“THEY’RE GOING TO kill him!” Angus Glass almost yelled it out over his breakfast of pancakes, bacon, hashbrown potatoes and orange juice in the crowded Sebotus Cafeteria.
“Shhhh,” Traci Howe put her index finger to her lips, and then she said very softly, with her eyes looking like giant blue saucers in visual response to the statement of Angus Glass, “Everyone is so jumpy! Cool it. We’re all supposed to be cool. Now—are you sure?”
Angus Glass lowered his voice almost to a whisper. “They’re going to kill him. I know it.” But then the volume of his voice increased. “I just know it.”
“Shhhh! Why? Why would they do that? And who are ‘they’?” She put a fork into the slice of watermelon in her fruit plate.
He lowered the volume of his voice again. “Because they don’t want him to be president.”
“But who are ‘they’? Who doesn’t want him to be president?”
“A lot of the Sebotus. Everyone in Sebotus wants to be president.”
“You think?”
“You bet I do.”
“Do you want to be president, Angus?”
“No. And even if I did, I wouldn’t kill anyone to be president. I saw them bring Secretary Desmond to the hospital last night. He isn’t out of there yet. For all we know, he’s dead. And he’s the President, Traci! Let’s call him what he is. They’re killing President Desmond! They want it to get to the Shadow Government without anyone in the legal succession left alive. I mean we’re talking about the presidency!”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I bet you that—”
Angus Glass was interrupted by an announcement from the familiar anonymous feminine voice on the loudspeakers: “Attention all members of Sebotus. All members please report to the Lucite Room in Building C-A at 10:00 a.m. The doors will close at 10:01. The only staff members who will be admitted are those with a T25 designation marked on their digital badges. Repeat: All Sebotus members please report to the Lucite Room in Building C-A at 10:00 a.m. The doors will close at 10:01. The only staff members who will be admitted are those with a T25 designation marked on their digital badges.”
Traci stared at Angus. “That sounds important. Oh, God, Angus, pray. That sounds important.”
“They’re going to say that Desmond died in surgery. That’s what they’re going to say.”
“How do you know? You’re not telling me how you know, because you don’t know. I just hope they don’t announce that the revolutionaries are on their way here. Be real!” And she felt her nose was running and she quickly wiped above her lips with her napkin. “My nose. I have allergies.”
“Do you have family, Traci?”
“Mom and Dad are in Mexico. They left their home in Texas, in El Paso, and got to Juarez as soon as things started to happen. Most of the Sebotus staffers were able to give their people some warning. Not much, but some and most of them got to a safe place. Are your people okay?”
“My mother is in San Francisco. That’s home. She’s safe there. The revolutionaries will leave San Francisco alone. It’s a sanctuary city.”
“And your father?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even know him. They divorced when I was a kid—a baby—an infant. I never heard from him. I know what they’re going to say at the meeting, Traci. I know. Desmond’s dead. That’s what they’re going to say, but I’ll bet they won’t announce he’s been killed!”
“You’re a member of Sebotus. You’ll be at the meeting and you’ll find out.” Out of nervousness rather than need, her left hand swept back her short cropped blonde hair in repeated gestures.
“Won’t you be there?” Angus asked.
“I’m staff. I’m not T25 staff. I’m just lowly staff.”
“What, exactly do you do every day here?”
“Whatever they tell me. I’m a Utility Girl. Isn’t that what they call a baseball player who does anything? So when the Sebotus members were called I was assigned to Rear Admiral Kaylin. I’m sort of a secretary-—Girl-Friday for him.”
“Is he good? You like him?”
“Oh, he’s fine. He’s a nice man. He wasn’t my first choice but I like him. He’s what you call ‘a gentleman.’ Who was assigned to you?”
“No one. I wasn’t given an assistant or a secretary. No Utility Girl.”
She extended the palms of her hand in mid-air. “Ha!” And then she withdrew her hands and she reached over to touch his arm. “Oh, excuse me.”
“Why do you suppose I didn’t get someone assigned to me?”
