by Jack Strain
Memories suddenly flooded Wolfe’s mind as he remembered how surprised he was to find out that Lily secured that financing to ride out some of his bad deals, but never thought for a moment she was being blackmailed to protect him. Thinking about the pain and embarrassment she must have felt, the worry of being found out by the FBI must have been unbearable, but Lily never let on to her father, never once let him think he did anything other than won the election on his own, knowing the truth would destroy him. She took her secret to the grave.
Wolfe lashed out and grabbed Schultz by his lapels and with a voice full of anguish, he cried out, “How could you do this Dutch? You’ll destroy her memory and make me look like a fool.”
Before a shaken Schultz could respond, Martha Brentwood interjected with perfect timing, “Then resign, Douglas, and all of this goes away. It’ll be like it never happened. All your crimes pardoned. Reputation left intact. No more Constitutional crisis, you call off your angry supporters, and the nation takes a step back from the brink and tries to heal. Doesn’t that sound like something your daughter would have had the courage to do if she were in your place?”
Staggering under the weight of the revelations and Brentwood’s cruelly clever appeal, Wolfe pushed away from Schultz and felt as if the life was being literally sucked out of him. He reached out to a nearby chair to steady himself, muttering, “This can’t be happening . . . can’t be happening.”
Acting President Brentwood stood up from her seat, walked over to a pitcher of water, poured a glass and calmly walked over to the ailing Wolfe, handed it to him, and then warmly placed her hand on his shoulder as if to console the man she was threatening to destroy. She leaned in close and spoke barely above a whisper and said, “Douglas, it has been an honor to serve with you, but I think we both know it’s time to act in both the best interest of the country and your family.”
Even after more than forty years of public service, Senator John Mitchum struggled to maintain the outward emotional mask so often necessary in moments like this. Though his often-quoted mercurial temper was overstated, he simply was never very good at the type of acting that many of his skilled fellow politicians so often employ. He always thought he was a tough guy that could take anyone down if he had to, but he never saw something quite as vicious as what Martha Brentwood was doing to the former Manhattan playboy and billionaire.
Martha, I knew you were good, but Goddamn this is a fucking masterpiece.
Wolfe gulped down several mouthfuls of water, put his glass down, and found himself thinking about the nights after Lily’s mother had died, and it was just her and him alone. She missed her mother so much, and all she wanted was to hold her father and be near him. The business was growing by leaps and bounds but every night no matter what, he was home by six. They ate together, played board games, he read countless books, and for the first few weeks they would lay together in bed and talk about their favorite memories of her mother and his one true love. It was the saddest and most beautiful time in his entire life.
Wolfe’s eyes started to get moist, and a strange sense of calm started to envelop him. His whole life he was a fighter, right up this very moment, but the only time he was truly happy was when he was simply there for his little girl when she needed him most. She needed him again.
Taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Wolfe looked up at Martha Brentwood and calmly said, “Martha, I need to have not just your word, but absolute certainty that nothing can ever come out to destroy my daughter’s memory.”
Inside, Martha Brentwood literally felt her heart go a flutter. It was really happening. Maintaining her composure, she answered back, “I am sure that your friend will be only too happy to turn over everything he has so it can be destroyed. Isn’t that right Dutch? And I will have a very frank discussion with the Chinese President. I am confident that we can put this behind us.”
Schultz was feeling a guilt more profound than any he had ever felt in his life and found he didn’t have the words, so he simply nodded.
Brentwood said, “There you have it, Douglas, Dutch will make sure you have every hard copy and wipe clean any saved data having anything to do with this unfortunate situation. I promise to make sure that the Justice Department and our friends on the Hill shut down these investigations as part of a general reconciliation between our two warring parties. You truly are doing a great service to our country, and I thank you, but I have one more thing to ask.”
Wolfe just wanted to walk away and disappear and be done with everything, but asked, “What else do you need, Martha?”
Mary Jo Cassidy reacted to the slight tilt of the Acting President’s head and pulled out several sheets of paper and handed it Wolfe and said, “Mr. President, there has been so much talk of a coup and other outrageous attacks over the past two days and with so many angry folks out in the streets, Acting President Brentwood will need you to say these remarks during your resignation speech. It really is necessary considering things.”
Martha Brentwood watched as Wolfe casually scanned the contents of the speech and added, “Douglas are you okay with this? Is there anything you would like to add?”
Shaking his head, Wolfe replied in a voice that had more than a hint of relief, “Let’s just do this and get it over with. I assume you already have something in mind.”
Cassidy answered, “Yes Mr. President, we were hoping for a short speech in the Rose Garden and if you would be kind enough to stay for the swearing-in ceremony to follow, that would be doing quite a service to the Acting President.”
Wolfe merely nodded back and slid the speech to Davis who quickly perused it, shaking his head at just how smart a play Brentwood had made. Wolfe had to basically admit to having an emotional breakdown and that Brentwood acted in an almost heroic manner for the country.
