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“Dad, you can go to bed,” I told him as he leaned down and stared at Ethan.
“I used to enjoy watching you all sleep, you all were a lot less troublesome when you were children.”
As I gently lifted Ethan, I smiled at how warm he was; a little bundle of life.
“Be careful, Liam.”
“I know how to hold him.”
“Not Ethan. But with Neal. Before you and Mel do or say anything reckless, remember he is still your brother and therefore my son. I love him as dearly as I love you. My dream is for you all to depend on each other, not destroy one another,” he replied.
“Only time can tell then.”
MELODY
The next morning I found myself dressed like a political Barbie doll as I stood on the steps of the capitol, holding onto our son as Liam was given the key to the fucking city on behalf of our family. Chicago had no doors, why the fuck did it have a key? But if it had been me, I would’ve done my part and smiled. It was a pointless show of gratitude, but I would always play my part no matter how badly it irked me. Even Ethan seemed annoyed with his suit. I wasn’t even aware that they made suits for infants.
“Words cannot express how much this means to me,” Liam said to the crowd. “I have loved this city all my life and that will never change. No matter what has happened in the past, Chicago is my home…our home.”
He turned and reached for Ethan and me. I wanted roll my eyes, but I smiled instead as I moved forward. I did not like to be used as a prop.
“Mel and I have thought long and hard about this and we truly want to do more to make this city a great one. While in prison, I was forced to see, hear, and experience things at that no one, not even a prisoner should. Together, let’s work to make our community and our political system a better one. Let’s treat humans as such. Let’s respect life and celebrate it. I thank you for this honor and I hope that in return I can honor you all.” He smiled and we posed for photos as the flashbulbs rained upon us.
“Did you forget to tell me you’re running for office?” I muttered through a smile.
“I’m just rolling with the punches and I do like getting the key,” he whispered as Ethan reached for it. I knew it would only end up in his mouth. It was like he had to lick everything new he encountered.
“Now that this is over, let’s get out of here.”
“What am I supposed to do? Cut the Governor short so we can escape?” he asked, as he placed his hand on my back and I could feel it starting its downward movement.
“Are you feeling me up in front of the entire city?”
He looked to me and winked. “It’s my city. I have a key to prove it.”
I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around his ego right now. Holding Ethan to my chest, I walked off the stage as the last of the clapping rang through the air.
Finally.
FOURTEEN
“Presidents are selected, not elected.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt
MELODY
We were in Washington.
Not just Washington, but the goddamn White House.
If you could see me now, Orlando. I looked through the windows. I stared at the green garden, fresh cut and perfectly in place; a picture perfect photo, waiting to be taken. Liam leaned into the chair, and placed his feet up on the desk. Neither of us spoke. This was the beginning; once we went down this road, we couldn’t turn back.
We waited though we knew it would not be for long.
Within seconds, the door to the Oval Office opened and the President, dressed in a dark suit, blue tie, and an American flag pin on his jacket, walked in. His aids surrounded him, speaking quickly about a Supreme Court nominee before they froze at the sight of us sitting at the Presidential desk.
“Mr. President,” Liam stated, his foot still on the desk, completely relaxed.
“Jane, Chris, please give us a moment, and tell Judy to hold all of my calls,” Colemen said as he forced a smile at them.
They nodded before running off like the little, dull mice they were.
“Have you lost your minds?” he almost shouted once the door clicked shut.
“Would that make you feel better?” I asked him. I moved from the window and sat at the edge of the desk.
He glared at my ass and then at Liam’s feet. “That is the Resolute desk…a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. Every President from Jimmy Carter to now has sat at that desk. Will you both please remove your ass and feet from it?”
I looked at Liam who took his feet down and grabbed the knife from his jacket pocket. Without hesitating, he ran the blade across the surface where his feet had been. It was the only thing that cut through the silence, and Liam never once broke eye contact with the leader of the free world. When he was done, he put the knife away.
“Sorry,” he said, as he crossed his arms over the top of the desk.
“I am the President!—”
“Oh no, no, no,” I cut him off with a finger. “You, are a puppet; our puppet, bought and paid for in full. Made in Chicago for one purpose and one purpose alone—to work for us. That was the deal. You signed your name in blood, and we made you President. Now you need to pay.”
He crossed his arms. “I helped you with you cover up. I have the whole nation believing that you’re national heroes.”
“You think we spent eighty-nine million dollars for one favor?” Liam snickered. “We built you, and if you think we didn’t install a self-destruct button, you are sorely mistaken. Now that you have tasted power, are you willing to give it up? You can spend the next four, and if we’re pleased, eight years as the ‘most powerful’ man in the world.”
Colemen frowned and clenched his jaw. This was the man with his finger on the button? May God help us all.
“What do you want, Callahan?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“That’s a good puppet,” I smiled and Liam snickered once more.
“We want a list of the FBI’s biggest pending cases. The ones that make careers and are made into movies,” Liam said before rising.
“What for?”
“Bad puppet,” I sighed. “Don’t ask questions you truly do not want the answer to.”
“You are asking me to breach protocol and expose top secret information. But you will not tell me why? These are people’s—”
“Stop,” Liam said, as he walked to him and held his face. “We know what we’re asking. We also know that you’re going to come under fire. But you will stand strong and you will put pressure on Avian Doers, your director of FBI, to fix the issues.”
“Tell him to fix the issues that you yourself will cause?”
“See, now you know and now you’re upset. You should have listened, puppet,” I replied, as I moved in front of the desk.
“I’ll have the files tomorrow,” he said.
I smiled at Liam, and watched as he moved away from Colemen and walked back to the Presidential chair where he once more placed his feet back on top of the desk.
“We have time. I’m sure if you ask nicely, someone will have it to you within the hour. You should really put a computer on this desk, I’m sure Queen Victoria wouldn’t mind,” Liam added, and this time I chuckled.
I watched as Colemen walked up next to me and lifted the receiver end of the telephone. “Judy, patch me over to the FBI White House Correspondent.”
