.”

  Wolfe loved to try and shake someone up at the beginning of a negotiation and this time was no different. Before Brentwood could respond, a red-faced Mitchum couldn’t help himself and blurted out, “Still an asshole, I guess nothing ever changes.”

  Quick as a whip, Wolfe quipped back, “Oh John, don’t you worry, I’m pretty sure there is at least one change in the works. That’s why we’re here, right?”

  Mary Jo Cassidy stood tall behind the Acting President but found herself literally biting her lower lip to the point of tears to keep herself from screaming at the pompous bastard. She instead waited for Acting President Brentwood to reach her hand out and graciously shake Wolfe’s hand. With great dignity she mustered all of the good graces and social convention beat into her head as a little girl as she said, “Why Douglas, there is no need for any of that. You are among friends here today. Would you feel better if we moved to the other side of the table near the fireplace?”

  A bit disappointed that his opening gibes did not cause more of a reaction, a slightly disappointed Wolfe shook his head and said, “I’m glad to hear that I am among friends, Martha, because what happened the other day certainly did not feel like an action of a friend.”

  Without missing a beat, Martha Brentwood held her hand out towards the opposite side of the table to several chairs in the middle and said, “Now Douglas, I do want to talk about all of that. That’s partly why Senator Mitchum was good enough to set this little meeting up. Please, why don’t you and Baxter have a seat, and I’ll have the staff bring in some refreshments. How about a Diet Coke and some of Chef Andre’s grilled scallops and shrimp for a little snack? Or would you all prefer something on the sweet side?”

  Wolfe offered up a very smug response, “I think we’re good here, Martha. I’ll be able to enjoy Chef Andre’s special treats any time, we have business to attend to at the moment.”

  Martha Brentwood’s eyebrows arched ever so slightly and with a hint of a smile she replied, “I couldn’t agree more, Douglas, perhaps we should ‘get down to it’ as you New Yorkers like to say.”

  You could feel a very subtle shift in the room - like a mild drop in the temperature that causes your skin to suddenly sprout goosebumps. Baxter Davis was looking intently at the trio on the other side of the table trying to discern what was happening. Mitchum had the same look he always did - like he just tasted some cold soup - while Mary Jo looked clearly anxious and edgy. But not Martha.

  What the hell do you have up your sleeve Martha?

  Senator Mitchum was next to speak and said, “I’ve asked the two of you to get together because anyone can see that the country is tearing itself apart. And what’s happening here may be the last straw.”

  A bit defensively Wolfe added, “Don’t look at me John, Martha started this whole nonsense when she tried to pull a fast one with that 25th Amendment bullshit.” Then looking directly at Martha, Wolfe adopted a more somb
er tone and said, “Martha, you stabbed me right in the back. I never would have thought that you of all people were capable of such a betrayal.”

  Brentwood never changed her tone, and in an almost matter-of-fact manner said, “Well in my defense Douglas, you had just fired and arrested the Secretary of State, fired the Attorney General and Secretary of Defense, and looked about ready to launch a nuclear war.”

  Baxter Davis then impulsively added, “That’s not fair, Madam Acting President, you went behind Douglas’ back and already had a letter invoking the 25th before the meeting in the Situation Room. It was like you were waiting for the president to do something so that you could pull out your little signed document from the group of backstabbers in the cabinet.”

  “Quite true, Baxter, but then again if Douglas had not acted in such an unbalanced manner, I never would have invoked the Constitutional provisions designed to protect the nation in just such a case.”

  Martha held up her index finger at Davis and turned towards Wolfe and added, “Hold on a second Baxter, where are my manners? Douglas, I never really asked but are you, in fact, better now…more in command of your faculties?”

  A bit agitated at having his mental condition talked about in such a casual manner, Wolfe answered, “I am quite fine, thank you, Martha. In fact, this line of bullshit that I somehow lost my marbles is insulting and not becoming. Just because I am the only president in four decades with the balls to stand up to the North Koreans, somehow I’m the one whose nuts.”

  Mitchum snorted, “Having more balls than smarts doesn’t make you fit to be president.”

  Suddenly Mary Jo Cassidy couldn’t help herself, and her voice punctuated the room as she said, “Maybe it’s time to lose all the balls in this office for a while and see just how well the country does with a woman in charge for a change.”

  Before anyone else could react, Martha Brentwood interjected with her soft Southern drawl, “Now, Mary Jo, we talked about that earlier. We are going to keep this civil, so let’s get to it. Douglas, with the vote due to happen tomorrow, at first, I figured that we needed to meet to figure out the best way to handle the results, but on further reflection, I thought it simply best if you decided to resign from office and save the country from any more grief. How do you feel about that?”

  Wolfe’s eyes went wide in shock that quickly turned into incredulity as if Martha Brentwood had just made the most ridiculous statement in the entire world. He couldn’t stop himself from howling with laughter. “Goddamn but you’re funny, Martha. Have you started drinking? Because if you think that I sounded nuts the other day, well, you sound like a lunatic. Resign? Hell, I’m going to win.”

  “But the country is going to lose, Douglas, that’s my point. And not only the country. You have quite a bit to lose yourself. Isn’t that correct, John?”

  Mitchum’s Irish face was all worked up and sporting a nice shade of blushing red as he replied, “Articles of impeachment are all written up and ready to go Mr. President. Hell, we didn’t know where to start: rounding up thousands of Americans without trial, detaining the Secretary of State without charges, getting ready to start a nuclear war, hell I could keep going…those are only the highlights. Save yourself the embarrassment and resign now.”

