Covenant - THE CONTROLLER 01

by Jerry Bruce

  “Relax, Stephen. We still don’t know the full extent of his illness. There’s always the possibility that it isn’t as serious as we all are making it out to be.” Richard was expressing his personal wishes and hopes.

  “I know, I know. I hadn’t heard about his condition. Of course it’s still early. From what you’ve said it’s been only a matter of hours since his affliction. How did you find out about it so quickly, anyway?”

  “Someone close to the Rolt called me. He knew I would be concerned about the prime minister’s welfare.”

  “You know, Mr. President, there are times I would swear you have a crystal ball. Either that, or someone on the inside of all of our allies. You always seem to be the first to know the latest goings on.”

  Crystal ball, huh? Richard thought to himself. I seem to recall making the same remark to someone else. Richard’s thoughts returned to the early days of his relationship with the Controller, to the days before he knew how far the Controller’s influence reached.

  * * *

  Richard thought back to the last conversation he had with Prime Minister Rolt. Rolt had never given him any indication that he was dealing with someone like the Controller. Of course, Richard as well, had kept his relationship a secret.

  Richard wondered how he would react if events occurred which kept Rolt from continuing as prime minister. He wanted to believe that political ramifications would be secondary to his personal feelings for Rolt—but he wasn’t sure.

  “If James pulls through medically and maintains his position, I’m going to have to have a heart-to-heart with him,” Richard promised himself.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Several days passed before Richard heard from the Controller; so he wasn’t surprised when the call came. News from Great Britain was sparse, at best, and Richard was anxious to hear some current, and hopefully good, news.

  “We can be very grateful Richard. The prime minister has suffered neither a heart attack nor a stroke, but merely an anxiety attack. I say merely, but left unchecked it could become a serious matter. He will be needing some rest and relaxation for a while, but should be back to work shortly.”

  “How did you find this out? The latest reports I’ve gotten don’t say anything of the sort?”

  “The British are understandably reluctant to admit that their prime minister could be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. They will soon be issuing a statement that will probably be something like ‘the prime minister has had a minor heart problem resulting from a partially blocked artery. A procedure has successfully relieved the blockage and Prime Minister Rolt will be able to return to his duties in short order,’ or some other such drivel.”

  “I assume that he’ll be getting psychiatric treatment.”

  “Yes, he needs to get a handle on the reasons behind his anxiety.”

  Richard could think of one sure-fire reason for Rolt’s anxiety, but he refrained from commenting.

  “I know what you are thinking, Richard. I assure you I’ve already spoken with the prime minister and assured him of my support. I am personally seeing to it that he has the finest doctors. I am confident that with the aide of some of the medications they use in these cases that he will be able to return to his duties in no time at all.”

  “I’m sure he appreciates your help.” Richard almost gagged on the words and was hoping he didn’t sound sarcastic.

  “As I’m sure you would under similar circumstances, Richard. You know, I’ve noticed that lately your attitude has been, how shall I say it, a bit vindictive? I trust that we’re not going to have to suffer through another awkward period in our relationship. I wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of our achieving our goals. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Quite clear. I agree that my attitude of late has been a little testy, but I’m sure that will pass now that the election is behind us and the new project underway.”

  “Very good. We’ve come a long way together and I wouldn’t want anything to come between us. We have accomplished so much and have just as much left to be done. I see you heavily involved in some of my future plans and I wouldn’t care to have those plans go astray. Now if you’ll excuse me; I have some pressing matters requiring my attention.”

  “Of course, thank you for the update, good bye.” Richard was relieved that the conversation was over. “Future plans? I wonder what he means by that.” Richard was talking to himself and wasn’t too sure he wanted to know the answer. Every time he felt reasonably safe in dealing with the Controller, something like this prime minister affair would shock him back to the reality that the Controller was still, after all, being manipulative.

  Richard just seemed unable to come to grips with why the Controller was doing so many good things for the world. What was in it for him? It didn’t seem logical that he was doing it for financial reasons. He obviously didn’t need any more money; in fact it was probably costing a great deal. Richard found it unlikely that the Controller was acting purely for humanitarian reasons. It just didn’t make any sense.

  * * *

  A few hours later Richard was in the Oval Office when Stephen asked for a few minutes of his time.

  “Did you hear the good news … well, reasonably good news?”

  “Well I haven’t had any good news today so maybe you should fill me in, Stephen.”

  “The prime minister is going to be fine. Turns out that it was a minor heart problem caused by a partial blockage, and a simple surgical procedure fixed it. After a short rest period he should be able to continue his normal duties.”

  A minor heart problem. Now where have I heard that before, thought Richard.

  “Where did you hear this?”

  “I just caught part of the interview with his doctor on BNN. I haven’t heard anything official outside of that.”

  “Something tells me you may have already heard the ‘official’ announcement.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Stephen.

