THE PRESIDENT OF AMERICA WAS SEATED behind her desk at the Oval office. She was now in her seventies, into the end of her third term in the West Wing. She was now the same age as her late husband Walter was when he was first elected President. She was also facing the same predicament inequity of indecision like him — while confronted by her two economic advisors.

At the end of the sitting room area was also Dr Jane Morris, who was currently the Head of Pan American Health Organization — the epidemiology scientist was also the President's advisor on the Medusa Virus development — for those past three terms of the Rosewood administration.

Dr Morris was now waiting for her appointment, to update on the current situation in the CDC. She could hear Ann adamantly arguing with both economists about the IMF fund allocation to the virus research in CDC — despite both the female economists were beseeching to her about the implication of the escalating national debt...

The economic experts and even the general public had distinguished, that Ann Rosewood was responsible for the inordinate in the country insolvency, with the level of the current inflation by her pitiful pecuniary decisions. It had been twelve years — and the nation had partially been healed, from the consequences of the millions of death caused by the virus domestically — and they wanted to move on...

But instead, their president was still waging war with the unseen enemy — the mysterious virus in the atmosphere — which caused multi-billions of dollars allotted — for that single miracle cure.

Since stepping into Walter's shoes, Ann Rosewood had done what it took, to do the right thing — where she championed in fighting the Medusa, to the very end in her three terms in office.

On the other hand, Ann Rosewood still blamed the viral biochemical weapon of mass destruction, released on the US soil on the rogue scientist named Dr Yankoff. That cataclysmic incident, even after a dozen years, had still stained America's image permanently worldwide...

The country under her husband's brief presidency was still condemned globally — till today — for the consequences of the three billion male citizens' death on the planet.

Despite the world had moved on — with other new economical super-powers on the rise, that had overtaken America in trade and development achievements — but, Ann Rosewood still kept to her pledge that she made on that Memorial Day...

After she was elected as her husband's successor — her solemn promise was to use the country's technology and resources for two main agendas for the nation...

Firstly, the health and welfare of the surviving females and new-breed citizens...

Next, was to find the Holy Grail cure that would eradicate the killer Medusa Virus permanently...

Her belief was that, once those vows that she made were taken care of — then, everything would espouse, and the country would then set her tainted history into being honourable again — America would finally be atoned from her past mistakes in the world.

Dr Jane Morris' cell phone vibrated, on the coffee table...

She picked it up, and her face reddened when she saw a secured number on the display — someone who should not be calling her, was desperately trying to get in touch with her, on the classified CIA issued untraceable cell phone that she possessed...

Dr Morris had many other secrets too — which she had even kept from the President Ann Rosewood pertaining to the virus — and this was one of them, on the other side calling her — and trying to compromise her surreptitious position.

The doctor left the Oval Office with the phone. She would meet up with Anne Rosewood later — after dealing with her niggling problem in hand.

The President also left the office some minutes later, with an inordinate postulation to both the perplexed economists — she wanted them to draw up a better resolution forecast to the fiscal matters, with all her wants included too in the budget — to keep her Memorial Day promises enduring.

President Ann Rosewood left the West Wing for her medical appointment — riding on a motorized wheelchair that was accompanied by her fast striding Secret Service agents.

She was suffering from severe arthritis, and none of the treatments or prescriptions was working. She made lesser public appearances since she was confided in that chair — fearing that she would be perceived as an ineffectual in the public's eyes...

Will the voters have the same confidence in the woman they had kept in the office for three terms, who today could not even stand steadily on her own feet?

Since Ann was confined to the chair, her election campaign spin-doctor had cherry-picked for her a model to emulate — the polio-stricken President Roosevelt, who led the WW2 victories on a wheelchair — but Anne felt antithetical — inferring that the good FDR had held the public's attention with the heroic victories in the battlefields — while Ann Rosewood, on the other hand, was facing an invisible killer virus in the atmosphere today — making vague claims at something that the public could not see, nor touch.

She was still concocting blatant promises in her public speeches that there would be a cure, coming very soon — which would bring the male species back from their extinction...

