The Devlin Deception: Book One of The Devlin Quatrology (47 page)

“Now, I'd like to read you a letter we received last week from
a young girl in Topeka, Kansas. And here it is for you to follow
along if you want to.” Donne pressed his tablet and a
handwritten letter on yellow lined paper appeared on the TV screen on
the wall.

“'Dear Mr. Donne,' she begins, 'My name is Melinda Galt (no
relation; my mom made me put that in, I don't know why) and I am
twelve years old. I live in Topeka, Kansas, with my mom; my dad left
us when I was four or five, I think. My mom has a pretty good job at
a company that makes a lot of plastic things for furniture.

“When I was eight, she opened a checking account for me, with
her being the bank and using some checks and a check register (my mom
helped me with that word) from an account she had closed.

“'Each week, when she gave me my allowance, she would give me a
quarter of it in real cash money, and I could do whatever I wanted to
with that. The other three quarters she put in the checking account
and told me that that was for me to save for things I might want to
buy later on.

“'When I opened my lemonade stand, we did the same thing with
the money I earned from that; a fourth to me, three-fourths into the
checking account. Sometimes I spent my share right away, but
sometimes I gave some of it back to Mom to put in the account.

“'When I was nine, I used some of that money to buy a bike I
wanted, and now I'm saving to buy a motorcycle when I get my driver's
license.

“'I think I learned a lot from doing this with my mom, and I
think you should make everybody in the whole country do that so their
kids learn about saving money for later and only spending part of it
now.

“'I keep hearing on the news and in current events programs at
school that my country has a big problem with a debt of some kind. So
I'm putting a check for ten dollars in with this letter to do a
little bit to help with that. I know it's not much, but I wanted to
do something to help.

“'Sincerely, Melinda Galt.'

“And here's the check she enclosed.” Donne held up a
check, covering the magnetic codes with his index finger.

“Melinda, if you're watching, first of all I want to thank you
for sending your letter. It was inspiring to me to hear from you. I
will be sending your check back to you, though, in part because we
can't deposit it because the account is closed, and in part, the
bigger part, because I want you to keep your money and keep saving
for that motorcycle you want; maybe you can use that ten dollars to
help pay for a safety helmet, okay?

“And, Melinda, I would love to order everybody to do for their
kids what your mom did for you, but I can't do that. I can, however,
put on my bully pulpit hat and encourage everybody to follow
Melinda's mom's example and teach your kids about personal finance as
soon as they're able to understand the idea.

“What I CAN order … and I've done it with Directive
Number 514, which I signed this morning … is that all schools
include a module on personal finance in the sixth, eighth, tenth and
twelfth grades. We've got free age-appropriate sample modules, with
rubrics and tons of supporting materials, on our __________.gov web
site; just click the link for 'Education,' then the one for 'Personal
Finance' in the list on that page, and you can view or download those
modules. They're set up for teachers of any subject to use and
understand, so you won't need to hire special teachers to implement
them. Parents, you're welcome to get those, as well; again, free.

“Melinda, I'm going to be sending you your check and a special
thank-you letter later today, and I wish you all the best in your
life, and I hope you drive your motorcycle safely when you get it.
And give your mom a big bravo and a thank-you hug for me, okay?

“Okay; let's start with the questions. Who's first? Sandra?”

“Sandra _____, from ______. My question is this. What was the
last name of the porn star you had the affair with?”

“Sorry, Sandra, that's an answer that you'll see when Lindsey
airs our exclusive interview. I won't take the wind out of her sails
on that. Watch her show this Friday morning and you'll find out.
Yes?”

“Heavan ______, _____. Mr. Donne, when you dispatched Army and
Marine units to help out with the tornado damage in Kentucky and
Indiana, why didn't you just have the governors call up their
National Guard units?”

“Well, Heavan, in good part, it was because we were already
paying the soldiers, no matter what they were doing. And it just
seemed to be a good use of that resource to use them. All we really
had to pay extra was for fuel to transport them there. Everything
else was already being paid for anyhow, so that was the only extra
cost. It just made sense to me to do it that way. Okay. Yes?

