SPOV

"I'm only going to ask you one more time," I told the young man. "Has Governor McCormick said anything about rebelling against the Federation?"

"I told you, he hasn't!" The aid squeaked. "Please don't hurt me! I don't even want this job!"

The door flew open. I turned, ready to lash out at whoever was standing there. Miles Matheson stood in the doorway. "You've got to be kidding me." He shook his head. "Get out of here, kid," he said to the aid. The boy ran. Miles closed the door behind him.

"Hey, I wasn't done!" I protested.

"A broom closest, Sarah? Really?"

"It was convenient, and no one was going to come in here," I reasoned.

He groaned. "No more of this."

"How do you expect me to find Ciara's killer, Miles? I'm working my way through her folder. I'm doing everything I can to figure out who did this."

"You really thought this was the least conspicuous way to do that? Because I guarantee that kid is going to run back to McCormick and tell him some crazy blonde chick just dragged him into a broom closet. And what if McCormick was the one who killed Ciara? You've just put a target on your back too."

I looked down. "I just want this to be over."

"Me too, Sarah." He groaned. "Now, I'm going to go clean up your mess before half the Summit finds out what you've been up to."

"How am I supposed to investigate?"

"I don't know, just anything but this. Okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, okay. Thanks for the help."

CPOV

Charlie and I stood just outside the meeting room. I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants again. Charlie had yet to tell me what she found the night before on Ossabaw Island. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing.

But, right now I had other things to worry about, like surviving my first official day as interim President. I was supposed to open the floor for a debate first thing this morning. It wasn't even an important debate; it was about steam-powered cars or something. That didn't stop me from feeling like I was going to throw up at any moment.

"You okay?" Charlie asked. I shook my head. "You've been on the other side of that table a million times," she reminded me. "You've debated more important things that public transportation."

"Yeah, as a Governor, not as President."

She shook her head. "Nothing's changed, it's the same room of people. You know everyone in there."

"But before they weren't all out for my head," I said exasperated. "No one wants me to be President."

"That's not true."

"What if Ciara was wrong? What if I'm not right for this job?"

Charlie linked her fingers through mine. "Something I learned about Ciara, she's hardly ever wrong." She smiled. I smiled back reluctantly. "It's okay to be nervous, even Ciara got nervous."

"Ciara? Nervous? Never."

Charlie nodded. "I've got to go inside, but you're going to do fine. And when the time comes for the vote, you've got mine." She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek before ducking inside.

15 Years Ago

Charleston, South Carolina

"I'm going to throw up," Ciara said. Miles, Charlie, and Bass looked up at her. "I wish I was joking."

"It's morning sickness," Charlie reasoned.

Ciara shook her head furiously. "It's nerves." She resumed pacing. The other three watched her for a moment. They stood inside the Charleston capital building. Outside, Governor Braxton was warming up the crowd, before he welcomed the new President Jackson to the stage.

"Ciara, sit down, you're making me nervous," Miles said. Charlie tried to guide Ciara into a chair, but Ciara shook her off. "I thought you didn't get nervous?"

"This is a new phenomenon," Ciara agreed. Honestly, she didn't even know why she was nervous. She'd been acting President for six months during the war. She'd had plenty of time to figure out what she was doing. It wasn't so much the job that Ciara was worried about. She just wanted to survive the inaugural address.

"What if they don't like me?" Ciara asked, after a long silence. "I mean, sure, the Governors voted me into office. But, without the people's support, this will never work. They loved my dad, you know? The Georgia Federation was the happiest places in the continent." She shook her head. "What if I can't do it?"

"Your dad was a great man," Miles said. "And he taught you everything he knew. You learned from the best. You're going to do just fine."

"But, ever since the war with the Republic, my image hasn't exactly been sparkly and clean. They called me a traitor! Just because I was trying to do my job and unite this country."

"You were doing a lot more than that," Bass said quietly. Ciara shot him a scalding look. Charlie covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

"I've spent the last six months trying to prove myself to the Governors. I haven't even thought about what the people were going to think of me. I mean, I'm standing with the most hated man in the country."

"I've read the papers," Miles said. "You did a good job, people actually like him a little bit."

Charlie held her thumb and index finger up, almost touching. "Like, just this much."

Miles gave her a look. "The point is, opinions can change. The only thing you can do now is, go out there, give a hell of a speech, and then start changing the world."

"People will get on board," Bass said. "You have that effect on people."

"I've watched this woman grow into an amazing person," Charles said outside. "I am so proud to be introducing her to you today. So, without further ado, President Ciara Jackson."

