Paige pulled out her phone. Technically, she wasn't supposed to have it, but this last time, she had managed to get in with it. She wasn't certain how. She only knew that it shouldn't be possible and that someone was probably going to get fired.
The president narrowed her gaze at it as if thinking the exact same thought.
Paige went to her documents folder and pulled up the video. She had saved it in case she needed to use it in the interviews or for media coverage, which, of course, she now wasn’t allowed to use.
She pulled it up and hit play, handing it over to the president. "That was the attack on the elven city. DoDO invaded with the force you authorized and killed indiscriminately. Anyone who resisted. It didn't matter how young or how old. And you see that right there?"
The sounds told Paige where the president was in the video playback. "That’s a pile of children who were killed with bullets you authorized. Why? Because the president of the United States discovered that elves were real and decided to eradicate them because one shifter raped her thirty years ago. Who did these elves kill? Who did those child elves rape?"
The president watched the video to the end and then stood there.
The room was wrapped in silence.
Had Paige just made an impact? Was the president now realizing that perhaps she had gone too far? Or was she just having a moment of reckoning where she discovered that this was now on video and it could go to the media? Paige couldn't tell. She tried sniffing the air to see if she could smell the president's emotions. The only thing she could discern was that the president was shocked. Though, for what reason?
The president handed back the phone. "You're threatening to take us to civil war."
Paige licked her lips and stashed her phone. She wasn’t certain she could still do that if she was sworn in to protect the nation, but the president would have to be the one to officially give her the office appointment. "If the president of the United States is willing to kill children in order to prove a point, then you’re damn straight I'm threatening civil war. This is not the nation I’m protecting."
The president met her gaze. "I was told that the casualties were few."
Paige met the president's quiet tone with the solemnity of her own. "On your side. The elves lost thousands of people. And they have a city they can’t return to. When DoDO hit, they infected the lands and the water. The elves will never be able to return to that land again."
The president walked slowly over to the striped couch and sank into it.
Paige decided to push forward a little harder. "Madame President, that city wasn't even on American soil. DoDO invaded another dimension in order to destroy it. You need to understand. That was an act of war and the elves, by rights, can strike back with their full force."
"You attacked and invaded a federal prison."
"After you invaded a town and took paranormals by force. I was in Lawrence, Madame President. I saw what you did. I have video of that too. You had your private military invade your own country. That too was an act of war. The only difference here is that you decided to attack a group of people who were actively capable of building their own armies to rise up against you. And that is the reason you are so scared right now."
The president met her gaze.
"We are… tribal. For the most part. We have covens and packs and groups. We’re not united.” That wasn’t entirely true. “Well, we weren’t."
Something shifted in the president's eyes. More than doubt. Fear.
"The only thing you managed to do was to unite us under a common banner. You thought you could take this opportunity and bring us out into the light and destroy us."
The president listened quietly, her fingers lightly scratching at her pant legs.
"But what you did was attack women and children and families. And that is what the people of the United States will remember."
Silence dominated the room for several long moments, giving Paige plenty of time to think about what she should say next. However, she felt she’d said what was needed and now she just had to wait to see what the response would be.
Paige understood full well that she might win this battle and ultimately lose the war because of what she said here. This conversation was a field of mines.
But there were congressmen and congresswomen who were behind her. There were people who wanted peace and were willing to back her.
No. They weren't willing to back her. They were willing to back peace.
"The western states are seceding." Paige needed to push her advantage. "When they do, you will lose those resources, those monetary exports. Without those monetary exports, this nation loses its value and will go bankrupt. Imagine what the world will look like when the United States is no longer the superpower. How many nations have you personally pissed off just in your term alone? How many attacks will we have because the world knows you’re unable to oppress them anymore? Or to even defend yourselves?"
The president stared hard at Paige. "Do you understand what you are threatening?"
"If you push this, you will be the one responsible for breaking the United States of America."
"Aren't you a patriot? Don't you want to protect our nation?"
"Against you? Yes. Against a nation that voted you into power? Yes. Do I think we will do any better on our own?" No. Because the government was complicated, and she was quickly beginning to understand that there were no right answers. Politics was this big game of making as many better choices as they could, knowing that none of them would be good enough. "I have to hope."
"You have to know that if you succeed in secession—which you will not—then those very same nations you think will come after me will come after you."
"It all depends, doesn't it? On what kind of relationships I build. You forget, there are paranormals all over this world. They're not just in your back yard. We’re everywhere. And you have no idea what kind of partnerships we already have in play."
The president balled her hands into fists. She looked ready to say something, but the door opened instead.
"Madame President?" A man in uniform filled the doorway. "You are needed."
The president stood and gestured with her arm for Paige to leave first. "I will consider what you have said."