“Crystal _______, _______. We understand that you're
considering deprivatizing prisons. Is that true and could you expand
on that?

“Yes, Crystal, that is under – well, it's more than under
consideration; it's gonna be another done deal. The privatization
experiment has been a total failure, filled with corruption and
inefficiency, and we're going to fix that and turn it totally around.

“Additionally, we're in the process of revising the antiquated
sentencing guidelines and separating offenses that require some kind
of incarceration from those that don't. Violent offenders and others
who pose a danger to society will continue to be kept in jail or
prison, but non-prison sentences for non-violent offenders will be
available to judges in the federal courts, at least, and we will be
encouraging individual states to follow our example. We will no
longer tolerate prisons becoming schools for crime for non-violent
offenders, nor making them prey for the violent ones.

“We will also be applying a Latin principle, the opposite of
cui bono, who benefits, which is cui malo, who is harmed, and running
our entire federal criminal code through that filter, with
punishments rising in proportion to the degree of harm.

“And we will look carefully at the issue of rehabilitation.
Yes?”

“Honey _____, _____. Mr. Donne, have you developed a plan for
dealing with the student loan bubble?”

“Honey, that is a very tough problem, and it goes back many
decades. Like insurance or any form of subsidy, in fact, any kind of
third party payment, one of the side effects, the unintended
consequences, if you will, is that the price of whatever is
subsidized goes up out of all proportion. That's simple economics
and human psychology. Think about it.

“We have seen college tuitions rise, we have seen hospital
costs rise, we have seen doctors' bills rise, we have seen auto
repair costs rise, we have seen home repair costs rise, all
significantly above the average rate of inflation for things that are
not subsidized. The people are sensible enough, as individuals and en
masse, to resist the inevitable and ongoing desire of producers to
raise their prices, which is no different from an individual in a job
hoping for a raise; same principle, same psychology. It's called
pricing power, and when the government negotiators are either
beholden to the other side or downright corrupt or just plain wusses,
that gets out of hand.

“Let me be very clear. I and my people are NOT wusses, and we
will be renegotiating all kinds of third-party payment processes
where the government is involved, and we will reduce the pricing
power of providers of all kinds, including student loans and the
colleges that benefit from those. Okay. Yes?”

“Bill ____, ______. Mr. Donne, many people are unclear on your
foreign policy and feel you have been mostly focused on the domestic
economy. Can you clarify that for us?”

“Sorry, Bill. That's another issue that I covered extensively
with Lindsey, so watch her show this Friday, and if you still have
any questions after that, I'll be happy to go into more detail. But
as I said in the clip she's been running, I am neither a cowboy nor a
wuss. Strong but thoughtful; that's my underlying principle. Okay.
Yes?”

“Maude _____, ______. Mr. Donne, there is a lot of pushback
from nonprofits about your 50 percent tax on them. How are you
planning to deal with that, and is your policy open to change?”

“Let me answer your second part first. No, my policy is not
subject to change; it will continue precisely as I stated it in my
first speech to the country.

“As to how I plan to deal with the pushback, there are a couple
of ways. First, we plan to deal with noncompliance head-on, just as
we have dealt with and will deal with noncompliance with our corrupt
proceeds clawback program: with strength that some may consider
harsh. Too bad.

“Second, with mathematics. As our tax credit has already begun
to push money toward nonprofits, directly from the individual and/or
corporate taxpayer, without any of the overhead of going through the
byzantine and labyrinthine maze of the government, which reduces the
value of taxpayers' money by nearly 80 percent … or has up
until now, the nonprofits who are supported by some portion of
American taxpayers will wind up with more money than under the
previous setup. Run the numbers yourselves and see what results you
reach.

“Again, I'll reemphasize the point I've made over and over
again, in my underlying principles across all segments of this
country, it's up to the PEOPLE, not only as to what breakfast cereals
they choose to buy, and thus which cereals succeed or fail, but as to
which nonprofits they choose to support, and thus which ones will
succeed and which ones will fail. Okay. Yes?”

