by D J Small
Hasem laughed, and Val and Basara glanced at each other before looking back at the prime minister. As he caught his breath he said, “You sit and speak of peace and unity when your country is the one that created the violence. The Americans fed and financed the greedy and power hungry for what? Their own financial interests, leaving the people of the region to fend for themselves while the leaders your country put into power slaughtered them like animals.” The disgust and hatred on Hasem’s face was not lost on Val, and she knew right then and there he would not be signing the treaty.
“Adnan, that was centuries ago,” Basara started. “We have the opportunity to right these wrongs and help the people of our countries together. You must show you are truly behind the change taking place in the region.”
When Hasem sat there, unmoving, Val drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “Adnan, I know my country’s history with Middle East does not make me the right person to be involved in this, but I agree with the Alliance, and I agree with this treaty. Sign it, and not only do you help your people, but you show the rebels you are not afraid of them.”
Hasem stood and buttoned his suit jacket. “President Hawkins, you are correct. You are not the right person to be involved in this—for several reasons. I have thought about this and have spoken with the president and our advisors, and we all agree that signing this treaty will not be beneficial for Iraq.”
“If you walk away from this table, it will not end well for you or your country,” Basara warned.
Hasem pinned him down with a hard gaze. “Is that a threat?”
Once again, Val intervened. “Do not answer that, Ahmed.” She held Hasem’s gaze. “Is this your decision, Adnan?”
“It is,” he replied and there was a slight edge to his voice. “I’m certain the U.S. has some self-serving interest in it anyway. Why else would you agree to host the treaty talks?”
“Because I would like to see peace in the area,” Val answered honestly.
Hasem huffed in disgust. “Women and their soft-hearted ways.”
Val tried not to glare at the man. She was glad the treaty talks were ending because she wouldn’t have to deal with him any longer, but now she had a bigger problem on her hands.
Rising from her chair, Val said, “It saddens me that this is the end result, but I understand; you’re thinking of your people.” Val stuck out her hand, and Hasem eyed it before he turned and walked away from the table. The rude response made Val chuckle once he had left the Roosevelt Room. “Can Ahmed and I have the room please?”
Her and Basara’s aides left the conference room along with their security teams, and when they were alone, Basara said, “I apologize for his rudeness, Val.”
Val waved off the apology as she moved closer to where he sat. “I’ve heard worse.” She sat down in the chair next to him and said, “What I’m about to ask you is to stay between the two of us. Do you agree, Ahmed?”
“Val, considering what just happened, this does not bode well for me,” Ahmed said with an uncomfortable grimace on his face.
Val nodded. “I know, and I would not ask you this, but I need to know. First, do you agree to keep my question and the following conversation between us?”
“Yes, you have my word.”
Val drew in a deep breath. She didn’t want to put him in this position, but her research had yet to turn up anything, and information about Hasem and Nasir wasn’t getting to her fast enough. She sighed. “Do you believe Omar and Adnan are working with the rebels?”
Basara drew his head back and shook it. “No,” he stated adamantly. “No, I do not believe such a thing. Yes, Adnan is being a stubborn fool, but I wouldn’t believe he would join the enemy because of it.” He let out a short breath and met her gaze. “Their fathers, and even Omar’s grandfather, were staunch supporters of the Alliance and seeing its purpose through. Those two were raised in families who believed in changing the region for the better.”
“Then why are they against this treaty and the Alliance?” Val questioned. “It doesn’t make sense, Ahmed, because you know what this means.”
Basara’s face dropped and he sighed, giving her a solemn nod. “I do.” His eyes met Val’s and he said, “I have to speak with the Alliance first and inform them of what has been done, but we will deliberate and go from there.”
Understanding the difficult task lying before the Alliance, Val nodded, but she also had her own country and people to worry about. “Tell them to not take too long. American soldiers have been taken, and I need to help them. They have the weekend, and if I do not hear anything by Monday morning I will be sending a rescue team.”
“Of course, Val. We want to see the Alliance soldiers rescued as well. I don’t think the others will disagree,” Basara said. “I must go. I have to speak with the other leaders.”
The two of them stood and shared a brief hug. “I will be in California for the weekend, but I hope to hear from you soon.”
“Yes, of course, and safe travels to California,” Basara said as the two of them walked to the conference room door.
They said goodbye to one another, then one of the White House aides escorted Basara and his entourage out while Val exited out the back entrance for the Roosevelt Room, making her way to Addison’s office. As she walked down the corridor, Val thought about the conversation with Basara. He may have believed Hasem and Nasir weren’t capable of joining or helping the rebels, but it still didn’t change her mind. The door to Addison’s office was open, but Val knocked on it when she stood in the doorway. Addison looked up from her paperwork. “How did it go?”
Val pressed her lips together then said, “Let’s go to the Oval.” The two of them left her office and made the short trek to the Oval Office. Val waited until they were inside it to say anything. When they reached Manny’s desk, she said, “No calls for the next hour, Manny, and unless it’s an important matter, make sure we are not interrupted.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She and Addison went into the office, and once the door closed behind them, Val said, “He didn’t sign the treaty.”
