The 51st President ✓(Book Four)

Chapter Four

When I wake up the other side of the bed is cold, and the windows are open as far as they'll go. This high up, it's only by a few inches, but it makes the biggest difference. Sometime last night, the air conditioning kicked into overdrive.

I groan and sit up, bedsheets falling down over my naked chest. My outfit from yesterday is in three different places and my legs are so sore that when I try to stand up, it takes a second. I move other parts of my body to assess the damage. The worst part is a mark on my wrist that's definitely going to bruise- though I can't say I didn't enjoy it at the time.

I look around for my suitcases, and they're still in the same place I left them- untouched. The smell of breakfast wafts up my nose, a tray sitting on a table across the room. For now, I ignore it to get dressed.

Lilith'll be popping in soon to make sure I'm still alive, whether I like it or not- and I'd prefer that she not see me naked. I'm sure it's going to happen eventually, since they see just about everything- but today I can avoid it.

In the largest bag, my stylist has packed four full outfits: two pantsuits, a formal events dress, and a more casual one. I decide to go with the last since we'll be on a plane soon and the public will only see distant pictures of us. I stand back to observe myself in the mirror, and become more grateful that the stylist plans all outfits for overseas trips.

I look presidential despite the fact that I'm in something meant for the couch- I'll have to ask her about the psychology when I get back.

I walk over to the tray. I recognize all of the ingredients, just not the name of the dish, so when I lift the spoon to my lips- I'm pleasantly surprised. It's sweet and savory at the same time, hot though I don't know how long it's been sitting here. It could've been an hour- or twenty minutes.

Regardless, I'm halfway through the dish before I hear whispering outside of my door. Two familiar and distorted voices go back and forth for about thirty seconds, before one of them goes "Oh what the hell", and the doorknob twists open.

I don't know why, but I was expecting somebody different. Tao stands in front of me, looking like he's been up for hours. "The minister of cyber security asked me to pass on a message since I was already up. They've agreed to relinquish all access to the...suspect if we... increase the budget for the humanitarian funding package in Guangzhou."

"We can't afford or control it." I shake my head.

"So call a meeting with the house speaker and senate majority leader. Inform them of the situation."

"It would be pointless-" I say. "They've already agreed to letting us hold him in a United States prison. It wouldn't matter that they have access to him there because he'll be protected."

"Yeah- tell that to Mei Yang's family." He sighs.

I freeze. Mei yang was a young, Asian-American woman who was visiting family here in the capital last year. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time- as people usually are in these tragic stories. As a result, she was given five years in one of the most overcrowded prisons here- but an American official managed to negotiate her transfer to one of ours.

The prisons in the United States are way less crowded nowadays, since the laws were changed. Nowadays, prison time is only for violent offenses. Nearly every member of congress came to an agreement that imprisoning somebody for drug possession was unconstitutional, so it didn't take long to change.

Mei yang was only supposed to be held for a few days- two to be specific, so we could make arrangements for her to get back to her husband and kids on the opposite side of the country.