The President walked into his private quarters and, at least for a moment, closed the revolution behind him. He saw his wife at her dressing table getting ready for bed and walked up behind her to give her a gentle kiss on the back of her neck.
"Hello little Moonflower," he said softly.
She just sighed and relaxed, happy that there was finally some respite for him from the tumultuous day. Quickly she finished her preparations and got up from her chair.
"Would you like a drink," she said. She wasn't trying to look overtly seductive but she didn't mind if she left that impression. She was an older woman but that can bring great beauty to a woman who has taken care of herself and she had. Her dark black hair was flecked with grey but this made it look all the more appealing and her eyes sparkled blue as brightly as they ever had. She used very little make-up but she needed little and he would have been hard-pressed to say exactly where she put it.
"Not just yet, Moon," he replied. "I need to make a few phone calls."
"You promised you would never bring business in here," she said indignantly in response.
He sighed, exhausted with the day and not wishing to debate. He said nothing and instead picked up the telephone. "Put me through to General Masterson, please."
"Masterson." The General answered in the same way as he had all day.
"I hope I read you correctly when you arrested Haddock. You don't want any hotheads on the job."
"Affirmative."
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yes, Mister President. Shall we review?"
"Give me the highlights and I'll stop you for the fine points."
They spoke for several minutes and finally the President said, "Authorised. Proceed."
He hung up the phone and stared into space for a while before turning to his wife and discovering her eyes were blazing.
"You're going to betray him, aren't you," she demanded, obviously angry.
"Yes."
"You have said you agree with him."
"In fact, I do agree with him. I do not agree with his methods. America will not be run by a mob."
"America was going down the toilet!"
"Yes."
"How can you prefer that to something that is at least a substantive plan of action?"
"I do not prefer that but having done this once there is nothing to stop them from doing it again and it will not be on my watch that two hundred years of history turns into chaos."
"Having done it once they would have no reason to do it again."
"I don't want to argue with you, Moon. I have made my decision and living with it will not be an easy thing."
"Call me Lysistrata." Furious, she walked out of the bedroom, picked up her book and sat in an easy chair to read.
Rather than following her into the living room, he again picked up the telephone and said, "Get me Stiller at the FBI office, please."
In The Refuge there was now a tidy stack of would-be jerseys for the dogs. Those who had finished the quickest had gone out to the kitchen to clean up from the dinner and now everything was finished. Everyone was looking tired but relaxed as they felt an amazing peace.
"It looks like the White House is turning out the lights for the night so now, if you all don't mind, I believe I'd like to have a smoke," said Roger.
"Since when do you smoke," asked Harrison with considerable surprise.
"Ever since the sixties, son."
"You mean ..."
"Sure. It grows great in the hydroponics gardens and there's no chance anyone would ever find it there."
"How is it I've learned more about you in a day than I have learned in some years?"
"Your mother and I have always thought it important to let you choose your own direction. That's why we didn't protest when you chose science rather than becoming a financial analyst to whom we could turn to manage our holdings."
Understanding but still surprised, Harrison turned to the others and asked, "Am I the only virgin in here?"
Goldberg laughed and quickly replied, "That just might be the case, Boss."
Gill said, "Please excuse me as my preference is to go back one more time to look in on the dogs."
"Of course," said Roger.
Hoffman followed Gill but she looked back and winked before they went out of sight.
Campbell didn't say anything but neither he nor Sweeney got up to leave either. Harrison looked at them and saw both were smiling.
"Meanwhile, I'm going to make a command decision and switch the video over to Pink Floyd. Live at Pompeii is a personal favorite and you won't even believe how it goes across the surround sound in here."
"Dad, you are absolutely killing me and I believe I will have to give this stuff a try. How do I do it?"
"Not hard at all, son," said Roger as he got up to retrieve a device from one of the drawers beneath the video monitor.
"This is called a vaporiser and we like it because it is much less harmful to the lungs than traditional smoking."
Roger set up the vaporiser on a table around which the chairs wrapped in a semi-circle and then started pushing some buttons on the controller near where he sat. The lights dimmed and music started to fill the cavern.
"The acoustics in here must be close to perfect. Amazing, there is no hint of an echo," said Goldberg.
"Oh yes. It took quite some time to get everything adjusted for that. The audio system is quite powerful but I don't have to push it that hard to get a quite satisfying presence from the sound."
"I agree," said Goldberg. "It's most impressive."
Roger passed the hose from the vaporiser to Harrison and said, "Draw this into your lungs but don't take too much and don't hold it in for too long. It's quite strong."
And so they went back to the past in Pompeii and on to the future with Pink Floyd.
In Atlanta, Rachel Hawkins announced, "CNN will now go to some previously-recorded news features and the schedule will appear on your screens momentarily. If there is any change to report then we will interrupt that programming immediately. Thank you and good night."
As soon as the red light over the lead camera winked off, Abrams walked over to Hawkins and said, "Is it your preference to go home for the night or to stay over in one of the bedrooms in the staff area?"
"I'm too exhausted to drive but I would have preferred to stay here anyway," she replied.
"You're a great kid. Thank you," said Abrams.
A little indignantly she said, "I'm twenty-eight and hardly a kid!"
"After what you did this day, I've got to agree. Welcome to the big league," said Abrams and he smiled.
Hawkins smiled back and she might have felt flattered if she were not so tired.
Abrams put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Come along and I'll be happy to show you where you can sleep."
"You aren't making a pass, are you," she asked as she got up from her chair.
"Not at all, young lady. You're too young and, besides, I'm gay." He stood there looking at her, wondering how she would react.
She laughed and said, "I guess not then."
"You almost sound disappointed," said Abrams. He really hadn't expected any criticism but he was still happy she hadn't. He motioned and they started walking toward the sleeping quarters.
"Maybe I am a little. You're a good-looking man and you've been taking good care of me." Hawkins spoke as she walked alongside him.
"Women often say what a waste that I'm gay but my partner doesn't think so," said Abrams, laughing.
Hawkins suddenly stopped and said, "Oh, one more thing. I can't exactly go back on the air in these same clothes. What can I do?"
"Don't worry. I'm quite good at estimating women's sizes. I'll pick out something for you and get it sent over for the morning."
"Gay guys have such natural good taste in clothes?"
"Nah, I once worked in a store that sold women's designer garments. They taught me."
They started walking again and she said, "But when will you sleep?"
"I've been working here a long time and sleeping isn't in my job description. Don't you worry. I'll be alright. The biggest problem is explaining to my partner why I'm late again but no doubt he will understand this night."
Continued
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