Short Story

This is the story of the most incredible person I have ever met, and of the most spectacular and horrific deception I have ever witnessed.

I walked slowly up the steps to accept my position.  It was an expected announcement, of course.  They don't want any complications with this kind of spectacle for the media to run with.  But for the public, this was sudden, and I could feel the pressure building from either side of the nation.  With one quick decision I was loved and respected by half who were filled with nothing but anticipation and despised and criticized by the other, who were filled with anticipation nonetheless.

I felt as if I were gliding across the stage, completely numb of all action.  It was strange, this was the only thing that had crossed my mind in the past few days.  Well, that's not true.  Nearly everything that has ever crossed my mind had made a reappearance in the past few days.  Nervousness about performing in my high school play 29 years ago had crossed my mind in the past few days.  Guilt about getting a ticket on my way to school after only having my license for a month had crossed my mind in the past few days.  However, these thoughts had all come up while I was trying to focus on how to accomplish one task, walking across a stage.  And now that it is time, I can't seem to control my body one way or the other.  My body isn't leaving anything up to me, for fear that my brain might screw it up.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at my destination: Hugh Sainz, the Republican presidential candidate.  He stood straight, at least 6'3" with a broad, powerful frame and only slightly graying hair.  This is what I had been training myself for.  Make a good impression.  My hand made its way upward, careful to remain firm at all times, showing no signs of weakness.  He quickly took my hand, and suddenly his stern expression relaxed, and he gave me a warm smile that wrinkled his face and instantly eased my tension.  His firm, confident voice eased me, let me know that this was a man that I could follow.  "Welcome aboard, kid."

He released my hand, and as I expected him to walk off the stage so that I could take the podium, he simply stood there, and his warm smile became oddly uncomfortable.  He seemed unsure, as if he didn't know what to do.  Suddenly, another faced I recognized rushed onstage.  It was Sainz's young, feeble  campaign manager, Carolina Basel.  She wore glasses and her hair up, with a high-pitched, weak voice that made her seem uneasy, as if she were trying to convey her power when really it was hard to take her seriously.  She seemed to me such a strange choice, more as a secretary or assistant to Sainz.  But it also seemed to make sense.  Why pull around another confident, strong, middle-aged man to run the campaign, when that's exactly what you already have in your candidate.  At least in this situation you have someone to get you coffee.  She seemed to tug him along to the other side of the stage when she arrived at the podium.  "Come on sir, busy schedule."

This was it.  As much as I wished my career could be fixated on how I can walk across a stage, I would have to prove myself, starting now.  It was the time for me to give my first speech as the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate, Vernon Holmquist.

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Three months later, I had noticed some shocking details concerning the man who was now referred to as President Hugh Sainz.  He would often sit in his office for hours on end, not sure of what to do, until the phone would ring.  He wasn't very close to his family at all.  I had also never had any legitimate conversation with him in private.  The oddest part, however, was that as soon as we reached the media or the public or were exposed to the outside world in any, he became the man that I previously knew and respected.  His conversation flowed, he was as convincing and persuasive as anyone I could imagine.

I was simply baffled by this thought, I couldn't sleep at night, I was far too preoccupied with what was going on with this half-mindless man who also happened to be the most important in the country.  Was he going mad? Was I going mad? I needed to talk to someone, someone who must have noticed this too.  I knew exactly who to talk to.

"Excuse me, Ms. Basel?" I shouted as I saw her at the other end of the hall.  I walked briskly up to her as confidently as I could, even with my mind as rattled as it has ever been.

She whisked around, catching her breath. "Oh, you frightened me sir," she said with the dainty, powerless voice that I had associated with the young girl I had noticed before this tobacle.  "And please, call me Carolina."

And there it was. Suddenly, I had realized what was going on.  This young girl, previously the Campaign Manager and now the Chief of Staff to the President, was miles ahead of her years in terms of significance to the nation, especially for a girl with such little force, and such little confidence. Or so I thought.  You see, the president was not the only one who had become a completely different person since I had seen behind the scenes of the white house.  This girl suddenly grew a backbone.  She was bossing the president around, she was correcting the president, and almost every time the president answered the phone with instruction on what to do, it was her.  She was orchestrating this whole charade.

"I know everything," I said to her bluntly.

Suddenly, her cheery, schoolgirl smile morphed into a stern glare that I had never seen from her before.  "I knew it was only a matter of time.  You're smarter than I anticipated, Vernon.  I was just looking for another mindless puppet.  But you've certainly posed quite a problem.  Well, the way I see it, you have three options." Her confidence shocked me, although I had seen the more honest side of her in past months, I had never seen this fiercely aggressive version of her before.

"Option one," she began, "I can assassinate you in the next couple days.  I don't think you want that, so let's move on.  Option two, you agree to let me fake your assassination, by an unstable citizen who doesn't particularly agree with your ideology.  Then you can move away, take your family with you, live a remote anonymous life.  Or option three, you keep going through the next 8 years, keep your mouth shut, be a part of the greatest presidency known to mankind, and probably get on the fast track towards the becoming the president yourself.  Option three sounds pretty good to me."

"You forgot an option," I responded.

"Oh ya, and what's that option?"

"Option four, I go to the media, and I tell them everything.  I tell them how you've planned out every last moment of this charade.  I tell them that the courageous, knowledgable president that we know and love is really the biggest idiot to ever live in this country.  I tell them, and your whole plan comes crashing down."

"Oh please, you won't go to the media.  I know you, and I know that you love this country too much.  You go to the media and not only does my plan fall apart, this country falls apart.  People will spiral into a panic.  And you know that the next four years will be much better for this country if I'm running the show.  I make a damn good president, Mr. Volmquist, and you know it."

I was stunned.  She was right.  This country would be much better off with her calling the shots.  She was incredible.  Not only was this being predicted as one of the greatest presidencies of all time, she was pulling it off without anyone even knowing she had any influence whatsoever.  "Alright then, I guess I'll take option two."

"Suit yourself.  Pack your bags, you'll be assassinated in a few days, I'll send you wherever you want."

I felt so destroyed, so belittled by this young little innocent girl.  She had known everything about me.  She was ready for everything I had to throw at her.  She was a mastermind.  She was wrong about one thing, however.  She thought that I wouldn't throw a wrench in this plan because I cared too much about this country.  But that was far from the truth.  I could give or take this country, and the messes it has gotten itself into.  This country could use a good wake up call as to how oblivious it is.  But I still could not unmask this charade.  I respected it too much.  I respected Carolina too much.  She had done everything that I wish I could.  She had overcome such great odds to become something so great.  She was the most incredible person I had ever met.