Chapter 6

Michael was wondering if and when they were going to come for him. He’d been moving money around all morning and had made sure that he had transportation so that he could get out of town as soon as they came after him. Right now, however, he was trying his best to get out of the White House before anyone showed up to arrest him. And they surely would. He’d done a great deal of shitty bad things since well before he was in office.

He didn’t want to answer his house phone, sure that it was going to be terrible news. Like they were there to get him. However, he knew that if he didn’t answer it, someone might be suspicious, and that would be bad, too. Picking it up, he tried his best to sound like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Mr. President, Generals Morton are here. They’d like a word with you about something that has come up on their end.” Closing his eyes, telling himself that it might have been terrible timing on their part. “Would you like for me to show them in or do you wish for them to wait?” Looking around the office, he realized that it was in a state and decided that he’d rather meet them when he wanted.

“Tell them that I’ll be out in a moment. I have some—” The door opened, and there they both stood. They were in full dress uniform, too. “I said that I’d be out in a moment. What gives you the right to barge into my office like you own it.” It was MJ who spoke first.

“We do. You’re paid with taxpayers’ money as well as the upkeep on this building.” They both sat down on one of the facing couches. “Are you heading someplace, Michael? It seems to us that you’re making plans for something. I hope that’s not true. I mean, you still have what, ten months left on your contract with the government. Speaking of which, we’ve turned the contracts that you had with my family over to the FBI. I’m telling you that in the event that you have questions about where they are again. Why don’t you have a seat here? I’m sure that your plans aren’t going not take you anywhere.”

“I don’t have time for this tomfoolery today.” He sounded like his grandfather at that moment. “Look. I think we got off to a bad start, the three of us and—She said that you were both Morton. Generals Morton. That’s not right.”

“Oh? Why is that? Do you think that I don’t have your permission to marry when I want? I’ll have you know that the two of us have been married for nearly a month now. We’re good for each other.” He knew that he’d regret it the moment that the question came from his mouth. He asked her in what way. “You know. I keep him happy in the sack, and he keeps me from pulling out my gun and blowing your fucking head off.”

It was the smile that terrified him. She looked maniacal right then. Not insane, far from it. She looked like she was happy to be there with him to see his downfall. Because he knew in that moment, too, that she was there to expedite his demise into some prison with no name and no way for him to get out for the rest of his life.

“Why don’t you just get it over with? Why are you playing this game when you think you have shit on me. You don’t, but let me hear what you have to say.” She just stared at him. It made the hairs on the back of his neck and arms stand at attention. It made him nervous the way she was looking at him. “So? You think that a few pieces of paper are going to frame me? Good luck with that. I’ve been a model president who has gotten shit done while I’ve been in office. Do you have any idea how well the economy is doing right now? I don’t either, but I’m betting that it’s good.”

“The economy, since you asked, is coming out of the shit hole you put them in when you started out with trying to start a war. You had every American in the country terrified, and this is your words—every man, woman, and child will be expected to be a part of the front line with guns and whatever else I think that will win this war. There wasn’t a war on yet and it looks to me like there never was one. Remember, jackass, I was out there in the front line, and there was never any indication that the United States was going down the tubes, as you so eloquently put it.” He told her to prove it. Instead of her saying more, she pulled out his remote from the middle cushion and turned on the news. It just so happened that they were talking about this very thing. “Is there anything else that I can dispute for you? Oh, and those contracts that you have with my father and uncles are valid. Just as I did, they were able to verify that the signature was yours. And it seems that the exact amount of money that you promised to pay is missing out from the capital funds that are reserved for your personal things.”

“You lie.” She just sat back. Michael looked over at Marshall. “Is she going to be speaking for you for the rest of your time here? Don’t you have anything to say to me about how she is wrong?”

“Nope.” Micheal waited for more but Marshall seemed to have said all he thought that he needed to. When he sat up straighter in his seat, Michael felt his body stiffen. Here it comes, was all he could think about.

