Midnight by Anna Dove (books for new readers .TXT) 📕

He kissed her cheek and then went back the way he had come. Adela watched, and then strolled past Martha Washington to stand in front of George Washington.

“Hm, I’ll bet you did tell lies, you old ignorant bastard,” she said under her breath.

+

The radio crackled, and for a few seconds there was silence. Then, the unmistakable voice of the Attorney General echoed from the device. Haley leaned forward, sitting at the dining room table with her three companions.

“Fellow Americans, I thank you for your attention and audience today. I will be brief. There will be a detailed report published in the newspaper tomorrow, but I feel that it is my obligation to make the announcement prior to the print being released. For the past four months we have found ourselves in a recovery and reconstruction period following the attack. The Department of Justice, along with intelligence agencies, have been working to identify the perpetrating party behind the attack. It came to our attention, through reliable sources, that the attack seemed not to be of foreign origin as we had originally assumed.”

Haley looked up and her eyes met Elizabeth’s.

“We began,” the radio continued, “an undercover investigation of all possible parties. We have come to our conclusion, through hours of detailed research, interviews, and analysis. We have already taken the suspect into custody. The suspect will be afforded due process, even given the monstrosity of the crime. This trial will be thorough and there will be opportunity for public witness, for any member to offer additional evidence. The suspect, I deeply and truly regret to inform you, is none other than the president, Mr. Gilman.”

Haley jumped to her feet. She grasped the edge of the table, and it shook so that the vase in the middle fell, spilling the water and bouquet that it held.

This wasn’t true! There was some mistake. The voice of the Attorney General went on, detailing how the president had been removed from office and how the Speaker of the House would fill the position until an election could be fairly held—the Attorney General was trying to reassure the public, to calm them.

Elizabeth sat, staring at the radio.

Haley raised her hands to her head, her heartbeat quickening.

“This is a nightmare,” said Jack dully.

Haley sat down.

“Now wait,” said Elizabeth. “It’s possible that they will realize their mistake. Let’s hope for the best here.”

“Screw hope,” said Jack. “Hope is irrelevant. I’ve been down that route before.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I’ve tried hoping before and it never works. What’s hope got to do with anything? All that matters is the reality of the situation. The Attorney General will find the president guilty and the president will die.”

The radio crackled on, as the Attorney General laid out the charges against the president. They all sat in silence, listening to the words as if in a daze.

“What do we do?” finally offered Carlos quietly.

But no one responded, as the Attorney General rambled on, but then suddenly another radio voice shouted unintelligibly and the broadcast broke off into static.

+

The White House Press Briefing Room had burst into chaos. The Attorney General had made it halfway through his speech when a reporter yelled out,

“Is the president in the building?”

This caused a general stampede, and the wires and microphones all became jumbled and disconnected from the generator in a true web, as people jumped to their feet, half the crowd lunging at one door, half lunging at the other. Some wanted to be the first the photograph the president in handcuffs; others wanted to get the hell away from the White House. The Attorney General, a small man, ducked behind the podium as Secret Service ineffectively attempted to block the barrage of bodies and cameras and shouting voices from entering the West Wing.

Those who managed to burst through raced through the offices into the hall, just in time to see the president himself, handcuffed, being pushed forward by Secret Service who were armed to the teeth, with several military-grade rifles pointed at his head as he shouted,

“This is a lie! This is a lie! I am innocent! I have done nothing!”

They rounded the corner, and the press shuddered as they heard a sound escape from the president’s lips, a hellish cry, a man in absolute agony. Their cameras hanging useless by their sides, they stood still, gazing like deer in the headlights down the empty hall until Secret Service herded them back into the Briefing Room.

+

Business was booming for Mr. Granger. He had ordered himself a new pair of shoes, and was wearing them this afternoon to the office. He strode through the door sipping on his third cup of coffee, as the telephone rang on its hook.

“Hello, U.S. News,” he said.

“Granger, this is Washington. We have a headline, you need to publish an afternoon title. Ready?”

“Yes, yes,” sputtered Granger, scrambling for a pen and knocking down his mug of pens so that they spilled all over his desk.

“Justice Department arrests the President on Suspicions of Involvement in EMP Terror Plot. That’s the headline.”

“Sure, sure,” said Granger, scribbling, and then he sat up as if he had been shocked by a live wire. “WHAT'S THAT YOU SAID?”

“Granger, have you been the only person in this country not listening to the radio? It was just announced. Now include this--the president has been taken to the federal prison in Rockville, MD. He is being held securely as we await further information. The Justice Department is continuing to investigate the matter. A few other leads...etc., etc., fill it, you know, the usual. Get it on the streets within the hour, will you?”

“Yes,” said Granger blankly, and the line went dead. He slowly replaced the phone and looked down at his notepad.

+

         One week passed,