The doors opened. Ciara stood frozen for a moment. Charlie shoved her in the back. "They'll love you, now get out there!" Ciara stepped out onto the steps, the crowd cheered. Charlie watched as Ciara's shoulders relaxed. Just like that, Ciara was back.

2044

Savannah, Georgia

BassPOV

The market was busier than I expected. It seemed like everyone and their brother was at the Summit. When the twins had asked me to take them to the market, I'd been hoping for a relaxing afternoon. But, this was Savannah, and everyone here had a routine. I shouldn't have expected people to break that routine on the Summit's account.

The twins ran back and forth across the aisle, looking at every booth. Will and I strolled along in silence. Ellie ran headfirst into a woman carrying a basket of fruit, oranges and apple went flying. I groaned. "Giselle!" I snapped, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back from the booths. "Stop running, I don't want to pay for everything you break. That goes for you too, Emeline." Emily sighed.

Ellie came to a halt. "Daddy, wait." She pointed at a booth. There was a display of knives with hand carved hilts. It reminded me of Ciara. She always carried knives. Ellie looked up expectantly, and I nodded. She walked over to take a closer look.

"Everyone needs a good knife," the vendor told her. She reached for one, but he stopped her hand. "How old are you?"

"Thirteen," she said proudly. The vendor looked at me, and I nodded that it was okay. He handed her the knife and she tested it in her hand. "I like it." She pulled a pouch from her pocket and poured a few diamonds out. The vendor laughed as he handed her a sheath for it.

Ellie returned, wide eyed. "I can't wait to practice with this."

"You're as bad as your mother." I shook my head. From a young age, I knew Giselle was going to be a good fighter. She was small, but she practiced more than most adults I knew. Ciara had always encouraged Ellie to do whatever she wanted.

Just after her thirteenth birthday, Giselle told me she wanted to be Miles when she grew up. Since Miles was always busy, I offered to teach her how to do his job. Ciara had always been a good fighter, but she'd never been militarily inclined. Ellie got that from me.

"Where'd you get those diamonds?" I asked her. She and Emily shared a panicked look. "Girls?"

"Uncle Miles," Emily blurted out. "He wanted us to get you out of the house."

Ellie rolled her eyes at her sister. "He called you a sad sack." I shook my head. Of course that's something Miles would do. But, I couldn't complain. I did feel better being out of the house.

Ellie started to take off running again. I grabbed her arm. "Give me the knife." She grumbled, but handed it to me anyway. "You can have it when we're back at home." She grabbed her sister and practically dragged her down the aisle.

"Dad," Will said. I glanced over at him. "Do you think you could teach me?"

"What?"

"I know I'm not as tough as Ellie, but I can try."

"You want to learn how to fight?" I clarified. Will had always been a momma's boy. Ciara had tapped Connor, and then Sarah to follow her as President. But, it was clear she intended Will to follow after both of them. He was smart as hell, maybe even smarter than Ciara, definitely smarter than Connor. But, I could tell he'd always felt left out.

Connor taught Ellie and Emily how to fight, he'd tried to teach Will but Will just wasn't any good. So while his sisters and Connor got closer, he was left on the fringes. I could've been a better father, but he'd always had Ciara. I never thought he would need me.

"I want to make mom proud," he said. "Ellie's going to be General of the military one day, and Emily is probably going to be an architect. I'm just going to be-"

"You're going to be Governor of Georgia, and one day you'll be President just like Ciara." I ruffled his hair. "I know you helped your mom sometimes, but maybe we can make that more official. What would you say about being my aid?"

"Really?" He asked. I smiled. "Awesome!"

"And I'll teach you how to fight, if you really want to learn. We'll make Ciara proud, together."

Over his shoulder I saw someone familiar. It took me a moment to place the man's face. "Will, take your sisters back home."

"What?" He asked confused.

"Just do it." I followed the man through the crowd. He crossed over to the last aisle. I walked past him and grabbed him by the arm. I yanked him into a broom closet. I shoved him against one of the shelves, cleaning supplies hit the ground. A glass jar shattered.

The man's eyes grew wide. "General Monroe. I can explain-"

"Yeah, you better. You're supposed to be dead. They found your body with hers."

He shook his head furiously. "I wasn't in the office, I swear. I was on vacation, you can check the logs."

"I can't check the logs, because they burned in the fire," I reminded him. "You were Ciara's best aid. You really expect me to believe she gave you vacation time in the middle of the Summit?"

"I don't know anything, I don't!"

I put a hand into my pocket and pulled out Ellie's knife. "You're a really bad liar."

