Chapter Thirty Eight

Chapter Thirty - Eight

     President Scott and her entourage stood at the airport just outside of Hidden Cove. A sleek looking airplane coasted down the runway. Zelma felt overwhelmed with not knowing how the meeting would turn out.

     She called to apologize for starting off on the wrong foot. Zelma invited Luskin over for dinner and to create a union. She was surprised when he agreed and accepted her invitation.

     The plane landed at the airport and sat for a few minutes. The stairway was rolled over to the side of the plane. The door on the plane opened. Luskin stepped out onto the stairs.

     As he walked down the stairs Zelma went outside with her security guards to greet him. He made it to the bottom of the stairs and shook hands with Zelma. She took a deep breath and smiled.

     “We have the most wonderful meal prepared,” she told him. “I’m not sure if there is anything that you want to go see. There isn’t much left to tour and we just started rebuilding.”

     Luskin smiled and nodded, “I’m not going to stay too long. I would love to see how you are coming along with the new capitol. I brought a special guest.”

     He waved at his security guard. The security guard spoke into his earpiece. A young teenage girl stepped out of the plane and walked down the stairs. An older gentleman was by her side.

     “I hope that you don’t mind, but I thought that Sky would be interested in meeting you and touring the capitol, “he said. I think that it would help in the process of getting the teens settled in.”

     “That’s a good idea,” said Zelma. “Are you planning on letting us adopt the children?”

     He nodded thoughtfully, “There are conditions that we must discuss.”

     “Can’t wait to hear them,” Zelma said. She smiled at Sky and extended her hand. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”

     Sky shook her hand, “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. President.”

     “Shall we go eat?” asked Zelma. “I bet you are starving. It’s a longer flight than it used to be.”

     They climbed into a black limousine. They rode in silence as they took in the scenery. They were dropped off at the new capitol building. The building looked plain on the outside.

     The inside almost looked like a theater lobby. It was staffed with security guards in quits. They walked across the dark blue floor. They approached a desk that was next to the hall that led to elevators.

     They passed paintings of previous presidents. Zelma gave them a tour of the building. She led them to the various offices and to a large room the size of a theater that was full of desks and a podium.

     “Is this for congress?” asked Luskin.

     “Yes, it is incomplete at the moment,” said Zelma.

     At the end of the tour they entered a large dining room. There was a long table surrounded by chairs. A fancy dining set was on each end of the table. They sat down at the table. Servers silently walked in and out of the room to bring meals and take away empty plates.

     “This was all a pleasant presentation,” said Luskin.

     “We try to do what we can with what we have,” said Zelma. “Do you mind telling me what is creating an obstacle with sending the clones here?”

     “These children were trained for combat,” he said. “We are all aware of this and we are taking caution. Even if they were sent over here the clones could fall into the wrong hands. They could be used against other countries.”

     “How do we know that you won’t use them against us?” she asked. “You went through such a huge effort to see if they were genetically connected to us. Americans are under the impression that they will be able to adopt these children, but it seems that you changed your mind.”

     Luskin nodded, “There is an expense, Mrs. President. To house the children is expensive. The children need medical care. It is a huge expense to transport them all. We do not know if we need to send them with an escort or if they will attack the escort.”

     “You made it here just fine with Sky,” Zelma pointed out. “I can only see that it would be beneficial for you if we take this financial burden off of your hands. Have you ever asked the children how they feel about coming to America?”

     “We don’t want to give their hopes up,” he said. “It may not happen. How should we send thousands of children here?”

     “Why can’t we use the same method that they were being transported on initially?” she asked. “Just disarm the carrier and send them over. Again, it looks like you could benefit from this.”

     Luskin looked at Boris, “Did you get any of that? Can you please relay this to Sky and ask her if we can move them here without conflict?”

     Boris looked at Sky, “What do you think of it here? Do you think that you and your friends would like to come and stay?”

     Sky smiled and she looked at Zelma, “We would be pleased to come here. Will we be able to go to our relatives homes? I would really like to go to mine.”

     Zelma smiled, “You can all go home. People here are waiting for you.”

     “We will make arrangements,” said Luskin. “I’m still not convinced that they will not be used against anyone later.”

     “You are doing us all a great favor by making our dreams come true,” said Sky. “I will get to come home. Everyone will be so happy.”

     “I could create some law where clones cannot be enlisted in war,” said Zelma. “Do we have a deal?”

     “I think that we can accommodate them,” said Luskin. “We just need a plan.”