The men who entered his office came in like there might be a sniper in the room with them. He didn’t speak to them as they pointed their laser, which was attached to the biggest guns he’d ever seen, to his chest. Dropping the map as well as his cell phone out of his hand, Michael raised up his hands and watched them very closely.

When Collin, a man that he despised more than he thought that he did anyone at this moment, he asked him about his vacation. The trip that he’d never given him permission to take.

“I was asked to come to the Perry house so that I could be briefed on the things that were going to be happening today.” Collin, the man who should have had his back, told him that he was ashamed to call him a friend. “That is, if we ever were. They also found a contract on myself and my children. How could you? My baby is only four months old. Surely he couldn’t have made you so pissed off that you’d want him dead too?”

“It’s an election time. What can I say?” One of the men who had him marked peeled off from the rest of them and told him that he was being arrested for treason. Also a plethora of other things that they were still finding. “Isn’t it a little premature to be arresting a man when you don’t have everything lined up? You, of all people, MJ should know that nothing is final until the paperwork is signed off on. You should have thought of that.”

She stood up. When she skirted around the coffee table between the two couches, he smiled at her. Why? He didn’t have any idea. Perhaps it was because she was about as beautiful of a woman that he’d ever seen. Maybe that when she was dressed as she was right now, his dick got hard. The low growl from the vicinity of her husband startled him.

The hit to his face, and it hadn’t been a girly hit either, knocked him back and off his feet. Why did she do that? Didn’t she understand that he was, until they told him anything different, he was her boss. The second punch to his face knocked him out.

When he was coming around, he saw that he’d been out long enough for medics to come to his aide. He tried to get them to help him, telling them that he was being held against his will. But the sharp nudge to his head, like a muzzle was being shoved into his brain, told him that he was to lie still or have no brain.

“He’ll live. While I believe that his jaw is broken, I don’t think that where he’s going, it will make all that much difference.” He asked where it was he might be going. The medic, no name on his shirt simply laughed. “You should also know that while you were out, we took blood samples to run tests on. There is a rumor, one that I’ve heard several times, that you might well have AIDS.”

He couldn’t deny it. As it was, his mouth didn’t work all that well, and he had no proof that he didn’t. Michael thought perhaps that he was going to get some treatment for it once he was out of office on the government dime, but as it looked right now, that wasn’t going to happen either.

Someone put out their hand, and he instinctively took it. He’d been a politician for far too long to not take the hand that was offered to him. As soon as he was jerked upright, he felt his shoulder pull out of its socket. It was a sickening feeling one that he’d never gotten over when he’d been in college. This time, when things blacked out, he didn’t care if he ever woke up.

His thoughts, most of them centered around the fact that no one was going to cut him a break, moved around his brain. Whatever he thought of, it would be forefront of his mind then something else would take its place. Never anything good, however. As his wife told him, when he’d killed her two weeks into the campaign trail to become president, he was going to get what he deserved, and she was going to stand over him and watch him fail.

She’d been right in saying that he was going to fail. However, she didn’t get to stand over him and tell him so. The fact that she’d died on the trail had given him the votes he needed for the swing states. He didn’t mind at all that he had only won because of the fact that he was a widow. That had been the plan with MJ. She was going to be his ticket for another four years when the nation mourned a fallen hero, General Brandon.

“Mr. Lowery, it is my greatest pleasure to tell you that you’re not going to be taking up a lot of the taxpayers’ money by having a long and drawn-out trial. VP Court has already been sworn in, and he’s making changes to your schedule as we speak.” He asked the man what he was talking about. “Didn’t anyone tell you? Why you died about an hour ago in your office. You fell back, hitting your head while talking to the Generals that you had called to pin the medal of honor. Right shame, I guess that you never got to do that. But Collin? He’s a good sport and did that for all the country to see right there in the Oval Office. Believe it or not, your blood was still on the carpet, and the body bag that had your remains in it was being taken away as they were being congratulated by Collin. Yes, sir. A fine but also sad day today. I’m so happy, no, I mean sad that you didn’t make it out of office.”