Traci raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “I don’t know, Angus. Who knows?”
“Who was your first choice to be assigned to?”
“Eli Jared.”
“Oh, no!”
“What do you mean, ‘oh, no’?”
Angus shrugged. “He’s a grumpy old man.”
“He’s a great old man. And I think his grumpiness is cute. He just tests people. He has fun and you have to have fun when you’re around him. He isn’t sour like so many others around here.”
“Are you saying ‘like me’?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Traci, you’re loony.”
“I’m not loony!”
“Yes, you are. You said he isn’t sour, but he’s as sour as anyone I’ve ever met.”
“You don’t understand anyone older than thirty-five years old. You’re just a big kid. Anyway, I didn’t get assigned to him. Helen did. And she wanted to be assigned to him just like I did.”
“Then both of you are loons.”
“Do you remember what President Wadsworth said about Eli Jared after the Red Sea War?”
“Yeah.”
“What then? What did he say?”
“I don’t know.”
“He said, ‘He has the vision of an eagle that can see to every horizon and spot everything beneath him. He has the scent of a bloodhound that can sniff signs of both danger and peace. His sense of touch is like a manatee; the taste of a butterfly; and he can hear like a dolphin. And with it all he has the sixth sense of a cat. He is an American treasure.’”
“And he has the grumpiness of a dinosaur. And you’re weird remembering all that. Traci, I can’t go along with this. I can’t go along with Sebotus. I should never have accepted being a part of it but I didn’t really get what the whole thing meant. Coming out here by helicopter—being told of a secret shadow government in waiting. I felt, and I still feel that we can’t just establish a secret government like this or we’re no better than an invader, isn’t that right? I mean that’s not acting with principle.”
“It isn’t?”
“You bet it isn’t. I mean, why didn’t we have an emergency government elected? Why didn’t we have one elected before all of this happened? Out in the open. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people. I despise secretiveness in what is supposed to be an open society. We should have elected a stand-by government years ago for an emergency. That would have been the moral way. Out in the open. Why didn’t we do it that way? A stand-by government by free election. That’s my principle. We should all have principles. Officers elected by the people to serve in that stand-by government. Why didn’t we do that?”
“You know why we didn’t?”
“Sure I know why. Because the people would have voted for better people than we have in this building right now.”
“You’re one of them in this building right now.”
“I don’t care.”
“Oh, Angus. You’re such a nice person who is so pitiful.” She surprised herself by being that frank but she wasn’t sorry she said it. “Whether or not they would have voted for better people isn’t the reason they—and you—weren’t elected.”
“Because your head would now be decapitated from your body if your name had been made public in an election. You would have space between your head and your body. I don’t know which of the two pieces would contain your principles, but I think it’s in the middle part of your lower part. And so would every other member of the Sebotus be dead if their names were made public through an election.”
He grunted.
“Don’t you think?”
“There’s got to be a better way with some iota of principle. There has to be a moral way.” And then he added, “I just don’t like what’s being done. And I think your God, Eli Jared, is behind it. He isn’t God, you know.”
“And you’re the smart one, Angus?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“I think you’re jealous. He’s everything you aren’t, Angus Glass. I’m sorry to say that but it’s time you grew up. You know, I have never heard Mr. Jared calling his beliefs ‘his principles.’ I suppose that’s because people who have principles don’t have to say they have them. Why don’t you obey what you so ardently call your principles, Angus Glass? Come on. You can walk out of here. I’ll make sure they open the doors to let you out. Leave your pass behind with me. I’m cleared to receive anyone’s pass.”
Angus Glass shook his head. “Come on, come on, come on. No, I’m not going outside. You know very well that if I left here I’d be killed by the lunatics out there. I’m not crazy.”
“Your morality is becoming very hard to follow.”
He didn’t respond.
