She accepted his explanation but found it awkward bringing up the next subject. "I spoke with the reporter today. Did you know their news agency was the first to publicize the Dixville Massacre as it really happened? That's what postponed the Feds immediate invasion of New Hampshire and Vermont."
"'Postpone is the operative word, too." The Southerner caught himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. It's been a long day."
"Morrison said we could check his pictures and report before sending it out. He wants his camera back."
"I don't have a problem with that as long as one of our men is with him at all times. He can stick with Wolfenstein's group. But you let him know that tagging along with an attack pack can be dangerous."
Washington, D.C. (The evening of March 16)
What had been the East Room of the White House was now the Arabian Room. The influential politicians of Washington showed up at the reception and passed through a replica of Babylon's Ishtar Gate--the entrance to the temple of Bel built by Nebuchadnezzar in 575 B.C.. The hand-hewn trim made by American forefathers had been removed, replaced by graven images of the bull of Adad and the dragon of Marduk. The beasts were scattered symmetrically across the tiled wall. Security personnel, dressed as sheiks, stood indignantly at the entrance. Beyond studded doors made of Lebanon Cedar, were crowds of cordial people smiling deceptively.
The White House had been remodeled during Harry S. Truman's administration--also a time when they shored up the original sandstone walls and added one hundred and thirty-two rooms to the existing sixty-two. The total cost by the end of 1952: $5,761,000.
That wasn't uncommon. Other administrations added pools or spas or jogging tracks. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy completely refurbished the interior in the early 1960s, followed by a permanent art collection assembled in 1964 by Lyndon B. Johnson.
But the executive quarters had to be brought up to the times, representing the Global Village the U.S. had become a part of. Lyndon's collection of American art had been taken down. The Early American furnishings collected by Jacqueline Kennedy had been replaced by 18th century furniture from France or Germany or the Orient--always authentic. Every room had a national theme.
"Look at that bitch," muttered Chief of Staff Lucas Bennett to President Winifred. "She's working everyone. You were wondering where she got her info about Dixville, well there you go." They looked across the breadth of the tiled room to see Vice President Sorenson and Secretary of Defense Kyle Paz chatting with drinks in hand. The two smiled and nodded to one another. "He's the one who told her. He's gotta be."
Winifred responded, "Sorenson has access to a lot of confidential information, if she only knows where to look. We can't trust her. And I wouldn't sell Paz short. He might be working her." The President scooped some black, Iranian caviar with a cracker and held it just inside the cage for the falcon to snatch. "Kyle's too much of a political animal to go taking off on his own. He was in charge of the Dixville operation. We only told him to stop the smuggling. He knows he could be hung out to dry with the rest of us. You're making too much of this, Luc." The President sipped his sherry as he smiled and nodded at Senator Chavaza of California passing by. Both the President and Lucas Bennett looked again across the room at Kyle and Vice President Sorenson who now looked back at them. The two parties forced smiles and raised glasses to one another in a distant toast.
Mr Smith
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Kindle Novels for Android
Open Ground: After bullies harass William, he moves to Wyoming to live with his father. Open Ground explores the drama of human relationships through a boy's struggle to maintain family.
Later that summer, his father is falsely accused of a crime and jailed. William mountain-bikes across Wyoming to stay with his aunt -- applying the knowledge his father had imparted -- defying the perils of nature.
Topics in this middle school novel relate to math, science and technology with social themes applicable to grades 5 and 6 core curriculum. Free E-Learning kernels, available at Site3e.Com, are effective self-contained units. Forsaken Rock, a Kindle novel available at SmithLiterary.Com is applicable to grades 7 and 8 studies.(Kindle $0.99 at Amazon.Com.
Forsaken Rock: NASA Leadership decide to send criminals to their Mars colony for long-term incarceration. Rather than allow their world to be corrupted, settlers on the planet break ties with Earth to become an independent world. Mirrid Wolf inadvertently kills a young security man to protect her child.Eleven years later, the people of Earth invite Marian colonists to the Olympic Games. Mirrid oversees the Marian Team as recently elected Chief Council of the Red Planet. Toemoe Sol, head of Sol Corporation, contracts an assassin to disrupt the competition by shooting Mirrid's daughter, Daara. Marians are then blamed for a terrorist attack that kills over 300 spectators. Conflicts challenge Mirrid's untried leadership. (Kindle $2.99 at Amazon.Com.
Indivisible: The United States' economy has tumbled after two decades of fighting terrorism worldwide. An Army helicopter lands on a remote New Hampshire mountain. Troops witness an unbearable sight: sixty Cub Scouts slain by an unmanned automatic weapon intended to catch smugglers. The President orders the soldiers to depart immediately -- and maintain absolute secrecy. Cover-up of the Dixville massacre begins. The brutality to New Hampshire's children ignites national support for a rebellion to instate government reform. (Kindle $2.99 at Amazon.Com.
Alienable Rights: This novel champions the American family through the main character Traften Brown. He flees Boston with his baby after a confrontation with a gang leader. Traften finds a place in Vermont as a member of the Island Pond Covenant, a local organization formed to supply the community with food and medicine. As a former electrical engineering student at MIT, Traften designs a communication system for the Vermont group. They accept him in the community as their own. Leaving his daughter with a family in Island Pond, Traften returns to Boston and rescues Ruth. While in Boston, he rediscovers his heritage. A descendant of William Carney, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Traften carries the medallion throughout the conflict. The heirloom haunts him, a reminder of forebears who had fought for him. Rather than abandon the city for an easier life in the North Country, he stays to confront his enemy. (Kindle $2.99 at Amazon.Com.
Blair Smith was born at home in the heart of Amish country in Holmes County, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio Northern University majoring in Technology and Education, later obtaining a Masters in Technology Education from the University of Vermont. A writer for ten years, the author has completed six novels that range from Science Fiction, to Thrillers, to a Middle School Reader.NEWS 3E