"I hope so."
Paige was then shuffled back to the SUV where Naomi waited.
Had she won?
Naomi filled the silence with chatter on their way. Paige wasn't paying attention to where they were headed, but they stopped at the congressional office buildings. Aaron met her out front and escorted her back to the set of rooms they’d been temporarily using, peppering her with questions.
Everyone was abuzz. The only thing Paige got was that something major was happening. So, as soon as she saw a face she knew, she asked what was going on.
"I don't know what you said in there," Congresswoman Jacobs said evenly, "but the president has officially requested a peace resolution with paranormals."
That was good. "And my demands?” She needed to sound like she wasn't quaking her boots.
"Have they been entered into the agreement?"
Congressman Alan hung up his phone and set it down carefully, surprise filling his expression. He looked up at the congressmen around him. "The House is putting the president under investigation for impeachment."
Paige's heart stopped. They’d won. For now. It was a slight reprieve but a reprieve nonetheless.
Paige was going to take it.
34
No word on if Paige was going to get to keep a voice in the government which… she was now wanting, which surprised her. "Will this stop the civil war?"
Congresswoman Jacobs stood stunned. "Perhaps?" She didn't sound sure. "Though, I'm sure it would never have actually come down to that in the first place."
Paige breathed a sigh of relief. This was a solution she never would've thought of on her own. Impeaching the president. She’d abused her powers. She’d gone above and beyond to bring wa
r to the United States.
Paige just had to hope this would work and that they could all find some semblance of stability again. America needed to understand that they could live in peace with their neighbors, no matter how sharp their teeth were.
She looked up, bracing herself. "What do you need from us?"
Congresswoman Hernandez smiled. “Quite a bit.”
Paige stayed there for another four hours, giving these congressmen and women and a few of the aides that came trickling in and out what they needed. She gave them video proof of what had happened in Lawrence and in the elven city. She gave them information on the conditions at the prison.
But she did not give them names of everyone. She informed them that the Registration Act had to be stopped. They could add paranormal information to the census and people could volunteer that information if they wanted to.
But forcing people to register was a bad idea, especially since they now knew what the people in power were willing to do with it. Paige didn't know how many other cities and towns had been invaded. But she did know that others had, but the people who had wrongfully been taken had to be released and their children returned to them.
When she left, she was given the promise that these people would do everything in their power to ensure their safety.
"We ask that you stand down," Congresswoman Jacobs said evenly as Paige and her people got ready to leave. "We need to see that you and your people are indeed willing for a peaceful solution."
Paige was going to have to work at that because her people had been ready for war. However, she would be stupid to sit around and do nothing in the months it would take them to do anything about this president. "I will take this information to our people. If you restore electricity and communication, if you restore the social media profiles and everything else, that will go a long way toward rebuilding what was destroyed. However, you need to know that we now understand just how serious the situation is, and we will not be idly sitting on our hands doing nothing. We are going to work toward a future that protects us."
Congresswoman Hernandez came up to her and shook her hand. "The Senate is pushing for your instatement to secretary.”
Paige wouldn’t hold her breath on getting that title, but she understood what the congresswoman was saying. If they could get her officially sworn in, it would be harder for her to lead a war.
Which was probably why they’d orchestrated the swearing in on national TV, even without the president’s appointment.
Bonnie opened a portal behind Paige. "Let me know if it works"
“Before you leave,” Congresswoman Jacobs said, handing her several folders. “You’re going to need a staff, and we recommend finding knowledgeable people.”
Paige didn’t disagree, but were these people she could trust?
“You’ll have some time but look over these. Maybe talk to a few?”
“I will. Thank you.” Paige stepped through the icy barrier and back home.
Main Street in Troutdale was filled with people. News had traveled quickly. She wasn't entirely certain what news they had received, but there was a celebration going on.
Tuck found her in the throng. He handed her a cup of cider. "National Guard's gone. So's DoDO."
What a relief. That’d actually worked and not a single bullet or magick blast.
"Dexx is still missing."
Paige's heart twitched and turned. Should she have included his location in her demands? No. Her husband was one man. "Have we had any word?"
Tuck shook his head. "I'm sure he's fine."
He had better be. If he wasn't, Paige was now free to go save his ass if she needed to.
"I'll give you a few before we start talking about his replacement. The Red Star Division is necessary now more than ever."
Paige agreed. However, she needed a moment to sit around with her family and just make sure that everything really was okay. She still had this thread of anxiety coursing through her, twisting her mind and distorting her views of reality. She needed to sink into the sense that her family was safe.
She thanked Tuck for everything he had done and went in search of Leslie.
There, she was surprised to see two young kids she barely recognized—the twins.