“Your morality is walking through a labyrinth. Turn around and walk back where you came in if you can still find all the right openings.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, Angus, you’re not even listening. You like to make grand statements about high-toned philosophies—and you probably believe them, or you think you do—but when it comes right down to it, when it’s a matter of what could be your own life, you’ll be part of the unelected secret emergency government, alright. You’ll be part of it because you would choose to join what you loathe rather than risk your neck.” And she put her straight index finger of her right hand in a horizontal movement across her neck from left to right while she made a gurgling noise from the back of her throat. “You have no principle that supersedes your own life. You better go and get ready, Angus. You better put on a tie. You don’t want to be late and untidy for the Sebotus meeting—or for your jaunt outside—whichever one you choose. Remember I’m always here to accept your pass, and I’ll always be willing to show you to the door. I’m a perfect hostess. I’m a Utility Girl.”
“I don’t need to get ready yet. There’s time.”
“I’m just giving you enough time to be alone so you can decide where you want to be at ten o’clock. Actually you have until 10:01 to be where your principles guide you. You better decide, don’t you think?”
The doors of the Lucite Room didn’t really close at 10:01. It was 10:03 when Matt Desmond came in, braced on Admiral Kaylin’s arm. Everyone in the room stood up, and then the doors were closed. The room was very long and housed a conference table that seated eighteen and was made of transparent Lucite. The entire room was easily as luxurious as any corporation’s board room. Once Matt Desmond and Admiral Kaylin were seated, the other participants sat back down with all chairs at the table filled, eight on each side of the table with one end of the table having its chair occupied by Matt Desmond. The chair at the other end of the table was occupied by a very stately and dignified woman probably in her late 50s, wearing a conservative brown suit with her almost-red hair tied behind her head. Each place at the table had a nameplate, tabletop microphones and a pocket-sized copy of the United States Constitution. Against the walls on both short sides of the room and one of the two long sides of the room, were chairs for other members of Sebotus and also top members of the staff of Sebotus.
The woman at one end of the table stood up again. “I’m Elizabeth Hadley, Secretary of the Surviving Executive Branch of the United States Government. Other than the T25 staffers, all of the rest of you have been appointed by President Wadsworth to be the nation’s Surviving Executive Branch should disaster strike, and disaster has struck.
“First, a word to the staffers,” and she turned her attention to a cluster of those sitting against one of the walls. “Each of you, please pick up some of the small white boxes in my adjoining office before leaving after the meeting. In them are networked digital desk calendars with signaled clocks. It is important they be placed in every occupied office in Sebotus during this emergency since without daylight and night, time passage soon becomes unknown and we should all be conscious of what day it is, what date it is, and what time it is. That data guides us when to sleep, to wake, to eat, and for those who take medications, when to take them. If you need more, see me as we have more. You and all others here in Sebotus may want to take advantage of the Mall for any change of clothes you may need. There is no cost. Simply return them when the emergency is over and you leave.”
She turned her head back to those seated around the table. “Our communications with the outside world have been severely limited, more so than we ever envisioned, but our engineers, led by Ralph Ussery, believe we will have all communications up and running within the day. From our limited communications we can only confirm that the immediate events are not improving. You will receive current details when they are confirmed. The purpose of this meeting is to let you know that the protocols of the Continuity of Operations Plan have been opened.
“As you all know, only one of you at the table, the Secretary of Commerce, is on the list of presidential succession. Other than the Commerce Department, those at the table who worked directly for those in the line of succession will now fill the slots of all those who are on the list of succession but are not present. There are others here who are now Directors of some non-succession agencies and bureaus, some with special responsibilities as directed in advance by President Wadsworth. The only Sebotus staff present are T25, the designated ranking members of the staff.
“Before continuing with the protocols as called for in the Continuity of Operations Plan, I would like to turn the meeting over to Secretary Desmond.”
It was noticed by everyone present that she did not refer to him as President Desmond. He stood up and in a very sad voice, all he said was, “I was born in Bermuda. Hamilton, Bermuda. My parents were British and our whole family came here after I was born. We went to Pennsylvania. Milwaukee, Pennsylvania.” Then he sat down.
