On the twenty-first of February, Jordan Harwell rose earlier than usual from a typically restless sleep. Although a vast majority of the nation would enjoy that Monday off for the Presidents’ Day holiday, and with it a respite from their particular rigors of either work or school, he would not be one of them. However beyond the normal duties associated with everyday life of his elected office, there was a bright side for the President to look forward to. He, as many of those who had preceded him, would honor the holiday which celebrated the birthdays of both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

As usual there were many worries and the problematic variables within each to ponder as the President made his way toward the oval office, but some of those issues could, at least temporarily, be pushed aside. During the previous week new information, which could be deemed as both positive and negative in nature, had been brought to his attention. While those reports added to the ever growing list of concerns for the President, he had focused his attention throughout the weekend on the positive aspects of them. Submitted by Heath and the Secretary of Defense on Friday evening, they news they brought forth proved that the established surveillance on number eleven and twenty-nine was paying dividends.

Per the stated hypothesis of Heath, tracking the movements of their respective vehicles had uncovered the location of a secretive lair within an old warehouse district. The discovery had taken place a few weeks into the past, and came their way in considerably less time than either the Secretary or Agent Bishop hoped that it would. Both were surprised at how easy it was to track the various movements of two numbered operatives, as well as the lackluster measures of security that each exhibited throughout the process. Perhaps their practices would be indicative of certain others within the organization, if as a whole they had become overconfident in their accomplishments. Unfortunately only time and further investigation could either validate or disprove such a theory.

Within hours after their supposedly clandestine twenty minute meeting, where number eleven was observed from a distance making three separate calls on his cellphone, a series of tiny motion sensors, cameras, and listening devices were installed at various locations in and around the warehouse. The motion sensors were designed to ignore something as small as a stray cat, dog, or other animal that might be cruising about in quest of food or shelter, but they would pick up something the size of a human along with any type of transportation which might be used by them. Large movements such as those would instantly trigger the cameras and forward the transmission to an observation post set up by the Secretary for his team. If the occurrence warranted further scrutiny, then the powerful microphones would be switched on as well. Those microphones could pick up nearly any sound, and once the recordings were filtered through a computer to wash out unwanted background noise, the hope was that some tangible evidence would be revealed.

That hope had come to fruition within a few days, as number eleven and twenty-nine met once again. Various camera angles were able to capture visual images of the cellphone screen as number eleven hit the speed dial function. As a result, zoomed in images were printed to reveal the complete area code and phone numbers for each of the three calls. The voice recordings from the planted microphones also revealed that Ambassador Pearson first dialed and spoke with a woman who had the designation of number twenty-three. Their conversation centered on the need for her to contact and forward information to various other numbered operatives within the organization. That call was followed by an in-depth conversation to a man known as number three, with the last call being to a man who he addressed as number two. Kristen had informed Heath during her lengthy confessions about the existence of number twenty-three, but had not been able to provide a name to go with the moniker. However she had provided him with the identities of the two men, but until receiving this latest intelligence, Heath had been unable to establish a solid connection between them and the Washington D.C. operatives. When the covertly gained intelligence involving contact with other ranking members of the organization had been established, and their respective cellphone numbers obtained, Heath realized that another portion of what Kristen detailed could be accurate.

Subsequent meetings and calls from the warehouse by number eleven and twenty-nine were made on random occasions throughout the ensuing days and weeks, with the scraps of information obtained from them giving Heath even more to work with. The sporadic joint briefings that he and the Secretary of Defense had given the President on the matter were increasing in regularity since the surveillance equipment was installed, so during the latter stages of that four week timeframe, the President ordered that they along with Christopher Westin would meet with him every Friday evening and Monday morning. As a result, small and digestible amounts of information could be discussed with ample time between the meetings to review what they could represent from multiple angles.

As he silently walked along the exterior patio of the west wing and approached the oval office, President Harwell shifted his focus slightly to a relatable topic. The Secretary of State had forwarded some information obtained during his most recent meeting with Ambassador Pearson which stated in clearly defined terms of a new regulation that Texas intended to employ as of April first. That firm decree involving a mandatory tariff had been presented by the Ambassador only a week prior to the current date, and minutes after the conclusion of that meeting, the Secretary contacted the President with news of it.

The intent of Texas seemed questionable to both of them, and based upon the friendly and neighborly relationship which had been carefully nurtured throughout the previous year, the President and the Secretary wondered why Texas would want to move forward with such a strategy. Although it was undeniable that most neighboring nations throughout the globe were bound to have some form of friction develop from time to time, many of those instances could be worked out peacefully if civility took center stage. In this case however, having Texas employ a tariff for passage through their republic could create unnecessary strain upon their relationship with the United States.

Such a viewpoint from the Secretary of State may have been understandable when the news was first received, and the President had played along as if he knew nothing. However the Secretary was unaware that the President possessed additional unshared information. With the altered identity of Ambassador Pearson and his numerous contacts with separate operatives in Texas being part of the equation, President Harwell was able to further reflect upon the meaning behind the tariff. He soon came to an understanding that he needed to reevaluate where he stood on several matters, and as an exterior door to his office was opened by a member of the Secret Service, a two-part question occurred to the President. To what lengths of deceit had the Ambassador gone throughout his various manipulations of the past, and to what end were he and those whom he reported to prepared to continue their potentially misleading intentions of the future?

Moving through the door, the President noticed that Mrs. Dawson was already waiting for him near the desk. She held a few files for him to look over in one hand, but first presented him with a cup of hot coffee from the other.

