Project Maigo(70)

A distant siren tickles my ear. I look at Endo, who is wiping melted butter from his mouth. Apparently, the lobster was good for him, too. He couldn’t hear the siren, which means the sound is coming through the phone. “What’s that sound?”

No answer.

“Betty,” I say. “What’s that sound?”

Collins’s voice comes back as a whisper. “Kickoff.”

It takes a moment to settle in. Kickoff. The game is starting!

“You better hurry on that pie,” I say.

“I’m on it,” she says. “See you soon.”

I hang up the phone and turn to Endo, who is already watching me, napkin frozen over his lips. “It’s time.”

I dial the phone again. It’s answered quickly. As per our protocol, I speak first, using our code names. “Ranger, its Bob.”

“I’m here, Bob.” Ranger, who was a hard sell on my quasi-crazy idea, doesn’t sound enthused.

“The game is about to start.”

“We’re settled in and waiting for the whistle to blow.”

A distant siren blares, its whine piercing the night. It’s accompanied by another, and another until it’s impossible to not hear them. Everyone in Washington, D.C. will be wide awake and terrified in the next five seconds.

“See you in the end zone,” I say.

“We’re on our way.”

The line goes dead.

I place the phone back in my pocket. I can hear the rumble of approaching feet. “Here they come.”

Endo stands and takes up position to the President’s side. I stand on the other side, framing him in. Dunne stands half way around the table, closer to the door, looking as vacant as Beck.

The door slams open violently. No warning. No knock. Just action. At a moment like this, with the whole of Washington, D.C. under imminent attack, the President is treated like a helpless, frightened baby and whisked away to safety. Normally, I have no doubt that Beck would rush away with them. That’s probably what they’re expecting. But the President isn’t feeling like himself.

“Sir!” one of the agents yells, stopping short of tackling the President and throwing him over his shoulder. “Three Kaiju have emerged from Chesapeake Bay! We have to leave, now!”

When Beck doesn’t reply, but remains seated in front of his uneaten lobster, the man steps closer.

I get in his way.

“Step aside,” the man says. His hand goes toward his gun.

Other agents crowd in, looking ready for action. Those on my side of the table get close. Those on the other side are stopped by Dunne, whom they either fear or trust. He is the agent in charge. “The President is staying here,” Dunne says.

“Agent Dunne,” the man in front of me says, “Protocol is that we—”

“Protocol is whatever the President of the United States says it’s going to be,” Dunne says, and I suspect the words are being fed to him by Endo.

I’m still connected to Beck, but I haven’t tried to make him speak, I’ve just been...reconditioning…certain aspects of his personality.

All the agents turn toward Beck. He doesn’t blink.

Shit, did I lobotomize the man?

“Sir,” the closest agent says. “We need to leave. Now. It’s not safe—”

“Not safe?” Beck says. He shakes his head. “Not safe. Who am I to be saved while the rest of the people are in harm’s way?”

“You’re the Pres—”

“I’m just a man,” Beck says. “Same as the rest of you. And I’m not leaving. It’s of critical importance that I stay. That the people of this nation don’t see their leader as a coward. We must remain unshakable in the face of this threat, and we cannot lead effectively if our first action is the full retreat of this nation’s Commander in Chief!” He punctuates this by punching the table, crushing the lobster with a spray of fishy smelling juice.

The men back down, whispering ‘Yes sirs,’ and nodding.

“Now go and get everyone else out! The Vice President, Chief of Staff, my wife. Everyone. But I’m staying until the crisis is averted. And these men—” He looks to me and then Endo. “—will be aiding in our response to this attack. You are not to hinder them in any way, and if they give you an order, I expect you to follow it.”

The gaggle of agents stands still, bewildered by a President they’ve all known to be a man of weak character.

“Go!” Beck shouts.

The men backtrack out of the office, closing the door behind them. For a moment, there is silence, then one of them snaps out of it and starts shouting orders. Then the rumble of rushing feet moves off in a variety of directions.