@felixoliveira @rmoskowitz
“Mr President,” his assistant calls for his attention, quiet and polite and unalarming. It’s the same voice she’d use to ask to fix his tie or warn of a nuclear war. “A word?”
He’s told of the news in one of the private balconies, Rory and Felix at his side. Julian muffles a chuckle, equal parts incredulous and amused.
“What’d I tell you?” He says to Felix. “Wonderbread.”
Then he stops to think. “This is actually our best case scenario.” It’s not necessarily true, especially not without analyzing it from every angle first. But here, now, an hour away from the firework show, this is the best he can do. For himself and for his team, Julian builds themselves up. It’s not like him to accept defeat; it is like him to turn things around, make it benefit them instead. He lists, “They have no reach for diverse voters or women, they seem desperate for doing it here, and not to mention that making the 4th about yourself is about the least patriotic thing one can do. We’re throwing a huge party for veterans and they’re standing in our lawn saying Hey, look at me!” Would he have expected any different from Sanford? Certainly not. Julian paces around as he talks, reaching for any good considerations within reach. Just then, he allows himself to smile. “Maybe we should give them back their guns just to watch them shoot themselves in the foot.”
“He probably wants a reaction, too.” Which we’re not gonna give. “I think Sanford’s got a crush on me.”
He didn’t think he’d be laughing much tonight after that announcement, but Julian’s already got him chuckling at the mention of wonderbread. “Don’t know why I suspected anything different. The GOP’s never been notorious for having presidents that could host these Fourth of July events without spending half of its budget on sunscreen.”
Then, it’s time to play strategy. While Julian’s first resort is optimism, Felix’s first thought is ‘How does this lose us the election?’. It’s what he’s here for, after all - preventing the apocalypse before the first trumpet is even tuned for it. “They can spare the diverse vote. Those have always been our grievances, not theirs. And if anything, Republican women are the type to prefer male duos and call women candidates shrewd and unlikable,” he says. “But you’re right, it feels a bit desperate to do it here. They’ll probably still end up spinning the Fourth of July angle in their favor - Bell’s a veteran, after all, so any announcement he makes can be claimed under patriotism and serving our country.” He sighs shaking his head. “It’s not our best case scenario, but it’s also not our worst. Sanford shouldn’t be underestimated, though - Zafar should know that. In fact, you should be the one to tell him that, the kid doesn’t trust my word the way he trusts yours. We need him started on debate practice sooner than you, he doesn’t have the 2016 experience you do.”
He looks out at the view from the balcony, the city seemingly small beneath them. This is the view all those other men desperate to win a presidency have looked out on, Felix can’t help but think - this is the reason they fought so hard to stay in power. “I won’t lie, I’m a bit torn on what kind of reaction we should give,” he says. “On one hand, it would feel a bit odd to not say anything to the press or the people here, like you’re playing hard to get or being purposefully coy. On the other hand - this may be my selfishness talking, but after they were so sure that doing this here would get a response from us, it would feel a little too good to not give them the satisfaction.” He turns to Rory with a grin. “Liberate us from our fragile male egos - what do you think?”
“You know I adore your ego, Felix - it’s become a dear friend.” She’d shed the lingering evidence of howling anger that seized her in the silent moments, following Bell and Sanford’s announcement. Something feral had been touched in Rory’s heart; her resentment for the Admiral and his aggressively white male regime, the smug cadence’s in Sanford’s voice. Her skill restraint had given way to a primal emotion, one diffused - though an array of balloon carcasses littered the ground, as evidence of her displeasure. Cooled and delighted by the presence of her favorite men in D.C., Rory’s visage isn’t colored by the hues of burning rage - it’s soft, thoughtful.
“I’m in agreement with Felix - The Admiral and Sanford would delight in nothing better, then knowing their announcement has had its intended effect. And certainly, Bell’s eager to use his veteran status to silence his opposers.” She turns from the balcony’s edge, where she’s wistfully examined the lawn - no better embodiment of their labor of love for Julian’s presidency, could be found outside the White House itself. It’s Julian however, still painfully endearing in his handsome, eagerly kind , that solidifies Rory’s mind. “But we cannot yield to Bell; silence is his game. Never, has Will had a semblance of the upper hand - I’ll give it to him, the move is brazen, amongst other adjectives I’d use.”
Julian serves, Felix volleys; Rory’s uncertain of her returning move. Both made arguments she can give credence two, which is a beast of its own kind - and for another days reflection. The appropriate response to Bell-Gate, was their most pressing issue. Sanford was certainly frothing at the mouth, eager to twist a carefully crafted response into a speech rife with anti-veteran and freedom of speech rhetoric. Yet silence, not matter how dignified, or how it exemplified intelligence, maturity, would simply not do. The Admiral had come into Julian’s house, shat all over the ground and expected the Democrat’s to endure the stink with a smile, lest they run the risk of insulting a veteran.
“And so we respond, in a manner that his party could never fathom - with empathy, restraint, and a biting retort that his campaign will take three weeks to untangle, though it’ll be too late to reverse the positive news Julian’s incurred. Acknowledge Will’s duty as a serviceman, the lovely right to freedom of speech, and Julian’s desire to place the American people above bipartisan politics.The Fourth of July isn’t veterans day, after all. The nation’s independence from tyranny, or a raging white man .... there’s something there we can use.”