After savoring the first sip, he said, “Thank you Mrs. Dawson, and good morning. You’re in earlier than usual, is everything alright?”

“Yes sir. But your schedule for the day is quite busy, so I thought you might need me.”

“Well I appreciate the foresight and the coffee. So what’s on the docket?”

“Sir you are clear until the eight o’clock meeting with the Secretary of Defense and Agent Bishop. However after that you will have little spare time.”

Looking at his watch, the President realized that he had well over an hour before the scheduled briefing, and although Christopher Westin would be in the oval office long before that, it would probably be another twenty minutes before he came over from his office. Therefore he had some additional time to reach a final decision on a delicate matter which had caused limited sleep of late.

After another sip of coffee, the President stated, “Alright Mrs. Dawson. Keep me on schedule for everything after the eight o’clock, but for now, I need a few minutes alone.”

“Yes Mr. President, I understand. I’ll be at my desk if you need anything.”

During the time which was subsequently afforded him, President Harwell thought about what his next move would be with regard to the Secretary of State. Although on most matters the man was as capable as any other who had served before him, there was just something about him which didn’t instill a level of complete confidence. Perhaps that perception was generalized and unfair, while certainly being influenced by recent discoveries about Ambassador Pearson, but the Secretary did have a reputation of overtly aiming to please his counterparts when it came to dealing with foreign dignitaries. That attribute shouldn’t be considered as faulty for the common man, but the Secretary was not currently in a position which most common men would begin to comprehend. As a result of that character trait, he sometimes gave more than was called for. Unfortunately in many of those situations, which otherwise could have been avoided, some salvaging was required.

It seemed obvious to the President that the Secretary had been exploited by Ambassador Pearson for that very reason, which gave added validity to having kept the Secretary out of the information loop about him until now. The President thought about how the most recent meeting with the Ambassador might have progressed if the Secretary had been aware that he was dealing with an operative who was under surveillance. He doubted that the man could maintain the required emotionless poker face during that meeting, especially when informed of the newly created tariff. Regardless of that personal belief, what could be done to rectify the situation now became the most pressing question for the President.

He reached a final decision on the matter within the next few minutes, and it was one that required no action at all. It would be impossible for him to privately fire the Secretary of State in the current climate, or offer to accept a more dignified resignation. Although that would seemingly apply under most circumstances, it was especially true with the upcoming 2028 election of November. News of either a dismissal or resignation at such a high level would cause endless questions and speculation as to who his replacement could possibly be, while also providing the opposition party with an opening to exploit what they already deemed to be an ever weakening and divided administration. Losing both the Vice President and the Secretary of State, regardless of the reasoning behind it, could validate that belief.

As President Harwell pondered over what the opposition party, not to mention Vice President Sutherland, could gain in terms of possible leverage from the dismissal of the Secretary, it repulsed him. Washington D.C. and the beltway in its very nature was cutthroat enough, so those within it needed no added provocation to pounce on intended prey. The President had no desire to jump headlong into any type of ridiculous self-imposed political quagmire at the present time, and if possible, he hoped to avoid it entirely.

Beyond those factors there was the possibility that a new Secretary of State could alter how other nations of the world would proceed with negotiations over various issues. If Texas were to also change their approach in that manner, then it would probably become more difficult to read and react to the potential end game of the organization.

In conjunction with that belief the President understood what a tremendous job Heath had done during recent weeks to further uncover the treachery. Therefore it would be counterproductive and unthinkable to risk cutting off what could be a limitless supply of future intelligence. Following that course, the President realized that Ambassador Pearson must not, under any circumstances, be frightened or made to be overly cautious with his approaches toward the State Department. If he perceived even the faintest notion that his true identity of number eleven was known, then the Ambassador could recoil.

To help ensure that such a response could not occur, the President decided to keep the Secretary of State in his current capacity for the time being. Then to bolster the implied safety of such a maneuver, the President took it a step further. In spite of the fact that the Secretary would continue to meet with him on a regular basis, it was better that he not be made aware of who Ambassador Pearson really was or what could be in store for him. There was simply too much risk that if questioned, he could disclose certain information which should be left untold. History had proved time and again that ignorance could be bliss, and this was just one more example of that axiom.

The rare short stint of solitude within the oval office was then broken by the arrival of Cristopher Westin, so the President pushed a button to summon Mrs. Dawson. The three of them went over the busy schedule of the day, and what Vice President Sutherland would be responsible for within that framework.

Per the plan of Jordan Harwell the Vice President had been kept busy since the State of the Union address, and that would not change. The actions in service to his current boss provided a necessary presence in various remote regions, but as he was addressing what many deemed to be inconsequential issues, they offered him minimal visibility in the public eye unless the networks put forth an exerted effort to provide coverage. In addition the President had to a marginal degree been able to monitor where and when the Vice President traveled, and he would attempt to continue such a strategy.

That moderate level of control over the man came with two benefits. First he could be sent to places where the opposition party maintained a political stronghold, which meant that he would be unable to gain any significant support for his own initiatives in those areas. Secondly, the Vice President would simultaneously miss out on separate opportunities to gain strength in regions which were known to back his party affiliation.

The strategy was both brilliant and effective, as the President didn’t want to present the impression that the closing comments of ticket unity and conviction to duty during his State of the Union address were simply lip service. Although the appearances of the Vice President would continue to be scripted when possible, it was desirable for the man to remain on the fringes of public view. Therefore Jordan Harwell and his campaign team needed to maintain a diligent and attentive eye on the actions of Vice President Sutherland, and they would do so while remembering the sage wisdom of an age-old adage. The President would keep his friends close, while keeping his enemy closer.