PW01 - Died On The Vine (20 page)

BOOK: PW01 - Died On The Vine

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“We live, we grow. Remember last spring when I shut T.S. in the office and he faxed my resume to Rhode Island? It wound up at some tourism bureau that figured it was misdirected, and they sent it to some people who do tour books, and their principal writer just retired to Maui, so they want to give me a try. So what do you think?”

“Go for it, is what I think,” said Jack the perfect husband.

EPILOGUE

Agent Stevens stuck her head in the office door. “Hey, man, do I have to do those quarterlies by myself again?”

Not looking up, Agent Wilson muttered, “I’m working.”

Stevens walked in. “Working, my ass! You’ve just been reading your Kindle all day.”

“It’s a Nook.”

“What. Ever.”

“This is for the UN thing.”

“Oh? Oh! Anything we need to know about?”

“Nothing that will derail the nomination, if you ask me. This story has been public property for a long time and hasn’t slowed our lady down one bit.”

“Well, the announcement is set for tomorrow, if there’s anything to find, better find it before then.”

Wilson still hadn’t looked up. Now he said, “There!” and put down his Nook. He smiled at Agent Stevens, who was quite attractive now that he thought about it. “Finished. Like I say, nothing there. Let the nomination go forward. The chattering class will chatter, but don’t they always?”

The following evening, Agents Stevens and Wilson were sharing tapas at a trendy Georgetown bar. The television behind the bar in this company town was turned, not to sports, but to a news channel that was currently airing Capitol Noise. They were unaware that they were watching the same program as a jeans-clad grandmother in rural Virginia.

The moderator set the stage for the panel. “Our topic is the news of the day, the President’s nomination of Mary Nguyen to be the US Ambassador to the UN. Ms. Nguyen, as we all know, originally a boat person herself, began her career as a freelance journalist, going on to war correspondence and a tireless advocacy for refugees worldwide. She is also, of course, the wife of Senator Andrew Billington Smith. Panel, your thoughts?”

The conservative woman panelist tossed back her blonde mane and said, “This is just another example of this administration’s cronyism. The appointment of Mrs. Billington Smith is an obvious payback to her husband for being the adminstration’s point man in the Senate for their socialistic legislative agenda.”

The intense brunette liberal frowned. “Come on, how unfair is that? Mary Nguyen’s record speaks for itself. This is a woman who can get things done. She got that aid convoy through the rebel-held region of Zalikistan and to the earthquake zone, when I recall you saying on this very program that it was impossible and she was going to get all those aid workers killed. Have you ever admitted you were wrong about that?”

Seeing the two women were about to mix it up again, a common occurrence on Capitol Noise and good for ratings only if not overdone, the moderator turned to the chubby conservative blogger. “Why don’t you weigh in here, Tom?”

The blogger smiled and shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I applaud the President with this nomination.” He cupped a hand behind his ear and added, “that sound you hear is my Twitter feed exploding.”

“So you’re in favor of Mary Nguyen as our Ambassador to the UN?”

“You bet. I want to see her up there in UN Headquarters with that look in her eyes, the one that says, ‘When push comes to shove, I can stab my own father if I have to, so you don’t push and I won’t shove.’ That image for toughness is just what we need.”

The blonde mane was shaking sadly back and forth. “Oh, Tom Tom Tom…”

Agent Wilson grinned at Agent Stevens. “What did I tell you?”

Instant messaging between Cecilia Rayburn and Josh Hooper -

Crayburn: Did you see the news? My friend Mary is going to be UN ambassador!

Joshster: Kewl.

Crayburn: I thought that thing about her killing her father might be a deterrent, but apparently not.

Joshster: LOLZ

Crayburn: Don’t try this at home.

Joshster: ROFL! K, I won’t.

Crayburn: TTYL, kiddo.

Joshster: Nite, Nana.

THE END

####

About The Author

Joyce Harmon is a retired Navy officer with degrees in Psychology and Information Systems. Since retiring from the Navy, she has worked as a winery tour guide, a journalist for a local newspaper, selling collectibles on eBay, and making candles.

Joyce blogs at
http://joyceharmon.wordpress.com/

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