Disclaimer: This is a fantasy setting, not meant to perfectly reflect the real world, nor represent my actual beliefs.

Chapter 53 - The Apprentice

 

One day later

 

"Damn, Donald, you look exhausted."

 

"You don't look any better, Bernie." I turn to the dorky guy standing to the side of the room. Honestly, I don't remember his name, but he's got a good spirit, he's a pushover though. "Still no update on who the messages came from?" 

 

"No sir Mr.President. Nothing solid as of yet, and it looks like it's going to stay that way. All the messages came from the Northeast area of the U.S. but the trail stops there. The technology required to send all those messages at once, while not impossible, is still very extensive."

 

"Is it possible that another country is involved, maybe one of the many, many special interest groups across the globe?"

 

"You mean like HYDRA?" Bernie asks me.

 

"Them or others."

 

"Practically every special interest group already has a significant amount of leverage over our government. Either directly or through another entity like a company or country."

 

"Yeah, you're right. Groups like HYDRA host yearly government Christmas Parties, after all. They don't need to hide anything. What about China?" China has been pretty adamant about causing chaos in the U.S.

 

"Donald. As much as China wants to screw us over, this doesn't fit their M.O. nothing is connecting China to a pile of rubble that used to be a site on the US/Canada border, funded by both governments. Neither of us can cut through all this red tape as the president of the vice-president of the free world. China isn't the biggest threat to the US and it never has. The biggest threats lurk hidden in the swamp, the thing we promised to drain, literally the only reason I signed onto your balet. Instead, all you've been doing is giving tax incentives to international companies that are never coming back to the US and make tax cuts when we need to be increasing taxes in case the country hits a disaster like it has right now. You just *COUGH* you just *COUGH* *COUGH* can't listen. Not even to your advisors."

 

"Bernie sit and calm down. Your heart is going to give out." He collapses into one of the leather seats across my desk.

 

"You aren't doing so well either old-timer. But maybe inhaling all that spray tan every day will get to you before age does." You're just jealous of the tan.

 

"I know I fucked up. I should have listened to you and Andrew and focused less on getting us elected again. Two independents winning the presidency and vice-presidency is kind of a big deal. But the situation's changed overnight like it always does and we have to take care of it."

 

"Sir, should I be in the room for this conversation?" I forgot the tech guy's here.

 

"It's fine, privacy doesn't really exist in the White House for anyone anyways. We still have just over two hours before my address to the American public, so why don't you go get some McDonald's over in the hall?"

 

"Yes, Sir."

 

*CLICK CLACK*

 

"Donald, please tell me you came up with some bullshit to distract the press from this second issue. That seems to be your expertise."

 

"We didn't say what the address is going to be about when we announced it last night. And several million messages hitting everyone from me to the office clerk in Bucktooth, Alabama a the same time is probably more on their minds as of now than the fight between Norman Osborn and The Harbinger a few days ago." The public likely cares more about an obvious government scandal than some strange phenomena.

 

"There's no way we're figuring this all out within a day let alone two hours."

 

"We might not be able to, but we can ask for help."

 

"Who could help us? I'm not going to HYDRA so they can help solve a minor PR problem."

 

"Not HYDRA, SHIELD."

 

"SHIELD isn't owned by the U.S. anymore. We're only allowed to contact them through the council, and they've never allowed direct communication."

 

"Uggghhh!!! You're such a square. Just sit back and watch." *CLICK*

 

*HHRRRNNNGGG HHRRRNNNGGG*

[CODE RED INITIATE EMERGENCY SECURITY PROTOCOL]

*HHRRRNNNGGG HHRRRNNNGGG*

 

"Donald, what are you doing?"

 

"If you can't call someone using your phone, you borrow someone else's."

 

As planned, Secret Services come in brandishing weapons.

 

"Mr.President, are you ok? Why did you sound the alarm?!" One of them asks me.

 

"Great timing guys, great timing. Really Tremendous honestly. Dillon, Bob, I need you to guard the door outside."

 

"Yes, Mr. President." They answer blankly before rushing out the door.

 

"Hehe. Those dumbasses really thought I didn't know they were HYDRA. I've worked in business long enough to notice contempt when I see it."

 

"Donald, what the hell are you doing? Those were just the two agents we know of that they planted into this security detail. Now they'll figure out they're exposed to some degree. Don't go pissing off the snake."

 

"President, Vice President, you can be confident that your security detail—"

 

"Rick, shut the hell up if you don't know what you're talking about. Bernie, you have to get dirty if you want to drain the swamp."

 

"You also have to be alive."

 

"HYDRA is a whore and like any whore, sometimes you just gotta sneak up behind it and grab it by the pussy."

 

"That's why you have to buy your wives."

 

"The country is on the verge of crisis, from threat after threat. This ain't the time to be careful. Joel, Billy, point your guns at Phil."

 

"Mr. President—"

 

"Just do it. Pussies”.

