'Look, Paul,' the president said. 'We don't think the United States First Party has a chance of winning this election. But we believe that Senator Orr can rally the unions, the unemployed, and a chunk of the middle class and take twenty-five to thirty percent of the vote.
Neither I nor the vice president is running. That means whoever wins will be a new president and quite possibly a minority. They will also have the senator stuck in their side, pushing his policies.'
'Will you be running, Senator?' Hood asked.
'I have not yet made that decision,' Debenport replied.
Anything that was not a firm no meant yes, and even those were subject to revocation.
Hood shook his head. 'Senator, Mr. President you're working hard to convince me that something wrong is right. What if I don't agree?'
'Then we get someone who does agree,' Debenport replied flatly.
'Nothing personal, Paul.'
'Oddly enough, I believe you,' Hood said.
'Also, we strongly disagree that what we are asking is wrong,' the president told him. 'Orr is the one who is being immoral. He is using the flag for a power grab. We are trying to prevent him from dismantling a successful national and international economic balance.
You know me, Paul. Whoever wins, I will be going back to American Sense. I would not be involved in this if I did not believe in it.'
American Sense was a Washington-based think tank the president had founded between his two terms. The nonpartisan organization was a well-respected source of geopolitical expertise.
'Answer this, Senator,' Hood said. 'Did the CIOC downsize Op-Center so we would be more inclined to take this assignment?'
'Do you believe that?' Debenport asked. 'Because if you do, nothing I say will change your mind.'
Hood laughed. 'That's an old ploy, Senator, avoiding a question by suggesting it's out of line.'
'There was a confluence of events,' Debenport replied. 'This was one way the momentum could turn.'
'I guess it's better to be an opportunist than a conspirator,' Hood said.
'Paul, that's getting personal,' the president warned. 'Senator Debenport has already said that he does not want to cause you distress.
There's a proposal on the table. Either you accept it or reject it.
There are no hard feelings either way.'
'You mean, sir, I could go work for your think tank?'
'You would be an asset.'
'Think of this another way, Paul,' the senator said. 'If this undertaking is a success, the new president might consider you for a different post. An ambassadorship, perhaps.'
That should not have been unexpected. Embassies were political coin, the medium for payback. They were the ultimate pedestal for a bureaucrat, and Hood was surely that. Still, when he heard the proposal the hypothetical phrasing was simply the language of barter everything changed. Against Hood's will, his indignation deflated. He no longer viewed cooperation as capitulation. It was part of the job.
It was business.
'Let me talk to Darrell when he gets back,' Hood said. His voice was low and conciliatory. 'I'll see what he found out and where he thinks this can go. Then I'll call you, Senator.'
'It sounds as if we have an understanding,' Debenport said hopefully.
Hood did not want to say yes. 'I understand,' he replied.
