The Invitation-kindle (8 page)

“Tim, I’m sure you understand that this thing is going to take on a life of its own. I can’t guarantee that the question of how we got the medical records won’t be pursued.”

“I understand, Sir.”

“I can reassign you. It might keep you out of the fray.”

“Sir, I prefer to remain. My only concern is to see the investigation through. I’m not worried about anything else.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,”

“Good. We’ve seen a lot of investigations through, and we’ll see this one through as well, both of us.”

“Thank you, Sir,”

“Okay, I’m going to call Senator Fields, and see when he can come in, hopefully tomorrow. Meanwhile, I want you to go through the records and find out when, where, how many times, and for what reasons Ken Myers had contacts with foreign governments.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Both as President, and when he was Governor of Florida. Look for anything unusual, gaps in his itinerary, unscheduled meetings, anything out of the ordinary.”

“I will.”

“Good. This couldn’t happen at a worse time, with the Olympics coming up. We’ll be stretched a little thin. We’ll be okay, though. That’s it. Thanks, Tim, for coming in.”

“I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”

“Good.”

Agent Colby makes his exit, and Director Slaughter sits back looking at the image still visible on the screen. It seems to beckon him. In a subdued tone, with quiet determination he says, “…What are you? We need to know, and we will.”

As late evening descends, it brings to a close another day at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. With the day’s obligations behind them, the first couple enjoys an interlude of relaxation before retiring. Carol, however is preoccupied tonight. Unsure as to whether or not she should tell Ken about the conversation she had with his mother, she is deeply ambivalent. How does one tell a spouse that their mother believes she was part of some strange, otherworldly encounter? With all that must be on his mind, should she add to his list of concerns? On the other hand she asks herself, wouldn’t he want to know about it, to do what’s necessary to keep it confidential? Her reticent mood prompts her husband to ask,

“You’re quiet tonight, Carol. Is everything all right?”

“I’m fine. So, Congressman Kearns is coming with us on Friday.”

“Yes he is. His wife Rebecca is coming to. They’re real nice. I’m sure you’ll like them.”

“It must be difficult for him to travel, confined to a wheelchair”

“We’ll make him as comfortable as possible.”

“I’m sure. If it were me, I think I’d rather stay home.”

“They’ll be glad they went.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Just an intuition,”

“You’re being mysterious.”

“Not trying to be,”

“Well, you must know what you’re doing. The vote on the energy bill is Monday.”

“Finally.”

“Do you think it’ll pass?”

“I think so. I thought it would pass six months ago, but with all this wrangling, it set us back.”

“I hope so.…Ken,”

“Yes, Love?”

“I hate to bring this up, but, when I had lunch with your mother the other day she told me something very strange.”

“What was that?”

“She said one night when she was home, she had an experience. This was when she was pregnant with you.”

“What kind of experience?”

“She told me that one night she woke up in bed, and there was some kind of light above her.”

“What kind of light?”

“She didn’t know what it was, but she said it filled the whole room. Part of it came down and illuminated her body. She could see inside her womb. She said a beam of light focused on you. She could see you inside her womb.”

“That’s bizarre. She must‘ve been dreaming.”

“She says it was real. She showed me the nightgown she was wearing. It had a strange burn mark on it.”

“Are you convinced that she believes it?”

“Oh, she believes it. There’s no doubt.”

“She never told me this before.”

“I didn’t want to mention it, but I thought you’d like to know.”

“Well I’m glad you did.”

“I’m mostly concerned for your mother. If the press ever got hold of this, they could make life miserable for her.”

“Thank you for telling me. Let’s do this: after we get back from Miami, when she comes over again for dinner, we’ll talk about it, just the three of us, and we’ll hear what she has to say.”

“That sounds good.”

“Has she told this to anyone else?”

“No one knows but the three of us.”

“Well, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. Tomorrow’s Thursday already,” Ken says.

“This week has flown by. I can’t believe the Olympics are almost here.”