“Gemma ____, _____. Mr. Donne, the stagehands union has been
particularly negative in reacting to your position on unions, so that
many Broadway shows have gone dark as of this past weekend. Do you
have any plans to deal with that?”

“Yes, Gemma, I do. This morning, I issued a directive ordering
them to immediately return to work, with big penalties, especially
for the union bosses, for noncompliance. That is Directive Number
523, I believe it was. I've also ordered members of the military to
observe and oversee each and every production that uses members of
that union or any associated union, and to ensure that any attempts
at sabotage or any other noncompliant behaviors fail or are severely
punished.

“Additionally, I have ordered the FBI to --”

At that moment, a rumble of voices and loud footsteps was heard in
the hall outside the press room, followed by shouts, screams and
gunshots. The press corps ducked for cover and the guards and Secret
Service agents in the room surrounded Donne and rushed him to and out
through the hidden second door.

The first door, the main door, then burst open, with Marines backing
in, firing their machine guns at an approaching horde of zombies, who
kept coming and coming through the door, arms extended, shuffling
along in spite of repeated bullets striking them in their torsos,
their heads, arms and legs. They overwhelmed the Marines, chewing on
their necks, arms, legs, and torsos, blood spurting and flowing
freely across the floor, drenching the walls and furniture. Then
they made their way inexorably toward the cowering, screaming members
of the press corps, as …

-99-

Five Months Earlier

Saturday, October 15, 2011

10:25 a.m.

Bonita Beach, Florida

“Zombies, Jake? ZOMBIES!!!?? You put zombies in the freakin'
White House? What the hell is that?” Pam fairly shrieked at
Jake, waving the pages in front of him, as best she could from her
chair at the foot of his three-way lounge. Jake just smiled at her.

“You're kidding, right? Tell me you're kidding.” Jake
just kept smiling, his eyes twinkling behind his sunglasses.

“You're joking, right? You're joking. Yup, you're joking.
Okay, you got me.”

“I got you, babe,” Jake warbled, off-key, as Pam began
giggling, then chuckling, then chortling. Jake joined in.

“Why else do you think I'd give you the printed pages instead
of the CD I usually do? I just wanted to give you a laugh …
and watch.”

“You are going to take that out, right?”

“Of course, Pam; I put it in just for you. I'll take it out of
the final draft. Of course, the zombie lobby would probably be
offended by --”

“Oh, c'mon, Jake --”

“What's this about zombies?” an alto male voice squeaked.

“Nothing, Ron, nothing,” Jake said, not bothering to turn
around to see the speaker.

“Nothing? Sounded funny,” Ron said as he came around
Jake's lounge and looked at Pam with what he fantasized as his “come
hither” look.

“So what's a gorgeous babe like you doing with a schlub like
this?”

Pam looked up at him, pulled her sunglasses slightly down her nose
and said, “I'm sorry. Are you talking to me?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. I thought you might be talking to your wife.” She
looked at Jake and winked. Jake nodded and smiled. Ron just kept
on, not getting it at all.

“No, Jenny's up there. And Jake, she sent these for you.”
He held out a plastic bag with some chocolate brownies in it. Jake
took it, looked over at Jenny and made a “thank you”
gesture. She smiled and shrugged in her “I'm sorry”
gesture.

“Well, that buys you a minute, Ron,” Jake said, putting
the bag in his cooler.

“So you gonna tell me who this pretty woman is or not?”

“Pam, this is Ron, and that's his wife, Jenny, up there; she
loves to bake and she's terrific at it.”

Pam turned and waved at Jenny, a pretty white-blonde-haired woman,
who smiled and waved back.

“So, Jake, you gonna put me in your book?”

“Not sure yet, Ron – wait, I may have a job for you, in
the White House.”

“I think I'd make a great Secretary of Defense. You know, I
was in Vietnam.”