God of War:
Part 5
Lynn Jepsen
I think Niccolo Machiavelli had the right idea. There are times when it
is dangerous to trust your friends, and suicidal to trust your enemies.
We've been guilty of both. I thought the Summit was going to change
things. Senesh had seemed cooperative, and Zeta had acted less militant.
I thought the agreements would last. I thought things would get better. I
should have listened to Josh, who spent the week with their staffs, or
Lisa, who spent the week with their wives. Had I listened to them, I
would have been considerably less optimistic. Fortunately, no one has
said 'I told you so', and no one has mouthed platitudes about hindsight
being 20/20.
I'd rather listen to the pair of them gloat, than watch the parade of
bodies being fished out of the Red Sea. The Embassy called State and
asked if it was completely necessary for the Ambassador to be present.
Apparently, the first time the recovery team brought out part of a body,
he lost his lunch, breakfast, and the previous nights dinner.
I'd rather focus on something else right now, but there's no room for
anything else. Wallace has been in and out all day, and Georgia Trinity
is on her way over from State. They're putting a call through to Zeta in
an hour. I'm supposed to offer an ultimatum. Denounce The Wrath of God
and the attack on the USS Bartlet - the irony is killing CJ - or we will
declare war on the Nation of Palestine. The only problem is State hasn't
exactly ironed out the details related to declaring war on a nation
without a state.
Details.
"Daddy!" Elle's voice booms through the Oval Office, and I let her clamor
up into my lap. Hey Pigtails, what brings you here? "Joe and I were
playing White House, and Momma hurt herself laughing." Okay, but what?
Run that by me again. "We told Momma about playing White House, and she
make this funny face, and then she started laughing so hard she toppled
over and curled up and the floor giggling. You know, like when you tickle
me. Okay, tell me about playing White House. I could use a good chuckle.
*
Josh. He glances up at the sound of my voice, and moves to stand. No,
don't. "Have you heard about the wonderful game of White House?" Yeah.
You? "CJ brought Joe in to tell me about it - after she finished laughing
her ass off. I feel strangely powerful right now." Oh cool it, Josh.
Kindergartners think you're powerful. Don't let it go to your head.
"We heard from Senesh. He's mobilizing the armed forces, effective
immediately." Ah shit. I sink into one of the guest chairs and hold my
head in my hands. Can this possibly get any worse? "They're revoking
their No-First-Use policy." It got worse. Get him on the phone. Now.
"They're working on it. He's sequestered right now with his generals."
Tough. We don't have a first use policy, and right now, I'd be perfectly
happy getting rid of that entire section of the world. Josh raises his
eyebrows then, but he doesn't apologize. I can hear him barking at
Georgia over the phone as I retreat back to my office.
Elle is chasing Brutus around the room, and he obliges her until I walk
in and sit down on the couch. Then he sprawls on the floor under my legs.
Before I have a chance to process that, Elle catapults herself into my
lap. Watch it, Pigtails. I'm not as young as I look. "Momma said we're
planting a tree tonight." Yup. "Is it going in the backyard, 'cause Joe
has lots of trees in his backyard." No, we're going to plant it on the
Mall. "By the pool?" Yeah. "How come?" Well, because someone died, and
sometimes you plant tress to remember then by. She takes that at face
value, and snuggles against my chest, sticking her thumb in her mouth.
I holler for Margaret, and when she appears, I ask her to bring over the
briefs on my blotter. She hauls over the stack, and balances them beside
me on the couch. Why Elle naps, I try to get a handle on the current
situation. I can't quite match up what I know with the tension out there.
There's something going on, there's some underlying thing out there, and
I don't know what it is.
God of War: Part 6
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