The Devlin Deception: Book One of The Devlin Quatrology

by Jake Devlin

  Perflutzed but amused, Jake laughed. “Oh, JJ, you'll never change, will you?”

  “Not in the slightest. I do love me and I do love life.”

  “Truer words were never spoken.”

  “So you gonna invite me to sit or am I gonna have to sashay around here in front of you for the whole damn day?”

  “I'm sorry. Sure, plant your gorgeous ass anywhere you want.”

  JJ picked up the beach chair she'd dropped, flipped it open and slithered into it, threw her arms up in the air, sighed and exclaimed, “Ah, Bonita, I'm back. Feast your eyes!”

  Jake laughed. Lindsay hissed, Justin stifled a chuckle and, behind the scope, Sharon rolled her eyes.

  “You want me to take her out, don't you, Lindsay?”

  “Oh, please do, Sharon, please do.”

  “Sorry, kid; you're on your own.”

  “I could claim she was a threat.”

  “Unless she's got a gun in that bag of hers, that won't fly. She sure doesn't have one in that suit. So just cool it and observe.”

  “Damn.”

  “So can I be in your book, Jake?”

  “I think you already are, JJ. You're an Under-Secretary in the Treasury, in charge of --”

  “No, Jake, no. I don't want to be under any secretary; it's got to be at least a vice-president, and he's got to be phenomenally rich and handsome and have a really, really, really big --”

  “Okay; not an --”

  “-- yacht.”

  “Okay; not an Under-Secretary. I'll make you a Deputy Secretary in Charge of Jewelry.”

  “Oooh, oooh, perfect! I love it. Jewelry! Count me in. And I'm really gorgeous and sexy, right? Lots and lots of sex with the President, maybe?”

  “Nope, there is no President.”

  “What?”

  “There is no President, no Congress, no Supreme Court. My guy fired 'em all and took over.”

  “Well, okay. I'll have lots of sex with him. Is he gorgeous?”

  “Oh, not really; he's kind of a --”

  “Well, shoot, Jake, y'gotta have a good-looking President.”

  “Sorry; he's not.”

  “So have you seen Laura? The cute girl from Houston you introduced me to? Retired from – oh, I forget.”

  “Court reporting. Y'know, I don't think so, not since then. Or maybe I've QH'd it.”

  “You've whatted it?”

  “Oh, sorry; QH – Quarterheimered it, forgot.”

  “How about Joy?”

  “Joy?”

  “Cute, short blonde hair, maybe 30ish, mom named Betty.”

  “Oh, Joy. Right. Yeah, she's around, I think. Saw her maybe a couple weeks ago.”

  “We had such fun cruising around together, blowing guys' minds away.”

  “Just their minds?”

  “Oh, Jake, you raunchy old coot.”

  “Sorry, couldn't help it. I know you too well.”

  “Well, it was mostly their minds. Joy and Laura were sorta chicken.”

  “Oh, you poor thing, stuck with a couple of wallflowers.”

  “I didn't say that, Jake. They were just sorta chicken. I got 'em outa their shells within three days, and they made great wingmen.”

  “Wingwomen, don't you mean?”

  “Oh, Jakey, Jakey. Picky, picky, picky.”

  “Hey, JJ, you know I'm CDO.”

  “CDO?”

  “Yeah, like OCD, but with the letters in the correct alphabetical order.” He emphasized the last three words individually.

  “What's OCD?”

  “Oh, geez, JJ. Obsessive-compulsive disorder.”

  “Oh. Anyhow, we all had a great time. Wish I'd gotten their emails, coulda kept in touch.”

  “Ah, well. If wishes were --”

  “So how's your love life?”

  “Great.”

  “So you got a girlfriend?”

  “A little more than that.”

  “What? You married?”

  “No, no, just really close.”

  “Is she gorgeous?”

  “Yup.”

  “More than me?”

  “Different. I'd give you both a ten.”

  “Not a ten and a half?”

