PRESIDENT LUCY WINTERS IS IN the Oval Office with a half dozen of her top aides and advisors. She’s leaning against the side of her desk, dumbfounded by Mary Bellamy’s press conference. Winters picks up the remote and mutes the bank of televisions.
“You know, when I ran for president I imagined all sorts of difficult decisions, crises, emergencies. ISIS, climate change, the economy, gun control, the list goes on and on,” Winters says. “I never in my wildest imagination thought I’d be dealing with a state that wants to secede from the union. And a neighboring state to my own, no less.”
Winters is a fifty-six-year-old farmer’s daughter from Minnesota who worked her way up the political pole the old-fashioned way. Volunteering for her local GOP, getting elected to the state legislature, then Congress, then the Senate, and finally the White House, which she won in a landslide after her Democratic opponent, Senator Mike Ortiz of California, was revealed to have been brainwashed while a POW in Iraq. She prides herself on her strength, integrity, fairness, moderation, and commitment to unifying the country. And now this.
“What are my options?” she asks her aides, who are all people she trusts explicitly.
“We could reach out to Bellamy and start negotiations,” Dave Burrows, her chief of staff, says.
“A military response should definitely be on the table,” says General Maria Sanchez, her top military aide.
“I hate the idea of negotiating with a woman who has just thrown down the gauntlet and expressed her disdain for the United States of America,” Winters says. “As for a military response—contrary to what Bellamy may believe, the citizens of North Dakota are still Americans. I can’t imagine going in militarily.”
“Madame President, Bellamy has fired the first shot,” Paul Adams, her chief national security advisor, offers. “She is establishing her own military force. If you let her get away with this, even in the short term, it will embolden copycat movements across the nation. We know they are burgeoning already in South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. I can envision a regional confederation of former states. This must be nipped in the bud. And nipped forcefully.”
“We could do a strategic strike—moving in with a small stealth team—and take Bellamy and her closest aides into custody,” General Sanchez says.
“That would trigger such outrage from her supporters, not only in North Dakota, but across the nation. It would be instant martyrdom. She was elected fair and square,” Winters says.
“She was elected governor of North Dakota, not premier of some quasi-nation. And she may have won fair and square, but her actions today violate federal law,” Elise Manning, the president’s chief counsel, says. “And announcing that pipeline deal with Neal Clark was a piece of work. She’s got cojones, I’ll give her that. The pipeline will certainly provide her vast financial resources with which to fulfill her agenda.”
“General Morrow, of course, should be court-martialed. And will be as soon as this is over. The man has well-documented temperament issues,” Sanchez says.
“Then why did the army put him in charge of Camp Grafton?” the president demands.
“Because it is—or was—a low-risk, low-priority appointment. He’s made some influential friends over the years and this was his reward,” Sanchez explains.
“I need a little time to think about all this,” Winters says. The president prides herself on making considered decisions, and those take time and thought.
“We have to make some sort of statement. The press is clamoring and the nation is waiting,” White House press secretary Josh Holden points out.
Winters stands up and begins to pace. She walks over to a bowl of apples on a sideboard, takes one, polishes it on her sleeve, and puts it back in the bowl.
Then she turns and looks into the expectant faces of her staff. That’s the thing about being president—the buck really does stop with her. She welcomes advice, even—especially—contradictory advice, but in the end it’s her call. And this is the biggest crisis of her presidency. She sits back down at her desk and starts to write on a legal pad. Within five minutes she looks up and says, “How about something like this: ‘Today the newly elected governor of North Dakota, Mary Bellamy, took illegal and provocative actions that threaten the unity, integrity, and future of our nation. We are the United States of America. And we shall remain united. My administration will deal with her actions in a timely and appropriate manner. In the meantime, residents of North Dakota—and indeed the whole country—should be aware that any actions taken in support of Governor Bellamy are also illegal. I urge all Americans to stay calm during this difficult period. We will prevail.’”
“I think it’s strong, and it buys us a little time,” Josh Holden says.
“I think you need a little more big stick. Remember, she has asserted control of Camp Grafton. Her so-called pioneers are going to receive combat training,” General Sanchez says.
“I think there’s a degree of bluster. She has to show her supporters she means business. Bellamy may be soft-spoken, but many of her supporters are loud and angry. They’re going to demand that she make good on her campaign promises,” Chief of Staff Burrows says.
“I don’t think she would actually engage militarily. It would be suicide,” Paul Adams says. “I think we need to concentrate on infiltrating her inner circle. We want to know what their plans are in real time.”
“Good point, Paul. I authorize the immediate use of covert action to gain information on Mary Bellamy’s administration,” Winters says, standing up.
“Okay, people, let’s get this statement out in the next ten minutes,” Holden says. “I’ll take a few questions from the press. I don’t think the president should have a news conference, it will only give Bellamy more oxygen.”
The president’s staff make for the door—then General Sanchez’s military phone rings. She answers, listens, and then hangs up. “Bellamy has just deputized the first thousand soldiers of the Great Army of the Homeland and issued them weapons.”
The room falls silent. Finally, the president says, “She’s escalating.”
She turns to the window and looks out at the Rose Garden—the roses are blooming, but all she sees are the thorns.