Dreamspinner Press Year Nine Greatest Hits

by Michael Murphy

  The President was jerked backward and fell against the side of the limo he had just exited, then slumped to the ground. He and his wife hadn’t even walked away from their limo.

  The sound of the President’s wife screaming was clearly heard on the video, but her scream was cut short when something appeared to impact her as well, jerking her so she fell back against the car. Much less dramatically than her husband, she too slumped to the ground. At least one Secret Service agent also appeared to be hit by what they could only assume were an assassin’s bullets.

  “Oh my God,” Gray said slowly, in shock. David watched the color drain from his face and quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him close. “This cannot be happening.”

  David and Gray stood in front of the television, both shocked by the images of the drama that had played out less than ten minutes earlier just a few hundred yards from their location. They now understood why they’d been rushed back to the safety of the Capitol.

  They watched all manner of security staff race toward the President and his wife. A helicopter appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and landed in front of their car, right on Pennsylvania Avenue. An army of agents and uniformed personnel surrounded the President and his wife, making it impossible to get a clear view of what was actually happening.

  “We can’t really tell for sure,” the television anchor reported, “since a large number of security personnel have fully encircled the President and his wife, but it appears they have lifted something from the ground. Yes, we can’t be sure who, but it looks like they’ve lifted someone from the ground. We can’t quite tell, but it appears that something is moving toward the helicopter.”

  It was amazing how quickly the military helicopter had appeared on the scene. Of course, in the storm that had descended on Washington, it was next to impossible to see anything through the snow. It could have been just a few hundred feet above them all along.

  “It looks like someone else is being moved. We really can’t tell. It appears that the various security personnel are using their bodies to create a wall between the President and First Lady and the rest of the world.”

  “A little bit late for that,” a nameless news commentator could be heard muttering. Whether he had intended that statement to go out to the entire world as part of the broadcast wasn’t clear, but it was out there now.

  As quickly as it had appeared, the helicopter took off and disappeared almost immediately into the swirling snowstorm.

  The camera panned over the previously crowded sides of the street where people were now screaming and running, a scene of utter chaos as everyone attempted to get to safety.

  The voice of Anderson Cooper was heard coming from the television as he described what would likely happen next. “The closest hospital, the hospital put on alert for any contingency, is George Washington University Hospital, a relatively short distance from here. They have a first-rate trauma center. Clearly, shockingly, the President and his wife and at least one agent with them appear to have been struck by what we must assume to be gunfire from somewhere along the parade route.”

  “Anderson, how is that possible? The Secret Service agent you just interviewed not more than an hour ago was telling us they had that part of Pennsylvania Avenue completely locked down and that nothing like this could happen.”

  “Clearly someone found a gap in the security grid and took advantage of that opening,” Cooper commented. “Something terrible has happened. The extent of the President’s injuries is not clear to us yet, but we have a reporter on the scene at the hospital, and we hope to be able to learn more relatively quickly.”

  The voices on the television continued to talk, but David was not able to process what they were saying. Something they had been assured was impossible clearly was very much possible, because they had just watched it happen.

  With the television as background, David grabbed Gray and gave him a tight embrace. “We don’t have any information yet, so don’t panic, babe,” David told Gray as he released him. The panic on Gray’s face was visible to anyone who looked his way.

  “Okay,” Gray said, looking pale.

  “Take a deep breath,” David instructed. “Hold it for a few seconds. Let it out. Push it all out. More. More. That’s it. Now take another deep breath. Come on. More. You can do better than that. Hold it. And let it out, slowly, but push it all out. Okay. Starting to feel a bit better?”

  “Things have stopped spinning.”

  “That’s always a good thing,” David said with a smile. He muted the television. “Let’s sit down.” He gestured toward the sofa nearby.

  They had barely sat when a sharp knock sounded at the door, which made them both jump, followed almost immediately by the door swinging inward to admit the head of the Secret Service. He was grim faced as he strode decisively into the room, the door closing behind him. He sat down opposite them and, clearly shaken, said something that made David’s heart skip a beat.

  “Mr. Vice President, I have bad news for you.”

  “Oh my God,” Gray said softly. “So it’s true?”

  “I’m afraid so, sir. I see you have the television on, so you probably know the basics. The President was shot while outside his limo. He died instantly.”

  He paused to allow that information to sink in.

  “Sir,” the agent continued, “I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but we have some things we need to do as quickly as possible.”

  “Yes?” Gray said.

  “Sir, you need to be sworn in as President immediately. There are a lot of people waiting outside that door ready to get things rolling, but I wanted to inform you privately first.”

  “Thank you,” Gray told the agent, who was clearly as unnerved as Gray and David were. “I suppose we… what? Let’s do it.”

  The agent simply said one word into his radio. “Okay.”