Without speaking, unable to still, he tried to make the man understand that he had information that could get him out of trouble. He didn’t, of course, but he wanted to hang on for just a bit long. Then it dawned on him what had happened. They’d killed him off. He wasn’t going to live past today if he didn’t miss his bet.

~*~

Marshall didn’t mind being dressed up. In fact, he kind of liked it now that he wasn’t required to stand like some kind of pretty boy while shaking hands with the fucking bastard that had been in the White House during a photo opportunity. To him, they were just suck-up pictures and he had always thought of them being a complete waste of time. But this reception, one that Collin had asked for to congratulate the two of them for all their hard work.

There were other servicemen there as well. It wasn’t as if the two of them had been singled out. But he knew from the new president that this was the only way that he could get them both back here and be able to speak to them. It was a nice little party, too.

“General Morton?” He turned to the voice and smiled at Collin Court, president Court, he supposed now. “MJ was just telling me that she’s going to retire soon. I had no idea that she had that many years in to be able to retire with all her benefits. I’m glad for the two of you, but she doesn’t look old enough to…she is a beautiful…I didn’t think she was old enough to be retiring.” Marshall laughed.

“It’s not as if she’s going to retire today. She told me that she has one year and three months to go to be eligible for her benefits. Unless you know someone who can take care of that for her. We’ve been talking about starting a family now that we’ve taken care of Lowery.” Collin told him that they owed the two of them a great deal for their part in bringing down the previous administration. “I don’t mean to be rude, but you are sitting where you are only because of us.”

“You’re a very shrewd man, Marshall. I should have remembered that about you. How old are you now? I’m thinking since I was a kid and you were my teacher, it’s been at least forty-five years or so?” He said that it was rude to ask someone their age. “You’re not a woman. That’s the only sex that I’ve ever heard of that you can’t ask.”

“This was all open fields and I had a hand in helping put the first brick in.” Collin whistled. “I’ve been around when land was cheap, and a handshake was good enough to keep a promise, too.”

“I wouldn’t envy you being older than that. I do envy the things that you would have seen however, I don’t think that I’d want to be around even as long as I know you have been. That’s just…” He smiled at him. “Perhaps you and I can sit down, and you can go over history books together about what really happened.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I were to tell you.” Collin told him that he was right. He probably wouldn’t. “I was semi-kidding about you releasing her. I think that she’d still work it out even if you were to give her all that she’s working for. Meggie is a diehard American, and I love her to pieces for that.”

When dinner was called, he found Meggie in a heated discussion with a sergeant. While he knew what was the topic of discussion, he knew enough about his wife to understand that she was just a few seconds away from pulling out her gun. That was when he noticed that no one was armed but himself and her. The Secret Service who were milling about, too, but theirs were more obvious.

“Meggie.” She turned to look at him, and he thought perhaps he’d missed the mark a bit. She had her hand on her weapon and the tab broken on her holster. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us, I think that dinner is about to be served.”

Gently pulling Meggie to his body, he could feel the heat of her anger in the stiffness of her body. She was ramrod straight and hard as a stone. Kissing her on her mouth, he asked her if she was all right.

“He asked me if I was mourning the loss of Lowery. When I told him not particularly, he launched into some of the things that he’d done for the country and died much too young. I was this close to handing him his brain.” She put less than an eighth of an inch up with her fingers. “Why are idiots who can’t hold their own in a conversation here anyway? I thought that it was supposed to be for men of caliber who were here. I doubt that idiot has a single brain cell that tells him when he has to piss. Moronic fucking douche noodle.” His laughter burst forth as they were seated at the long table. He was glad that they were at the head with the president. They’d be able to talk to him easier.

