by Jan Stryvant
"They're all going to hate us for this, you know," Chad said with a laugh.
"No, they're all going to hate me," Sean corrected. "Well, me and the First, I guess. I'm gonna blame this on him, too."
"So what's the problem that it needs the three most dangerous minds in the universe to handle it?" Steve joked as they headed inside.
"It's going to take a hundred years at least, probably more like two hundred, for us to get rid of the djevels," Chad said and, pulling out a map, he spread it out on the dining room table Steve had led them all to. "This is the area for the west we're trying to quarantine the djevels into."
"Damn, that's huge," Steve said.
"Yeah, that's bigger than the state of Pennsylvania, isn't it?" Terri said, looking at it.
"And it's liable to get bigger before it gets smaller," Sean said.
"Plus it spans five states," Chad said, pointing at the borders.
"So how do we convince everyone to give me complete control over everything inside that area?" Sean asked.
Steve looked up at him. "Complete control?"
Sean shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? I need enough to make sure it gets dealt with. Otherwise I'll kill whoever I have to and do what I need to. That's the alternative to figuring something out that makes everyone happy, yet allows me to focus on fixing this problem."
"Which is why we're here. Steve, the only person who's going to be around a hundred years from now is Sean," Chad said, pointing to him. "So we need to give him something he can work with, so all our hard work," Chad motioned to Steve and himself, "that's yours and mine, doesn't get undone by 'Mister Finesse' over there."
"I love you too," Sean said to Chad with a grin.
Steve 'hmm'ed a bit and then sat down at the table. "I see your point."
"One more thing," Sean added.
"What?"
"Whatever we tell the president I need, I want to dump those same basic rules on the people in Europe."
Steve nodded. "That'll help."
"Really?" Chad said, surprised. "I'd think that would make it harder."
Steve shook his head. "Not really. The people here will see we're giving the same deal to everyone. The people there will figure if the US agreed to it, then not only do we get to suffer as much as they do, they'll demand any changes made here get made there, too."
"Misery loves company, right?" Terri said.
"More like they figure the president will drive a harder bargain than they can," Tisha said.
Steve nodded towards Tisha. "Right. They all know Sean is friends with the president, so they know they'll never get as good a deal as the president will."
"I'm friends with the president?" Sean asked Steve, looking impressed.
"Hey, he went to your wedding, and you've given him all sorts of gifts to make sure he stays protected. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you're best buds."
"Huh, I had no idea."
"So let's get a few beers and see what we can figure out," Steve said. "Terri, if you could call the White House and schedule an early morning appointment?"
"Should I tell them Sean's here?"
"We flew in on a military jet," Sean said. "It's safe to say they know I'm here."
"Okay, I'll do that. I'll let 'em know you're going to want to address the Summit as well."
"Thanks, Terri!" Sean said.
"Yes, thanks, Hon," Steve agreed. "Now, Chad can tell us what he wants militarily, then you can tell me what the lions want, and I'll figure out how we can sell it to the rest of the world."
"Oh, see if you can't get us an Osprey in there somewhere," Sean added.
"What do you want one of those for?"
Sean blushed. "Umm, sort of a gift for Daelyn."
Steve laughed. "Sure, why not? Now, Chad, you start."
#
Sean walked into the Oval Office with Steve and Tisha. He was in his human form today. Steve had told him it was easier to ramp up to menacing when you started off as human than if you started off as an eight-foot tall lion.
"Sean!" the president said, coming over and shaking hands. "It's good to see you again. I have to say, you sure have been a busy young man from the reports I've been getting."
"Thank you, Mr. President," Sean said with a smile. "And as any of your generals will surely tell you, running a war is a demanding occupation. At least they won't be coming back."
"So what's this I hear about you destroying another town?" the president asked, looking concerned.
"We were out reconnoitering the djevel advance into the mountains, which we've been trying to turn back before they can make it to any of the cities on the west coast. Someone or some thing attacked our aircraft with conventional weapons, causing us to crash, and, well…" Sean tried not to look embarrassed. "Two of my wives were in that aircraft with me, so I put an end to the threat, as well as the djevels, the only way I had available at the time.
"I'm sure you remember those conversations about denying the djevels 'food' and saving the souls of those about to be eaten, Mr. President?"
"Yes, Sean, I do. I also saw the pictures of the crash. Your wives are okay, I hope?"
"Cali broke her foot and lost a fair deal of blood. Daelyn was just beat up a bit, but they'll both recover. Unfortunately the pilot and copilot, as well as a member of my security detail, were killed."
"The reports from the surviving crewmen claimed your injuries were quite severe," said a general Sean didn't recognize, but whose nametag read 'Wallace'. "Yet now you look fine."
"I've always been a fast healer," Sean quipped with a smile.
The president laughed and waved Sean, Steve, and Tisha over to seats. Sean paused to shake hands with those he recognized. The people here this time were the senior House leaders and the senior Senate members, as well as the chief justice, and all of the president's Cabinet.
"So, Steve told me you were going to address the Summit this afternoon, but that you wanted to see all of us first?"
