Four Days In February

by Roy Diestelkamp

CHAPTER TWENTY

  "There is little sleep for us tonight, Charles."

  "No, Sir." Charles replies, as he tries to stifle a yawn. His age is showing, and he is weary from the long hours and no sleep. "Not in this White House! The Secret Service is stressed, and on hair trigger alert over a possible assault on the building. The White House staff has been working day and night without a break; everyone is tense not knowing what is going to happen next. And because we are surrounded by the Army, nobody has been coming in or out of the grounds. Even the news reporters that were in the White House have had to stay on. They are sleeping in a room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building."

  "Are they filing their reports to their papers and networks?"

  "No, the Secret Service for security reasons has seized control of all regular outside calls, and blocked cell phone signals, and the internet as well. The reporters are writing everything down that they see and hear, but they cannot file, until the lid is lifted by the Secret Service."

  "Well, tell the Secret Service to allow a live TV broadcast from the East Wing tomorrow morning at 8:30. American's breakfast time will include me talking to the nation, about what has been occurring through this night. The people deserve to know what is happening, and what their President is going to do about it. Our allies need to know that the American ship of state is not drifting erratically, as two men fight for the helm. The rest of the world, and especially the Chinese need to be certain I am in charge too!"

  "I am sure the stock market would appreciate knowing too. As things stand, they are going to have a massive drop in averages. The markets hate uncertainty, and have never had the Army guarding Washington like this, since the Civil War. They aren't rattled, they are confused and scared. ...But one question, Mr. President..."

  "What's that, Charles?"

  "Do you know what you are going to do, to resolve this crisis?"

  "Yes, just as in a war, I am going to out maneuver Ishnik tonight, and cut him off from his stronghold, in the morning. Here..." as he hands Adams a sheet of paper, "I have made a list of people I want to speak to on the phone as soon as possible. Let's wake them up and have them serve their nation. Have Mrs. Roland call them in the order I have them listed. Tell her to start by getting me General Ucclese. And Adams, I want you to listen in on this conversation, then get a little sleep, I need you alert tomorrow."

  Two minutes later Adams says, "Mr. President, General Ucclese is on the phone."

  "General Ucclese, this is President Pinchon. ...Yes, 'Acting President.' ...I have some instructions for you.

  "What's that? ...You are moving more troops nearer to the White House, and removing the media from near it. ...Why are you doing that?

  "That was good thinking. If Ishnik ordered you to, then you're following orders keeps him unaware that you are also following my directives. ...Good. It will even be helpful for something that I want you to do for me. I need you to discreetly bring the Secretaries of State and Treasury to me here, ASAP. If the media cannot see that, all the better, let Ishnik remain in the dark.

  "Secondly, in the morning, at 8:45 a.m., I am going to want you to be ready to transport me and some guests, to various locations. You will need at least three Hummers. I don't want a large force, but I would like a 'company' of troops in armoured vehicles; and General, I would like you to personally travel with me.

  "Yes, ...That's right. I will give further instructions in the morning. Good, see you at 8:45 a.m.

  Charles Adams asked Pinchon, "Do you think you can trust General Ucclese? He is also getting orders from Secretary Ishnik, and the Army command. Are you sure he will obey you? ...and not Ishnik, or a superior General."

  "Harry Ucclese is a good soldier, and a good General. He is being pulled in different directions. He believes in Army discipline and the command structure. But he also believes the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. I believe he will figure out the right and wrong of the situation, and do the right. He served under me in war, he knows I am not power hungry or a glory seeker, and that I look after the welfare of those under me. Harry also knows my character, and that I would not ask him to do something unlawful. But he is smart and savvy, and also realizes that I am asking him to do something, that if it goes bad, puts his career and life at risk. Yes, Charles, ...I trust him to keep my back safe, I trust him with my life."

  "The morning will surely tell the story," Charles said.

  "Now Charles, have Mrs. Roland get me the Marine Corp Commandant, General Fritz Huffstetter."

  A few minutes later, as Charles sat on the couch, weary from all the events of the day, he heard Pinchon say, "Hello, General Huffstetter, this is Bull Pinchon. I know you and Secretary Ishnik have had your problems, and that he has largely sidelined you. I need your help."

  Charles was tired, resting his head on the arm of the couch. He could only hear some of the conversation, because Pinchon was not talking very loudly.

  "Yes, I had heard that. ...You have always been a leader, even when throwing touchdowns back at Annapolis," Pinchon said. "…I would like to put you squarely back in the game. It won't be as quarterback, but General you could be a great fullback, blocking for the quarterback.

  "What I would like you to do? …I want you to arrange tonight with some of your 'friends,' to meet me at about… Yes, at the… Do you think you could make those blocks for me?

  "Yes, and full dress uniform.

  "How many do you think you could muster on this short notice? That would be great! I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. I knew I could rely on the Marines."

  Pinchon hung up the phone and called out, "Charles, Charles! You nodded off on me!"

  "I heard you talking to General Huffstetter," Charles said. "Though I am sure that I missed some of the conversation."

