Madam President ✓

91. Brutality

Tanya

  "How much did you hear?" I ask, avoiding eye contact.

"Uhm...." His voice trails off. "All of it? You're just looking at theoretical... you're not actually gonna go to the seventh most dangerous country in the world for Americans...... right?"

Two interns pass us, trying not to stare. Working in the west wing- they're under extremely strict non disclosure forms, so I'm not worried about them leaking what they just heard. Melissa and Carlos have retreated, trying to give us privacy, yet I can't help but feel we're too exposed now.

I pull him aside and find the first room that happens to be mostly empty- the Roosevelt. A newer janitor whose name I never got the chance to learn is standing on the table with plastic wrapping around his shoes, cleaning the ceiling lights.

"Madam President-" His eyes dart to Darrel, starstruck by the sudden intrusion. I will have conversations with them from time to time, but it's not common with west wing janitors- since they deliberately choose to clean different sections of it when they think nobody's working. They're usually right, but emergencies come up pretty often. I still have more run ins with the butlers, maids, and kitchen staff. "Mr.President... it is an honor. Is there anything I can.. do for ya'll?"

"Get out please- just for a few minutes." I say as politely as I can. He immediately obliges.

  "Darrel......." I continue.

  "Oh Jesus Christ-" He rolls his eyes.

  "What else am I supposed to do?! I've got the smartest people in the world working for me..... Anthony now- and they still haven't been able to rub two brain cells together to come up with a better plan. They clearly don't want him. I was going to try and negotiate with Ivanov but...." The last video sticks in my mind. Though I didn't stick around to watch the full thing, I could tell they'd said or done something beforehand that distressed him more than usual. "My mind got changed. We're gonna grab him and get out. That man clearly can't be reasoned with."

  "Bravo! Ya finally figured it out!" He sarcastically claps and mumbles something under his breath.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" I narrow my eyes.

  "I dealt with that psychopath's threats too. He's always hated coming in second to America..... so I struck a deal with him about... four years ago."

  "Jesus Darrel- you didn't think to mention this when I was ascending the most powerful office in the world or maybe when I was on trial for threatening to kill him?"

"It wasn't relevant then and the members of my administration who knew are all dead now. Officially, it went something like this: The U.S would halt all assassination attempts on him permanently if he agreed  not to use his nuclear weapons stockpile or approve the creation of more."

  "But we stopped trying to assassinate him a decade ago?" I question.

"Exactly- but the sense of control it gave him was enough to make him agree to the deal."

That does sound like something he'd do. Greedy Motherfucker.

  "And then he... chose to disregard his end of that deal by.... creating more and threatening Hawaii and... trying to take control of our nuclear program....." The rage that hits me is all consuming. "In what world would him breaking that deal not have been relevant to congress?!"

  "Congress didn't have clearance to know back when he and I had that meeting in Belarus and they don't now. Tanya I'm sorry but.... you're not... you can't go."

  "I'll do what I please."

  "Then can you at least take Lynn-" he begs.

  "Already arranged."

  "And maybe....leave him on the edge of death instead of killing him if you run into him?" I picture Ivanov, clinging to life and begging to die at the same time from feeling a small fraction of the pain he's caused the world. "Oh come on I know better by now than to think you'd let that motherfucker walk free. I wouldn't."

I picture watching the life slowly drain from him in a hundred different ways. Though I understand it won't be the most efficient- I also understand the HA gun is an absolute last resort if we somehow run out of ammo.

  "I make no promises."