Ember came up to her and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a good squeeze. He looked to be about the same age as Leah and Mandy, if not a little older.
Rai came up to her a little more subdued.
Paige gave her daughter a one-armed hug and held her close, pressing a kiss into the top of her head, though Rai was just barely shorter than she was. "I think we had a win today."
Leslie pushed her way in and gave her sister a hug. “Madame Secretary,” she said with a snort.
“It’s not official and probably won’t be,” Paige said, returning the hug gratefully.
Leslie held on for a long moment. "You did real good, baby sister."
Leslie's quiet voice thrummed through Paige’s ear, filling her with warmth. She pulled away slightly. "That was the scariest thing I have ever done in my entire life."
Leslie chuckled. "You've done some pretty scary shit."
"You're not wrong." Paige looked around the nearly empty store. "You need help making more stuff?"
Leslie just shook her head. "We're out of supplies. So, there's nothing we can do right now. Except go out there and enjoy the win."
Paige located Bobby, who was still the same age as when she left. Thank the goddess for that. She was tired of watching her children grow beyond their years faster than she understood. On one hand, this was good. With the fact that they were still possibly heading toward her, she needed everyone in the Whiskey clan to be strong, capable fighters.
But these were years she would never get back.
She stayed close to her kids, all four of them. They didn't appreciate how she wanted to keep them all herded together, but they also didn't fight her much either. Rai kind of did. Paige wished she had been able to help temper that but knew that she still had time to do so. It would just be a little harder now.
Danny came running up to her, waving his phone in excitement. "The communication bans have been lifted. News is flooding in. I have a lot of missed calls."
A cry went up through the crowd. A large jolt of noise reverberated around them and then the streetlights all kicked on.
They also had power back.
Those were both good signs.
Paige turned to Danny. "What do we know?"
The Registration Act was in the process of being overturned. That didn't mean it was going to stop. It just meant that Congress had taken up the call and was trying to get it stopped. They were stating it was unconstitutional and that their enactment had been based on false information.
Paige now had a little bit more faith in the system than she had just moments before.
There was also news that the paranormals who had been incarcerated were being allowed to return back to their homes. There were videos from prisons across the nation of paranormals being released. Their loved ones greeted them. Some of them were just being released out into the wild.
There were dozens of these videos peppering the net.
Which just went to show how far the president had reached. She had very nearly won.
And with all of this, there was talk of impeachment. The major news outlets were using these videos as the reasons behind it.
Already, the party lines were drawn. There were many who stated the president was indeed correct in how she’d handled the situation and that anyone who said otherwise was on the wrong side of history.
But Paige knew exactly which side she was on.
The side that needed to win.
But at what cost?
They had skirted the idea of civil war. Looking around at all of these faces, recalling the turmoil she had witnessed in Lawrence and in the elven city, she knew it had to be the very last resort.
In the meantime, she needed to ensure that the paranormals
who were now living in the open showed the mundanes and the world they could be trusted.
It was a whole new world with a much different set of rules.
But she was a lot more hopeful that this was one they'd be able to win. The American people truly did want peace. They truly did want the safety of knowing that their friends and neighbors were people they could trust.
She just had to show them how.
Hugging Rai close to her and tucking her head under her chin, Paige watched and soaked in the noise of celebration. They would figure out how. And they would do it. The world was watching.
She would show them.
Sneak Peak at London Bridge Down
Ooooh, paperwork! Actually, the paperwork was a bit more toward eww. Dexx slid the paper to the done stack and pulled another one off the too tall stack.
Maybe Paige and Tony weren’t all that wrong. “’Bo,” Dexx called through the door.
A few seconds later, Rainbow Blue stuck her head through the door. Her afro came in first, followed by beautiful brown skin and childlike enthusiasm. “Yes, boss?” Her deep brown eyes twinkled.
He wasn’t angry per se, but Rainbow had been told—asked to take a little more time and fill out more of the blanks on her reports. “Could you, oh I don’t know, put a bit more description on a few of these?”
“I filled all the blanks, didn’t I?”
Dexx suppressed a laugh somewhere between true humor and actual exasperation. “Coloring in the boxes isn’t really filling it out. Words and stuff. I can’t decipher colors.”
“Isn’t that what you said? White is yours, gold is Tuck’s, and pink is—”
This time Dexx really did chuckle. “That’s the ‘in triplicate’ part of the paperwork. You know, carbon copy without all the carbon paper.”
“What’s that?” Rainbow pushed the door further open and entered the office.
Dexx pressed his lips together and counted. “You’re special. Short-bus special with a twist. Okay. I need you to actually write words. With a subject, predicate, noun, and verbs. You know, to add more actual color.”
Whiskey Storm (Whiskey Witches Midnight Rising Book 1) Page 31