The room the president had was not only heavily guarded, but extremely nice. It was surprising how well such a hated man lived when he wasn't in his DC mansion. Sure, he was still the leader of the country, but he lived better than some people should. When Zac and Madison entered behind Smith, Madison let out a low whistle.
"Damn," she said, "how much did this cost America's taxpayers?"
"I'll have you know, Miss Ashton, this will cost you and your fellow Americans absolutely nothing. Now if you will�" he gestured to a table. Zac and Madison sat down and Smith sat down across from them. "Mr. Hanson, I asked you here for one reason. Why are you here in New York?"
"Why not?"
"Well it seems rather illogical, being that you're scheduled for appearances every day in the Democratic Convention all the way across the country."
"That doesn't mean I can't be here as well."
"You were here to support the protest, weren't you?" Zac looked at him innocently. "I thought so. Listen, Mr. Hanson, I believe I made it specifically clear that I wanted to hear nothing from you ever again. I promised my silence on the dismissal of that bill if you kept out of my way. You haven't done that in the least bit. I've tried to get a hold of you but it seems other people continue to get in my way." He was looking pointedly at Madison. Zac glanced over at her. "So it seems empty threats don't just do it for you anymore, Mr. Hanson. When I make my speech this evening, I'll be mentioning your involvement in the dismissal of that bill."
Zac's mind was screaming but he kept as calm as possible on the outside. "Go ahead," he said, careful to hide the fear in his voice. "Who will the people believe? Me or you? I'll just deny it ever happened."
"You do and you go to Korea."
"What?!" Zac said, losing his temper fast. "You can't do that!"
"I can and I will, Mr. Hanson. It's your reputation against mine and I am not going to lose this election because of some snot-nosed eighteen-year-old spoiled brat who's been nothing but a thorn in my side since the day he went solo! You are not more powerful than me, you are not better than me. I am right, Mr. Hanson, no matter what you think. Your empty opinions may satisfy my people but they do nothing when it comes down to you and me. You can sway as many people as you like, but I can still send you to die."
"No, you cannot do that. I am a conscientious objector, Mr. President, you cannot send me to war."
"You do know the process of determining the validity of all that, don't you? It all comes back to me. I have the final say in this and if I want to, I can tell them that I don't believe you and you will be on the next flight overseas. If you do things my way, you win, Mr. Hanson. Do things your way and you lose. That's all there is to it. I'll hopefully see that you've made it safely back to Los Angeles this evening, after I make my speech, and if you're not there, I'll finally be a happy man. Good day to the both of you." Smith glanced at one of the security men and both Madison and Zac were ushered quickly out of the building.
Once outside, Zac turned to his girlfriend. "What just happened?"
"He just showed us how much of a jerk he really is," Madison said. "Don't even think about it, Zac. He's such a manipulative man. He deserves to be locked up and never released. Let's go back to LA and forget about this."
"How can I forget about it?" Zac asked. "He's going to send me to Korea! He's going to put me in the middle of the fighting and I'm going to die. Fucking A, I can't believe this. How come you never told me he called you?"
"I didn't think he was going to do anything about it! I took care of it every time!"
"How many times did he call you?" Madison didn't say anything as she crossed the street to the gathering of people in the park. "Madison, tell me! This is important!" Madison turned around on the sidewalk while Zac was still standing on the grass.
"He called every time you did something he didn't like. I don't know exactly how many times, but it was at least once every few weeks." Zac sighed and looked at the ground as he walked back towards the protest. "I'm sorry, honey. I should have told you but Taylor told me not to and I figured it was in your best interest."
"I wouldn't have come here if I'd known he was calling everybody all the time threatening to send me to Korea, Maddie. I would have gotten out of his way."
"And what would that have proved?" she asked, following him back towards the people. "It would have shown everybody that he's beating you. You're not going to let him just beat you, are you Zac? You're not going to let him get away with sending you off to war just because you're annoying. He knows you're right and that's why he's so pissed off at you! He's just blowing off steam."
"No," he said, turning around to face her. "No, blowing off steam is yelling at someone or getting angry and throwing things. He's blackmailing me. He's saying if I don't bow down to him and everything he says then I'm going to Korea. He has the power to do that. I can't go to Korea, Madison."
"So you're going to let him lead you around in circles just because you don't want to go to Korea? That's not the Zac I know. The Zac I know would think of his country first; think of the people first. If you let him win then millions of other people are going to die. Your brother might die like mine did just because you don't want to risk yourself. If you were the person I thought you were you wouldn't let something like this get in your way."
