Alien in the House

of the giant classrooms I’d been in in college, if they’d had incredibly cushy seats and been covered in nice carpet, wood paneling, and pictures of former U.S. politicians and heroes.
    We headed down to what Brewer said was called the Well of the House, which was in front of the Speaker and other bigwigs’ seats, with the main body of the House sitting in a semicircle going up.
    The place was packed, though there were a few empty seats here and there. Presumed they were the seats of the dead representatives, because it looked like anyone else with a pulse was in attendance.
    Brewer and Nathalie led the way. “The Senate’s here,” he said quietly as they stepped past us. “That’s why the balcony is so packed. No wonder they wouldn’t let Jeff put this off.”
    Took Jeff’s arm as we followed them, Reader and Gower behind us. “I’m getting stage fright.”
    Jeff chuckled, though it sounded forced. “All you have to do is stand there and look supportive, sexy, and gorgeous, baby. You’ve got the last two covered with ease.”
    “Flattery will get
you
everywhere. I think all you do is have to stand there and look presidential and commanding. You’re good at commanding, should be a piece of cake.” He was especially good at commanding in the bedroom, but this probably wasn’t the appropriate time or place to share that.
    “Love how you think,” Jeff murmured. “And before you ask, all my blocks are up, on the highest levels. I just read the expression on your face. Thanks for focusing us back onto the priorities, baby.”
    Looked up and around as we strolled on down the aisle. Was fairly sure I spotted Senators Armstrong and McMillan in the balcony audience. They weren’t sitting with Senator Kramer. In fact, as I looked around the room and spotted some of the Cabal of Evil in the balcony areas, Armstrong was nowhere near the rest of them. Interesting.
    We reached the Well and the Speaker of the House came down from his chair to Put Us At Our Ease. It was clear he was going out of his way to be personable and jolly. I didn’t think he came by jolly naturally, but it was nice of him to make the effort.
    There were photographers. Noticed them because they started snapping as soon as the Speaker joined us. Realized this was a great way for an enemy to get close.
    Examined them as well as I could. Most of them had their cameras up and were flashing pictures. One of them smiled at me and, when I caught his eye, winked. Oliver was here, and I felt oddly better. Not like any of us were safe simply because Mister Joel Oliver was in attendance, but at least someone else on the Floor was on our side.
    Things were explained, more to Jeff than to me. I wasn’t paying a lot of attention, mostly because I was too busy scanning the room. We’d avoided a lot of security checks by taking the gate, but the assassins I knew or knew of could circumvent those easily. And sure, Rahmi and Rhee felt they could handle the force field, but I hadn’t had time to ask them how it really worked. Maybe it couldn’t stop projectiles.
    “Don’t be nervous,” Nathalie whispered to me.
    “Why are there so many reporters? I thought all the photo ops happened after this, in the Speaker’s office or something.”
    “This is an incredibly historic moment,” Nathalie said. “Enjoy it. Your life will change forever, but at the same time, your husband is doing something greater than just paying attention to his own interests.”
    I nodded. Wasn’t the time or place to mention that my husband had spent his entire life doing something greater than just things that would benefit his own interests. Maybe that’s why the President had felt it was an easy choice to ask Jeff to take this position. Perhaps the President was right.
    There was some discussion about what book Jeff should swear on. Gower said that the Judeo-Christian Bible was a-okay with the A-Cs. This didn’t fly for the Speaker, however, seeing as Jeff had to swear or affirm on something he believed and agreed with, at least as near as I could tell.
    “Dammit,” Reader said under his breath.
    “What?”
    “Our A-Cs don’t have a specific book like we do. They have a set of beliefs they follow that they hand down orally. This shouldn’t be a big deal, but I think everyone’s jumpy because Jeff’s an A-C.”
    There were a lot of things I could have done. And probably standing back and keeping my mouth shut would have been what Mrs. Darcy Lockwood of The