‘You can’t do this. Jesus, John. Think about what you’re saying. The gun reforms. We’re this close… This close. And you want to throw it all away because of… something that hasn’t been proved? It’s crazy. There’s no investigation. No federal charges. Nothing.’
‘Teddy, listen to yourself. Morality doesn’t always come into legal documents. Just because there’s nothing official as of yet, it doesn’t mean I should ignore it.’
‘Why the hell not?’
‘Are you for real?’
‘You won’t be the first president to cover up stuff. The word Watergate mean nothing to you?’
Woods threw a piece of gum in his mouth. Missed. And not bothering to pick it up from the floor, he said, ‘For God’s sake, what era are you living in? If I didn’t think you were being serious, you’d be laughable, Teddy. And honestly, using a term which is basically a byword for corruption and scandal is hardly the way to convince me to see things your way.’
‘I shouldn’t have to convince you. The DRC… well, let’s face it. It’s not our business. Here. Now. America’s our business, John. Making a change for the future.’
‘At what cost, Teddy? How many lives have to suffer so we can get what we want?’
‘It’s not about us. It’s about the American people.’
‘Is it? Really? You sure about that?’
‘So you really think the American people would want reforms pushed through on the back of people suffering? Children dying? Don’t you think it’s ironic that our reforms were about saving lives, and now it turns out that to get those reforms we’ll be part of harming others.’
‘Jesus, John. Every day that happens. This is politics for God’s sake.’
Woods kicked one of the highly polished wooden chairs, as was his habit lately. It fell. Knocked into another one. ‘Not the kind of politics I want to be involved in. Tell me something, Teddy. What about the people in the DRC? Who’ll look out for them?’
‘Like I said, it’s not our problem. You need to forget about this and what you think you know and concentrate on what this administration has set out to do.’
Wood’s anger filled the room along with the tears which filled his eyes. ‘Bullshit! I entered politics to help people. And that help doesn’t have boundaries. Borders. Color. Culture or religion. I will not be part of the problem. I refuse to have blood on my hands.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you, John, but that’s exactly what you’re going to have. Because no reforms mean no gun controls… Can’t you just wait? Get the votes then do something if you have to.’
‘Oh come on, that’s not even an option. That’s crazy talk. You think Parker wouldn’t bring us down with him if we did that? You’re not thinking straight.’
‘Me? Me, John? Tell me something, how many presidents have tried and failed to get significant changes when it comes to gun control? You know how difficult it is. And you, John, have the chance to make a difference… Mr. President, I’ve been by your side since the beginning, both politically and as a friend, and throughout that time, I’ve admired and respected everything you’ve done and stood for in equal measure. But today, Mr. President. Today is a very dark day. Not only do you not have my support. You do not have my respect.’
Woods rubbed his face, taken aback by the wave of feeling. He swallowed hard, ignoring the cut of emotion at the back of his throat. Ignoring the tears which rolled down his face. ‘Can’t you see what you’re asking me to do? You’re asking me to let Parker do what he likes. You want me to exchange one lot of lives for another. Well I can’t do it, Teddy… I can’t, and it kills me that I can’t because I know right now… and right now… and right now in this country, children and loved ones are being shot, and I was going to do something about it but that something has just slipped right through my fingers. You know how important these reforms were to me. What was it that Abraham Lincoln said when he spoke about the Emancipation Proclamation? If ever my soul was in an act, it is this act. Well that’s exactly how I feel about the reforms, but I won’t do it by causing someone else’s suffering.’
‘You’ll regret this, John. Emotions are blinding you. And I’ll tell you something else for nothing. I don’t think the rest of the party is going to be too happy with you, do you?’
Woods walked up to Teddy, slowly. ‘I don’t give a damn what anybody thinks. Not you, or them. I won’t be complicit to what Parker is doing, and if that means not getting the votes, that’s the way it’s got to be. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise. How could I look myself in the mirror?’
Teddy scooped up the files from the table. He turned to Woods and said, ‘John, if you wanted to look at yourself in the mirror, you should never have become president.’