“Shit,” Addison exclaimed.
Val sighed. “My sentiments exactly, but there isn’t anything we can do. I asked Ahmed if he believed Omar and Adnan would help the rebels. He wholeheartedly believes they would not.”
“And what do you think?” Addison asked as Val began to make her way to her desk.
Val sat down behind it and stated, “I think outside influences can corrupt a person’s line of thinking, and may cause them to disregard the principles their parents taught them.”
Addison face screwed up with confusion. “I’m lost.”
Val chuckled and explained, “Ahmed said both Omar and Adnan’s families were staunch supporters of the Alliance and fought to have peace in the Middle East, but I also believe that if they were exposed to a perspective different from what they grew up with then it might be remotely possible for them to help the rebels, if not join them.”
Addison shook her head as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Val’s desk. “I know you’re looking for something to explain why they don’t want to sign the treaty and their reluctance to work with the Alliance, but Val, this is going to cause more trouble than you can deal with.” She sighed. “I think you should let the intelligence community handle this.”
Val forced out an indignant breath and remarked, “No, I’m going to handle it. Besides, I’m already too involved because I have a team working on this. I refuse to be two steps behind on something that could have potentially been in front of our faces this whole time.”
“What have you done?”
Val schooled her features and simply stated, “I have done what needs to be done.” She moved the conversation to a new topic. “Have you heard anything different about Congress’s opinion on war?
Addison drew in a deep breath and released. “No. Michelle told me even if the cause was a just one the members of Congress would still be reluctant. It�
��s bringing up questions though.”
“Let them ask their questions because I don’t have any answers.” Val pursed her lips. No one liked war, and she didn’t want to involve the country in one, but if push came to shove, she would, but only after exhausting all her other options first. “Basara will be contacting me on Monday, and I hope to receive some information before I leave for California or while I am there. Hopefully what’s given to me will be enough to avoid war and will only result in a minor conflict.”
Addison leaned forward in her chair and asked, “Madam President, what do you have planned?”
Val stared Addison down and said, “I reached out to a friend for help. How this friend goes about assisting me is not my problem, but I know I’m right, Addison. We can continue to argue this until the topic has been exhausted, but you know I am.”
“Dammit, Val,” Addison exclaimed as she jumped up from the chair.
Val smirked a little. She didn’t like to piss her off, but sometimes it was fun. “Addy, I wouldn’t have done this if I had any doubts, but the feeling in my gut is too strong to ignore.”
Addison ran her hand through her hair and as she sat back down. “I know, I know.” She shook her head. “We’ll talk about something else because thinking about what you’re hiding from me will only piss me off more. The budget and tax bills are still being worked on. Are we close to getting you what you want?” Addison shrugged. “I’m not certain. With the weekend coming up and the summer recess around the corner, it’ll be hard to tell. I will let you know neither the House or the Senate wants to see a government shutdown.”
Val chucked in disbelief as she brought up her email. “I’m amazed by that one. Keep me updated on the progress. I’m sick of these blowhards trying to push an ancient agenda. We need to find out who keeps electing them, because this is ridiculous.”
Addison chuckled, “It truly is.” She snapped her fingers and grinned at Val. “I have three things for you. One is great news, one is not so great, and the other one will put you in a terrible mood. I’m pretty certain the good news won’t even get you out of it.”
Val face scrunched up as she tried to figure out which one she wanted to hear first. “Might as well give me the terrible news first.”
Addison scowled and said, “You were supposed to go with the good news first.” Val rolled her eyes and waved her hand, signaling for Addison to continue. “I received a call from Colonel Hawkins’s office—well, her chief of staff, and she wants to know if the two of you will still be traveling to California together.”
“Colonel Hawkins?” The formality of the situation threw Val. She almost wanted to laugh, but at the same time it saddened her, because it made the distance between her and Summer quite apparent. She sighed. “What’s with the formality?”
Addison, despite her efforts to stifle it, chuckled and said, “I don’t know, Madam President, but Nina was nothing short of professional and only used your title and Summer’s.”
Val’s eyes widened. “She took Nina?” That surprised her more than the formalities did. A streak of jealousy went through Val, but she got a quick hold of it.
“Yes, she took Nina.”
Val exhaled an annoyed breath and shook her head. “She can still travel with us. I have no problem with it.” What she did have a problem with was Summer taking her young assistant, who was clearly infatuated with her. If she ever found out the two of them—Val gave her head another shake, refusing to follow through on that particular line of thinking. For the last two years, she had to hear about Summer’s dalliances, so what was one more? “What was the other news you have for me?”
Addison grimaced, and Val glared at her chief of staff. “What?”
Addison drew in a deep breath. “The Armstrong Foundation would like an endorsement from the White House in regard to them opening an office in D.C.,” she said in a rush.
