Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty - Three

     Olive and Thomas stood in the dining hall at the newly built capitol. They were meeting again for the first time in months. They stood in the new dining room with hundreds of other guests.

     “They did a good job on this place,” said Thomas.

     “It’s weird how we were here not too long ago,” said Olive.

     “Yeah, it is surreal,” he agreed with her.

     Olive sipped her drink thoughtfully, “I haven’t had a chance to say thank-you.”

     “For what?” he asked.

     “For helping us make such a huge difference,” she said. “We were just trying to locate him. The only thing that we could do was look like wishful thinkers.”

     “I don’t think that I am the one who needs to be thanked,” he hugged her.

     Olive sighed, “Well, I don’t want to thank Bob. I was hoping that nobody was going to be harmed.”

     “I’m not sure what may have happened if he never did,” he said.

     “He probably wouldn’t be facing federal charges,” she said.

     President Scott entered the room and everyone applauded. She stood at the podium and gave a brief speech and thanked everyone for arriving. Simone approached Thomas and Olive.

     “Thomas,” Simone touched his arm. “The president wishes to meet with you.”

     “Why just me?” he asked her. “This was not all my doing. I’m finally retired; I’m not going to work for her. I’d love to, but no.”

     “There’s a different matter that she wishes to discuss,” she said. “She is aware that you retired and would have loved your services.”

     “Always quick on her feet,” Thomas finished his wine and set the glass down. “Always helps to be a little tipsy.”

     “Liquid courage,” Olive muttered.

     He smiled at her and followed Simone. They walked down a hallway that was lined with painting of former presidents. The hall smelled like new material.

     They entered an office. He sat down in a chair that was in front of President Scott’s desk. She entered the office and he stood and shook her hand.

     She sat behind the desk and Thomas sat back down. He started to think about how surreal it felt to be looking at the first woman president in her modest blue gown. It was quite a transition since he guarded Wolfe prior to her being in office.

     “I'm pleased to see that you made it,” Zelma smiled pleasantly.

     “Mrs. President,” he began.

     “Zelda, please,” she said.

     “Zelda,” said Thomas. “How come you want to talk to me?”

     “I’m meeting with each of the heroes in the new chapter of our history,” she stated. “I'll be meeting the others.”

     “I only helped lead them there,” he said. “Simone told me you wanted to talk to me about something else.”

     Zelma nodded, “Yes, you lead them there and that is why I am especially interested in speaking with you first. The president has gone into hiding and nobody knew where he was. Even his secret service staff was unaware except for Jackson. Why is that?”

     “Before he went into hiding I was his secret service agent,” he said.

     She nodded with interest, “That was before. What gave you the special ability to find him? Surely, you were not aware of this secluded town.”

     Thomas grinned, “I suspect that you know where I got the information. Why don’t we stop beating around the bush and talk about why I am here.”

     “Yes,” she placed her fingertips together. “But, I want to hear it from you. How is it that someone, a leader, in Russia spoke with you?”

     “Impossible to believe?” he asked. “I was over there checking on my relation with one of the clones. I was pulled aside because my DNA matched with the clone that plotted and carried out the attack on North Korea.”

     “Oh?” Zelda sat back in her chair. “So, he struck up some deal with you?”

     He nodded, “If I helped the rebels in then I could have custody of Sky.”

     Her eyes dug into him searching for more information, “Did he fulfill his offer?”  

     Thomas sighed, “Mrs. President, it’s not as easy as bringing thousands of children here. Most of them are very sick and need medical attention that nobody can afford. These children probably need therapy judging from what they did. They only know one language.”

     “Doesn’t seem like that is impossible to accommodate,” said Zelma.

     “Excuse me?” Thomas felt stunned.

     “You forget something about our country,” she stated. “Before we were attacked, refugees were flocking here by the thousands. Not all of them spoke English, they came here from a war torn country, and most of them were sick and injured and even poor. What makes you think that it challenging to take all of these children in? Luskin is making stories up to take advantage of our situation.”

     Thomas nodded and sighed, “These children would be entering broken homes in a country that hasn’t quite been rebuilt yet. May I ask why you are asking?”

     “Luskin sent me a letter asking us to pay him back for something that we did not create,” she told him.

     “Did he say how he wanted us to repay him?” he asked.

     “No, he hasn’t,” she said. “He hasn’t said anything about sending the children here. It’s hard to say if the living conditions for these children are safe. He had indicated that people in Russia are growing suspicious of the children. It’s possible that if we don’t do anything they will do something about the children themselves.”  

     “We already took out Wolfe like he wanted,” he said. “What else could he possibly want? It’s not like we have anything to offer.”

     “We’re not going to give them anything for what North Korea did,” said Zelma.

     “What about the people who spent time and money check if they are related to the clones?” he asked her. “If we don’t help these children people are going to expect compensation.”

     Zelma nodded, “True, but we can’t give in to Russian demands. How do we know that he is not trying to find some way to take over our country? The world knows how vulnerable we are.”

     “Have you responded back to him?” he asked.

     “I will soon,” she said. “I need to find out what he wants before trying to get what the American people were looking for.”