SPOV

Connor and I sat in Ciara's study after dinner. I flipped through Ciara's folder. The door flew open, scaring us both. Bass walked in. "Where've you been?" Connor asked. Bass stepped into the light. He was bloody. "Are you bleeding?"

"That's not his blood," I told Connor. We both looked at Bass, waiting.

He tossed a knife on the desk. "Mexico," he said finally. "I found Ciara's aid, the one who died in the fire."

"He's alive?" I asked.

"He was."

Connor and I shared a look. "What'd he say?"

"The night she died, she had a meeting with the Mexican delegation. But they weren't interested in her diplomacy," he told us. Relations with Mexico had been strained following the Patriot war. Ciara had invited them to the Summit to mend things. "They paid off her aid to let them into her office early, they poisoned her bourbon. It was supposed to look like a heart attack. But, something happened. She killed one of the delegates, he was the second body."

"They torched the office to cover their tracks," I realized. "Burned everything so there'd be no way to attach Mexico."

Connor shook his head. "There has to be something we're missing. I grew up in Mexico; I know the way they work. They're not doing this alone."

"You think someone in the Federation is helping them?" I asked.

"We should arrest the Mexican delegation," Bass said. "Someone will break."

I remembered what Miles had told me that morning. "No, the moment we round them up, we show our hand. We risk the conspirators going underground, or worse we move up their timeline." I looked down at the folder. "This may be the piece we needed to solve this puzzle."

I fanned out the documents across the table. Connor and I both scanned over them again. "Was that in here?" Bass asked.

I shook my head. "She hid it for me in the fountain. She used to hide things in there all the time, I think I'm the only one who knew that. It was her favorite place."

15 Years Ago

Savannah, Georgia

"I can't believe I'm home," Ciara said.

Bass laughed. "You've said that at least a dozen times."

"I used to think, I've seen Savannah for the last time. I'm never going to go home. But now, I'm here. And I have you with me. I don't think I could be any happier." She linked her fingers through his and smiled up at him.

"I know I couldn't be any happier." Bass leaned down and kissed her.

She laughed. "We should probably get back, I don't want to leave Anya with Will for too long. She signed up to be a housekeeper not a babysitter." Ciara pulled Bass along the riverfront. She took in all the boats coming from and going to places all around the world. She'd always loved being on the river.

They walked back to the house, passing through Colonial Park Cemetery. Governor Braxton had commissioned a memorial for Ciara's father, and all the other lives lost at the hands of the Patriots. Bass put his arm around her. She leaned into him for a moment and let him comfort her. But she'd cried enough, she didn't want to cry anymore.

They passed through Lafayette Square, by the cathedral. Finally, they ended in Forsyth Park, just in front of the fountain. The house was just across the street, and Ciara knew she should be getting back to her son. But, for a moment, she just wanted to stay here.

She felt the tears well up in her eyes before she could do anything about them. She wiped at them quickly, hoping Bass wouldn't notice. But, of course, he did. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, it's just…I used to come here with my parents when I was a kid, before the blackout. We'd have picnics on the weekends when my dad was off work. We just sat over there for hours. My dad could've just let this city fall apart after the blackout, but he didn't. I think that was because of me. He didn't want things to change, at least not the things that really mattered."

"I always thought when all this was over, and I made it home, he'd be here waiting for me." She shook her head. "I'll never understand how the Patriots could destroy the very country they wanted to rebuild. How they could just bomb Atlanta and Philadelphia without a second thought."

Bass wiped the tears from Ciara's face. He pulled her close, and kissed the top of her head. "It's over, they're gone. You're home, and safe, and everything is going to get better."

"I thought I was the one who was stupidly hopeful?" She said with a smile.

He laughed. "What can I say? You're rubbing off on me." Ciara leaned up and kissed him. Then she pulled him back toward the house, giving the fountain one last look. "Why don't we get Will, and have lunch outside?"

Ciara's eyes lit up. "A Forsyth Park picnic, I'd love that."

2044

Savannah, Georgia

SPOV

"Wait a minute!" Connor said, grabbing one of the papers. He furrowed his brow, as he looked it over. "There's something wrong about this."

"Texas supply routes?" Bass asked, looking over Connor's shoulder.

"They shouldn't be taking this long, and these numbers are all over the place." He swept up the rest of the documents. "I've got to take a closer look at this." He headed out of the study, leaving me alone with Bass. He picked up a photo off the desk. It had always been one of Ciara's favorites. It showed her and her parents, before the blackout, having a picnic in Forsyth Park.

I headed toward the door, to give him some space. Then I stopped. "Hey, do you want to go have a drink?" I asked. "I think we could both use one."