  The White House Chief of Staff, Marty Ford, entered the room quietly and walked directly to Gray. He was followed by several aides, who all looked significantly more shell-shocked than Ford did.

  “Marty?” Gray said.

  Ford started speaking, looking remarkably calm and collected. “The President is dead, sir. His wife may survive, but it appears unlikely. We need to get you on television immediately to inform the world of what has happened and that you are automatically moving into the position vacated by the last President. Here are your remarks. They’re short and direct. The world needs to see that we are completely in charge, that there has been no gap in leadership, no time when our defenses were down. It is imperative that we move now, sir.”

  Someone shoved a piece of paper into Gray’s hand. “After you deliver these remarks, the Chief Justice is standing by to administer the oath of office. It is important that we show you taking the oath on live television for all the world to see.”

  “Where?” Gray asked.

  “The Rotunda of the Capitol.”

  “I need a pen,” he said. David took one from his suit-coat pocket and handed it to him.

  “There should be no need to change the wording, Mr. President,” Ford tried. “I’ve reviewed and approved the precise wording.”

  “If I’m supposed to say the words, they need to sound like me.” It only took Gray thirty seconds to review and tweak the statement. “Okay, let’s do this.”

  When Gray and David walked out of the holding room in the Capitol, their lives had changed completely from when they had entered the room such a short time earlier.

  Chapter 2—Oath of Office

  THE CAPITOL Rotunda was spacious, with lots of grandeur. But that particular day, it did not feel huge or grand to David. The space was absolutely packed with people, all wanting to catch a glimpse of history in the making, the second President to be sworn in to office in the course of just three hours. The feeling of claustrophobia was only intensified by the unbelievably large array of television cameras from every corner of the world, all pointed in their direction.

  Working compl
etely on autopilot, Gray took David’s hand and looked at him, holding his gaze for several seconds. David smiled and gave him a small nod. “I’m here with you, babe.”

  Gray released David’s hand, stood on the taped X behind the podium, and lowered his head while he waited for his cue to begin.

  A faceless man counted down, “Three, two, one.”

  “My fellow Americans. It is my sad duty to report to you that the President’s injuries were severe and that he has not survived. The assassin’s bullets also struck his wife, who was by his side. Her condition is critical, and it is unclear whether she will survive the night. A Secret Service agent with them at the time also died at the scene.

  “I am about to take the oath of office to be sworn in as the President of the United States. When I got up this morning, this was the furthest thing from my mind. Never in my wildest nightmares would I have imagined things turning out as they have today.

  “My first order of business is to assure you and everyone watching around the world that our Constitution prevails and guides us through good times and bad. Our nation is secure. We are a strong, resilient people, and we will get through this, just as we have faced and survived countless other challenges in our nation’s history. Circumstances might knock us down temporarily, but we get back up and go forward. We will do this together, for today we are not Republican or Democrat or Independent. Today we are all Americans, and that trumps every division out there.

  “Please join me in a moment of silent prayer for the potential we lost today.” He bowed his head, and though Gray was not a man of any great faith, he said a small prayer on the off chance there was someone out there listening. A moment later, he looked up and closed with, “Thank you.”

  The elderly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court had moved to stand beside David and Gray. Earlier he had been wearing his black judicial robes, but now he was wearing a suit like everyone else. Extending his hand, he said, “Mr. Vice President, please accept my deepest sympathies for what you’re about to enter into.” The Chief Justice was an old man, a very old man. He’d been around Washington through an untold number of Presidents, so if anyone had a clue about what was coming next, it was likely to be someone with his years of Washington-watching.

  “Dr. Hammond,” the Chief Justice started, “please take the Bible and hold it out for the Vice President to take the oath of office.”

  David did as instructed.

  “Mr. Vice President, please raise your right hand and place your left hand on top of the Bible Dr. Hammond is holding.” Gray did as instructed. “Very good. The oath is fairly short, sir. I’ll read it through once and then read it through segment by segment and ask you to repeat it back to me.”

  “Very well,” Gray said as he looked at the old man.

  “The Constitution specifies that, before he enters on the execution of his office, the President-Elect shall take the following oath: I do solemnly swear (or 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 countless people looking on, history was made with the inauguration of the first openly gay President of the United States.

  “Congratulations, Mr. President,” the Chief Justice said with a smile as he extended his hand to the new President. The moment the handshake was completed, a number of people seemed to start speaking at the same time.

  Instinct made one expect to hear music begin to play at the conclusion of the oath of office, but no music played that day. This was no occasion for celebration. Despite a number of reporters trying to shout questions, Gray turned and, with David by his side, moved down a long corridor away from the reporters.

  Before they had gone twenty feet, a senior member of Congress called out to get his attention. Gray stopped and shook hands, listening to him and several others all say basically the same thing that everyone was thinking.

