White Shadows

Interlude 8 - Guards, Do The Thing!

"I'm surprised there's still a door from the Terminal to the Oval Office," Marian said as she closed said door behind her.

Preston Holly stood from his seat at the Resolute Desk, a near-perfect replica of the one on Earth. He held up his hands and said, "Do with me what you will...Madam President."

"Oh, I'm not gonna be the president," Marian said. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that."

"Bullshit."

"The last part, maybe." Marian allowed herself a brief snicker. "No, but I can't linger in the Second. Not indefinitely."

"You still haven't provided all the proof you needed to substantiate my dad's theory," Preston said.

"That'll be difficult," Marian admitted. "Elijah's in the wind - I, for one, suspect he ditched that ultralight bomb before detonating it in Heaven. We haven't found the body, either. I'm sure you understand the implications."

Preston sighed. "And now my dad's dead, along with your husband. Do they stand a chance of making their way back to this universe like you did?"

"I might have to help them," Marian said. "I'm unusually good at it. But for now...enjoy this reunion with one of your men. I understand he went kamikaze at Sky Harbor Phoenix in Heaven." She knocked on the Terminal door, one of many discreetly built into the office's curved walls. Two seconds later, the door opened, admitting Harlan and a man with scars all over his face. Scars that nevertheless failed to hide a friendly smile that seemed permanently etched in place.

"Flordai," Preston said, remembering this man's unusual enthusiasm about signing up for the first wave of kamikaze missions. Even more strangely, he was the only one to actually pull off his mission. In hindsight, Preston realized that perhaps that was a sign that his plans would ultimately fail.

"All right, you'll get to see him again later," Harlan chuckled. "As for you, Florin, your kid wants to give you a piece of his mind." He muscled the elder Florin back through the door, leaving Marian and Preston alone again.

"I'm surprised you surrendered so quickly and quietly," she said.

"I had my reasons," Preston answered.

There was another knock, this one from outside - and not in the Terminal. Without waiting for an answer, the man on the other side opened the door and walked in. "I'm sure you remember Raymond Park," Marian said as the man bowed his head under the door's low lintel. "His son and mine are friends."

"The former lieutenant governor of California?" Preston asked.

"One and the same," said Raymond. He crossed the room and stood behind the Resolute Desk, the green light of Monday evening's sunset filtering in at an angle through the window behind him. "And now, I'm your successor."

Preston couldn't help but crack a joke even as the Secret Service came to take him away. "Is it too late for you to pardon me?" he asked. "Think of me as a ceremonial turkey instead of a fellow scriv, if it helps." In the end, though, he walked ahead of the Secret Service guys. His head was held high, belying the lack of pride he felt in his failure.