Sean nodded. "That is correct. I have a few things I need to lay before all of you, and I'm not sure any of you are going to like it. To be honest, I don't like it either, but it has to do with the situation we find ourselves in at this point in the war."
"Just to clarify things," Phil Dirks, the Senate Majority leader, interrupted. "Those gateways are closed for good? There is no possibility of those 'djevels' ever coming back?"
Sean nodded. "That is correct, Senator. They will never be able to open another gateway to any planet or realm."
"And you're positive of this?"
Sean smiled. "Very."
"How were you able to manage that?" Janet Kirby, the Speaker of the House, asked next.
"Through the proper application of science, technology, overwhelming force, and because," Sean winked, "we're gods."
"Hell," she grumbled, "I don't care if you're a Republican as long as those things are gone for good."
"And that's why I'm here," Sean said, getting the meeting back on track. "While the gateways will never reopen, they still managed to move a lot of djevels through them. We have approximately a million here in the western United States, over a hundred thousand in Europe, and probably a half million in South America."
"That many?" a congressman Sean didn't recognize said.
Sean nodded. "The last time we had a major incursion, by the time the gateways closed—they hadn't left as many behind, but there weren't that many humans for them to eat— it still took about a hundred years to hunt them all down."
"And that's why you're here today, right?" the president asked.
Sean nodded and held out his hand to Tisha, who handed him an updated version of the map they'd been going over last night.
Spreading it out on the coffee table in the middle of the room, Sean began.
"As you can see, this is the boundary of the majority of the djevels that are here. Right now they're concentrated."
"That covers five states!" Janet Kirby said.
"
Yes, it does," Sean agreed. "And if we don't get it under control soon, it'll cover several more. I've been working on deployments and restructuring my armies into a new force structure to contain the djevels. It won't get all of them, unfortunately, but it'll be a lot easier to track down and kill the ones outside this area if the ones inside can't easily join them.
"That's phase one, we contain these, and also train and deploy units around the country to deal with any djevels that managed to escape before we set up containment."
"How long will containment take?" General Wallace asked.
" I'm hoping we can get the initial borders defined within a month. But we're going to have to build forts along the border to take care of and support those troops. I'm also going to see what help we can get from the magic users to track any djevels that come near the border or try to breech it.
"How long that takes," Sean said looking around the room, "depends on how much help I receive from the government. Understand, all of you, I am doing this regardless of whether or not I get any help. This is the task that has been set before me by the head of the lions, and I will do whatever it takes to complete it.
"However, I grew up here. No matter what I am now, I was once an American, and I have very strong ties to this place and to this country. I want to do everything I can to protect our citizens. So I'm going to need a strong commitment from all of you so we can get this going as quickly as possible, so we can save as many lives as possible."
"What's the plan for after this 'containment' is complete, Sean?" the president asked.
"We kill them, of course. I won't lie to you; it's probably going to take a hundred years to get them all, maybe two."
"A hundred years?" Phil Dirks said, sounding shocked.
Sean nodded. "Yes, I'll have my work cut out for me. Part of the problem is they'll have started breeding, and we'll need to make sure we get all their eggs…"
"Excuse me," Dirks interrupted. "What do you mean by 'your work'?"
"Like I said before, Senator. This is my job. I'll be working at it until it's complete. Not just here mind you, but everywhere."
"But who takes over when you die?"
"I won't die, Senator. I'm immortal now."
"What?"
Sean noticed there were a lot of unbelieving faces in the room.
"That whole god thing isn't a joke. I know it sounds like one, and it's hard to believe, but I'm no longer human. I'm a lion. I know you all saw what the First did when we destroyed Reno?"
Sean saw a lot of heads slowly nod.
"Well, that's who made me. I may not have his level of experience, but I can assure you I have his level of powers."
Sean couldn't help but notice the disbelieving looks on more than one face when he said that. But he didn't care. They'd learn. Eventually.
"Now, getting back to the matter at hand…the length of this whole thing, and the need for their to be a central figure in charge. means I need a central military district, one in which Martial Law exists, so I can deal with this problem until such time as it's gone away."
"Hold one a moment," the chief justice said, raising a hand. "You want us to create a country inside our country? One where you rule, and regular law no longer holds sway?"
Sean sighed and nodded. "And now you see my problem. No offense, but this is going to happen one way or the other, no matter what. I have to kill those djevels. But I want to do this in a way that everyone here is okay with, that meets the law. Steve?"
"Thanks, Sean," Steve said with a smile. "Now, the ability to create a special zone, like say a 'nation' inside our country, already exists; we've done it for Indian tribes in the past, right? The problem is, as a country, as a society, we don't like having military commanders in charge, not for anything more than a short emergency at the most. It goes against all that we are, right?"
Everyone nodded.
"So, we create a temporary special defense zone, one with a civilian governor. One appointed by the president, but who can be impeached by Congress if problems arise. It'd be a ten-year appointment, to bring stability, but to also keep it from becoming a lifetime sinecure for someone."