While he was reading, Brentwood adopted a far more aggressive and direct tone towards Davis, “As for you, Baxter, I will expect your full and unconditional support for this transfer of power and for my administration by all of your media outlets in the coming months. Is that clear?”
He started to protest when she shut him down, “I’m not done, Baxter. While I have made an absolute promise to protect Douglas, no such offer has made on your behalf. I am certain that Attorney General Stetson would be only too happy to direct his office towards an investigation into your many misdeeds. Whether or not you realize it, Baxter, you’re now playing for Team Brentwood.”
The only thing Davis could do was nod his assent and quickly slink out of the room. Brentwood then offered Wolfe a warm embrace and said, “Your country owes you a debt of gratitude, Douglas. You were strong when we needed you to be, and you found the strength to walk away so the country can begin to heal. I will be eternally grateful to you for your actions today.”
Wolfe barely heard the words, he just wanted it to end. He asked, “When do you want to do this?”
“It’s a bright, beautiful fall day, the sun will be out for a while yet. How does four o’clock work for you?”
All rancor out of his voice, Wolfe simply said, “Let’s do it and get it over with, I want to go home.” Then walked out of the Cabinet Room and headed back to the Executive Residence for one last time.
The moment Wolfe left the room, Brentwood felt a wave of emotional release, and with tears in her eyes, she closed them and with her hands held tightly together whispered the prayer.
Oh, thank you, Lord in Heaven for giving me the strength to do thy bidding. Watch over me in the days and weeks to come and guide me as I act in your name, Dear Lord Jesus. I pledge to honor you by returning this once great nation back to more godly ways and stand up to the wicked forces in this country who have turned their back on thee. In your name, I sing your praise. Amen!
Chapter Fifty Four
The White House Rose Garden
It was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun remained bright in the sky with a positively balmy temperature of nearly sixty degrees on this warm fall day.
The throng of reporters from the White House press pool who were hastily assembled actively jockeyed for position near the podium and flag-draped backdrop. Camera crews stood ready to capture what was in store. Notices had been sent to all major networks of the need to secure air time for a major Presidential announcement, and already rumors were filling the airwaves speculating what was in the works.
The already chaotic news day had been filled with stories relating to the highly anticipated and emotionally charged vote planned for tomorrow morning in both Congressional Houses. Protests continued to grow around the nation as Wolfe supporters continued to be buoyed by reports that President Wolfe would be able to reclaim the office of the Presidency after the historic actions by the now Acting President Martha Brentwood over the past few days. Most political insiders expected the soon to be Vice President Brentwood to resign after tomorrow’s vote.
At exactly four on the nose, scores of cameras started snapping photos and shooting live digital feeds as the back door from the Oval Office opened and out walked President Wolfe with Acting President Martha Brentwood. Instead of his normal highly energized almost red-carpet arrival style, today President Wolfe appeared more subdued and wore an expression that bordered on depressed. Acting President Martha Brentwood, wearing a Tennessee orange and white dress with a simple set of white pearl necklace and earrings, practically floated behind him, positively beaming with a wide and open smile.
As President Wolfe took to the podium, a wave of conflicting emotions washed over him. He felt a mix of relief that all the pressures and responsibilities of a job that he never really wanted was coming to an end. He felt a deep and searing guilt, knowing that if he never made the vanity fueled attempt to run for President, his daughter would still be alive, and his grandchildren would not be orphans.
But there was also something else there, something not so apparent an hour ago while he was racked with guilt over the revelations coming from Dutch over what Lily had done. No, what he was feeling now was something he was not used to over the course of his life. Looking out over the green rotunda punctuated with still blooming roses, this collection of reporters was capturing every moment of his disgrace. Deep down, he knew that he had lost, and worse, that Martha Brentwood had won. The woman who was added to the ticket to make him look good to the Evangelicals, a woman he never once relied on for anything other than votes, a woman that he had clearly underestimated from the beginning.
“Thank you for coming here today on such short notice. Acting President Brentwood and myself have asked you here today to make a very important announcement. After much consideration, I informed Acting President Brentwood of my intentions to formally resign from the Office of President effective immediately.”
Audible gasps and loud murmurs swept through the assembled collection of hardened reporters who had expected anything but this.
Wolfe paused long enough for the reaction to subside and continued. “As I am sure you are all aware, the actions of the then-Vice President Brentwood to invoke the 25th Amendment caused me to react in an aggressive and hasty manner. I and those around me characterized her actions as equivalent to a coup of some kind. That was, in fact, wrong. I have since sincerely apologized to Martha and in fact, commended her for the courage it took to act in what she felt at the time was the best interests of the American people. I did not agree with her decision at that time, but now I do.
“Unfortunately, some of you in the media have reported many false and misleading characterizations of the events from two days ago. Some have even speculated that I was about to launch a nuclear attack on North Korea and start a war with China and Russia at the same time. This is false. However, I can now admit that my reactions were very emotional and regret the manner in which I exercised my powers of the office at that time.
