Chapter 36
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC
October 16, 2010
Robert Kinsey and his vice-president Hank Landry were deep in discussion when there was a loud disturbance outside the Oval Office. Both politicians looked towards the door with expressions of annoyance on their faces although Landry’s was mixed with curiosity.
There should not be such a disturbance outside the sanctity of the president’s office, especially with the increased number of secret service and NID agents on duty given the current social unrest.
The wooden panel flew open and uniformed men whose jackets sported the bright yellow letters F.B.I. began filling the room. Kinsey surged to his feet in outrage.
“What is the meaning of this?” Kinsey demanded imperiously, directing his ire at the man in the lead.
Robert Muller, Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, held out his golden badge and meeting the president’s gaze squarely said words that had never been spoke together before: “Mr President, you are under arrest.”
“What?” Kinsey squawked in disbelief.
Muller continued speaking, enumerating the charges being laid against the president before reciting the Miranda warning as he snapped the handcuffs into place around Kinsey’s wrists.
“Call my lawyer Hank,” Kinsey snapped at Landry as he was escorted from the Oval Office.
. . .
Dominic pointed the TV remote at the television screen and muted the night’s replay broadcast of President Kinsey’s arrest as well as multiple individuals of the NID organisation early that morning. Setting the remote down, Dominic curved his arm around Cassie’s shoulders as she curled up against his side on their couch in their Washington home with Boomer on her lap.
“So, how do you feel?” Dominic questioned his wife.
“Relieved,” Cassie answered after a moment of thought about the broadcast. “Both for me and Aunt Sam and anyone else that is a part of the resistance or has connections to it. I don’t know if Aunt Sam will come out of hiding quite so soon—she has Hope after all—but I expect we’ll be seeing more about Alex Colson in the media shortly.”
Dominic acknowledged it was an accurate assessment. He wondered what the charismatic billionaire would have to say about his part in public compared to the carefully worded statements released by Colson Industries following the discovery that it was Colson media satellites that were responsible for the worldwide Veritas broadcast on October 11th.
“And how did you come up with the idea to play the angle that Kinsey was after me because of mom’s SGC history or your current activities?” Cassie inquired while reflectively petting Boomer.
“I can’t take credit for that,” Dominic admitted, “one of the detectives on your case gave me the idea when I was at the station to pick up you up so I just proposed either possibility and let the public run with it.”
Run with it they had. It almost made Kinsey’s expression of outrage while being ushered into a FBI vehicle comical considering the hostile tone towards Kinsey and his administration in newspapers, TV news, online discussion forums, social networking sites, and what people were saying on the streets.
It had only been a matter of time until Kinsey was out of power in some way. But, the arrest and demanded resignation of the president, was leaving a hole in the country’s power structure. That was as much a topic of the news as the president’s arrest was.
“So what do you figure is going to happen now?”
“Well, beyond Kinsey facing trial for the charges laid against him and probably more if they can legally tie him to events of the Alliance—which they will if the ‘anonymous’ informant Officer Walden reports contacted her keeps feeding them.” Dominic was nearly certain that Walden’s informant was Carter considering the timeliness and relevancy of the data being passed to the police. “I think Vice-President Landry will become the acting president—at least until elections are held. I don’t think he’ll stay in power long because of his ties with Kinsey’s administration.”
“A mess,” Cassie summed up. While the resistance brought freedom from Aschen domination, it created quite a turmoil for their government and society and the impact would be felt much longer, and with potentially worse social impact, than Disclosure’s ten years ago.
“A mess,” Dominic agreed. “One we are going to be deal with for decades to come.”
Cassie grunted, “And thanks to the Aschen we’re going to live for all those decades.”
In that at least the Aschen had been truthful, once the full dose of their anti-aging vaccine was delivered a person’s lifespan expectancy was dramatically doubled. And the younger a person was when vaccinated, the greater was the lifespan extension.
Considering the hidden cost, living longer was something that Cassie would gladly do without.
Dominic squeezed the arm around her shoulder comfortingly and after picking up the remote again, turned the TV off. The light of the living room dimmed now that the TV was off and the only illumination in the room was the light streaming in from the streetlights and outside lights.
“Have you been thinking about my suggestion?” Cassie spoke softly in the dimness, her voice hesitant as she nervously kneaded Boomer’s fur.
“Yes,” Dominic answered honestly. “And as much as I want to, Cassie, I don’t think it’s reasonable. Now that no one can have children, I don’t expect orphanages to exist by the end of the year.”
“That’s true for here,” Cassie agreed.
Dominic looked down at her face with puzzlement on his. “You mean you want to try to adopt from some other country? I think it’s going to be the same thing Cassie.”
Cassie shook her head and made a vague gesture towards the ceiling but was careful not to dislodge her lapful of dog. “I mean, out there.”
Dominic stiffened against her side before saying hesitantly. “Cassie, what if…”
“What if it makes people question my background?” Cassie said softly.
“Yes. Cassie, you are already in the centre of so much, I don’t want any more troubles for you.”
“Which you think there will be if it becomes known that I am an alien refugee like a couple hundred others on this planet,” Cassie observed.
“Yes, you told me that before Disclosure the Stargate program modified all the refugee and adoptee files on Earth to make it seem as if they’d been placed off-world and I don’t want them to be ostracised.” Dominic hesitated before adding, “Or any children adopted.”
“But how would it make people question my background?”
“Why else would you ask unless you knew it could be done?” Dominic pointed out.
Cassie did not agree with her husband but would not continue the argument because she knew it would upset him. He was even more sensitive about her safety right now because of the NID actions a few days ago. But, that did not mean she could start dropping hints, anonymously of course, in various online discussions regarding Earth’s population re-population problem—like the recommended financial incentives and tax brakes for those that were fertile to have children—and see what came of it.