Home Invasion - J. A. Johnstone [128]
“Some people won’t see it that way. And some of them are pretty powerful.”
“If you’re worried about the President, I think he’s got plenty on his mind right now without plotting vengeance against you.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Ford sighed. “Anyway, I think it’s a foregone conclusion that I won’t be doing any more field work. Not with a bum leg and a cloud over my head. It might be time for me to retire and go into some other line of work.”
“I have openings for police officers,” Alex said. “My son and his friend Rowdy have decided to go to college and major in criminal justice so they can become cops, but it’ll be a while before they’re ready to step in.” She shrugged. “The pay’s not very good, but it’s a nice place to live.”
“You know,” Ford drawled, “that’s not a bad idea.”
Alex looked at him in surprise. She had been halfway joking, but she saw something in Ford’s eyes that told her he wasn’t taking the offer as a joke. Not at all.
And suddenly, deep inside, she was glad.
She rested her hand on his and squeezed, then looked out the window at what she could see of Home. Satellite news trucks were still everywhere, competing for space with the lawyers. Bud and Wilma were stars now and could write their own tickets at any network. Alex still didn’t like the blonde, but Bud had turned out to be an okay guy.
No, Home wasn’t back to normal yet, she thought as she smiled at Ford, but maybe someday it would be.
She was willing to wait.
“The stand-off at the White House continues today as the former President, although impeached and removed from office, refuses to leave. In her first act as president, following the resignation of the former vice-president, the former Speaker of the House has ordered the Secret Service not to use force to make the former President vacate the premises. ‘We will allow this unfortunate situation to run its course,’ she was quoted as saying. ‘I’m sure that in time the poor man will come to his senses and realize that he’s no longer the Commander-in-Chief.’
“In other news, the new President vowed to see that Congress acts swiftly to pass the National Education and Re-education Act. ‘In times so obviously perilous as these,’ she said, ‘it’s imperative that we do everything in our power to see to it that each and every student in our schools knows exactly what to think….‘”