Chapter 2: Presidential Advice

Alfred sighed as he wandered through the empty halls of the White House, looking around at everything that was still there. He finally paused in front of one particular portrait, and it made a heavy weight rest on his heart. It was a portrait of George Washington, and just looking at it was making the new president feel a deep pang of sadness, straight through his heart.

"George…" he sighed again, a bit sadder than before, but pulled out his phone to make a call. "Margaret, I'm going out. Have any calls that come in routed to my cell."

Once his phone was back in his pocket he took off, climbing in the front seat of his Mustang but not yet pulling out of the garage. Henry had appeared in the rearview mirror, and soon climbed into the passenger seat.

"Henry…"

"Old habits die hard, especially when you've got that look on your face. Every time you get that look, you take off to visit one of them, and that look in your eyes can only mean you're going all the way back. Well, Mount Vernon is a long drive, and you're not going alone."

"...I'm glad you're coming with me. I may not be fit to drive home." Alfred gave his old guard a sad smile, finally hitting the road. The American flags on the front of the car flew wildly on the wind as the president sped down the road, his human passenger mildly surprised at how quickly the immortal driven vehicle traveled toward the destination. It was almost as if the land itself was moving along with the country, making him reach Mount Vernon much faster than they should have. Henry slowly got out of the car, but had to lean against it for support when the speed caught up to his mortal body. Alfred walked around the car to pat his shoulder, but then made his way toward his reason for coming.

It only took a moment for him to step up to his first president's grave, and he wasn't hesitant to sit in the grass beside the mighty grave stone. Henry made it clear that he wouldn't be intruding as he sat on a bench some many feet away, his back to the president.

"Hey George…I came to visit again. It's been awhile, huh?" Alfred felt a familiar warmth begin to grow behind him. "Almost forty years if I'm counting right… I've been busy, or I would have been up here more, but I'm sure you know that… I'm the president now. Heh, there's no more parties to worry about, and congress is gone too. Now it's just a governor type thing, an official from each state comes up every other month or so, and I let them know what they need to do to make sure everything is going smoothly for our people… Hey George, do you think I'm doing a good job?"

As Alfred felt himself tearing up, he could have sworn he felt some one hugging him from behind. So he inclined back, and allowed himself to be engulfed by it. The warmth grew, and completely surrounded him until he couldn't deny what it was.

"George… am I doing it right?" his tears were beginning to overflow, so he closed his eyes. "Am I being a good leader? Am I… Do I make you proud?"

'Of course you do America,' the man stiffen as a voice reached his ear. 'I've been watching you all this time. Son, you are a great leader, and you are just what our people needed. You know what is right, just like you always did, and you make your judgements based off that fact. You will be the greatest leader to ever lead this country. Even more so than I was.'

"...I'm glad…" he felt a slight smile appear on his lips. "I'm glad I can try to work hard and make you proud of me…"

'Just don't forget who you are, and be always alert.'

As the warmth faded away, Alfred opened his eyes again, and slowly rose to his feet. Noticing the moment, Henry also stood, and approached as Alfred dusted himself off.

"Feel better lad?"

"Yeah," the blonde nodded. "Come on, we better get back to the White House."

"Oh God," the aging man gulped. "Maybe we can take our time going back?"

"Haha, alright, alright, human pace not country pace, got it." Alfred helped the man back to the car, and gave Washington's grave one last look before getting back behind the wheel. True to his word, they made it back home at a normal pace, both men just happy to go back in silence. But when they were met by a frantic looking Margret in the garage, both were put on edge.

"Marge, what's wrong?"

"President America! We have trouble!" the woman was near hyperventilating. "There was a fire in the kitchen, and it's completely destroyed it!"

"Did the staff get out alright? Did the fire spread?"

"No, they got it under control but the the fire chief says it wasn't an accident. The fire was started in the window above the gas stove, and blew up quickly."

"As long as nobody was hurt we can focus on figuring out why it happened later. If this was arsen, then whoever tried will probably be back to try again." Alfred sighed, rubbing his neck. "Geeze, Marge calm down before you pass out."

"S-Sorry!" she fanned herself with her tablet. "I'm just frazzled…"

"It's okay." he gave her a smile. "Just breath, calm down, and let me worry about the accident. Henry, can you take her back to her office? I want to go take a look at the kitchen."

"Of course."

With the secretary handed over, the president quickly made his way inside the building. He could smell the sulfur from the burnt area well before he reached it, and the crews there to begin the cleanup were quick to stop what they were doing when his foot hit that charred floor. The fire chief that had responded to the fire pulled off his helmet to salute the man, making him smile before he approached.

"Luke, looks like you adjusted well."

"Still miss your antics though kid. Ah, I'd give ya a hug but that suit of yours looks pretty expensive."

The blonde laughed, hugging the soot and ash covered man anyway. "Not too expensive for an old friend. Too bad it's not better circumstances… so what do you figure happened?"

"Piece of paper was drenched in gas and dropped onto the stovetop as it was lit. Went up in flames so fast I can say it wasn't any normal kind of gas."

"Something explosive, but not so flammable that it would become uncontrollable fast." Alfred walked over to the exploded stove, and reached down to pick up a piece of twisted metal. "They weren't trying to destroy the place, they just wanted to send a warning that wouldn't be overlooked."

"Sounds about right." Luke put his helmet back on. "Any idea who would do this?"

"No, so thank you for responding to this discreetly. I don't want word of this getting out." he frowned. "Whoever did this isn't looking for the attention of anyone other than me, or they would have made sure the kitchen was spread across the front yard."

"Oh?"

"If my hunch is correct, this is a result of my plea yesterday morning during the State of the Union. This is their way of letting me know there are unhappy people here, and they know I know."

"...President America-"

"No."

"Shut up, I'm coming back-"

"No, Luke."

"And you can't stop me-"

"Luke, no."

"No choice."

"Yes, choice. I haven't had security since before the War, and if I were to suddenly have them again people would notice. They would know something was off and begin to have doubts and worry."

"You think I don't know that? But you need someone to have your back, and poor old Henry isn't kicking like he used to. I won't go out in public with you, but I'll be damned if you don't have some back-up after this. Why the Hell do you think I stayed in DC? It sure wasn't for the city." Luke smacked him on the back. "Besides, if you don't let me come back nicely I'll start playing old Dora episodes in your room while you sleep, and get the staff to sneak marmite in your food when they prepare it. Heh, eventually you'd be so paranoid you'd ask me to come back just to make sure I couldn't bug you any more."

Alfred hissed. "You evil monster."

"Missed you too, boss."