not only does he have his region buying into him but he also has the entire western world bowing at his feet.”
“What shall we do then? Secede? Declare war?” asked Steven.
“We will first try to secede peacefully. We will join together and petition to break off from the World Council.”
“And if that doesn’t work?” asked Steven.
“We will have to declare war. We can try to go through Congress, but if that proves unfruitful then we will simply have to issue it by executive action. If Assad is as irate as I think he will be then he won’t waste any time. We certainly can’t afford to.”
“That’s right”, Assad said as he watched the feed in his own office in Syria. “You certainly can’t waste time. I’ve got a head start.”
CHAPTER 9
Charles was sitting in his study when the doorbell rang. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there with his glass of scotch, but time didn’t really matter to him anymore. He had been daydreaming for quite some time. Depression had crept in on him as he thought about his wife, what he had witnessed with Assad, and his coworker’s obvious worship of the man.
The sound of the doorbell going off again snapped him out of his state of mind just enough to push him out of his chair and down the hall. His hair was all over the place and his glasses were slipping down over his nose. Half of his shirt was untucked and he hadn’t shaved for a week. On his way to the door, he tried to slick his hair back into place and tuck in his shirt.
“One minute please!” he yelled as he came around the corner and stood in front of the door. He pressed the button beside the door and it showed an image of who was on the other side. ‘Odd’, he thought. ‘Must be one of Caitlin’s friends. She looks a little too old though’.
He opened the door to the nervous young lady who stood there fidgeting. “May I help you?” he asked.
“Um…yea”, she said hesitantly. “My name is Abbie…Abbie Clark. You knew my mom.”
“I’m sorry hon. I’m not sure I know who you are talking about”, he said. “I think you have the wrong guy.”
“Charles Billingsley right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“My mom is Susan Clark. You dated her in high school and she got pregnant her senior year. By the time I came along, you were at Harvard University beginning your first doctorate. She raised me there in that little town in Arkansas.”
“What’s this about?” he interrupted. “I knew Susan, but I never knew she was pregnant. We agreed that I needed to go to Harvard because it was such a great opportunity for me and when I moved, I never heard from her again. I couldn’t get ahold of her and she never attempted to contact me. Eventually, I just gave up and let my new life happen here.”
“Hold on. You never knew?” asked Abbie.
“No. I had no idea. I figured that she had met someone else and just didn’t want to break the news to me. I quickly made new friends and got immersed in school and my work. The only time I ever came back to Arkansas was to visit my parents before they moved away. That was fifteen years ago.”
“I don’t know what to think or say now. I feel guilty for coming over here and dropping all of this information on you.” She looked him in the eyes and said, “Charles, I am your daughter. At least my mom says that you are.”
“I see. Listen Abbie…I am a successful doctor and scientist. This isn’t the first time that this has happened to me. I’m not accusing you or your mother of anything, but it would need to be proven before I can accept that.”
“We don’t want anything from you Charles. I’m obviously not a kid anymore and my momma is doing just fine. Gosh… I am even doing pretty well myself now. Just signed a record deal with Moonshine Records out of Nashville.”
“Well that’s great to hear”, he said. He looked at her for a few minutes. It was obvious that she had some of his traits. “Listen…tomorrow morning,
“What shall we do then? Secede? Declare war?” asked Steven.
“We will first try to secede peacefully. We will join together and petition to break off from the World Council.”
“And if that doesn’t work?” asked Steven.
“We will have to declare war. We can try to go through Congress, but if that proves unfruitful then we will simply have to issue it by executive action. If Assad is as irate as I think he will be then he won’t waste any time. We certainly can’t afford to.”
“That’s right”, Assad said as he watched the feed in his own office in Syria. “You certainly can’t waste time. I’ve got a head start.”
CHAPTER 9
Charles was sitting in his study when the doorbell rang. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there with his glass of scotch, but time didn’t really matter to him anymore. He had been daydreaming for quite some time. Depression had crept in on him as he thought about his wife, what he had witnessed with Assad, and his coworker’s obvious worship of the man.
The sound of the doorbell going off again snapped him out of his state of mind just enough to push him out of his chair and down the hall. His hair was all over the place and his glasses were slipping down over his nose. Half of his shirt was untucked and he hadn’t shaved for a week. On his way to the door, he tried to slick his hair back into place and tuck in his shirt.
“One minute please!” he yelled as he came around the corner and stood in front of the door. He pressed the button beside the door and it showed an image of who was on the other side. ‘Odd’, he thought. ‘Must be one of Caitlin’s friends. She looks a little too old though’.
He opened the door to the nervous young lady who stood there fidgeting. “May I help you?” he asked.
“Um…yea”, she said hesitantly. “My name is Abbie…Abbie Clark. You knew my mom.”
“I’m sorry hon. I’m not sure I know who you are talking about”, he said. “I think you have the wrong guy.”
“Charles Billingsley right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“My mom is Susan Clark. You dated her in high school and she got pregnant her senior year. By the time I came along, you were at Harvard University beginning your first doctorate. She raised me there in that little town in Arkansas.”
“What’s this about?” he interrupted. “I knew Susan, but I never knew she was pregnant. We agreed that I needed to go to Harvard because it was such a great opportunity for me and when I moved, I never heard from her again. I couldn’t get ahold of her and she never attempted to contact me. Eventually, I just gave up and let my new life happen here.”
“Hold on. You never knew?” asked Abbie.
“No. I had no idea. I figured that she had met someone else and just didn’t want to break the news to me. I quickly made new friends and got immersed in school and my work. The only time I ever came back to Arkansas was to visit my parents before they moved away. That was fifteen years ago.”
“I don’t know what to think or say now. I feel guilty for coming over here and dropping all of this information on you.” She looked him in the eyes and said, “Charles, I am your daughter. At least my mom says that you are.”
“I see. Listen Abbie…I am a successful doctor and scientist. This isn’t the first time that this has happened to me. I’m not accusing you or your mother of anything, but it would need to be proven before I can accept that.”
“We don’t want anything from you Charles. I’m obviously not a kid anymore and my momma is doing just fine. Gosh… I am even doing pretty well myself now. Just signed a record deal with Moonshine Records out of Nashville.”
“Well that’s great to hear”, he said. He looked at her for a few minutes. It was obvious that she had some of his traits. “Listen…tomorrow morning,
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