The man looked like he was in the right place. He stood tall in a tailored Brooks Brothers suit in a room of men dressed in a similar fashion. Everyone was talking about business developments, and he followed their conversations easily. However, he didn't feel like he was in the right place. He didn't recognize anyone, and, more surprisingly, no one recognized him. He'd been blasting his image across television for almost six months now. For the most part, the commercials had done their job at implanting his image everywhere.
He looked down at his watch, which read 2:00 pm, but according to the clock in the room 5:30 in the evening. Something had gone wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what happened exactly. He had been in his office when his secretary had reminded him of a meeting he needed to attend downstairs in the ballroom. He supposed that he might have just blanked out while walking in the hallway and his watch had gotten off somehow.
This reeked of Winchester. They must have tricked him by putting him in some hallucination like Gabriel used to do. With that idea in mind, he surveyed the room, trying to find something out of place that would give away their game. He saw nothing.
Might as well talk to the other business men here, the man thought.
He walked over to the closest group of well dressed men, and entered into their discussion.
"-and I said "there's no way we can close this deal!" The land he was trying to sell me was completely inhabitable. The soil was dry and infertile. There was no sign of oil, precious metals, or even water. The place wouldn't make any profit. I told him, see, I told him that I needed the land for profit, and he was too incompetent to figure out what profit meant."
"That land," the man cut in. "I might have a use for it. Would you mind giving me your agent's number?"
"If you think you can do something useful with that land, be my guest." The business man pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to the other man. "I didn't catch your name before, Mr…?"
"Dick Roman. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Across the sea, there was another man at another meeting. Except this meeting was for a press conference, it would be broadcast to the whole of the United Kingdom. Anyone would be nervous, but not this man. He sat with his hands folded at the head of the meeting table. The rest of his advisors shifted in their seats, anxiously waiting for the conference to begin.
Everyone wanted to speak, but they all waiting for the man at the head of the table to do so first. He was the new prime minister now. They wanted to follow his leadership, which sometimes meant sitting still. Finally, the man spoke.
"Congratulations to all of you. I never would have come to this position of power, of responsibility, without your aid." Small smiles crossed the faces of several members at the table, priding themselves for their own accomplishments. Everyone clapped, and the man nodded at each person in turn.
"Thank you all," he said. "I have great plans for this country, and I will not fail you all or the people of this land. Now, I know that you all have specific points that you want me to talk about during the press conference, and I will be happy to listen… next time. However, this time I would like to go on stage by myself. I want the people to know me for who I am, and who I am according to all of these outside forces. I respect that many of you disagree, but… don't you all think that the people deserve this?"
Everyone nodded, almost perfectly in sync, at the man. They respect him and his choices. Some of them worry about the new Prime Minister going to a press conference without a plan, but as soon as he looked at them, those people felt more at ease with the idea. He would be fine.
"Enjoy the show everyone, I'll be just outside."
Again everyone clapped and nodded, and not a single person said a word as the man pushed his chair back from the table. He walked through the meeting room to the back of the press room. A woman with a microphone taped to her cheek lead him to the podium in front of the cameras and reporters, and told him "Congratulations" and "good luck."
He walked onto the stage, his feet falling lightly on the wooden platform. He took his place behind the podium and numerous microphones, looking at to the audience and the camera. He let his face sink into a genuine- looking smile as he greeted everyone. "Good Morning, I'm Prime Minister Harold Saxon, and I look forward to answering the nation's questions."