Russian Roulette

Chapter 11 : The work begins

The White House, Washington DC

I woke to a start in my bedroom, awakened by a crying Vicky. I held her in my arms, humming a tune to calm her and gently rocking her to sleep. She stopped crying and smiled at me as I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Having a bad dream have you?" I whispered. "Don't worry my little angel, mommy's here for you." as I rocked Vicky in my arms Bruce, also startled by Vicky's crying, woke up. 

"What time is it?" he asked, almost in a growl. I nudged him in reply. 

"Seriously, don't scare our daughter." I told him. Lucky for me, Vicky doesn't seemed to be scared by her father's sudden grumpy voice. 

"Sorry." he apologized. 

"It's already seven." I said. "It's going to be a long day ahead."

"I heard from Dick that you're chairing the G7 summit."

"Not only that I'm afraid. I have to help an old friend as well."

"I can still remember the day we meet." he said. "Albeit in an unorthodox way."

"You should be more cooperative." I say. Getting up from the bed I walked towards the crib and placed Vicky back inside as she lets out a yawn as Bruce embraced me from behind. Wrapping his arms around me he leaned forward on my shoulder, breathing in my scent while I leaned back against his chest, watching our daughter fall asleep on her own. It's a very quiet morning today. "We have to start work already." I said with a sigh, pulling myself free from his warm grasp. "Even though I'm tempted to stay with you for a while longer."

I entered the dining room where the President is already up and dressed, watching the news while eating breakfast. "Being parents isn't easy, aren't they?" he shot the question while eating a piece of bacon. Bruce and I exchanged glances but we decided to not answer that question. Breakfast became a silent affair ever since I gave birth to Victoria, which permits me the opportunity to avoid awkward questions. He is still trying to manage his emotions upon being a grandparent which is a mix of excitement and nervousness but I wouldn't blame him. 

After breakfast I entered the Oval Office to join the President in his daily brief, a detailed morning report that contains intelligence compiled by the Director of National Intelligence. Today's report includes an explosion at a London apartment, as MI6 has probably, zeroed in on a suspect that could be behind the poisoning of Sergei Volodin. President Reagan tossed a glance at me when we were briefed on the intelligence. I didn't tell the President that I met Volodin before as I and my partner worked with a CIA agent to extract the opposition leader therefore, as a response, I nodded in silence. After the briefing President Reagan immediately flew to Joint Base Andrews on Marine One for his trip to the Egyptian capital. I returned to my office as Vice President and waited for the leaders to arrive for the G7 summit. Oliver has been helpful in downloading the profiles of the leadership of the G7 member states.

Plucking up the first out of seven sheets of information on each and every leader I began my readings, starting from one of our closest allies. Prime Minister of Japan, Takaguchi Kawa, has been serving as prime minister two years after President Reagan was sworn in upon the impeachment and removal of his predecessor from office. A liberal leader he is well-respected by his country and also on the international stage. He supports liberal views such as gender equality, in the form of equal income for men and women plus promoting more women to hold management positions in corporate environments. He hails from Tokyo. 

Britain has also welcomed a new prime minister, Jason Duncan. An MP for most of his life as a civil servant hailing from Liverpool, he wasn't prepared to be elected prime minister upon his nomination but accepted it out of his duty. Fernando Ferrero is also serving his term as Prime Minister of Italy before President Reagan while Chancellor of Germany Lucas Merkel is still growing strong in his leadership through his clean energy policies. Francois Louis is the current President of France but this year is his last term while Canada received a new prime minister, Jessica Pierre.

"Excuse me Madam Vice President." Oliver Evans, my chief of staff, entered the office just as I placed down the last sheet of paper. "They've arrived at Joint Base Andrews."

"Okay." I say, looking at my watch. "Let's go."

Joint Base Andrews

The airplane carrying the leaders of the member states of the G7 taxied to a halt on the runway when I arrived. The members of the press are already there, waiting anxiously to take photos for their respective newspapers. I stepped forward to greet the leaders, shaking hands with them and exchanging smiles. 

Washington DC

After the ceremony, there's a dinner to welcome them. Most of the guests have already arrived when I met with the leaders of the G7 member states, dressed in a white gown and wearing the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, tied to a sash over my right shoulder. We entered the dining hall, speaking with each other through whispers. The dinner is a mostly private affair and ended early for all of us to rest before the meeting.