"But how do we guarantee this 'temporary zone' doesn't become permanent?" Janet Kirby asked.
"There will be constant oversight by the Pentagon to insure progress is being made. As each zone is 'cleared', borders will be moved inwards so we can shrink the size of the zone as time goes forward."
"Also," Sean spoke up, "while I will maintain military command inside the area, the appointed governor will be entitled to regular reports from me, and will have input to my operations. They'll handle the budget for all civilian agencies, coordinate between me and the government, and oversee my actions to make sure I'm not straying outside my mandate to eradicate the djevels. They'll also make sure the rights of any citizens caught up in this are protected.
"And best of all," Sean smiled winningly, "I promise not to kill him."
There were a couple of nervous laughs around the table at that.
"Do you have this proposal written up?" the president asked.
Steve nodded, and Tisha handed him a stack of paper. "I have printed copies for everyone here. I've also included a memory stick with a copy for each of you."
"Understand," Sean said, looking around the room, "I want this agreed to today. I know that's asking a lot from all of you, but I don't want this to be a political issue for either side. It's short, fairly clear, and I'm going to be handing the same thing to the European leaders after lunch today.
"If you find something that has to be written a different way, or a better way, that's fine. You've got the finest legal minds on hand. I see no reason why we can't get this done quickly so we can move forward."
"But all those people you're going to have to move!" Senator Conway spoke up. "What about them, Sean?"
"Senator, if those people aren't already gone, they're probably dead. I promise to do everything I can to get them out of there. I don't like it any more than you do, but right now my biggest concern is the size of that area outlined on the map getting any bigger."
Sean looked around the room. "A week ago we were worried about how much of this country we were going to lose, and worrying we might just lose all of it. Now we see what we've lost, and I have every intention of getting it back! You've passed the president's declaration of war; well, that's where the war is now."
Sean sat back then and let Steve handle it as he started 'horse-trading'. Steve had told Chad and him there was no way they'd agree to pass this on the same day, but they needed to ask so they had a starting point to argue from.
Over the next three hours, they went through the entire document. Changes were suggested, and Sean agreed with most of them. When he didn't agree with one, he gave a reason why he wouldn't, and they either suggested a change he could agree with, or after a brief discussion, they dropped it all together.
When they finally finished, the chief of staff had a new version printed out, and all the memory sticks were updated. They also printed out updated versions for the Summit members so Sean could distribute them later.
"That went better than I'd hoped," Steve told them as they sat down to eat some lunch before heading to the Summit meeting. The meeting was catered, but the president had offered them the services of the Navy mess hall in the west wing, and Sean would much rather sit in a cafeteria with the rank and file workers than eat with a bunch of politicians.
"It's going to take them a week to vote on it," Sean replied with a slight growl in his voice.
"Yup, a week!" Steve grinned. "And they promised it would pass in the format we all agreed to! They just gotta get everyone in line."
"At least Europe will be easier," Tisha said with a grin.
"We hope," Sean said.
"Oh, come on, Steve's got this, and you know it!" Tisha said with a chuckle.
"Already swayed to the dark side I see." Sean sighed. "This is why I didn't make you a lion, then you wouldn't be al
lowed to rule the world, Steve."
"Eh, it wouldn't have been much of a challenge then."
" I'd ask your plans for the Summit, but I'd rather be surprised. Who do you think they'll appoint for governor once they get that document signed off as law?"
"Me, of course," Steve said, grinning. "That's why I wanted ten years, and not something longer. When my term is done, I'll have so much good press I'll be a shoo-in for the next Nevada Senate seat. I'll do six there, and I'll launch my presidential bid as that draws to a close."
"You know there are going to be a lot of problems in the first few years, Steve. Are you sure you want the job? You're gonna get a lot of heat from that."
Steve laughed. "This is why I'm in charge of politics. That bad press, those incidents, are going to get me exposure. By the time we hit year five, everything is going to be happy and wonderful, incidents will be decreasing, and people will start to see that I took on a hard job and delivered! Oh, I'm gonna be hella popular!"
Sean rolled his eyes. "This means you're going to be riding my ass worse than the First ever did, doesn't it?"
"Oh, please. You'll do it because you don't want to let me down, and you like winning just as much as I do."
Sean shrugged; Steve had a point. Now that he knew the plan, he'd do what he could to help push Steve over the top. That's what you did for your best bud, after all.
The food came, and they ate fairly quickly. Steve had penned them in for one-thirty, and Sean didn't like the idea of being late, even if most politicians were famous for making people wait.
Thankfully the Marriott where the Summit was being held was only a short distance from the White House. All the streets in the area appeared to have been cleared, as there was no traffic at all on the road. Sean was surprised by the security detail Steve had laid on.
"What's with the security?"
"Oh, you're a visiting head of state, so you're required to have one. Just like all the rest of the heads of state here."
"I am?"
"If you want people to take you seriously, you are!" Steve laughed. "Only two of these are ours," Steve said, motioning to Sean's security detail. "The rest are Secret Service people Kensington loaned us. Of course they're providing security for the whole event, so I'm not surprised."