  “Oh, never mind, it’s not important. You’re probably going to have to release something to the press. It would be better for us to make a statement rather than having them bring it up and question Christine before we’ve had a chance to update her. In fact, let’s see if she’s available.” Richard called Christine’s extension. She answered immediately with “Good afternoon, Mr. President.”

  “Christine, if you have a few minutes I’d like you to come to my office so the vice president and I can give you a heads up on something before your briefing.”

  “I’ll be right there, sir.”

  “Thank you.”

  “She’s on her way. I think it would be best if you gave a short spiel during her press briefing this afternoon, you know, a positive spin on how this won’t affect the project. What do you think?”

  “That would be fine with me. It also would give me a chance to say a few words about the progress of the project.”

  “Okay, but make a statement and leave. Don’t open it up for questions.”

  “Will do.”

  In what seemed like record time, Christine was entering the Oval Office. Richard was disappointed that she was wearing slacks instead of a sexy skirt as she had so many times before. It didn’t dawn on him that she wore those skirts only when there was prior notification of her being close to the president.

  “Christine, as I’m sure you are aware, Prime Minister Rolt is going to be fine. He just needs some recuperative time before getting back to the grind. We think it would be a good idea if the vice president made a statement during your press briefing this afternoon, expanding a little on Rolt’s fitness. It won’t be long and it definitely isn’t going to be a question and answer session, just a brief statement. Is this all right with you?”

  “Of course, sir. I’m sure the media will be glad to get more information than what has been released.”

  “Well, I don’t know if we’ll be giving them any more enlightenment about Rolt’s health, but it will give the vice president a chance to express how
much progress we’ve been making on the project and will continue to make once Rolt is back to work.”

  “I would offer one word of caution though, Mr. Vice President,” added Christine. “One of the press members has been loudly claiming that without the prime minister’s support, we could be in danger of losing the backing of quite a few nations.” She seemed reluctant to bring up the subject, but felt the vice president should be aware that a ticklish question might pop up during the briefing.

  Stephen did his best to put her mind at ease. “I’ll nip that in the bud and make my own declaration about the unwavering support of Britain and her friends.”

  “Sounds like it will be a fine briefing. I’ll be sure to watch,” said Richard with a grin.

  “You mean to say that you don’t watch all my briefings Mr. President?” Christine gave Richard a sweet smile and got up to leave.

  “I try my best, but occasionally one or two other things get in the way,” Richard smiled back.

  * * *

  “How did your day go, honey?” Veronica directed her question to Jennifer after already having talked with Richard and Randall about theirs. For the first time in a long while, they were having dinner together as a family.

  “Fine, just the usual school stuff.” She took a mouthful of mashed potatoes to avoid further chatter. Jennifer was usually more outspoken when it was just she and her mother talking, as she could then get into the “girl” talk without any embarrassing comments from “the boys” in the family.

  “Isn’t anyone going to ask about my day?”

  “I’ll bite, how was your day, Mom?” Randall to the rescue.

  “Very good. In fact, I’ve managed to talk your grandparents, all four of them, into coming for a visit. We just have to decide when. I suggested that around Easter would probably be best because of the school break. What do you think, Richard?”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we spend the time at Camp David?”

  “You must have been reading my mind, dear, because Camp David was what I suggested and they really liked the idea.”

  “So it’s decided then. We can spend Easter week at Camp David and if they want to stay longer, the rest of the time they can stay at the White House. They haven’t spent much time here, just a day or two at a stretch. It would be nice to have them with us for a longer period.” Richard sounded excited.

  “I did tell them we’d welcome them for as long as they were willing to put up with us. I’ll finalize the arrangements tomorrow.”

  “I’m not sure about the Easter break, Mom.”

  “What do you mean, Son?”

  “I’ve been in contact with Dad’s old fraternity at Harvard and they invited me to spend some time there. It would give me a chance to check out the campus.”

  “So you contacted my old frat, huh?” Richard had on a big grin.

  “Actually, they contacted me a while ago. Someone in admissions told them I was interested in attending Harvard. I guess living in the White House has some benefits.”

  “I guess Easter would be a good time to check things out. Your grandparents will be disappointed, but I’m sure they will understand.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Maybe I can arrange it so I’m free for a few days of their visit.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  “It took only a few weeks for James Rolt, Prime Minister of Great Britain, to recover from his surgical procedure to relieve an arterial blockage.” The BBC news clip showed Rolt exiting No. 10 Downing Street and getting into a car as the narrator continued to say that Rolt was back to work and up to a full schedule, just as though nothing had happened.

  As he phoned the Controller at precisely ten a.m., as previously agreed upon, Richard wondered what the news would say if the real facts were divulged.

  “Hello, Richard, punctual as always. I suppose that I’ve not told you how much I appreciate punctuality.”

  “I seem to recall your pointing that out to me during one of our early calls.”

  “You may be right; more than likely I’m just suffering from short-term memory loss.”

  “I hardly think so, you never forget a thing; or at least that’s how it seems to me.” Richard wasn’t sure if his comment would be taken as the compliment it was intended to be.