“Opening ceremonies are scheduled for Friday, a little after seven.”

“Why so late?” Carol asks.

“I guess it’s to maximize TV viewership.”

“You’ll be going down a day ahead of time with General Croft.”

“That’s right.”

“I wish you could stay until Friday. We could all fly down together,” Carol says.

“I have to go a day early. General Croft and I need to confer with our base commanders to make sure we’re all reading from the same page.”

“Are you worried something might happen?” Carol asks.

“I want to make sure we don’t respond inappropriately in case of any harmless intrusion into our air space.”

“You mean civilian pilots.”

“That’s right. I don’t want anyone getting hurt by accident.”

“What time will I meet you in Miami on Friday?”

“Probably around four. We need time to greet the Mayor, and a Congressional delegation.”

“So who’s coming with us?”

“The Vice President, Congressman Kearns, and his wife. That’s it. We’ll all be back by Sunday night.”

“What time do you leave tomorrow?”

“A little after nine,”

“You better get some sleep. It’s been a long day,” Carol says.

“You go ahead, Love. I’ll be in soon.”

Receiving a kiss from his wife, the President affectionately bids her goodnight. Sitting back in his chair he calmly settles into a detached, reflective mood. Ken Myers has for his entire adult life been in the habit of ending each day with meditation and quiet introspection. His nightly ritual of personal solitude enables him to disengage from the enervating stress of his demanding routine.

He finds a rejuvenating solace in these quiet moments. Fully cognizant that his decisions could affect the lives of millions, he is humbled by the awesome power, and responsibility of the office he holds. Part of him wonders what more he can do for the welfare of the American people, and the world community in general. The gnawing sense that he can never do enough lingers constantly in the background of his thoughts. He knows his limitations. At the same time there seems to be something that always wells up from some mysterious source within his being, leading him unfailingly through every crises, or challenge he meets, an inchoate sense of something beyond himself pulling him forward, and he has learned long ago to trust it. He believes it has led him to where he is now. He senses something momentous is coming, something he will be an intimate part of, a culmination of all that has come before, something astonishing, and his life will be the instrument of its realization.

Hours later, and, hundreds of miles to the south, in a small town in north central Florida, morning rouses its inhabitants to another day. One of them is Ron Cushman. Mr. Cushman is retired, and lives a quiet life with his wife Doris. His working life was spent in the realm of politics, serving as a Democratic state representative for twelve years. His skills for consensus building and intelligent compromise were widely acknowledged during his tenure in the Florida legislature. When Ken Myers was elected governor of Florida twelve years ago, Ron Cushman was quickly asked to serve as his Chief of Staff. Holding that post for the entire eight years of Ken Myers’ governorship, he worked closely with Myers, and was a prominent member of the governor’s staff. When Ken Myers moved from the governor’s mansion in Florida to the White House in Washington, Ron Cushman was asked to come along. Instead he chose to retire, moving back to the small town of his childhood, and the quiet life he shares with his wife.

Today he is expecting a visitor. Mr. Cushman received a phone call last night from FBI agent Tim Colby. Mr. Colby is keen to ask Ron Cushman in person about something that Mr. Cushman mentioned in that phone conversation, having to do with a trip to China that Ken Myers made six years ago when he was governor of Florida. Mr. Colby heard something in that phone conversation that he wants to know more about, that being the fact that Ken Myers may have visited a medical facility while in Beijing.

Keeping Mr. Cushman in the dark about his questions regarding what Ken Myers did in China, Agent Colby has told Ron Cushman that the FBI is gathering information to build a case against China for trade violations, and intellectual property theft, an ostensible reason that Mr. Cushman has no reason to suspect. As Mr. Cushman, and his wife are finishing their breakfast, Agent Colby’s flight has already left Washington, and is well on its way to Florida.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, Senator Jack Fields is just arriving at FBI headquarters to be given the strange information about the President. The conservative senator from Oklahoma, generally known as a stalwart opponent of Ken Myers, will shortly be joined by Senator Walter Merrick of Maryland, an ardent supporter of the President. In an attempt to be scrupulously impartial, FBI Director Slaughter has chosen two Senators from opposite ends of the political spectrum, requesting that they come in, and be briefed on what the Director described as a “matter of national importance.” First to arrive is Senator Fields, who is quickly ushered in, and seated by Director Slaughter.