Immediately Admiral Kaylin talked into his tabletop microphone. “I’m Rear Admiral Keith Kaylin, United States Navy, member of Sebotus representing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ostan, and I have been with Secretary Desmond since he left D.C. last night. Prior to arrival, he was not well. Shortly after arrival, I brought him to the Sebotus Hospital. He’s going to be just fine, but at present he is under some sedation. It should be known that last night at the hospital when we were gathering all the particulars, we asked Secretary Desmond to let us know his place and date of birth, and he volunteered to us that he was born in Hamilton, Bermuda and that he was naturalized when he was eighteen.”
Elizabeth Hadley nodded. “Thank you, Admiral Kaylin. Unfortunately, as we all know, that means that constitutionally, Secretary Desmond is not in the line of succession As you all know, Bermuda was and remains a British Crown Colony.
“We are saddened that Secretary Desmond will not be able to assume the office of Acting President. He will remain Secretary of Commerce. That leaves the protocols of the Continuity of Government Plan, which in this case contains the advance emergency appointments by President Wadsworth in the naming of the Acting President and, in addition, the naming of all cabinet officers of the Executive Branch and his designated Directors of agencies and bureaus.
“The document, as required, is in the President’s handwriting. He wrote this three weeks after his inauguration with some changes made more recently and initialed by the President. The changes were made due to deaths, retirements, resignations, and even changes of the President’s mind since his original designations.” She picked up the document in front of her and read from it: “Should all officers of the Executive Branch of the United States be detained or otherwise unable to fulfill their duties of office, I hereby nominate the Surviving Executive Branch of the United States (SEBOTUS) as specified in the Continuity of Government (COG) detailed in the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). If appropriate members of the congress are also detained or otherwise unable to fulfill their duties, the nominations for the Surviving Executive Branch of Government are automatically classified as appointments rather than nominees. In the later event of the presence of their superiors, the original pre-emergency appointment will immediately take effect. Those who are named to office in the emergency and retain that office throughout the emergency will serve until the return of constitutional government. During the emergency, their official titles of office will be preceded by the term ‘Acting’ with that term used on all documents. Obviously, if the Speaker of the House and/or the President Pro Tempore is/are accessible, they will take their prescribed place within the line of succession. As designated by me, James Wadsworth, President of the United States of America, those nominees or appointments in the Surviving Executive Branch of Government are as follows . . .”
She read the list one by one in a matter-of-fact tone with those named generally showing no acknowledgment other than a look of solemnity. Rear Admiral Keith Kaylin nodded slowly as he was named Acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. With the sole exception of Angus Glass, they all knew for a long time that should an emergency occur, they could be named to head the area of government in which they were appointed by the president, or they wouldn’t have been asked by him to be part of the Sebotus. Angus Glass, with his mouth open, looked from side to side as different names were read, each time turning his head to stare at the one most recently named. When his own name was read he looked from side to side in quick spurts to see the reactions of the others who didn’t care much who was going to be the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Elizabeth Hadley then gave the oath of office to all of them as a group for which they stood with their right hands raised. She read the oath from her paper, and left only the office of Acting President of the United States and Acting Vice President of the United States to be named. She read further from President Wadsworth’s paper, stating his choice for Acting Vice President of the United States as Leonard Mapes who he had also named as the Acting National Security Advisor. She swore Leonard Mapes in for a second time.
The identity of the Acting President of the United States was no surprise to most of those at the meeting since he was the only one at the table who didn’t currently work for the administration and was still left unassigned.
Elizabeth Hadley read, “Acting President of the United States shall be former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Eli Jared.”
Secretary of Commerce Desmond was one of the few who did not have that one figured out. On the announcement that Eli Jared would be acting president, Secretary Desmond lowered his brows, squinted and looked with anger at Elizabeth Hadley and then with the same expression stared at Eli Jared. Eli Jared stood and took the oath of office.
It all took place quickly, and to the added confusion of Secretary Desmond it was done without any of those present called by the name of Sarah Hughes or Al Thomas or Jack Valenti. And no one took photographs.