  “You’re correct of course; I couldn’t bear it if my mind were to lose its edge. It would drive me insane not to be clear-headed.”

  Richard pointedly wrote in his notebook. He didn’t want to forget the Controller’s comment, thinking to himself that it might come in handy at a future time. He always jotted down things the Controller said which might give some insight to his character, and possibly even his identity. Should anything ever transpire that would cause a rift between them, he might need the ammunition.

  “I feel the same way, although I doubt I would go crazy over it, and I don’t think that you would, either.” Richard didn’t care if the Controller picked up on his condescension.

  “Don’t be so sure of yourself, Richard. I believe that neither of us could long survive being out of control. But that isn’t the reason for this call. Did you by any chance happen to see the Prime Minister Rolt on the news?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact. I was surprised to see him so relaxed and smiling, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.”

  “It was wonderful to see, wasn’t it?”

  “Maybe we should all be taking whatever medications the doctor put him on.” Richard was attempting to lighten the conversation.

  “Actually, he isn’t taking anything. It turns out that he was deeply anxious about something becoming public, something of a private nature. When he confided in me as to the nature of his dilemma, I saw to it that the problem was eliminated. So the new prime minister that you are seeing is the result of a burden being lifted off his shoulders. His doctor has been amazed at the turnabout in his attitude and is confident that the prime minister will not have another anxiety attack.”

  “That’s good news. When you say you ‘eliminated’ the problem, are you referring to something out of the ordinary?” Richard was trying to be subtle instead of asking point blank if the Controller had someone killed to solve the prime minister’s problem.

  “Are you asking if I was a party to something sinister, Richard?” There was that emotionless intonation again. “While I have resorted to measures in the past that could be construed as criminal, and may very well be required in the future, I assure you that it is nothing you should be concerned about, unless you should decide to become a problem.” There was stress on the “you” and “problem”. “But I seriously doubt that will come to pass, do you?” It was clear that the Controller wasn’t playing around.

  Richard had just been given a refresher course in how to keep the Controller happy. And the not too veiled threat was enlightening considering their history. “You may put your mind at ease; I have no intention of causing you anguish. I was just more than a little curious about the prime minister’s issue.”

  “If I were to reveal the details to you, then I would be adding to his anxiety, now wouldn’t I?”

  “I guess you would, and I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that.” Richard wanted this conversation to be over before he lost his composure, so his tone was definitely apologetic. Richard knew he was treading on thin ice and any further upsets might cause the Controller to become peeved. Richard couldn’t be sure how the Controller would retaliate.

  “Anyway, you need have no concern over the prime minister doing his part on the project. Not only is he able, he is more willing than ever to assist you. He gave me his assurance that he would be talking to everyone within his sphere of influence about getting into the program. So, are you confident we’re back on track and can make some headway?”

  “Quite so, and I can’t wait to pass the good news on to the vice president. I’m sure he will be relieved as well.”

  “I imagine he will, Richard.”

  “While we are on the subject
of the vice president, I have made clear to him that I want this project to move ahead at a quicker pace. Now that issues regarding the prime minister’s health have been put to rest, I expect the vice president will be getting the project moving.”

  “Excellent, I’m happy to hear that my admonition has been taken seriously. Wouldn’t it be marvelous if the endeavor could be close to completion by the end of your presidency?”

  “Yes it would. That is precisely the way I put it to the vice president.”

  “By the way Richard, I assume that you have maintained the secrecy surrounding our relationship. I wouldn’t want to find out that someone such as your vice president knew of our arrangement.” Again, a lightly veiled threat.

  They finally got to the real reason for the call.

  “Richard, I’m sure you are aware that there has been talk in certain quarters of forming a world governing body.”

  “I’ve heard rumors along those lines. Are you saying there is some truth to the matter?”

  “Most definitely. It isn’t that hard to reason out. We live in a world that is creating more and more partnerships among nations. Every country, whether it admits it or not, is dependent upon other countries to bolster its own economy. Worldwide commerce is nothing new; what is new is the extent to which it has progressed over the years. In the future, there will be even more critical alliances. We are creating one right now with our new project. We will be bringing more nations together than has ever been done in the past. We will have more member nations working on this than there were united during the Second World War. Think of it, Richard—a coming together like no other, and not out of fear from a tyrant like Hitler, but out of friendship and compassion. Doesn’t it warm your heart to see how much we have helped mankind advance? But enough of this. Let me tell you what has been on my mind from the very beginning of our relationship.

  “I see the formation of a world government occurring within the next several years. I believe that when the smoke clears, the structure will be very similar to the government of the United States. The same principles can be applied with very little modification. And the talk I have been hearing is in agreement with that premise. Based on that, the natural progression is to look for a leader who can work within that environment. Who better than a former United States President, especially one who has garnered far more worldwide respect than his predecessors? Think about it, Richard. Think very carefully about it. You and I have an investment in seeing that all we have accomplished leads to even greater things. Doesn’t it seem logical for us to take the next step?”