Citizens by John Ringo & Brian M Thomsen

Author:John Ringo & Brian M Thomsen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
ISBN: 1439133476
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 2010-05-01T04:00:00+00:00

They sat awkwardly. Grant coming out from behind his desk to sit near the fire with young Torrey. Drinks, offer of a smoke, all the usual amenities, anything to avoid saying something important, but finally Hapwood had brought their refreshments and the door was closed.

"All right, Allan," John began. "Let's be trite and get it over with. How do you intend to support her?"

Torrey looked straight at him, his eyes dancing with what Grant was sure he recognized as concealed amusement. "I expect to be appointed to the Department of the Interior. I'm a trained engineer."

"Interior?" Grant thought for a second. The answer surprised him, he hadn't thought the boy was just another office seeker. Well, why not? "I suppose it could be arranged."

Torrey grinned. It was an infectious grin, and Grant liked it. "Well, sir, it's already arranged . . . I wasn't asking for a job."

"Oh?" Grant shrugged. "I hadn't heard anything—you'll be Civil Service, then?"

"No, sir, Deputy Assistant Secretary. Natural Resources Control. Environments. I took a Master's in ecology with my engineering degree."

"That's interesting, but I can't recall seeing anything about the appointment . . ."

"It won't be official yet, sir. Not until Mr. Bertram is President. For the moment I'm on his staff." The grin was still there, and it was friendly, not hostile, not mocking. The boy thought politics was a game, wanted to win . . .

He's seen the polls, Grant thought. God knows—Allan Torrey? Just who was he on Bertram's staff? "Give my regards to Mr. Bertram when you see him. What is it you do for him?"

Allan shrugged. "Write speeches, carry the mail, run the Xerox—you've been in campaign headquarters, sir. I'm the guy who gets all the jobs nobody else wants."

Grant laughed. "Yeah. Started that way myself. Only staffer they could afford to use as a gopher, they didn't have to pay me. I soon put a stop to that, though. Hired my own gopher out of what I used to contribute. I guess that's not open to you, is it?"

"No, sir. My father's a taxpayer, but . . . well, paying taxes is pretty tough right now."

"Yes." Well at least he wasn't from a Citizen family. Torrey, now just who the hell . . . he could find out when Flora had the Security report. Important thing now was to get to know this boy.

It was hard to do. Allan was frank, open, more relaxed after Hapwood brought his third drink. Grant was pleased to see that the boy refused a fourth. But there was nothing of substance to talk about. No consciousness of the realities of politics. One of Bertram's child crusaders, out to save the United States from people like John Grant although he was too polite to say so. John could remember when he was that young, wanted to save the world, but then it was so different. Nobody wanted to end the CoDominium then, they were too happy to have the Cold War under control at last.

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