“Douche noodle? Let me guess. You’ve been hanging out with Lauder and the other women again, haven’t you?” She laid her head on his shoulder and told him that she loved him. “In actuality, I taught that to them. You’ll be hearing a lot of unusual swearing techniques soon. I spent those two weeks on the ground out of the country, and the men there have been holding out on their own leader.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” He put his hand on her leg and patted her. This morning, on the way here from their home, they’d had a quickie in the limo. It had been fast, down, and dirty. And he, for one, loved every second of it. Especially when she’d taken his cock into her mouth and swallowed him past the tightness—

“Behave before I jump you right here on this table.” She looked at the food on her first plate. She had told him that she hated the way they served you at one of these dinners. “Why must we have fifty zillion plates of food and not enough on any of them to take the hunger pains away?”

“Not to mention the dishes. Christ, I would hate to have to wash all these up.” They teased one another about the plates and food. Once their soup was brought to them, Collin started making small talk with those around them.

Twice, one of the men in suits came to speak to him. And twice, he shooed them away. While he could hear what was being said, it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal to keep interrupting the man. Then he remembered how Lowery would like to have updates, even if it was about his favorite TV show, just to show how important he was. He’d bet anything that if they were to come here again, there wouldn’t be any showing off.

By the time dessert was served, a large trolley of different kinds of sweets that both he and Meggie turned down, he did finally get enough to eat. They’d still have to stop someplace on the way home, but that was fine as well.

The tapping on his wine glass had them all turning to Collin. He hated speeches that were long drawn out as much as the next guy, so he was glad that this wasn’t going to be one of those. Hopefully, he’d just say what he needed and move on to the rest of the evening.

“Since you’re all aware of the reason you’re here, I will skip the part where I tell you what an honor you should be feeling for being here.” Everyone laughed. He did as well, even though he knew that Meggie had helped Collin with his speech. “I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your long service and dedication to keeping this country safe. Thank you, each and every one of you.”

When he sat down, he stood up and applauded the man, not just for the short speech but also for the things that he didn’t say. After the dinner, there was going to be a televised honor ceremony that was going to have all the men and women here, with the exception of civilian spouses, given a Metal of Honor, an award that he himself had two of already.

After the awards were given, each of the servicemen there thanking the president. He and Meggie were last. He thought that something was going on when he thought of how they’d been skipped over when Collin had gotten to the ‘M’s’ on the list and wasn’t surprised in the least when he called them both up there at the same time.

“It is with great honor and regret that I award these two people here today. One of them, General Marshall Morton, has been retired since five years past. It’s my understanding that General Margaret Morton, spouse to Marshall, will be retiring soon after this get-together.” He put the award on Meggie first. With a wink at her, he continued his speech. “I do hope in the future that I can count on the two of you to keep the country safe from all manner of foes, be they domestic or international.”

He heard Meggie call him a fucking prick just before he hugged her to him and then did the same to him. The medal seemed more special this time. He thought that it was the company that he was keeping this time around. He loved his wife more than he could have explained to anyone the reasons for it.

They were headed back to the home that they had rented at around midnight. He supposed they could have just stayed in a hotel like the others had. But almost the moment that they confirmed they were coming here, they were both notified by the courier that a fully staffed house was being set up just for them. While he didn’t care for the special treatment, he was happy for the house when he wanted to get up in the middle of the night and have a snack or two. The kitchen, it seemed, was forever open.

As the limo was pulling away, his cell phone rang. It was a private number, and he nearly didn’t answer it. But he did with just his last name.

“It’s Collin. I have two things that I need to tell you. Michael is dead. He took his own life about an hour ago. I wanted to also tell the two of you that he did test positive for AIDS and had been in quarantine for the last several weeks. He did something that I’ve only ever read about and chewed out his own wrists rather than face the consequences of his deeds.” Marshall asked him what happened now. “Nothing. I mean, the world already thinks that he’s dead, so there isn’t any need for another national mourning period. Also, since he is dead, they’re going to cremate his remains and put them in the spot where he’d actually be buried. No one will be the wiser.”

“I’ll let Meggie know about that. What’s the second thing?” He heard someone speaking to Collin, but he didn’t understand the words. Sometimes, phones could do that to him. It sounded like his wife.