  “Oh, it goes higher? Okay, sure.”

  “Smart?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Slutty?”

  “Now, now, JJ --”

  “Okay, okay. Sexy?”

  “I'd have to give that a yes.”

  “More than me?”

  “Different. But then, with you, I don't really know, do I?”

  “Your loss.”

  “Ah, well.”

  “So where is she?”

  “Ah … Europe somewhere.”

  “What? Europe? Where?”

  “I'm not sure today. She's traveling.”

  “Really? Without you? Oh, you poor dear. Maybe we --”

  “Nah, she's working.”

  “Working? So what does she do?”

  “Uh … security consulting.”

  “Oh. So what else is new down here?”

  “Not much; just the usual placid, calm retirees' paradise.”

  “It is calm, that's f'sure, Shuffleboard and golf. What was that you said, something about the average age?”

  “Oh. Ah, 'Average age, average temperature, same number.'”

  “Right, right.” She laughed. “Hope I can remember that.”

  “Oh, I'm sure you can do whatever you set out to do, JJ.”

  “You are so right, Jakey.

  “Oh, there's Mike. I'm gonna go toy with his emotions for a while. Nice to see you again, Jake. I'll be around. See ya. Hey, Mikey!!!”

  “Have fun, JJ,” Jake said aloud, and after she'd picked up her stuff and sashayed away, he said to himself, “Good luck, Mike,” and then, “Whew.”

  He took several deep breaths, picked up his non-spiral notebook and wrote, “JJ back -- how to use her ?? Laura and --” he rubbed his temple with his pen -- “Joy?” Then he picked up his noodles and foot-washing bag, tucked the bag in his waistband and headed for the water.

  Norm and Janet, on their own noodles in the water and full of curiosity, watched Jake approach and noodled over to intercept and interrogate him.

  Lindsay raged silently as Justin's eyes followed JJ's swaying, flouncing, gorgeous bottom, and Sharon said, only to herself, not over the earbuds, “Well, Jake, you made it through that one. Bravo.”

  -116-

  Friday, March 8, 2013

  11:30 a.m.

  The White House

  Washington, DC

  via a 24-hour news channel

  Gordon Donne, his fringe of hair a good deal thinner and grayer and his gaunt face the grimmest that the nation had yet seen, but still dressed in his casual clothes, glared at the camera from behind his desk in the Oval Office.

  “My fellow citizens, I am now fully recovered and rejuvenated after the collapse from exhaustion that you witnessed in January, and I'm fully capable of continuing to serve the people of the United States to the best of my ability.

  “Today, I have an extremely serious announcement to make.

  “As you may have heard on the news, this morning, at about one a.m. Eastern time, the People's Republic of China, without provocation, began an air assault and ground invasion of India. I have been in communication with both parties and have expressed the United States' outrage at China's behavior and have assured the Prime Minister of India that, up to and including active military involvement, the United States will stand with his country, our ally.

  “Therefore, I have issued several new directives, for immediate implementation. We will have these on the web site __________.gov within half an hour, so everyone can study them.

  “For a brief overview, I have immediately imposed an embargo on the importation of any goods or materials into this country that come, directly or indirectly, from China. Ships currently in our harbors, regardless of their country of registration, that contain or have unlo
aded anything of Chinese origin are immediately sequestered, and no Chinese goods will be allowed into this country. Any ships with manifests showing Chinese goods will not be allowed to dock.

  “Second, all Chinese holdings of US Treasury bonds, notes or bills are hereby sequestered and may not be traded or redeemed, and all interest payments on those instruments have been halted. We have not made a decision as of yet … and I emphasize 'yet' … as to whether we will declare those instruments null and void, worthless; that decision will be made after we have evaluated China's response to our diplomatic efforts. We do have all of the CUSIPs of those instruments, and any attempt by the Chinese government to move, transfer, sell or liquidate any of them in any way will result in my declaring those particular instruments worthless.