  A veteran of far too many tough negotiations, Wolfe didn’t rattle easy, even at the threat of impeachment and potential disgrace from office. With a sneer on his face, Wolfe shot back, “I don’t know where you two have been, but tomorrow I got the votes to stay in office and two, my people tell me that my supporters will be turning out in droves, so we’re going to keep the House, and that means no impeachment. So, John, you can shove that stack of papers up your tired, old ass.”

  With a short sigh, Acting President Brentwood shook her head and said, “I was afraid you were going to react like that Douglas. It pains me to do this, but I am afraid that you really have no choice.” She turned towards her Chief of Staff and nodded, and Mary Jo quickly exited the room.

  Baxter Davis felt his nerves going off the charts that something big was happening and pulled Wolfe close and whispered into his ear. “Something’s up, Douglas, we should get the hell out of here right now.”

  A fighter to the end, Wolfe vehemently shook his head and said, “The hell with that. They’re bluffing.”

  Before Davis could say anything else, the door opened, and Baxter’s jaw dropped as his predecessor, Dutch Schultz walked into the room and somberly said, “Good afternoon Douglas. I told you we needed to talk.”

  With fire in his eyes, Wolfe blurted out, “You disloyal son of a bitch. What in the hell are you doing here?”

  Answering in an almost obscenely upbeat and friendly manner, Acting President Brentwood said, “Why Douglas, I invited Mr. Schultz to attend our little get together. It would appear that he is in possession of some rather startling information regarding the 2016 campaign and was good enough to share it with me and the good senator. I do believe that you will find the information as illuminating as we did after reading it quite thoroughly.”

  Looking ashen-faced, Schultz still could not believe it had come to this. He was holding a stack of files in his hands. The most explosive political scandal in a generation and he was about to bury his lifelong friend with it. Goddamnit, why did it have to come down to this?

  Feeling a host of powerful emotions building up, Wolfe pushed himself away from the conference table and stood to face Schultz with an almost murderous look on his face. His teeth grated as he said, “Well, don’t just stand there, Dutch, get it over with. So what type of bullshit do you have hiding in those files?”

  Ignoring Wolfe’s question, Dutch slammed the files down on the table. The sound reverberated throughout the room as he turned to face the man that he had considered his truest friend and shouted, “Look at you, Douglas, look at what you have become! I know what happened to Lily was a tragedy, but my God, Douglas, look at what you’ve done. This all has to end, it just does.”

  “You ungrateful bastard. So you’re doing this because I fired you and schlepped you to the side in favor of Baxter? Is that what this is all about? You make me sick, Dutch.”

  When two old-school kids from the block start a scrap, it gets ugly fast.

  Still not raising her voice or changing her demeanor, Brentwood said, “Okay gentlemen, enough. Let’s stick to the issue at hand. Mr. Schultz, please tell us what’s in those files.”

  Feeling a mix of anger and sadness, Schultz turned from Wolfe and addressed the Acting President, “Everyone in this room is all too familiar with the accusations of collusion with the Russians during the 2016 campaign that dogged the entire first year of the administration.”

  Wolfe howled. “It was bullshit then, and its bullshit now.”

  For the first time Brentwood changed her voice to a much sterner and more direct tone. “Now Douglas, let him speak. I want to hear the truth.”

  Baxter Davis didn’t say a word, but inwardly he felt like he was going to be physically ill. Dutch is going to bury us.

  Schultz could feel his neck muscles tighten into a vise-like grip. His chest tightened, and he thought, Just have to say the words and be done with it and let things fall where the hell they fall.

  “Madam Acting President, as I was saying these files prove that the Wolfe campaign actively colluded with a foreign power, but not the Russians. Three years ago, Chinese intelligence agents set up a sting that caught Liliana on tape bribing two senior Party officials when Douglas was trying to get access to build a luxury resort in Macau. Rather than prosecuting, they decided to keep it in their back pocket and use it against Douglas someday. A year later, the Chinese gave her nearly $500 million in unsecured credit lines, and she used those to bail out Wolfe Worldwide.

  When Douglas decided to run for President, Lily took over all of Douglas’ business holdings. She started using that $500 million credit line to cover the family’s corporate and personal holdings to make good on some serious debt Douglas ran up the past fe
w years. She knew that if Wolfe Worldwide went bankrupt, the disgrace could ruin the campaign, so she tried to borrow even more money, and shortly thereafter two Chinese intelligence officers confronted the both of us at the Wolfe Villas Hotel.”

  Wolfe looked dumbfounded by the words coming out of Dutch’s mouth and just kept shaking his head in disbelief.

  Dutch continued, “The Chinese had somehow gotten ahold of all of Douglas’ financial records and tax returns, and threatened to expose everything, including several unsavory business dealings in his past. Douglas knows just how much dirty money passed through Wolfe Worldwide over the years, especially all that shady Russian money looking for a home after the crash in ’08, let alone this new Chinese money.

  Even worse, my good friend Douglas couldn’t always keep it in his pants and did some pretty embarrassing shit over the years. Remember that little threesome to celebrate finally getting a piece of the Las Vegas Raiders, well, the Chinese had the whole suite wired up and made it clear that they were willing to release the explicit videos along with the financial stuff unless we agreed to help influence trade policy after the election. Lily had no choice and cooperated with the Chinese to help ensure Douglas won.”

  Acting President Brentwood shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she watched the agonizing scene play itself out.

  Dutch ended by saying, “Somehow, the Chinese made it look like the Russians were involved by linking our social media guy, Measly, with those social media chop shops that the FBI connected to server sites with ties to Russian intelligence. However, it was Chinese intelligence behind the hacks into the DNC computer network that leaked all that shit to Wikileaks, but they left Russian fingerprints on everything. Lily and I knew what was happening but kept it from you to protect you. Now it’s the country that needs protecting, so that’s why I’m here.”