  "You better get a couple hours sleep, Charles, you have had a long day. You must be awake in the morning."

  "What about you, Sir? You have had a long day too."

  "I am younger than you are, and I am still in fighting shape. I may catch a few winks in a while, but I have to issue some orders, and write a short speech for my breakfast broadcast at 8:00 tomorrow morning."

  "I had better stay and help you then," Charles replied.

  "No, the Deputy Chief of Staff, and the speech writers can help me do this." With that Charles reluctantly went to his office to sleep for two or three hours, or until he was called by the President.

  Bull went to work, talking with the people whose names he had given to Mrs. Roland. He also phoned certain Army, Navy, and Air Force brass, and issued new orders. All American Forces' commands outside the United States, had all military exercises canceled, and all alerts were rescinded, except along the demilitarized zone in Korea. He did not want the military to accidently cause a 'misunderstanding,' that America was acting aggressively abroad, to distract public attention from confusion at home. Additional orders were also given to the Secret Service, and all federal police agencies, that across the U.S., they were not to initiate any action that would appear aggressive to the Army. Bull did not want the Army to have any 'misunderstandings' either.

  Then Pinchon had the TV networks notified by the White House Press Secretary, that they would receive a broadcast to the nation and the world, from the White House at 8:30 a.m. It would be of the highest importance, and every network was expected to provide air time. The pool feed for all broadcasters would come from a camera provided by Network News, which happened to be trapped by events, in the White House.

  At 6:00 a.m. Bull finished a rough draft of a short speech to the nation and the world beyond. He gave it to the staff writers to fix it, so it didn't sound like it had been written in the middle of the night. He told them to keep it on paper, he would read it, rather than use a teleprompter. His speech was short and to the point. Like former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, he was not afraid to be seen using notes. He remembere
d that Churchill had said something to the effect, that he could talk for hours without notes, but if he was to talk for but a few minutes, he would require notes.

  Bull shut his eyes, and leaned back in his office chair in the Oval Office. His mind raced. He remembered he was still on 'vacation.' He was supposed to have stayed in Hawaii for three weeks, doing little but enjoying the sun, warm breezes, and blue seas. What a difference to cold rainy Washington, in February. At least the damp weather was only rain, and not snow. The northeast was getting a blizzard.

  Pinchon thought to himself for a moment. "What am I doing here in the White House? How am I sitting in the Oval Office, behind the President's desk? How did I become the President? I was not really the Speaker of the House! I was encouraged to rap the gavel a couple times, and that was that. Then I was sworn in as 'Acting President.' No, this must be a dream ...a nightmare. I never wanted to be President. I'm an Army General. I'm..."

  "Mr. President ...Mr. President."

  "Oh, Charles, you woke up."

  "Yes Sir. I imagine I got a lot more sleep than you."

  "What time is it?"

  "It is 6:45 Sir.

  "I have ordered Breakfast to be brought to you soon, you haven't had time to eat much in the last day, and need nourishment for strength."

  "Thanks. Do you think a clean suit and shirt could be found in this place? I have been wearing these too long."

  "I will direct the stewards to find some fresh clothes. I guess we did not pack your suitcase for you, when we invited you here."

  "Invited me! ...I was just remembering that I was supposed to be on vacation, you know in beautiful warm Hawaii. And you didn't invite me, you kidnapped me!"

  "Well, I actually didn't do that."

  "No, that was agent Melman and his crew. But who was the person who decided that I was the one who should be 'invited?'

  "That was President pro tempore, Sharon, Sir. As soon as he found out about Woods terminal illness, and the President's plan to find a replacement, Sharon immediately recommended you . He thought you were just the one for the job. The Speaker agreed, the President sent Melman to get you, and you know the rest of the story."

  "When this is over, do I get the rest of my vacation?"

  "Hopefully, but in eight years," Charles said.

  "No you don't. I have only signed on for the rest of President Woods' term. But in three years and eleven months, and however many days, I am handing this job over to somebody the American people elected directly, and gave a majority to."

  "You mean elected 'indirectly.'"

  "What do you mean, 'indirectly.'"

  "Well," Charles said, "the U.S. doesn't elect the President directly. That is what France does, but the U.S. elects a slate of people from each state to the Electoral College. The Electoral College then elects the President."

  "They elect the person who got the most votes, don't they?" Bull said.

  "That brings up another matter. Usually the electoral college elects the candidate who gets the majority of the popular vote. But that is not how it always works out. Remember, Al Gore got more votes than George W. Bush, but Bush got more electoral college votes. So also did Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison. I might also mention there is I think at least six more Presidents who were elected with less than fifty percent of the nation's votes, because there was more than two candidates."

  "They must have been weak Presidents," Bull said.

  "John Quincy Adams won with just over thirty percent of the popular vote, and Abraham Lincoln won with less than forty percent. So no! Presidents are not seen as weak or strong, by their vote count, but on how they handle the events and crisis's that they face."

  "My platter is full of crises."

  Just then the steward brought breakfast in.

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