This was ridiculed by many as mere senile talks, especially by her political oppositions.

***

Dr Jane Morris stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial building, reasoning on the video-phone after being accused of being ungrateful...

"Yes, I am grateful to you — and in fact, the whole world is grateful to you too! If you had not contacted and given us the warning — the entire sperm storage worldwide would have been contaminated by the Medusa Virus. You did the right thing, Sonia."

Dr Jane Morris was surreptitiously speaking to Sonia Petrov — the research assistant of Dr Boris Yankoff who was still in the hiding in the country.

Dr Morris was secretly working with the at large, FBI most wanted — the accused Russian scientific group that was openly blamed for the male-annihilation catastrophe. Dr Morris was also covertly channelling Rosewood's financial resources to Yankoff's group, who were also researching and devising their own cure in clandestine — in their joint-cause against the Medusa Virus.

The furtive cooperation started when Yankoff himself, came out of hiding to contact Dr Morris — and he had called and warned her of the effect of the virus on the existing male sperm bank storage.

Subsequently, Dr Morris used her position as the head of Pan American Health Organization, to alert all the countries to follow the preservation techniques in their respective countries worldwide — in avoiding the semen contamination by the airborne Medusa.

"Please Dr Morris, find me a passage so that my son and I can leave America — and we will go back to Russia."

It was a complicated situation now, and it would jeopardize all the research efforts for the cure by Dr Yankoff — as he and his medical team were domestically still on the FBI's high alert, being the most wanted fugitives in their list — and also, no one in that criminal database of the Intelligence would ever make a way into the Immigration's exits of both the American nor the Russian — in accordance to the terrorist crackdown treaty, between the two nations, made 12 years ago.

"But what you are asking right now, Sonia — it is totally out of my hands! Please, Sonia, don't do anything foolish now, and get caught!"

Sonia pleaded in tears...

"Why can't President Rosewood pardon us all? We have been working in secret all these years, in finding for the same cure."

The renegade Russians medical team had been operating in the dark for 12 years since the virus outbreak — and in-between then, Sonia had once requested to come out into the open, and continue Yankoff's research for the cure at CDC with a false identity — but, Morris denied the request for security reasons.

Now after some years, the nettlesome Sonia now wanted to return to her homeland...

"Please, tell the President that we are on her side..."

But, Ann Rosewood had strongly branded and blamed Dr Yankoff as part of the malice conspiracy that led to the Medusa pandemic which had wiped out billions of lives. Dr Morris knew the consequences that they would all be apprehended if they come out into the open where they would then be put on trial in the International Court of Justice — this will permanently terminate their covert joint-research with the Russians scientists to find a possible cure.

Jane Morris sighed — and she concluded firmly over the phone...

"The President would not compromise, and I know her very well — I am very sorry, Sonia — please understand that the stakes are too high right now."

Sonia sobbed before she spoke again...

"How is my son then?"

"Marlin is fine. No worries, he is getting top grades in school too."

"I miss him a lot. When can I see him again?"

"Not now Sonia, but I will see what I can do — and, I will make the necessary safety arrangements during his vacation break, okay?"

"Will he be safe from danger now? It is because — he is the son of a fugitive."

Jane Morris had protected Sonia's only son — Marlin — like he was her own. Dr Morris had kept the Intersexual boy's identity safe, for a long time, by posing as his guardian ever since his birth.

She emphasized that Sonia should stop worrying, and to focus on her crucial work as the needed assistant to Dr Yankoff, who was still working on his cure for more than a decade.

Sonia Petrof nodded in defeat when she hung up the video-call...

She stood on a higher floor that looked down below — at the entire operation in the secret hideout in a warehouse in New York — with a built-in plastic oxygen pressurized tent. She gazed at the opaque figures of three men working inside — they were the last remaining male survivors of the deadly virus, still existing on earth.

Dr Morris sat on the steps of 'The Lincoln Memorial' — and stared out, at the vista of the nearby White House.

Both the disheartened women knew of their bleak future, if President Ann Rosewood was ever to lose, in the next coming election...

Finding the miracle cure to the deadly virus was still their only victorious option, to save mankind.