 

"Mr.President, could you tell me what this is all about? There must be some kind of misunderstanding here."

 

"Listen Phil. I know you're a good guy, I see that. You probably transferred over here from some random assignment out of nowhere with some good intentions. I don't give a shit. I need to talk to Director Fury NOW."

 

"...I'll see what I can do." He takes out his phone and calls someone. "This is agent 006 calling under duress. My cover has been blown. Yes. No, I'm with the U.S. president, he's asking to talk to the director. I understand, it's urgent. Single-use security code, 001. Here you go." He hands me the phone.

 

"Hehe, Mr. Trump. Is everything all right, you haven't tweeted anything all day. You know no country leader can talk to me directly unless it's through the council right?"

 

"I would never have gotten their approval, you know that. I'll get to it. Do you know who's responsible for the recent messages to government employees?"

 

"I have a good idea, what about it?"

 

"How big of a problem is it?"

 

"Well, it depends. The guy is erratic. I'm still trying to figure out who exactly he is, but he seems to have friendly relationships with the X-men."

 

"How erratic are we talking?"

 

"He has a strange taste in humor, is capable of butchery, and has a knack for torture. Just this other day, we followed his tracks and found one of his victims rendered insane after being buried alive and stuck in Chinese water torture. The scum died of a heart attack 15 minutes into the interrogation. The site we found was caught in a massive explosion just like his previous stop, the site at the Canadian border."

 

"So he's evil."

 

"No, I haven't found anything that really qualifies as harm against innocents. He does go rather extreme with pranks though. The smoke bomb thing at Oscorp was his doing. The guy's a walking chemical weapon. I suggest doing what he wants."

 

"The problem is that I don't know what the hell he wants. How can I contact him?"

 

"Easy there, Mr.Trump. You don't want your face to get any redder than it already is."

 

"Cut the shit. What do you want?"

 

"I'm running a little pet project and while I have a decent supply of Adamantium, I know my current supplier is being a little stingy with it. Perhaps you could lose a few batches of the stuff and I might consider helping you out." Fucking prick, I might as well go through with it, I've already made a big enough stink.

 

"I can promise you 50 pounds, no more. I'll need to make preparations though and I could use whatever help you can give right now." 1 billion gone down the trash chute. I suppose it's alright though, just print more money, inflation is already out of control.

 

"It shouldn't be a problem. I honestly an't risk revealing the guy who sent the messages and threats byt I can tell you who was behind the actual operation on the border. While on paper, the facility is a joint project between the U.S. and Canada, the project is just one of General Ryker's many pet projects."

 

"I can't exactly confess that to the American people, he's practically seen as a hero and he has a lot of influence."

 

"If you just need someone to throw under the bus, Senators Beckman and Roth are the ones directly responsible for the creation and management of the facility. As for what went on there, it had something to do with genetic manipulation and the raising of mutant child soldiers. The press should eat that up, you'll find the evidence later."

 

"Thank you."

 

"You know Donald, I like doing business with you."

 

"Yeah, Fuck you too," I tell him before hanging up.

 

"Well since you obviously don't need my help with any of this, I think I'll go get some popcorn so I can watch CNN inevitably destroy your ass," Bernie says getting up.

 

"Sir, can I give the all-clear?" One of my security personnel asks.

 

"Yeah, just say the suspect got away or something. I'll make my address from inside the bunker. Who knows, I might get a real assassination attempt today."

 

———————————————————

 

"Dear...people of America, my favorite people. You know I love you guys, but as the leader of the free world, I must confess something to you both in reference to the recent chaos around our beautiful country and the globe and about the recent messages sent to U.S. government employees.

 

...I once promised you all to drain the swamp, to fix the most pressing issues facing America. In that pursuit, I have had to make some concessions and conceal truths from you just as every president and world leader since 1857. As to what these truths are, they come in a vast array of things that may cause unnecessary panic and duress. We do not know everything, but there is much we do know, and I will do my best to reveal as much as possible. To that end, I will be conducting several educational discussions with leading experts about topics that the American People deserve to know. In two days, I will hold the first discussion with Professor Charles Xavier, the leader in the field of mutant biology. 

 

As shocking as this may all seem, I hope that this will at least make you aware of what I truly mean by the swamp. The messages sent to government employees was the act of a single domestic terrorist. Ordinarily, the government does not cooperate with these kinds of actions, but once I investigated the messages, I found that all the messages included a GPS location for a government-contracted research base that was caught in a massive explosion. Senator Beckman and Senator Roth, were in charge of the creation and oversight of the facility. They are in custody as I speak to you. I do not know everyone that has been involved in the conspiracy, but I guarantee that many government officials have not heard of it. It has no name, but evidence suggests that human genetic experiments were conducted there alongside the production of child soldiers. Additionally, I have found substantial evidence that China was involved with the secret project.

 

I promise to share with you any new information as soon as I get it. It may be tough, but we will get through this time and hopefully restore hard-working Americans' trust in their government.

 

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