Covert Coffee (The Serena Wilcox Dystopian Trilogy Book 2)

Covert Coffee Chapter 21

21

Ted found it easy to bail on his self-imposed duties as First Gentleman. After all, no one expected much from him. Today’s agenda had an entire two-hour block dedicated to “fitness”, which usually meant a light cardio workout, a jog inside The Cube’s beautifully maintained park, cool-down stretches and a visit to the sauna and shower. Secret service lagged behind, giving him the privacy he requested.

He knew that when he didn’t take a second lap around the park they would go looking for him, but he had plenty of time to slip away from the Cube and into a car that was waiting for him. The car, which was in most instances a government issue sedan, blended into the backdrop. The driver was again Penny, now the chauffeur of choice for all discrete travel, even road trips that President Kinji knew nothing about.

Penny drove directly to a cute suburban home in Arlington Heights, owned by Lora’s grandmother. This was where Lora’s mother Vanessa was currently living. She was expecting Ted. Penny waited in the car while Ted went inside. In his absence, Penny made a few calls to cover for his sudden disappearance. She blamed his absence, and her pick-up, on a sudden-onset gastrointestinal issue. She assured his detail that everything was under control. She did all of this partly out of patriotic duty (not to mention the generous off-the-books paycheck) and partly out of guilt.

After all, she was the one who had first alerted President Ann to the situation. If anything went wrong, she would always second guess her decision to come forward. If not for her, maybe this mess would have been the next administration’s nightmare; dear Ann could have quietly retired into a much deserved uneventful life at the end of her presidency. Penny was going to do whatever she could to help, even if it meant lying to the president.

While Penny waited and kept a watchful eye out for any suspicious activity, Ted meanwhile was greeted, seated, and left alone with Vanessa. He cleared his throat, which prompted her to ask him if he wanted a glass of water. He declined.

“Mr. President’s Husband, what do you want with me?” asked Vanessa. “Is President Ann as pretty in person as she is on TV?”

Ted decided to ignore the question; he had no time for fluffy conversation. “I need to know about your arrangement with FYD.”

“My what? Honey, I have no idea what you are talking about. Are you sure you’re talking to the right person?”

“You had visitors when you were in prison from the vice president and Erik Chapman.”

“Oh, that’s what all this is about! Sure, they came many times, but they weren’t there to talk to me.”

“No? The log shows that they were there to see you.”

“Yes, I know. They saw me, but they said it was the only way to see Victor – that’s who they really came to see, not me.”

“Why didn’t they see Victor directly?”

Vanessa looked surprised. “Oh, oops, I bet I wasn’t supposed to talk to you. I thought you were in on it too.”

“In on what? You might as well tell me the rest. I can find it out for myself.”

Vanessa seemed to think it over for a few seconds, but she was eager to spill what she knew. “They didn’t want anyone to know that they were interested in Victor, so they asked me to keep quiet.”

“Do you know what they wanted with him?” Ted examined her face to judge her reaction.

“No.” Vanessa’s eyes slid down and to the left.

Ted had had enough psychology classes to know that this was a classic sign that Vanessa was lying. “The truth now please? It could help the president.”