  “Third, I have ordered CentPac to bolster our naval and air force presence in the South China Sea and surrounding areas, without reducing our readiness in the rest of the Pacific.

  “Fourth, using our naval and air force presence, I here and now declare a complete embargo on all goods and materials, including oil, from whatever source, going into China.

  “Fifth, I have, effective immediately, frozen all Chinese assets, of whatever nature, in the United States or its possessions.

  “Sixth, an immediate evacuation of all American citizens within China is ordered, including embassy personnel, who will remain until all civilian citizens have been safely evacuated.

  “Seventh, all financial transactions of any form between China and any other party are hereby frozen, including electronic, cash or any other store of value.

  “Eighth, anyone traveling on a Chinese passport is hereby placed on our No-Fly list and is subject to refusal of entry at our borders.

  “Ninth, any … and I emphasize 'any' … actions by China against citizens or any interests of the United States will be considered an act of war against this country and will be dealt with swiftly and with overwhelming force, strategically and carefully targeted.

  “I have summoned the Chinese ambassador to the White House this afternoon and will be laying all of this out in great detail face-to-face in this no-BS, no-ego zone. I will be watching his responses very carefully and using those to inform any additional decisions I make.

  “With that, I wish all of you watching this as good a day as you can possibly have.”

  Once the camera was off, Donne got up from his desk and shambled over to the assembled men and women at and around the couches in the center of the room. He pulled a chair up to them and awkwardly seated himself in it.

  “First, Cody, I know this came on unexpectedly and sooner than we had anticipated, but have you looked into more of the unintended consequences of these decisions?”

  “Yes, I have, but still not all. I will have a full spreadsheet for you by this afternoon, including an analysis of the Chinese ambassador's probable responses, to help inform your discussion with him.”

  “Good, good, Cody.

  “Cissy? Hubris?”

  “No problems, Gordy. Strong, straightforward and clear. Use of 'I' and 'we' was perfectly balanced.”

  “Thanks, Cissy.

  “Eileen? State?”

  “We've been getting lots of cables from our ambassadors all around the world, asking for guidance and giving us reports on local reactions to China's aggression. After what you just told the world, I think they'll all have the guidance they wanted, but I'll deal with the ones that are still concerned or need clarification.”

  “Good, good. Tell them all to be sure to stand strong, stay the course; it's going to get very rocky for a good time. If you need any further info or guidance from me, feel free to ask for it. Rosemary will be happy to help. Good.

  “Grant? CIA?”

  “Our operatives have been and will be reporting as close to real time as they can, and we'll be collating and passing the info along as quickly as we can, as well. This is going to get very hairy very quickly. It's looking like Pakistan and the whole Arab world is going to come into the fray soon, and India may or may not be able to fend them all off.”

  “Good, good, Grant. Keep me posted.

  “Lee, Defense?”

  “CentPac has begun moving much of the Pacific fleet into the South China Sea, and we have gone from DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 3. Do you want the details on the ship movements?”

  “No need, Lee. I just need the macro view for now. If we go to DEFCON 2, then we can get more granular.”

  “Okay, Gordy.”

  “Good, good. Anything else, gang?”

  “I think we're all set,” Eileen said.

  “CIA is okay,” from Grant.

  “Ready,” said the SecDef.

  “Good, good. Everybody, stay alert and keep me posted. I've got your live feeds coming in and I'll stay on top of this. Thank you all.”

  When everyone had left, Rosemary, his new chief of staff, hurried over to Donne and helped him out of the chair and to one of the couches, where he lay down, coughing and wheezing.

  “Thanks, Ro. Could you grab my tablet off the desk, please? I need to see those feeds. And a soda, too.”

  “Sure, Gordy.”

  She brought the tablet and positioned it on the coffee table so that he could see it and handed him the can of soda.

  “Thanks, Ro.” He took a long, big gulp from the can, set it on the table, sighed deeply, lay back and closed his eyes. “Ahhh, much better.”

  “I know this is a bad time, Gor, but you need to get some rest. It's been over two days.”