“What I believe now is that the events of the past four weeks since the tragic loss of my daughter, son-in-law, and so many other patriotic Americans and the subsequent events abroad and here at home had pushed me to the limit of my endurance. I never was able to grieve for my Lily, and like any other father or parent who has lost a child, life is simply not the same. I will never be that same man who took for granted she would grace my life until my own passing. Instead I watched her die in the most horrific of manners and life changed forever.
“But I tried my very best to serve the American people by being strong and bringing the fight to the terrorists and those who give them safe harbor. We struck back and sent a message that will not soon be forgotten, but in doing so I allowed my own health to fade. The nation needs a strong and vigorous President in these trying days and Martha Brentwood is that person to lead us forward into the future. So, it is with a heavy heart that I resign as president of these United States. It has been my great joy to serve the American people to the best of my ability, and I believe that I have acted to bring peace and security to this great nation.
“Now, I call on all of my loyal supporters to give their wholehearted support to Martha Brentwood, a great American patriot and now the first female President in American history. Martha, I do believe we have a little ceremony planned.”
On cue, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Robert Johnson, walked with great dignity towards the podium in his flowing black robes with the soon-to-be First Gentleman of the Land Raymond Brentwood, the couple’s two sons and two daughters along with their spouses and six grandchildren. Mary Jo Cassidy was standing next to her lifelong friend with tears in her eyes and gave Martha a squeeze of her hand, and the two women exchanged a moving look as they allowed the moment to happen.
Martha Brentwood kissed her husband, hugged her children and grandchildren, and with her eighty-year-old worn family Bible in hand approached the Chief Justice, who then asked her to raise her right hand and repeat the sacred words that had ushered in forty-five men before her. “I, Martha Brentwood, do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States . . .”
With those words, the fall of President Douglas J. Wolfe was complete, and the rise of President Martha Brentwood had begun.
Epilogue
November 7th
In the aftermath of the stunning events on November 4th, the midterm elections shocked the nation. Instead of a massive purge of the Republican party from the House and Senate, the GOP was able to hold on to a slim 51 to 49 advantage in the Senate. Although they took some losses in the House, they maintained control by a still-comfortable margin of 11 votes. The widely predicted tidal wave to wash away the Wolfe administration changed overnight as the nation settled into the idea that the first woman in American history, Martha Brentwood, was now the President of the United States.
Wolfe supporters took heed from their former leader and came out to vote in droves for the woman who just days before was being burned in effigy for supposedly leading a coup of some kind.
On the morning after the election, the still positively beaming new president welcomed into the Oval Office the man responsible for some of President Wolfe’s most controversial actions, Secretary of Homeland Security Travis LaHue. Expecting the worst, the former Special Forces General had a handwritten letter of resignation neatly folded inside his jacket.
As he entered the room, he quickly noticed that any hint that just two days ago Wolfe was still president was removed. Personal photos adorned several tabletops and two paintings were removed, including the famous Andrew Jackson one near the president’s oak desk, now replaced by Rembrandt Peale’s famous portrait of Jefferson.
Dressed in a charcoal gray suit and blue tie, the steely-eyed LaHue prepared himself for what was coming, and said, “Good morning, Madame President. Thank you for inviting me this morning.”
With a very warm and gracious manner, President Brentwood held out her hand and pointed to a chair in front of her desk. “And a blessed morning to you Mr. Secretary, thank you for being good
enough to see me on this fine morning after our great victory at the polls yesterday.”
LaHue, a strong Christian himself, answered back, “Yes, Ma’am, it would appear that the Good Lord was looking down on us yesterday, and I believe inspired the American people to make the right choice for our great country going forward.”
“Now, I could not agree more, Mr. Secretary. Yes, the Good Lord has been watching over us even though far too many in this country want to ignore his blessed presence in our lives.”
“Madam President, again I wholeheartedly agree with you.”
Brentwood felt a wisp of a smile cross her face, and she held up her finger and said, “Let me show you something Secretary LaHue.” She then reached into the famous “Resolute” desk made from the stout oak of the former Royal Naval ship, the H.M.S. Resolute and given as a gift from Queen Victoria to then President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. In her hand, she pulled out a framed image of the United States and laid it out in front of the curious former soldier.
Turning the image so it faced LaHue, he saw the title at the top, and it read, “2016 Election vote by County.” What he could not fail to notice was a map of the fifty states literally covered in red with clusters of blue at various points around the country.
“I have taken this map out nearly every day since our blessed victory over historic odds. What you see Mr. Secretary is a sea of red, with islands of blue. Even in the so-called “blue “states, great swaths are covered in red. This sea of red represents the real America…the one that I grew up in and still believe in to this very day. Those islands of blue think they are better than us. They talk down to us and tell us to turn our backs on the values and principles that made us great. Whenever I have doubts, whenever my faith in our mission wavers in the least, I take this out and say a prayer of remembrance and ask the Lord for strength.”