“Hanna said to tell you that she loves you and the kids miss you coming around. How long has it been? I’m thinking—” Marshall cleared his throat, and Collin laughed. “I believe some of the traits that MJ has are rubbing off on you. The second thing. Her father passed away. I know that she said that she didn’t want anything to do with the four of them, so if you could tell her and that she has our deepest sympathy about it. Her uncles are both taking it hard, and I don’t look for Todd to be far behind his brother. I don’t think that any of them believed that their mother had died.”

“No, they didn’t. All they wanted was for her to die, and when she did, none of them believed it. DJ had the house torn down and is having herself one built on the same land that they wanted. However, I think she’s much happier this time with her having a husband and a child on the way.” Collin had been sweet on DJ when she’d been younger. He hadn’t any idea that he’d known the family that far back. Just as he was hanging, Collin said his name again. Then he told him the last part of why he called. “Meggie isn’t going to be happy with your playing that way. Besides, I don’t know if we like the house all that much for you to give it to us.”

“Liar. I heard the two of you commenting on the way that the house suits you with the swimming pool and the hot tub. Besides, you might want to have the rest of your family up some time for a couple of days. I don’t know if you’ve gone over the place, but there is a fully loaded-up basement complete with staff, too, for Hamish. I know that he can stand the sun a bit more than a young vamp, but he’ll need someplace to rest, I’ve been told.”

They talked for a bit more, the two of them. When he entered the house, their house, he was going to have to talk to Meggie. They’d been looking for a house to buy near DC, and now that was one more thing that they’d not have to worry about. It was also nice too that it really did have a lot of room.

“I’ve been thinking about something that was said to me tonight.” She started talking like most of the women in his family. Like you’d been talking all along. He asked her if it was the foolish sergeant. “No, I’ve wiped him out of my mind. But you were talking about how you’d never been on the upper floors of the place. We’ll need to measure the rooms if we want to live there.” She laughed, and he asked her what she’d been about to say. “This house. I heard that it was only just purchased recently. I wondered if the White House owns it and would be willing to sell it to us.”

“I just spoke to Collin.” Telling her about the house and then about her father, she didn’t say much. He also told her about Douche Noodle, what they’d been calling Lowery, that he’d died as well. “He made a point of telling me about the deaths first. I thought it was because he was buttering me up for something like this house. What do you think about what we talked about? Moving here on a permanent basis? It would be the next step in your plans for running for the White House sometime soon.”

“I want a child first and maybe a chance to be VP first. That way, I can scope things out and see if I want to be the captain of the ship, so to speak.” He told her that she’d be the captain of the free world. “Nah, I don’t like that. It sounds like I have a bigger responsibility than I want to think about right now. A ship would suit me just fine for now.”

It was after two when they finally made it to bed. He held her in his arms when she cried in her sleep. He knew too that she’d called DJ, and the two of them talked for an hour before finally hanging up. Marshall knew that the two of them had expected their father to die first. While he wasn’t the oldest, he had been the one that drank more and smoked. He thought that Todd had as well.

“Collin seems to think that it won’t be long before Todd passes on too. He looked up to his little brother, and it will hurt him badly that he’s not around.” She told him that if Todd went before Ben, it wouldn’t surprise her either. “They’re not healthy men. None of them were.”

“My father, being the youngest, he would have to have more than his fair share. It didn’t matter what it was. He’d argue the point that he should have had a larger portion like when Todd had his birthday at the house. I don’t remember when that was, but my father argued with Grannie nearly the entire time he was there about him getting half of the cake to himself, and everyone at his little party would have to share the rest. I never realized how selfish of a bastard he was until the last couple of months. Did I tell you that he called here wanting me to bring him things that he could sell? Not to the population of the prison but to Douglas and the other two. Fucking shithead.”

“I’m so very happy that you’re nothing like your family.” When she snorted, he had to laugh. Christ, he loved his family so much.