Chapter 117

Monday I went back to Washington. There were no surprises; I expected a fiasco and it was. Some of the Congress-critters were back - those that wanted to give the appearance that they were doing something. The rest were on taxpayer funded junkets - mostly to exotic tropical locations - and took their families as guests.

With so few back, those that were had unlimited TV coverage and could propose all kinds of bills and laws on TV, knowing they would never see the light of day other than on a news circuit.

Of course there was unlimited bashing of the JBG security zone, the delays and me. At the security checkpoints this weekend things went a lot smoother. Several things were the reasons why.

One - the number of illegals trying to cross into the US had dropped nearly to zero so the thousands of DHS agents had little to do.

Many of those agents and drug canines were contract employees. Vicky had negotiated with the company to add them to the inspection sites. The inspection lanes went from fifty lanes to one hundred and fifty lanes over the weekend

With the right paperwork, the new computer systems using facial scans of the occupants and the additional people trained to look for contraband, the wait times were down to an hour or less.

The first week there were thousands trying to cross without any paperwork at all, only to be turned back. By the second week, the majority had paperwork.

The numbers trying to cross illegally in the barren spaces went up substantially. They were the ones filling the jail and temporary jail that had to be built.

Tuesday I was leaving on another PR meet and greet, this time three days and of all places - France. I was going to have a good time this time around. The trip was nothing more than a PR trip. No scheduled negotiations, however I was sure there would be private talks about the prisoners we had left at Matador.

The tribunal was still having trials but at a little slower pace. So far fifty drug and cartel thugs had met their fate and seventy of the original two hundred and thirty had been executed. Everyone that was going to wear a vest or be a shooter was going to meet the hangman.

The jail was staffed and holding cartel members and human traffickers caught trying to get across the border.

The new jail on the western end of the security zone was done and Bobs Construction group was back on the shore. They were working on the mall conversion for our forensic lab. The plans were doubled and then tripled.

With so many countries coming on board, what I thought would be a few hundred a week was now a thousand a week in samples to be tested and checked, and still growing. So far all the countries that had joined were willing to pay a fair fee for being a member and using the service.

Tuesday morning Air Force Two picked me up at Morton. There were no State Department people or DOD people on the flight, just my bodyguards and former Vice President Mason’s travel staff. They planned the trip from beginning to end; the official visits, hotels, transportation and official functions.

Wednesday was the first official meeting between French officials and me. I met with my equivalent and spent the morning reviewing a host of ideas and proposals. There was a discussion about NATO progress in adding troops and expansion.

Wednesday night there was an official reception and another meet and greet. It was much more laid back than the last one I did here. This time there were the usual VIPs and prestigious French individuals.

I did get a long private talk with Louis about the terrorists still held at Matador. The powers to be were happy with the declining cost but never asked why.

I did find out that Vicky, Ching Lee, Andy and several of his people were coming to Europe for a joint meeting with all the Pact countries in two weeks. The meeting was to update all the leaders, something that was required in the contracts.

Behind the scenes arrests had been going on since the French assault. The records seized at the training center were still paying off all over Europe.

Friday I spent the day with the President going over agendas, his policies, plans and party goals. Monday I was to come back to continue the discussion on policies.

Friday was also full of surprises. A group of House radical representatives filed suit in Federal court challenging my Vice President nomination, the vote in the House and Senate without the proper investigative procedures, appearances and testimony before judicial committees and debate.

The President’s legal team and I discussed the suit and authorized them to do all the necessary steps. In their opinion it was nothing but a stunt. Those representatives had time to object and make changes before they voted.

I finally began making a real effort interviewing my staff. It was only fair to them. They needed to know if they were going to have jobs with the change.

The travel staff I had already accepted but made changes in. All trips would be submitted to my JBG security for analysis from a security standpoint.

After the Pakistan incident and the fiasco in India with the State Department people, all people accompanying me would be investigated as well and possibly interviewed on the subject material to be discussed.