Chapter 28
Charles entered the replica of the Oval Office at eleven in the morning. He found Skip sitting at the President’s desk.
“You look pretty comfortable in the seat of the big boss, Skip. Is this part of the Vice President’s perks? To use his chair when he is not in? Hope it doesn’t cause you a bad impression….”
Skip laughed,
“On the contrary, Charles. Ken wants me to sit here when we meet Congress members like you. He prefers sharing the couch with the guests. He says that makes him easier to empathize with the delegation. He has some delay today, the morning briefing with the Pentagon and the Department of the Environment and Health is taking longer than usual.”
“I see,” Charles replied, “How is he finding life in Kansas? Does he miss Washington, D.C?”
“Kansas somehow reminds him of his native Texas, but he did not want to leave the Capital to avoid being hit by last year’s pest swarms. Let me brief you before he arrives, so we can make the most of his time. We would like to pass through a constitutional amendment to allow him a third mandate in 2049, but we need Congress to support us. You have been the head of the Republican majority for two years, do you think we can bring the Democrats onboard?”
“That’s difficult to say,” Charles replied immediately. “LaHood is winning America’s Second Civil War, so if he shows up again, the Democrats would probably miss out. On the other hand, they risk losing out also against any Republican front-runner, who might be….well, you or I, for example. So it might make sense for them to play the national unity card, share into the victory of LaHood, and hope that he does bad in his third mandate. The only thing is….the sense of national urgency is decreasing, now that we are regaining military control and that the environmental risks are outweighing the political ones. The rebels are losing ground, and secessionist states are joining the Union one way or another, but pests and flu epidemics keep getting more and more serious. You cannot blame the rebels for that. Then there is all this apocalyptic propaganda that is pouring in from Europe and Asia, as if we were responsible for their mess. It is dead clear that no one in this country wants to rent out our space bases to the Russians or the Chinese. That would be the perfect recipe for losing the election.”
The door opened and Ken LaHood entered the room.
“Hello Charles, I beg your pardon, but you do not need to recap. I went through your conversation through the double-speed replay as I walked down the corridor. I understood Charles could bring the Senate minority on our side to pass the amendment, is it?”
“I do not think so, Mr. President,” Charles replied immediately, “as I said, the sense of urgency of the war is kind of fading away and the environmental and health emergency has no immediate culprit, so..”
“It has had no culprit so far, Charles,” Skip chimed in, “at least, according to the information that the CIA and the FBI are collecting points in a different direction.”
“What do you mean?” Charles replied wryly. He had learned to recognize when Skip was about to unveil his plots.
“Just look at this,” Skip handed over a paper document over to Charles, “The file started spreading from rebel-controlled dark websites, but our people in Langley confirmed it is true. It is a bombshell, that’s why we use only the good old printed copies to share it, but sooner or later it will leak out.”
Charles read through the document and stopped at the end.
“Skip, do you really believe this trash? It’s basically blaming the Mossad and the American Jews for deliberately spreading the pandemic, just like the Nazi propaganda of the last century.”
“I would just call it crappy rebel propaganda, but I have more trouble not believing the intelligence reports that to some extent confirm the rebel sources. Let’s face it, Israel has some good reasons to resent our special protection policy for the American Jewish minority, and they were the ones who invented those shitty flies after all. Then they made the deal with Turkey over Cyprus, so that they might feel completely independent from us now, on their fortress island.”
“It’s plainly nonsense, Skip,” Charles erupted, “They are also suffering from the pandemic. They had to evacuate Israel and move most of the population to Cyprus. Here in America, they live like prisoners in their protected neighborhoods. Why would they bother plotting against us? I mean, what would you call for? Open up concentration camps, here in America? Just one last thing, do not even dare think I am telling you this because of Sally.”
“Hang on, Charles,” Ken LaHood waited for him to stop blustering, “let’s go back to square one. The point is all about rebuilding some sense of national urgency to pass the amendment in Congress. This looks good enough, and we will be careful not to target Jews as a whole and even less American Jews, but instead we’ll focus on specific institutions like the Mossad or the Israeli government. We just need a few months of indignation to unite Congress, secure my third mandate, win the war and start rebuilding the country, at last.”
Charles mumbled, then snapped back at Skip, deliberately ignoring the President.
“Then why not just blame any other foreign power like Russia or China?”
“China has never stopped financing us over the last twenty years, throughout our civil war and despite of their own proxy war with Russia,” Ken La Hood replied, trying to grab Charles attention again, “we owe them far more than a pound of flesh.”
“Russia has two problems,” Skip completed, “first, they still have huge nuclear stockpiles so we could blame them up to a certain point. Second, even more importantly, the average American does not really feel they threaten us. We need an enemy from within to reunite the community; credible enough to be a threat, yet weak enough that you can target him without risking too much. Believe me, we will make sure direct damage is kept to a minimum. Rest assured nothing will happen to...”
“This time I am not in, Skip,” Charles replied, without letting Skip finish his sentence, and stood up from the couch, “Mr. President, you will have my resignation as Senate majority speaker tomorrow.”
“Holy shit, Charles, don’t be emotional and sit down!” Skip erupted, “You want to know one last thing? Israel is with us. You think we would embark on such a game without first checking with their new prime minister?”
Charles stopped and sat back, stunned.
“Are you talking about Eyal Podhoretz, the former head of Mossad?”
“Exactly, Eyal,” Ken La Hood confirmed. “He would actually welcome some more immigration from the United States. They need people to consolidate their new homeland in Cyprus, and continue presiding the strongholds in Israel. Over time, the dust will settle down. Just ask Sally, if you do not believe us.”
“Sally has not been passing on information to Mossad for years, you should know that very well, Skip.” Charles hissed.
“Oh, sure we know,” Skip chirped, “but such connections are forever, they may fade a bit, but you can easily rekindle them. Unlike true love….”
Charles stood silent, his eyes moving from Skip to La Hood, who kept his eyes fixed on him.
“I need to think about it,” he finally said, “I’ll let you know in two days.”
He walked away, without bothering to say goodbye.
Ken La Hood waited a few seconds, then asked Skip,
“What do you think he will do?”
Skip looked at his watch and tapped a few commands on the screen.
“He is talking to Sally right now. He is on board. Reluctantly, but on board.”
The Last Enemy - Parts 1,2 & 3 - 1934-2054 Page 74