"Oh, fuck you, Madison. You don't know the first thing about me and you never have so don't give me that. Find your own way back to the convention. I'm leaving by myself." Zac spun on his heel and walked quickly in the opposite direction.
When Madison entered the hotel room Zac was on the balcony, staring out into a downtown Los Angeles night. Zac had left her almost stranded in New York, taking the plane back here by himself. She eventually caught up with Taylor and he found her the first flight back to LA and paid for her ticket. She'd made it back what seemed to be not more than an hour or so after Zac did.
CNN was playing on the television as the empty couch watched. At least something in the room was getting the benefit of it. Unfortunately, this week all CNN aired was broadcasts of the two conventions, switching between the major key points in both. It focused more heavily on the Democratic convention because obviously it was more popular and, of course, Zac and Madison were there. Currently it was airing the Vice President's speech; when he was done the President would speak.
Madison rubbed at her eyes while still at the door. She'd tried calling Zac all day, except for the time when she was on the plane, and he had yet to speak to her. He was just upset at Smith and was taking it out on her, as usual. She had to give him some credit, though. It was his life he was risking. No matter how many other lives he might be saving by going there and not giving in to Smith, it was still the very essence of him that very well might be gone. He was only eighteen.
She dropped her hands and walked to the balcony. She opened the door and Zac didn't bother to move at all. She closed the door behind her and took a seat at the table he was sitting at. Hoping he'd say something to her, she waited for him to speak, but after a few minutes, she knew he wasn't going to start any sort of conversation.
"I know it's a lot to deal with, Zac. I know things have turned for the worse and I know that you have a hard time in front of you but I think your best bet would be to stand up to him. I couldn't fathom risking my life for anyone else, people I don't even know, but you see them on tour. You saw them today at the protest. Those are the people you're saving and protecting. It could mean your life, but Zac, you know how many lives you can save with this. You can get us out of this war and get our people home. You can stop others from going over there as long as you stand up to Smith. If you let him walk over you he'll win and we'll be at war for years to come." Zac got up and walked inside. She followed quickly behind. "Zac, this isn't something you can walk away from. You took this responsibility the day you started touring. You knew what you were getting into and now you have to deal with it."
"I had no idea it would come to this!" he yelled at her, finally looking directly at her. "I had no idea that when I started that people would listen to me, that people would believe in me. I never asked for any of this. I never wanted any of this! It just happened! I didn't expect anybody to listen to me when I said that this war is wrong. I didn't expect to become everything to these people and do it alone."
"You're not doing it alone," Madison said. "You're doing it with me."
"I'm�" he paused. "I'm just scared, okay? I can't die over there." He fell into an oversized chair. "He's going to kill me." She climbed into the chair, sitting on his lap, and laid her head against him. "I didn't want any of this, you know. I didn't want it to come to this."
"Things will be okay, sweetie," she said, cuddling close to him. "Nothing bad has happened to you or your family, ever. Luck is on your side. Even if you do go, you've got an entire nation praying for your safety. I think you'll be all right."
"So what should I do?" he asked, sighing. "Being every powerful man there's a more powerful woman, right? Be my voice of reason." She smiled.
"You and I are going to the convention hall and when they ask us about what Smith said, we're going to bash the fuck out of him." Zac could only smile at his girlfriend's retort. She'd always been like that and he couldn't help but admire her for it. However, his mood didn't last long. On the television, the vice-president finished his speech and now Smith was beginning to speak.
"I don't want to hear this," Zac said, getting up. Madison nearly fell on the floor because she was sitting on top of him, but managed to stay in the chair. He went back out to the balcony, where he shut the door behind him and collapsed into the chair he had been sitting in before Madison came back. He'd been thinking a lot about what she'd said to him before he stormed off. He had to admit that she was right. Of course he had every right to worry about his life, but this wasn't just his life he was putting in danger. It was the rest of the country too. It was his brother who was still in Korea and had been for the past few years. He was putting his life in danger every day�and if he was still alive, Zac could do it too.
Madison came outside about five minutes after he did so. He glanced back inside; the president was still talking. That man was the most long-winded person Zac had ever met in his entire life. His short speeches were a half an hour long. He just liked to hear the sound of his own voice. When Madison sat down next to him, he looked at her expectantly. She lowered her eyes.
"He's saying some pretty harsh things," she finally said.
"Did he mention the bill?" She nodded. "That's what I thought he would do. So do you want to go now and get it over with or do you want to wait?"
"It depends," she said, beginning to play with a bit of her long hair. "What are you going to say?"
"I'm going to bash the fuck out of him," Zac said. She smiled.
"Then let's wait. I want all the time with you I can get." He nodded and the two of them went back inside.