  “I know, Ro, I know, but I can't afford it now.”

  She put her hand on his forehead and said, “You're burning up, Gordy. I don't think it's all out of your system yet.”

  “It's been two months, Ro; it should be all gone by now, shouldn't it?”

  “She screwed up the dosage, so there was more to start with.”

  “Yeah, you're right; maybe there is some still running around in there.” He patted his stomach, winced and then coughed. “Oops.”

  “Still painful?”

  “Yeah. But it's getting better.”

  “I'll be right back.”

  “Okay.”

  She left for a moment and returned with a damp washcloth, which she gently placed across his forehead and scalp.

  “Oh, that's good, Ro. Thank you.”

  “I don't know why you didn't just stick her in a cold, dark cell somewhere.”

  “She meant well, in her own mind.”

  “I hope she doesn't go after Wes.”

  “No; he'll be fine. She's got no reason to go after him.”

  “He actually likes that stuff?”

  “Yeah. No accounting for taste.”

  “I've never tasted it.”

  “Neither have I, even though I've eaten it … twice.”

  Rosemary chuckled.

  “Sorry; that was kind of a tasteless joke.”

  Rosemary's chuckle turned into a laugh.

  “I am worried about you, Gor.”

  “It'll work its way through, Ro, really.”

  “She's doing okay back at DEI?”

  “That's what Wes tells me. She's in the nutritional R&D division, probably be taking the helm of it in a couple of years.”

  “Happy as a vegan on a bean farm, I hear.”

  “Or as a – ah, crap; I got nothing. You win that round, Ro.“

  They both chuckled. He dug a new hundred-dollar bill out of his shirt pocket and gave it to her.

  “I thank you very much, Gordy.”

  “No problem at all, Ro.”

  “I know.”

  Then the red phone rang.

  -117-

  Six Months Earlier

  Tuesday, July 2, 2012

  12:27 p.m.

  Bonita Beach, Florida

  ”So she poisoned him? That seems pretty extreme.”

  “Right. But she just wanted to scare him a little, get him to think his diet was a problem, so he'd start eating healthier.”

  “Don't you
mean healthilier? Or maybe healthierly?”

  “God, you do have a photographic memory, Pam.”

  “Just part of the package, Jake.”

  “A package I do love.”

  “Me, too – I mean same backatcha.”

  “Geez, you almost sounded like JJ there for a second.”

  “She sounds like a character. I'm looking forward to meeting her.”

  “Well, it should be soon; she said she'd be here this afternoon.”

  “Except for the rhythm, that was maybe a B poem.”

  “What?”

  “You rhymed.”

  “I did? Didn't mean to.”

  “You do that sometimes.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Anyhow, so that takes care of Emily. What about Lindsey's interview? Did that get aired?”

  “Yeah, but I'm sure not gonna try to write that whole thing and expect people to read it. I'll just do a lookback on that somewhere.”

  “Okay; that makes sense.”

  “What do you think about the China war, Pam?”

  “Depends how granular you want to get with that. I mean, that could be a whole book on its own. I think macro is probably better on that.”

  “Like another lookback?”

  “That's how I'd do it. Like you did with the hurricanes.”

  “Oh, right; what were – oh, right. Isaac and Valerie. Yeah, I could do it that way, like stick it in his next State of the Country speech.”

  “Right, like just a quick comment. But how'd you come up with the names Isaac and Valerie?”

  “Looked at the list of 2012 names, and after Debby, last month, I just sorta looked at the calendar and figured maybe we'd get to Isaac by late August and Valerie maybe late October. Didn't want to pin them down to dates or anything, just general, that they happened.”

  “Oh. And have you decided how the China war went?”

  “Not yet; still hmming on that.”

  “Ah.”

  “Heads up, Sharon,” Justin whispered.

  “The bitch is coming,” Lindsay added.

  “I'm ready, kids,” Sharon rasped.

  “Jake Devlin, you sonofabitch!” a strident female voice yelled.