  “What are you going to do now, sir? Will you pursue the former President’s campaign agenda?”

  “I’ve had all of about eight minutes to assimilate the information and to face the issue, so I don’t have an answer to that question yet. I hope you’ll be available to help me sort this all out and figure out what we do from here,” Gray said to the elder statesman, who happened to be from the opposite side of the aisle from the President. “What I do know is that in the days ahead, we have to put aside everything that tries to separate us and come together as the American people. We’ve got to send a message to whoever did this that we are the American people first and foremost and that the United States is strong. And while we might have differences on some issues, all of those differences are secondary. No one will do this to us and get away with it. I need your help to be part of a true leadership team with me as we try to make sense of this unbelievable tragedy and keep our nation safe, secure, and strong.”

  When the President moved on, David was by his side, but repeatedly they only made it a few feet before yet another person absolutely had to speak to the President; many of them were people who had spoken against him and his presence on the ballot during the campaign. David watched Gray shake countless hands, smile, and say pretty much the same words to each one, somehow making the person believe that the new President was individually reaching out to them and asking for their help. Gray was a political animal and was working the congressional leadership to create something the country had not seen in a very long time—a united government. Time and time again this happened as they were guided toward the door to leave the Capitol.

  Finally there were no more congressional leaders who wanted to be able to tell their constituents that they had just spoken to the President and give whatever spin they felt would play to their best advantage. David had lost track of how much time had elapsed from the time Gray had been sworn in to the time they finally made it to the door of the Capitol.

  Their outdoor coats magically appeared, and each slipped into his before they stepped back out into the cold. When they finally made it out of the building and into the waiting limo, Gray told David, “Sorry about that, but I need to get on the good side of as many of them as possible. I can’t start by pissing them off, because I’m going to need them in the days ahead.”

  “Understood. You do what you need to do.”

  Chapter 3—Undisclosed Location

  ONCE AGAIN they were accompanied in the passenger portion of the limo by a Secret Service agent who rode backward and spent his time intently looking out the window at the scene outside the car. Turning to the man, Gray asked, “Where do we go now?”

  “That’s being considered right now, sir. I anticipate a decision by the time we get back to the White House.” And less than a minute later, he provided clarification. “Our orders, sir, are to transfer you to an undisclosed location.”

  “And what does that mean in this case?” Gray asked.

  “Camp David, sir. Your helicopter is standing by at the White House and will fly you there immediately.”

  “We don’t have anything with us for an overnight trip,” David said.

  “The essentials you’ll need for the night will be provided at Camp David.”

  “Why are we not staying at the Vice President’s residence tonight?” Gray asked.

  “During the inauguration, sir, your things were moved into the Vice President’s residence at Observatory Circle, and the President’s things were moved into the White House. But when the news broke, they immediately started to undo everything they’d just done. Your things are on a truck now parked at the White House and are waiting for the former President’s furniture and possessions to be repacked and moved out. They had a great many more items that had to be repacked and moved, so the job is not finished yet,” the agent reported.

  “Is it safe to fly in this snowstorm?” David asked, changing the subject.

  “Just to the west, the storm is already significantly diminished. By the time we get to
the White House, it should be tapering off here in the city, and it should be finished here within the hour. Camp David is completely clear with no cloud cover at all, in fact. So yes, it is safe to fly.”

  As their limo whisked them quickly along Pennsylvania Avenue, both David and Gray noticed the startling change from just a few hours earlier. Gone were the cheering crowds, and in their place heavily armed soldiers were positioned every few feet along the route. It appeared at first glance to be two totally separate worlds—one a place of joy and celebration and freedom, the other a much more stark, desolate world that looked like something out of a totalitarian regime. The fact that the two worlds could be interchanged so quickly, in a matter of just an hour, was disturbing.

  The only time their limo slowed from the moment they left the Capitol was when they entered the White House grounds. Before the car had even completely stopped, an agent outside was opening the door and directing them toward the waiting helicopter. In less than thirty seconds, they were out of their limo and onboard. As they took their seats, a steward closed the door and the pilot started the engine. Faster than seemed possible, they were airborne.

  “This is my first time in a helicopter,” David said with a smile as he sat beside his husband and looked out the window. They held hands, fingers entwined. “I thought it would be a lot noisier than it is.”

  The steward on the flight was seated nearby and heard David’s comment. He said, “Most are, but this one is well insulated to minimize the noise so passengers can have a conversation without difficulty.”

  “Okay. What is the flight time to Camp David?” David asked.

  “Approximately thirty-eight minutes, sir, provided weather cooperates, which it seems to be doing. Earlier today that wouldn’t have been the case, but now that the snow has stopped just to the north and west of the city and the storm is moving out, flying conditions should be good. May I get you something to drink, gentlemen?”