Richard Stephenson - Collapse

The president had prepared for this; he knew the destruction in Texas would be as it had been in Florida. He struggled every minute of every day with the decision he had made. Malcolm stubbed out his cigarette and spoke. “I have sacrificed a great many American lives to stop The Great Empire of Iran. When this is all over, I will have to figure out a way to live with the decisions I have made. I will certainly have to answer to God for bringing so many innocent people to His gates. If we are successful in stopping the Empire, we will have saved the world from complete destruction.” The president stopped, and a look of complete shame and remorse erased every shred of proof that he had any confidence in what he had done. “Even if we do manage to save the world, I will never be able to reconcile the horrible things for which I am solely responsible. I am presiding over the destruction of our nation; that much is painfully clear. My only hope is that my successors will be able to pick up the pieces and repair the damage left in my wake.”

President Malcolm Powers turned his chair away from his guests and faced the window. No one in the room spoke a word. They simply sat in the painful silence, astonished over the sequence of events that brought such anguish to their friend and beloved president.

“I’d like to be alone.”

Everyone quietly exited the room. Chief of Staff Reid lingered by the door, waiting for her boss to tell her to remain behind. He did not. She walked down the hall toward the living room and saw her colleagues gathered in a group, clearly talking about the president. As she attempted to join the group, Director Jimenez promptly turned his wheelchair away from her and sped off.

“What was that about?” Stacy questioned Secretary Decker and Admiral Mack.

The two men looked at each other deciding who should speak. “Go ahead and tell her, Chuck.”

“Tell me what?” Stacy looked at Secretary Decker.

“Well, let’s just say that Roberto is very displeased with the president.”

“That’s not really a secret. Roberto has never been one to hide the fact that he hates the president with a passion.”

“Well, yes, that much is obvious to everyone, the president included.”

“It’s more than just that. He’s been saying some pretty crazy things since we left the White House.”

“Like what?”

“Well, he thinks the president is a coward for leaving Washington. He said the president showed the entire world that when the going gets tough, he runs like a frightened child.”

“Oh, come on. That’s ridiculous. D.C. is in the middle of a war zone. If he didn’t leave on his own, the Secret Service would have bound and gagged him and drug him up here to the ranch.”

“That’s just the beginning, Stacy,” Admiral Mack looked back to Secretary Decker, “tell her the best part.”

“Hold on, we’ll get to that. Our crippled spy is of the opinion that we should launch a nuclear strike on the Empire and bring our military home to the shores of Florida and Texas.”

“So, that crazy asshole is in favor of a nuclear holocaust that would most likely destroy mankind? He really thinks we could just turn the Middle East into a parking lot and our problems would just go away? Who’s to say that our own allies wouldn’t turn on us thinking we were trying to take over the world? You think China would let that go unanswered?”

“Well, the director doesn’t see it that way. He thinks the United States should be in control of world affairs. He’s confident that the European Army would back our play.”

“Is he senile? He can’t possibly believe that!”

“He does, I promise you.”

“Wait, there’s something even better than that nonsense? You haven’t gotten to the best part yet, have you?”

The Admiral decided that Charles Decker had done enough talking and wanted to be the one to relay the rest to the Chief of Staff. “Director Jimenez feels Malcolm Powers is unfit for office. He thinks the panic attack we just saw is grounds enough to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. Says his mental state is impairing his judgment. Even tried to bring the First Lady into it.”

Stacy Reid was beside herself with shock. Her eyes were huge orbs in her pallid face and her jaw gaped wide. “The Twenty-Fifth? The panic attack means he isn’t fit to… Wait! Is he actually stupid enough to imply that the First Lady is contagious or something? Her mental health means somehow he’s going to… That son of a bitch! The nerve of him! Jesus!”

“It was all I could do not to tip him out of his wheelchair and kick his ass,” Admiral Mack said, looking down the hall to see if anyone was listening.

Stacy continued to shake her head in disbelief. “Is that asshole up to something? What’s he planning?”

Secretary Decker replied, “I don’t know. He’s been slowly confiding in us to see where we stand. We’ve been playing along, not really agreeing or disagreeing, just listening. He watches the president like a hawk. If either one of us approaches Malcolm, he makes sure to be in the room. He won’t dare say a word around you.”

“I’m one of the few people who speaks one-on-one with the president.”

“Correct.”

“I can’t believe this. Does Malcolm know about any of this?”

“Absolutely not, and we need to keep it that way,” Admiral Mack had a grim look on his face. “The last thing the president needs is to entertain any of this nonsense.”

“He has to know something’s going on. I’ve been wondering this whole time why Roberto hasn’t left. I’m sure Malcolm has been wondering the same thing.”

“You’re probably right. Malcolm knows better than to think Roberto is here to support him.”

“If you gentlemen will excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Of course.”

Stacy walked outside to the back porch overlooking the ranch and sat down on the porch swing. She slowly rocked back and forth, trying to make sense of the CIA director. Was he just a crazy old man or was a larger conspiracy going on? Who on earth would trust the top spy to do anything? Her train of thought was derailed by her smartphone vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out to find a message from Malcolm.

“Come to my office please”

Stacy replied that she was on her way. She quickly walked down the hall to his office, hoping he wasn’t having another panic attack. She knocked on the door and entered when the president replied. Thankfully, Malcolm was not panicked or upset. To the contrary, he was smiling.

“It’s time I let you in on a little secret.”

“What on earth are you doing, Malcolm?”

“What do you think of Jimenez being here?”

“I know we’re thinking the same thing.”

“He’s up to something. He would have left as soon as humanly possible otherwise.”

“Well, since you brought it up, I just found out something that might shed some light on the subject.”

“I’m intrigued.”

“Roberto has been vocal in his disapproval in you.”

“That doesn’t shed light on anything. The man hates me. Tell me something I don’t know.”

“Well, I’m not sure where to begin.”

“Take your time.”

“I guess I’ll just cut to the chase. He wants you out of office.”

“He’s always wanted me out of office. Pretty sure he’s felt the same about the other two presidents he’s served under. Again, tell me something I don’t know.”

“Will you stop interrupting me, please?”

“I’m sorry.”

“As I was saying, he really and truly wants you out of office. He spoke with Bill and Chuck about invoking the Twenty-Fifth.”

Malcolm laughed, “On what grounds?”

“Your mental state. Something about the overwhelming stress causing a nervous breakdown.”