Chapter 17

“Ladies and Gentlemen ... The President of the United States!”

The band played, “Hail to the Chief,” and Hawk walked purposefully to the podium. It was three days since my private invitation to join the cabinet as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Hawk leaned into the podium and spoke clearly, but sincerely. I could see people in the pressroom leaning forward to catch every word.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the press, standing with me today are nineteen of the best people America has to offer in terms of skills, guts, and determination. These folks have all agreed to leave their well-ordered lives and pitch in to repopulate the cabinet since we lost so many great people during the plague.

“I’ll be putting these nineteen names before the Senate Confirmation Committee this afternoon, but wanted to introduce them to you first.” Hawk then read off a list of our names and appointments. As predicted by my Chief of Staff, Don Kennedy, the nominee for Secretary of Commerce drew the only negative attention. Don had warned me that the President probably put that name in the mix to draw all the push back away from the rest of us, particularly me and my unprecedented youth.

The reporters grabbed onto the acting Secretary’s name like snakes on a mouse and fired questions that sounded far more like attacks at the President. Hawk fielded those questions that he felt deserved a thoughtful response and ignored the rest. The feeding frenzy took all of the attention away from the rest of us and we slipped away quietly.

It was very smart.

The previous three days, for me, were a crash course in the Machiavellian politics of the Cabinet and the White House. My staff – I inherited a staff the moment I agreed to the appointment – surrounded me with a focus that made me incredibly proud. These were good people and it was my obligation to be a great boss.

Each day my appointment secretary scheduled a long list of department managers sent to brief me on the state of our security and the condition and morale of their department. There were some terrific leaders among the group and some really dead weight. Those people would have to find gainful employment elsewhere, because those who worked under my wing were going to be lean, focused, and loyal beyond a shadow of a doubt.

In the evenings Angela and I were invited to small gatherings where I was introduced to the rest of the cabinet and their immediate underlings. These parties were informal opportunities for the rest of the government to take my measure. Angela charmed the women. Her gift for drawing people out worked well in a male dominated environment. The women enjoyed telling their side of the story to someone who actually listened.

“If I was asked once, it was ten-thousand times,” Angela was just a tad tired of being interrogated by sharks and potential sharks. “Are you and Thomas engaged? Will you be engaged, soon? Just how much older than him ARE you? Ohhhh ... It is so aggravating.”

“I’m sure that will trickle off after a few days. Let’s face it; we’re the only really new faces in this bunch of nominees. Everyone else is a retread of one kind or another.” I tried to give her hope that this round of ‘parties’ would soon end.

The press ate that one nominee to pieces and virtually ignored the rest of us. I got some surprisingly positive press for our relief efforts, and other than a passing mention as one of a group, they left me alone. Our confirmation hearings were fast tracked for the next week, with Senate staff sent over to prepare us ahead of the hearings.

The day before my scheduled hearing before the Confirmation Committee, my office was notified that the committee had no wish to examine me, and that I would not be called. When I checked around I discovered that six of us were released from testimony, another six were informed that their hearing would be limited to fifteen minutes. The remaining seven were not relieved of their required testimony. The hearings started with a motion to approve the six of us left of the schedule. It was quickly seconded and only two senators did not vote in the affirmative. Both chose not to vote at all. I guess having cast no vote meant it couldn’t come back to hurt you later.

The second set of six were called in one after the other and given sixty seconds to introduce themselves and then confirmed without debate. All of us were confirmed by a vote of the full Senate before lunch.

So far Hawk was twelve for twelve.

Having been confirmed meant that the ‘Acting’ title was removed from Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. I was free to get to work. Being relieved of confirmation worries allowed me to assert myself a bit while I got my feet wet and learned my staff and duties.

A Deputy Secretary is often considered the Secretary in waiting, but I was disabused of that notion as soon as I arrived back in my office suite. The door was opened for me by a Homeland Security Agent assigned to my protection detail, and I was welcomed by my Chief of Staff, Honore Rapaport. She waved to everyone within the offices and marched us all into our large conference room, where I was surprised to find my boss, Secretary Kenneth Boatright. The Secretary had just arrived back from a firsthand examination of conditions in the tsunami affected areas. We hadn’t met until that moment, and he made a show of warmly bringing me onto to his team.

When I stepped into our conference suite and discovered the Secretary, I shot a questioning glance at Honore. She grimaced like she knew it was a breach of protocol to catch me off guard in such a manner, but something in her gaze caused me to think she had no more idea he was coming than I did.

Both ways, my boss was in my office and it was on me to make him feel welcome.

The Secretary spent a moment welcoming me aboard and complimenting my staff on their hard work, devotion and loyalty. After a very few remarks he dismissed everyone back to work and took me aside, where he informed me that we had a plane to catch. “Thomas, you and I will spend the flight getting you comfortable with your role at D.H.S. Unfortunately there is no time for you to settle in. You have a very important role to fill, and we are headed to New Orleans to look in on an operation of ours which will dovetail with an operation currently under your command.

“This is not a publicity stunt. President Harrelson did not appoint you to make brownie points with soccer moms. I hope you have a bag packed, because my jet is warming up and waiting for us right now.”

Angela had prepared me for something to come up with little notice, and I had a three suiter waiting in my private rooms, ready to go. When we got a minute she deserved some serious thanks. When we got back I would probably have to keep her up all night thanking her. So there you go.

“The President had a wonderful idea appointing younger, more energetic Deputies. We need to get younger, fitter, and more focused, because the enemy is getting stronger, angrier, and more desperate.”