The High Frontier by Stuart Slade

Author:Stuart Slade [Slade, Stuart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, science fiction, Alternate history, War & Military
ISBN: 9781939335173
Google: DKyNBQAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1939335132
Publisher: Lulu.com
Published: 2013-04-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six - In Space

The Oval Office, Washington DC

When people come to the Oval Office, Naamah thought, they react one of three ways. The veterans were impressed by the power that it represented, but were also aware of the democratic constraints on that power. They were impressed, but comfortable. The leader of the five-member delegation was one of those. He caught Naamah’s eye and gave her a slightly over-familiar smile of greeting. One not intended for her, but meant to show the other members of the delegation that he knew these powerful people. Naamah privately named him “The Louse.” She returned the smile and briefly considered the merits of poisoning him, then decided it would be too much effort.

The other four were the interesting ones; visitors who had never been here before. Most first-time visitors to the Oval Office were awed, impressed and overwhelmed by the surroundings and the fact they were meeting the President. A small percentage, perhaps one in ten, went the other way. They deliberately dressed down, behaved casually and unceremoniously, trying over-hard to make it clear they weren’t impressed or taken in by the trappings of political power. One in ten, Naamah thought. With four newbies here, that meant we have a fifty-fifty chance of getting away without one of the latter group. She looked the visitors over. No such luck.

The nearest one to her was a young woman. Naamah sized her up. Young, unmarried, her PhD still new; probably only recently on the University staff and overawed by the sheer thought of visiting the President. She’d probably spent most of a month’s salary on the new dress she was wearing and was now worried that it wasn’t suitable.

As a matter of fact, it was almost perfect for the occasion. From a good Italian designer, a Rome fashion; elegant enough to be attractive, but businesslike, not ostentatious or showy. But the woman didn’t have the self-confidence to realize that she’d made a good choice. “The Mouse,” Naamah thought. She caught her eye, unobtrusively looked over the outfit and gave a little nod of approval. “The Mouse” relaxed. The strain lines around her eyes vanished.

The man sitting next to her was another youngster. A bit older, but still obviously junior. He had a new suit on; shirt and tie to match. A little bit too much to match, Naamah thought. The color coordination wasn’t quite right. Newly married, she thought, and his wife had “helped” him pick the clothes but they hadn’t been married long enough for her to get it quite right. No matter. She’d done her best for her husband and that was what counted. Naamah named him “Mister Wonderful” and moved on.

The other side of “The Louse” was another man; obviously, the one “The Louse” used as his deputy and gofer. Naamah was prepared to bet a month’s income, of which her salary as Executive Assistant to the President was only a small part, that “The Louse” treated him with friendship and consideration in public and then subjected him to merciless bullying and denigration in private.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.