Chapter 5
Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth.
-Barry Goldwater
3:52 p.m. EDT
Washington, D.C.
The White House
Lex Luthor was all about power.
He had sought it throughout his life, as a child in Kansas, as the (embedded) Alpha Dog among the most powerful supervillains on Earth, and as the Chief Executive Officer of a top ten Fortune 500 corporation. He now had the ultimate position of power in the free world, as President of the United States.
There were quite a few people, though, who still didn't recognize Luthor as the most powerful man on Earth, a fact that irritated Luthor to no end. He did the one thing that they could only dream of, though, and he was just now beginning to enjoy the privileges that came with his newly earned authority.
Whenever President Luthor spoke with someone in the Oval Office, he never made use of the couches in front of his desk; they were for those who came to talk to him. He sat behind the Resolute Desk used by Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Horne, George W. Bush and Suarez. The furniture in the room had been rearranged to face the Resolute Desk and its sole user. If a head of state or ambassador visited, he or she sat in an easy chair situated to the President's right, three feet from his desk; Congressional leaders, intelligence directors, military officers sat in the couches arranged eight feet from the desk's front.
It showed the relative respect Luthor had for his Vice President that Frank Rock sat in the chair to the President's right. Rock drank a cup of black coffee, while Luthor had a bottle of water. Rock still had no idea what the President ate at all, or drank other than water, whereas Luthor seemed to know Rock's culinary and beverage preferences intimately – just like he knew so much about the former general's life.
"Just spoke with Homeland," Luthor said. "President Boehner's asking questions at Andrews. He wants to talk to me ASAP. "
"I can't blame him, Mr. President," Rock said. His respect for the office of the President of the United States was immense; he still wasn't fully certain of the man currently holding that position but kept his misgivings to himself. "He is the President of a United States. He's used to getting his way, just like you."
"That has crossed my mind, Frank. I don't want to go there uninformed. Look at page one." Luthor picked up a folder and gestured to the one in Rock's hand. "Skim through it quickly."
Rock skimmed the first page inside the folder as ordered. "The updated target list on Earth-17 isn't as complete as I would expect, sir. I'm surprised there's anyone over there to send us intel, to be honest. I expected their World War III to be total, no survivors in their CONUS."
"Their defense shield held better than expected, Frank. We're getting intel from some surprising places."
"Such as?"
"Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. Pontiac, Michigan. Cleveland, Ohio. New Orleans. And from more expected places like Roseboro, Oregon; Mount Vernon, Illinois; and Charlottesville, Virginia. This tells us not all the missiles got through. Their defense shield held. I wonder how much was saved?"
"I assume you'll talk to him about those FEMA camps being set up across the country?", asked Rock. The VP referred to the temporary FEMA camps being set up for the so-far estimated seven million refugees from Earth-17.
"I'm sure he'll have questions about them."
"Mr. President, you may want to reconsider the suggestion from the President of Earth-23—"
"I'd prefer not to use federal resources on this project and strongly believe the private sector will deliver better results," Luthor said. Rock knew Luthor was referring to his LexCorp company, which was in fact in the final stages of taking over the camps from FEMA. Rock saw the plans four days ago and was somewhat impressed with LexCorp's plans to turn the camps into their own separate towns, or extensions of nearby cities and towns.
Of course, Luthor stood to benefit from LexCorp's exclusive contract financially and in other ways. The President would likely face close scrutiny from both Congress and the media in the days to come, and Rock wondered if the public that supported Luthor would ask its own questions or go along with whatever Luthor said. "Before I gave up day-to-day leadership to my CEO, I was involved in the planning. It was a hell of a thing, Frank."
"Setting up a livable community in months from nothing, you mean."
"No, hiding it from the alien and his costumed friends," Luthor replied, with a hint of disgust, referring to his 'former' arch-enemy Superman, and the rest of the Justice League. "But yes, setting up communities as well. They're cutting edge models and my people – the LexCorp people – have learned much about setting them up more quickly and thoroughly than this first generation. Imagine, if Yellowstone exploded – or one of Superman's enemies destroyed half the country – we can comfortably resettle the people in the other half in days!"
"That's a bold vision, Mr. President."
"And I have no doubt I'll be able to allay Mr. Boehner's concerns about his people," Luthor said, looking at his LexTech smart watch. "Marine One should be here in five minutes. I want you in the Situation Room while I'm gone."
Luthor got up, as two members of his Secret Service detail entered the Oval Office. They would escort Luthor to the Presidential VH-60N White Hawk helicopter designated Marine One that would take him the short trip to Andrews Air Force Base nearby in Maryland. Rock would go into the White House Situation Room below ground, monitoring news and intelligence on Luthor's behalf.
"Good luck, Mr. President," Rock said, as Luthor nodded his assent while leaving the Oval Office, walking the short distance to the South Lawn to await Marine One.
