Crickets by William C. Dietz

Author:William C. Dietz [C. Dietz, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

***

Washington D.C.

President Vanessa Seton awoke the way she always did. Alone in a big bed. She stared at the ceiling. There had been relationships, three of them over the years, but none proved to be more than affairs. And, as president, dating was next to impossible.

Add to that the fact that she was an only child, her father had passed away two years earlier, and her mother wasn’t able to travel—Seton felt isolated.

Sometimes she wandered from room-to-room. The presidential living quarters consisted of a kitchen, a dining room, five bedrooms including the master, a dressing room, a living room, the West Sitting Hall which Seton didn’t sit in, the East Sitting Hall which she didn’t sit in either, the treaty room, and yes, the Yellow Oval Room where, if Seton chose to, she could hold a reception for a visiting head of state. Except that, other heads of state were staying home, trying to prevent their countries from being overrun.

Maybe I should get a dog, Seton thought. No. Like men, dogs require a lot of maintenance.

But lonely though Seton’s private life was, there were perks, like eating her breakfast with a computer. While Seton ate, she surfed the major news sites to get a feel for how stories were being pitched that day, and for what Seton thought of as tidbits. Meaning items that might, or might not, be considered important enough for inclusion in the PDP (President’s Daily Brief).

One such item was a story about Jericho, Nebraska, a food convoy, and the Prax nymphs living in an underground storage vault. She made a note: “Have Roy take a look. Local heroes? Tie to Blake?”

Then it was time to get dressed, thank the maid who tended to the kitchen, and head downstairs. A busy day lay ahead. It would start with the briefing, followed by a get-together with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, lunch with the Speaker, and the weekly gathering in the situation room.

Woodhouse would be there, as would a team of US Marshals, who had orders to arrest the vice president on charges of sedition. Did that amount to political theatre? Hell yes, it did. But that was necessary sometimes.

The prospect of what was sure to be an ugly confrontation made Seton feel queasy. She was in for a long day.

The briefing didn’t deliver anything new other than a quick mention of the incident in Jericho, Nebraska. Seton asked Jenkins to follow up with commendations for the truck drivers, the mayor, and the school teacher.

Then it was on to the meet and greet with the police chiefs—all of whom complained about the difficulties involved fighting the Prax and the criminals who were determined to exploit the situation. The chiefs wanted more funding and plenty of it.

Seton promised to discuss their needs with the Speaker, did her best to boost morale, and posed for photos.

Lunch with the Speaker went well, or as well as it could, considering that the leader had a slim three vote majority to work with.

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