The bill represented the first step toward his ultimate goal. The puppets around him had no idea of its underlying purpose. All it represented to them was a way to save their own skins.

 

Standing there in the Oval Office, the most powerful room in the world, he felt invincible. Nothing could stop him now. Not armies or nations or politicians. No one.

 

The lights flashed on as the president entered, surrounded by his advisers, on the opposite side of the room from where Jones stood. He made his way around, shaking hands, thanking some key Capitol Hill constituents, until finally he was face to face with Jones.