Before the light turned red, he went into the intersection, and continued heading toward the coffee shop and Michelle. He was sure whatever Chris Teniga, the head of the Secret Service that protected him, had to say could wait an hour. He would merely tell Michelle that he couldn’t stay and reschedule. Then he would head up to the capital. It sounded logical.

(Note: pics shown are of his trip from west to east)

As he arrived at the coffee shop, he wondered if she would be angry at him. He hoped not. When he walked in and started looking around, he noticed almost no one in the shop recognized him as the president. This was good; he hated attracting crowds everywhere he went. The tactics he had put into place were working, he thought, and almost went reminiscing about the day he started to do something about the magnetic effect he seemed to have with people, but realized this wasn’t the time. It took him ten seconds to realize Michelle wasn’t there. A little crestfallen, he checked his watch and realized it was only 12:50 pm. She was probably one of those people who liked to be on time rather than early…..

1:15pm…..maybe she was caught in traffic, Kenneth thought, nibbling on a donut he had purchased with some orange juice(he hated coffee, so he thought it ironic Michelle wanted to meet in this kind of place), even though that idea was highly unlikely—it was the middle of the day on a Saturday, and even if it was rush hour the region’s traffic rarely if ever backed up significantly outside major cities, or so his Department of Transportation head, Zack Laird, told him in a recent meeting.

                1:30 pm….She must have gotten into an accident, he thought as the cars drove by…..again unlikely, he knew, as without traffic, there could be little chance for an accident.

It was 1:45 pm when Kenneth was forced to acknowledge that Michelle was not coming. He was about to leave when a male barista behind the counter spotted him. He came out and tapped Kenneth, who turned around.

                “Are you the president?” he asked in a low voice.

                “Yes, I am, why?” he asked. While he hated attracting attention, he didn’t mind one or two people recognizing him. It made him proud to know someone had a sharp eye and still knew who he was.

                “A woman by the name of Michelle came by earlier,” he muttered. “Said something about not being able to make it. She said she had to fly to DC, or something, and told me to tell you she was sorry and would reschedule.”

                “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” He gave the man a hundred AFD bill. “Your tip.”

                “This is a bit much, don’t you think? I just passed on a message,” the barista said. The Commonwealth used US dollars and AFDES issued money, called Astras, currency. Everyone knew Astras were worth more than a US dollar, and rumors were going around that the US dollar in the Commonwealth would soon be replaced by it.

                “Just in a good mood,” Kenneth said, and left the coffee shop, as the barista marveled at his good fortune.

                As he drove off to the capital, another person, a female, the only other person who had recognized the president, stepped out of the shop. She looked a bit suspicious, wrapped up a little warmer than the day called for. Pulling out a cell phone, she made a call.

                “Does he suspect?” The person on the other side of the line wasted no time with formal greetings.

                “Not at all,” she replied.

                “Good. We commence step two of the plan.”

                “Understood.” She got in her car and drove off….

Till next time...

Cheers!