Chapter 130

At 0400 my mates and I were at the end of Sawyers Road waiting on the rest of the hunters. The only other car here belonged to Curtis Warren; he was sitting in his car by himself.

It was a perfect time to have a quiet talk. I tapped on the window then slid into the passenger seat.

We talked about the cold and hunting for a minute.

‘‘Speaking of hunting - I’m doing some for the White House. Years ago you turned down a chance to sit on the Supreme Court. What are your feelings about it today? Would you be interested to take a pay cut, lose a little freedom and independence for a seat on the court if it were offered now?’’

‘‘Does the fire to serve the nation in that capacity still burn? I’m looking for one great person to be the one I appoint, ‘‘ I said.

‘‘It would be an honor but you are right. I enjoy the freedom of being independent. Thanks for the consideration but no, I will pass,’’ he said.

Then I named off the three I had sent to the investigators. We talked about each one - the pros and cons of each. It was going to be a tough choice - maybe the checks would eliminate someone.

I had a feeling it was going to be an agonizing decision. That fancy research group I had was going to get the whole list to research on Monday.

Monday I was going to be busy working on the State of the Union speech that I had to give on Tuesday night - if the government was open for business.

The rest of the hunting party arrived. Today was going to be a little different; my mates and I were going to one blind and the guests divided in the other two blinds.

By 1100 everyone had their limit and the Gators were bringing everyone to their cars. All the media was allowed to take pictures of the geese and my mates. Anyone that objected would just have to get over it. Again we went to the inn to have lunch before we parted ways.

At home I reviewed the day’s security reviews; they came every day. If there were something critical an agent would have hand delivered it to me no matter where I was. There was a coding system to determine the importance.

I spent the afternoon with the boys on the floor with blocks. They wanted me to help with their homework, numbers, words and coloring. When they crashed for a nap I spent the time holding Sara and Takeo.

Monday and Tuesday I was going to be alone at the White House. Marcy and Jenny were flying to Thimble Shoals for the bank meeting Tuesday morning. Tuesday night my family was going to be sitting as guests in the joint session of Congress as I spoke to the nation.

At 2100 Saturday night Congress had finally agreed on a budget that I could agree to sign. Eighteen of the thirty sub-agencies I wanted cut were closed; the remainder were reduced by half and were to be closed next year. Eighteen thousand federal workers were changing jobs. Hiring was put on hold until all found jobs in other departments.

With that reduction and the change in immigration programs, five hundred billion was cut from the budget. It was still a trillion in red ink. The good things was the Defense Department held its own with the Navy and the Air Force getting fifteen billion more to fix or improve maintenance and to improve availability.

There was a lot of critics that were upset in Congress. There were new transportation taxes; gas and diesel tax increased by five cents. There was a new tax on electric cars to make up for the gas tax they didn’t pay. There was a one dollar increase in the airline ticket tax. All those funds were now dedicated and could not be used as general revenue.

The good thing was transportation funds could only be used to fix highways and bridges. It could not be used for environmental improvements associated with highway improvements. That money had to come from the EPA funds. The transportation fund could no longer be raided for general funds. No project could be stalled for the lack EPA funds.

There were improvements in VA funding and veteran benefits; something long needed.

House and Senate leaders were on the way with the budget to get it signed tonight and in time for a photo op to hit the evening news cycle.

I called Hanna, Melinda and Elmo to see if they wanted to be the reporters covering the event.

The signing and statements lasted a half an hour, politics as usual.

A courier left several packages from Adam Pierce at the gate. It was the first draft of the State of the Union speech. I would have to find time to read over it tonight or tomorrow. It included a thumb drive and a teleprompter in a much bigger box.

Early Sunday morning we went to the gym and worked out hard for an hour. Mom and Lisa wanted us to go to church as a family. Mom felt that I now needed all the peace and protection I could get - even from heaven - if it was possible.

We all dressed modestly. I wore the light body armor that I always wore and a pant suit. A couple of my mates wore long skirts. Our two little men were in suits and ties. I wondered where Jenny found suits that small, but they sure looked sharp!

We walked outside to get in the Suburban. There was no Suburban. The Beast was backed up to the garage. The Secret Service had struck in the middle of the night.

The ‘Beast’ was the presidential limo, all one point five million dollars of it. The glass was top secret - it was supposed to stop the bullet from an elephant gun at point blank range. The tires were bulletproof and able to run with no air in them, so much for a smooth ride I thought.

There was steel in the doors, under the floor and in the roof. There were steps that came out with the push of a button on all four corners for agents to stand on when the car was going slow in parades along with hidden handles for them to hold onto. There were hidden gun lockers on each corner. The engine was a Duramax diesel with a Banks high-performance kit not available to the public. In the back was a liquor cabinet and a mini refrigerator with ice.

There were three phones in it; red, black and white. I wondered where calls on them went to. I was going to ask that question before I made any calls or answered them. I wondered why I had not been briefed on the thing before now.

With all that, there was just enough room for the six of us, two little boys and two in carriers.