“Mr. Nguyen-Peters,” Mason’s voice said, over the intercom, “the President’s limo is pulling into the driveway.”
Cam’s lips tightened, and he nodded slightly. Heather thought, If I were Cam, I’d be thinking, “There’s about two hundred phones left that work in the whole government, and we have two of them, and Shaunsen can’t call us first?” It seemed of a piece with using the limo; tires survived about a day without peroxide wipedowns, and maybe three days with, yet the Acting President drove everywhere in Washington. He said it was to improve his visibility; to mobs and snipers, I hope.
Well, this is why Cam has his job. With no more than that momentary wince, he stood up, slipped his jacket back on, tightened his tie, and was ready.
Graham Weisbrod looked up and said, “In case we don’t resume soon, are we’re agreed that it’s a priority to get any captured Daybreakers into a secure interview situation with Arnie?”
“Absolutely,” Cameron said. “You’re right that we can’t settle whether Daybreak was a system artifact or a foreign enemy until we can look inside it. Definitely we need to understand Daybreak more than—”
The door flew open. Secret Service and Marine guards moved in, stepping to the side. Then two men in black uniforms with red berets entered, shouting, “Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States!”
So these were the National Unity Guard that Shaunsen had put together from young Democratic Party staffers and members of some community groups; nice muscles and tats, but they sure look slobby standing next to Marines and Secret Service, Heather thought. As far as anyone could tell, it was a patronage job; presidential cheerleaders, mostly job-needing sons of important supporters. Somehow he’d found the time to do that in the middle of the country blowing to hell. Now that’s time management.
The National Unity Guards turned to flank the doorway and clapped rhythmically as Shaunsen came in. Well, at least the routine didn’t finish up with “Yay, go Prez!”
Shaunsen all but bounded into the room. “Sorry I didn’t call in advance but I was already down at this end of town, and I just happened to have an idea I wanted to run by you all. I think we need to create a new Cabinet secretary post—the Department of Information.”
The silence among the little group of men and women would have devastated a man who was paying attention.
“I just saw the hatchet job that little shit Manckiewicz did on the exclusive interview I gave him, and it seems to me that with media down to the Advertiser-Gazette, Radio Blue and Gold, and KP-1, what we have here is a near monopoly that needs some administration and regulation. Rusty Parlotta was a whiny, complaining, out-of-control hippie when I was first in Congress, and she hasn’t improved one bit since. And Manckiewicz is a fucking Republican, you can tell it. Now if there’s one thing we depend on in the present emergency, it’s the flow of accurate government information to—”
“Mr. President,” Cameron said, quietly, with just enough force to stop Shaunsen. “Radio Blue and Gold is a government outlet, the Advertiser-Gazette is printing every announcement we ask them to even though they don’t have the ad revenue to remotely cover the added printing, and KP-1 runs our announcements constantly. And the First Amendment—”
“Of course we’ll have full First Amendment rights for every licensed media outlet,” Shaunsen said, nodding. “You’re right, that’s very important.”
“What I’m saying, sir, is that Constitutionally—”
“That’s what I have a Solicitor General for. He’s figuring out what I can and can’t do, and if I’ve been breaking the rules, he’ll get back to me in a few weeks. Now, here’s the other big issue I’m worried about. I’m getting concerned about how much power the military is accumulating. Over one of your ham radio links just today, the governor of Alabama, can you imagine that, actually asking for Federal troops to take over Birmingham—”
“Satellite photos show a double row of barricades zigzagging across the city, and bodies lying unburied between them, Mr. President. The governor can’t move the Alabama Guard anywhere even if he could call them out. He was probably just hoping that you could give him some options—”
“Oh, the Pentagon would just love to hear that. They’ve always really wanted to run the country—”
“Nonsense, sir.” Cam, Heather, and everyone else in the room turned to stare at Weisbrod. “DoD like being big. They like expensive toys. They like being busy. They want to feel that they’re the most important thing going. They tend to think everyone and everything else is secondary or unnecessary. But as for running the country, they clearly don’t want the job. In that regard, they’re no different from the Department of Education.”
“Or the Department of the Future?” Shaunsen plainly intended that as a shot.
“Well, except we’ve never been big.”
“But your new buddy here”—Shaunsen pointed at Cameron as if he were a bad dog—“is fixing that, isn’t he?”
Cam said, “Sir, the Department of the Future has been exceptionally helpful and done an exemplary job, so yes, I’ve tended to use them. We’ve got a situation that is way too big, right now. Anyone who can help, helps, and like everybody else, where the armed forces have been able to help, they’ve been great but hopelessly inadequate—just like the post office or anyone else in what’s left of the Federal government.”
“You know,” Shaunsen said, “I had the impression that the job of the NCCC is to hand over the White House to the correct President or Acting President, then get out of the way. That’s what Directive 51 says. And it’s a presidential directive; I don’t need Congress, I can issue a new one any time. I wonder if you haven’t been using a lot of your NCCC powers even though now we have an Acting President.”
Cam stood as stiffly as if he’d been given an electric shock. “I assure you, Mr. President, everything I am doing—everything—is in my role as chief of staff to DHS, and with the full authorization and knowledge of Secretary Ferein.”
“Good. Then let me assure you, I have lawyers, and we’ll make sure it all stays Constitutional.” He looked like he was trying to fix Cameron with a stern, warning glare, but Cameron just stood there, not responding at all, and after a moment it was Shaunsen who turned away. “So Cameron, Graham—and the rest of you—give some serious thought to what the responsibilities for our new Secretary of Information ought to be, and what we need to do to de-involve the military in the post-Daybreak emergency.” He turned to go.
Weisbrod said, “Mr. President, may I ask a major favor? I haven’t been able to look in on Roger Pendano since his illness. If you could give me a lift to the White House, we could talk more about your ideas, and I’d have time to pay my old friend a visit, and still walk back here before dark.”
“Well, I’ve got quite a bit of work to do in the car, of course, but I’ll try to make some time to talk.” Shaunsen went out first, to the rhythmic clapping of the National Unity Guard; Graham followed with the Secret Service and Marines, who closed the door behind the party.
“Has anyone told him he’s the Acting President, not the acting emperor?” Heather asked.
Cam winced. “Don’t make my job harder. You know Weisbrod; what do you suppose your boss was up to?”
“Improvising and seeing if he can improve matters, plus he really is worried sick about Pendano.”
“Well, I wish him luck. When he comes back, if you see him before I do, send him to me; I’d like to hear what’s going on in the White House.” He sighed and looked around the room. “For the record, I am acting as the Chief of Staff for the Department of Homeland Security, and I have not—since Acting President Shaunsen took office—exercised any power as NCCC. If in any of your opinions that isn’t true—either now or in the future—tell me at once. In front of others if you feel it’s necessary, and don’t forget to copy KP-1 and the Advertiser-Gazette on that. We are going to come through this process with our Constitution intact, and so far we have bent it less than Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, or Franklin Roosevelt did, and I regret even as much as we’ve had to do. The Constitution stands. End of message, reply not expected, that’s all folks.”