“Hello?” Bosak mumbled into the phone.

“I’m sorry to wake you, Hank. Your assistant said you’ve had an absolutely horrendous day, but I think we need to talk about what’s going on with Montesque tomorrow.”

Wiping the slumber from his eyes, Bosak sat up on his bed in the suite. “Of course, Mister President. What’s up?”

“We’re in an election year. That’s what’s up.”

“I know that Neil, I’ve already donated 20 million to your campaign.”

“And I appreciate it and thank you again, Hank. But that’s not the issue. The issue is what the brazen folks at VirCorp have been up to. Fifteen years ago the stance on stem-cell research was formalized. Doors were opened, but not to what you’ve done. That was not considered, let alone thought possible. But, I think we can persuade congress if Montesque is pleased with the proposal tomorrow.”

“How?”

“Listen carefully. We have been through a series of very unpopular wars in the past thirty years. There’s another one on the horizon. You know it. I know it. The Media knows it. Unpopular as it is, a good war boosts the economy. New jobs, new dollars enter the marketplace. It’s a bittersweet chain of events. We can pull out of this slump the terrorists have forced us into.”

“I agree—”

“I’m not finished. I don’t think you have fully grasped the full scope of what this deal would mean. As we discussed earlier today, your boy Falcon and Montesque have been getting ahead of themselves.”

“Falcon’s out of the picture, Neil.”

“Good. Montesque informed me, very grumpily I might add, that it was VirCorp’s intent to take over the reigns of the Armed Forces completely. That’s not what we want.”

“Yes. Co-prosperity is much more palatable.”

“I’m glad we agree. So, what I foresee is this: a merger. We provide the officers and VirCorp supplies the military with the top-notch equipment and raw recruits. We turn them into an elite fighting force like the world has never seen. As I understand it, the…recruits will have no potentially grieving families for the populists to exploit in a smear campaign, correct?”

“Right. But listen, Neil. The prototypes we have here are not battle-ready. They are off limits for what you have in mind.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Don’t worry. You supply the people you want copied, and we’ll make you as many as you need. But these ones are ours, OK?”

“Whatever you say, Hank. Just so long as the General likes what he sees tomorrow.”

“He will.”

“Then it’s win-win for both of us, Hank. Just think of it: The Draft no longer becomes an issue. When we occupy a Third World territory, we can liberate it genuinely in the name of Freedom. There still are dozens of totalitarian-repressed people itching for democracy. Then, when the dust has settled, VirCorp steps in and lands the major commercial contracts with the new government. You become the engine of wealth, sending a few kickbacks to your dear Uncle Sam for the opportunity. With new jobs and opportunities provided by you, the quality of life increases one hundred fold in the occupied territories. Taxes go down across the board back home. Everybody’s happy.”

“With how you’re pitching it, it seems that we’re providing you with everything, doing all the dirty work.”

“Not with the leadership, Hank. We are both enlightened men. We both know any organization is only as strong as its leadership. Stalin learned that lesson at the cost of 21 million dead in World War II. That kind of shameful leadership requires more than an ‘oops’ for an explanation. You need us as much as we need you. Like I said, we provide the commanders. For that we take 30%.”

“Then why don’t I just recruit my own leadership?”

“Because you lack the face of legitimately established government. The face the public both reviles and trusts.”

“Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha! You’re trying to haggle with me over brand usage?”

“In so many words.”

“I don’t like this, Neil. Not one bit.”

“You’ve made the bed, now lie in it. Or how do 20 years in prison sound for illegal research and numerous violations of human rights? You impress the General, and we’ll take the issue before Congress. With the three of us backing it—greasing a few palms—there’s no stopping it.”

“Mister President, you’re trying to blackmail me.”

“Not at all, Hank. Just telling it like it is. If we all put our full support into the initiative, I believe the best possible scenario will play out. If we don’t, I’m afraid our bulldog of an Attorney General is going to go after you like a succulent postal worker.”

“You leave me with little recourse, then.”

“So, you agree?”

“Apparently I have to.”

“I knew you’d listen to reason, Hank. I’ll be in touch after the General checks in with me.”