Lethal Trajectories - Michael Conley [41]
McCarty mused, Collingsworth is a pimp and a lightweight, but I’ll need to keep my eye on him.
“The financial markets are reeling and have dropped over 14 percent since the Chunxiao Incident,” continued Gleason. “The key driver is oil, and with oil now over $268 per barrel and pump prices around $7.00 per gallon, we can expect Congress to feel the heat from their constituents and react. A quick resolution of the crisis would be the best thing that could happen, but it’s unrealistic to think we’ll get back to the pre-crisis price of oil for quite some time.”
McCarty ended the ensuing discussion just as Press Secretary Candace Pierson entered the room.
“Folks,” McCarty said, “this has been a productive meeting. We’ve covered a lot of ground, and I’ve asked Candace to join us to help craft a statement I can read in the Rose Garden at four o’clock. I’d like it to emphasize our military and diplomatic responses, our peace efforts as an intermediary between China and Japan, and our desire for them to work through the UN. We’ll also want a strong statement of assurance to the American people and financial markets that our oil supply is unaffected by Chunxiao and there’s no reason to panic.”
“Do you wish to comment on the president’s health, Mr. Vice President?” Pierson asked, perhaps hoping he would agree.
“I think not, Candace.” Clayton replied. “I’m uncomfortable getting too specific about it; I’d just as soon we leave that to the official statements released by Walter Reed.” He could see everyone in the room was uncomfortable with this dodge, but what else could he do? He adjourned the meeting, advising the NSC that he would call the president and then return to review the statement they were to develop.
Clayton left the Situation Room with three nagging concerns he was not prepared to share: First, he had a bad feeling about the president’s health. Second, he felt uneasy about the comments relating to Saudi Arabia’s stability—Chunxiao they could handle, but a destabilized Saudi Arabia was quite another story. And third, he didn’t think it advisable to tee up Peter Canton’s memo on climate-change at this time, but he knew it would soon be a frontline topic for the Situation Room. For now, first things first, he thought.
After talking to Burkmeister, he returned to the Situation Room to review and edit his announcement. As he left for the Rose Garden, statement in hand, he felt the weight of the presidency for the first time and recalled the sign on Harry Truman’s desk that read The buck stops here. He stepped up to the lectern, adjusted the microphone and, wishing the president was here instead of him, said “Good afternoon and thanks much for coming….”
14
Mankato, Minnesota
20 September 2017
Veronica was disappointed and concerned as she left the principal’s office at Mankato East High School with Mandy. As a pastor, she had often been a part of meetings with authorities on behalf of members of her congregation, but this was different. It was her daughter she now had to represent.
Mandy was sixteen and rebellious, and this was not the first time Veronica had visited the principal’s office to deal with one of her indiscretions. It was serious today, however, because she had been caught skipping school with friends; some of them were smoking pot. While Mandy was not among the accused pot-smokers, Veronica guessed that Mandy might have used before. Veronica was scared silly that Mandy was making the same poor choices she had as a teen.
Not a word was spoken on the interminably long car ride home. Veronica reflected on Mandy’s suspension and the paper she had been assigned to write about her behavior as a precondition for readmission. Hopefully, this will be a learning moment for her, she thought.
Pulling into the driveway to drop Mandy off before rushing off to her Life Challenges