First Daughter

"What worries our China-watchers, sir, is that the adoption of a new ideology may signal other changes in Beijing's policies-specifically an assault on Taiwan, which is why it's imperative for you to bring up the subject with Yukin. He has no love of Beijing or its aspirations."

"Thank you for that, De

"The cream of the crop," Paull acknowledged.

"But what about afterward?" the president said softly. "What happens in twenty-one days, when I hand the reins of power over to Godless Edward Carson?"

"Begging your pardon, sir. Intelligence reports tell me that Edward Carson and his wife attend church every Sunday."

"A joke, surely." The president pursed his lips as he did when events ran away from him. "This is a man who has pledged to fund stem-cell research, stem cells from fetuses." He shuddered. "Well, what do you expect? He believes in abortion, in the murder of helpless i

"Sir-"

"No, no, De

Paull tried not to wince. No one else in the Administration was brave enough to tell the president, so as usual it fell to him to deliver the bad news reality was sending the president's way. Therefore, the guillotine was always hovering six inches above his neck. "I'm afraid we don't know, sir."

The president stopped in his tracks, turned to Paull. "Well, find out, damnit. That's your new assignment, De

"Time is ru

"Not radical?" The president was irate. "All those hell-bent bastards are radical. Goddamnit, De

The president, hands deep in the pockets of his overcoat, stared up at the ceiling. Paull knew that look only too well. He'd seen it an increasing number of times over the past year as, one by one, members of the president's i

"To think that it's almost Christmas." The president made a noise in the back of his throat. "Time, De

The president gripped the back of the sofa as if it were the neck of his worst enemy. "I've spent eight years doing my level best to pull America out of the pit of immorality into which the previous Administration had sunk it. I've spent eight years protecting America from the most heinous threat it's every faced, and if that meant exercising the power of this hallowed office, if it meant turning the country around so that it would know its roots, know itself, see itself as the righteous Christian nation it is, then so be it." His eyes were filled with righteous pain. "But what do I get for my hard labor, De

"Now let's pray." He got down on his knees and the Secretary followed suit while their cadre of bodyguards turned their backs. The two men bowed their heads, clasped their hands against their striped rep ties. Sunlight glittered off the president's polyurethane hair. My hair's gone white, my beard is shot with gray. I feel the weight of the world crushing me, Paull thought. The expectation of greatness, the dread of making a mistake, of missing a vital piece of intel, of being one step late to the dance of death. Jesus, if he only knew. We've all aged a century since we came into power, all except him. He looks younger now than when he took office.

"Lord, we humbly beg thee to come to our aid in our hour of need, so that we can continue your work and hold back the turning of the tide that threatens to overrun all that we've labored so hard for these past eight years."

A moment of silence ensued as the two men regained their feet. Before they took their leave of the guesthouse, the president touched his secretary's sleeve, said in a low but distinct voice, "De

Paull was about to respond when the sound of a helicopter sliced into the pellucid morning like a knife, exposing in him a sense of foreboding. And with that his cell phone rang.

It had to be important; his office knew whom he was with. He co

The president waved it away, clearly a

This is why he hasn't aged, Paull thought. "I think you'd better hear this yourself."

The president's voice was querulous. "Why?"

"Sir, it's about Alli Carson."

The president reached for the phone.