“Senator Fields, thank you for coming in. Please sit down. Senator I have something very sensitive that I feel compelled to share with members of the senate. To keep things bicameral, I’ve asked one other senator to come in this morning.”

“Who’s that?”

“Senator Merrick. He should be here any minute. If you’ll bear with me, I like to wait until he gets here”

“Well, I’m not in the habit of waiting on Democrats, but I’ll make an exception in this case,” Senator Fields says.

“I appreciate your patience, Senator.”

“Oh I know about patience. You ever go fishin̓, Mr. Slaughter?”

“No, I never do.”

“That’ll teach ya about patience.”

“Do you fish a lot, Senator Fields?”

“When I get a chance. Senator Miles, and I went last weekend, did pretty good.”

A moment later the door swings open. Senator Merrick enters unannounced, and is greeted by Director Slaughter.

“Senator Merrick, please come in. Have a seat.”

“Thank you, your secretary told me to come straight in, so-”

“Absolutely, I’m glad you’re here. Please sit down.”

Taking his seat, Senator Merrick is surprised to see Senator Fields, who greets him.

“Morning, Senator Merrick.”

“Senator Fields, good morning. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m responsible for that, Senator Merrick. I asked both of you to come here this morning for a good reason.”

“I’m sure it is,” Senator Merrick says.

“Gentlemen, what I’m going to show you is something that I can’t explain, and it has to do with the President of the United States.”

As the director of the FBI recounts the cryptic story about the President with all its improbable details to Senators Fields and Merrick, on a small farm in western North Carolina a man is sitting on his front porch waiting for the mail. His name is Todd Keniston, and at thirty-four years old his life has reached a point of personal crises.

After nine years of marriage his wife has left him, taking their two children with her. The former Marine had just returned home less than a week ago, after an extended tour of duty overseas working as a freelance security contractor. Instead of seeing his family in their home, he was informed several weeks before, in a letter from his wife, of her intention to leave him, and though the news was not entirely unexpected, he never thought she would actually go through with it. But the unnaturally quiet house once alive with activity that now surrounds and engulfs his entire being is a stinging, silent rebuttal. Looking at the swing set in the front yard, he painfully remembers the joyful enthusiasm that filled the air when his children used it for the first time. Everything around him that was once familiar now seems disjointed and out of place.

Todd Keniston is a man whose life is being pulled in two different directions. Surrounding him are all the physical reminders of the life he had as a husband, and father, a life he is sure he wants back, while at the same time he knows it’s only a matter of time before the phone rings, and he is offered another overseas assignment that he in all likelihood will accept. He sees it simply as his profession, the only profession that he has known in his adult life, albeit a profession that in the end his wife found it impossible to accept. It never occurred to him, or most likely he preferred not to consider the possibility that years of working as a security contractor in foreign countries for extended periods, often under dangerous conditions, was simply not compatible with the psychological and emotional needs of a young family. Telling his wife repeatedly that the next assignment would be his last, until she eventually became convinced that nothing was going to change, the gradual strain on their marriage had finally reached the point of no return. Weeks, months, and years of waiting for a father and husband to return home had taken its toll.

In an effort to persuade his wife to return, he drove to her parents’ home some thirty miles away, where she now resides. The encounter quickly developed into a heated confrontation, resulting in a restraining order banning him from contact with his wife until further adjudication. Trying to contact his wife by phone or email being unsuccessful, he writes, hoping to receive a letter in return. Going over things in his mind, he searches for answers. From his point of view it was a question of doing what he regarded as his duty, something inculcated in him from an early age.