The request stunned Val. It wasn’t possible it had come from Summer. She had pissed her off, but she remembered how Summer could be when she was told she couldn’t do something. Val hoped the request had come from someone else in the organization. “Did Cassandra or Matt make the request?”
Addison’s sobered up and shook her head. “No, ma’am. This was a direct request from Colonel Hawkins.”
Val clenched her jaw. Of course, Summer would have found some way to do the one thing she had wanted to protect her from. A part of her wanted to call Matt and Cassandra and tell them this wasn’t a good idea, but then things between her and Summer would truly get ugly. Val sighed. Politically, there was no reason for her to say no. The Armstrong Foundation and the White House had an excellent relationship, and had this request come from someone else Val would have given the endorsement with no problem, but the fact it was coming from Summer meant she was taking it personally.
Deciding to make the right choice, Val said, “I have no problem with the White House endorsing the foundation’s move to D.C.” She forced her lips to form a tight smile. “For several generations, the organization and the executive office have had a wonderful relationship, and I refuse to be the first president to disrupt that. If they are moving to D.C., then we will welcome them with open arms.”
“A-are you sure about this?” Addison stammered as a skeptical expression filled her face.
Val was also surprised by her response, but she replied, “Yes, I am. Why create animosity between the two organizations just because I don’t want Summer involved?” She shrugged. “Summer is a private citizen, and no longer my wife—she can do what she wants.” The stunned expression remained on Addison’s face, and Val hated it. “Stop staring at me like I’ve grown three heads. What else did you want to tell me?”
Addison blew out a soft breath and shook her head. “I wanted to let you know there is a group of elementary students touring the house, but you have a meeting with the director of the immigration council in an hour.”
Hearing about the school tour had caused an automatic smile to appear on Val’s face, but it had fallen upon Addison’s reminder about the meeting. She wanted to surprise the kids. “Can we push the meeting back an hour?”
“I don’t see why not,” Addison said with a short laugh. “I will have my assistant reach out to the director’s staff. If not, we can reschedule the meeting for after you return from California.”
Val’s lips turned up for an excited smile as she stood from her office chair. Being able to surprise the kids was the first thing to make her genuinely happy the last couple of days, and she would do anything to take it. She walked around the desk and gave Addison a hug. “You are the best chief of staff ever.”
Addison returned it and chuckled. “I will probably be your only chief of staff.”
“Most likely,” Val said as she let go of her. The two of them headed for the door of the Oval. “Oh, we should surprise them in them in the East Wing,” She suggested with a grin, and Addison chuckled as she shook her head.
~~~
“In closing,” Summer said, but paused to moisten her throat. She had managed to get this far without incident, and she just needed to see it though. After swallowing one more time, she continued. “In closing, our presence in D.C. is vital, not just for the veterans and families I am looking to help, but because we are a prestigious organization, and when we speak, Washington pays attention. I think it’s time to show the politicians in the city that we are serious in making sure the underserved are served to the fullest and that their voices are heard.” Summer gave a slight nod. “Thank you. At this time, we’ll open up for comments and questions.”
As Summer sat down, her dad said, “Your plan is ambitious, Summer, but I question if it is a good move for the foundation.”
Summer directed a hard gaze at the holo-screen her father and mother were on. “Are you telling me you think it’s unwise to help the men and women who serve and protect this country? The very individuals who risk life and limb to make sure you sleep safely at night in your penthouse apartment?” She snorte
d faintly. “This is the wisest decision the foundation could ever make. Being in Washington will ensure these brave men and women have access to the resources they need.”
Matt looked affronted by her response, but Summer ignored him. That’s what he got for questioning her on something she was passionate about. Michael Rogers raised his hand, and Summer pointed at him. “Mike.”
“Why D.C.?” He asked. “Does this have anything to do with the president and your recent stay at the White House?”
Summer glared at him and replied, “As I said, Mike, we are an influential organization. The fact we have no presence in the nation’s capital is beyond asinine, and if you—”
“If I could interrupt,” Howard said from his spot down the long table occupying the conference room they were renting. “Washington, at one point, had been a city of interest when the foundation was looking to expand in 2110, but the decision to settle in Old New York City was made instead. Yes, at its core the purpose of the foundation is to help people in need, but we also participate in the political arena. We need to be in the nation’s capital full-time, not part-time.” A proud smile came to his face. “In fact, the president’s chief of staff called to let me know President Hawkins is excited about the work the foundation wants to do and believes it is about is about time we decided to have a presence in Washington.”
“If the White House is behind all of this…”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Summer muttered to herself. The woman who had started talking, Philomena Russell, was the oldest member on the foundation’s board, and the world’s biggest pain in the ass.
“Shouldn’t they be the ones to take on this little pet project of yours since they have the means and resources for it? This isn’t what the foundation is about. We’re for social causes like homelessness, making sure those who are hungry have food, and other plights which have wrought our country for centuries.” Philomena harrumphed. “Let the government worry about the soldiers.”
