Drone Command

Pearce clenched his jaw. He hated this shit. Tanaka kept baiting him. He’d rather throw a punch or just get the hell out. But this is what he signed on for. Better to change the subject.

“Our danger is that we’re losing our sense of national identity. We’ve left it up to each person to decide for themselves what it means to be an American,” Pearce said. “And with fifty million foreign-born residents, that means a lot of different opinions.”

“Then we are more alike than I imagined,” Tanaka said. “Both of our countries are under assault.”

Tanaka’s wife whispered in Japanese. More like a growl, Pearce thought.

“I apologize. My English is so terrible. My wife informs me that the better word for ‘assault’ is ‘transformation.’ But at least you have the freedom to choose your destiny. Without the authority to defend our national interests, we must rely on good allies like the United States to dictate to us what our national interests must be.”

“Or China,” Mrs. Tanaka snapped. “Did you see the television news about the riots?”

“Frightening,” Myers said, slurring the word. Her bourbon glass sat empty by her elbow. Pearce frowned.

“Orchestrated,” Mrs. Ito said.

Ito shook his head. “Politics. What a shameful way to ruin a lovely evening.”

“Politics is the world. We can’t escape it,” Mrs. Tanaka said. “Might as well face it head on.”

“Thursday,” Myers said, standing, wobbly. “El Paso.”

Everyone else rose with her, surprised. Was the evening over?

“Excuse me, Margaret?” Ito said.

Myers extended a shaking hand to Ito, then crumbled to the floor at his feet.

SIXTEEN

TORANOMON HOSPITAL

MINATO, TOKYO, JAPAN

9 MAY 2017

Flashing digital cameras lit up the room like a Milan fashion show. Photographers shouted questions in Japanese and English, a cacophony of noise and blasting lights. Television crews were there, too.

So much for keeping her appearance in Japan private.

Myers fought to keep her practiced smile, taught to her by her campaign manager in her first run for governor of Colorado. It never failed her.

Standing next to her was the white-coated hospital president, the chief of surgery, the chief of the endocrinology department, and the three nurses who assisted in the procedure, all smiles. Prime Minister Ito was there, too, along with Tanaka and Pearce.

Ito signaled for the press to quiet down. He spoke in Japanese first, then English. “President Myers would like to make a short statement.” He nodded in her direction.

“Thank you, Prime Minister Ito. First of all, I want to thank the wonderful staff of this amazing hospital for their excellent care. Everyone has been extremely kind to me, and they have provided world-class medical service to me. I am forever grateful.” She bowed slightly toward the Chiefs on her left and the Indians on her right. They bowed in return, in some cases, a few times, enthusiastically.

“Because of their excellent care, I am in perfectly good health. I had a very slight incident of insulin overdose last night and passed out. Fortunately, my good friends were there to call an ambulance and I was rushed over here immediately.”

To his credit, Ito gave strict orders to the ambulance crew and his staff that Myers’s identity was to be strictly guarded. But someone tipped off the Japanese press and set off a media firestorm.

Just as Myers had hoped, actually.

Ian McTavish’s anonymous tip to several local media outlets did the trick. Pearce’s gifted computer genius could break into almost any computer system in the world, but in this case he didn’t need to. Simple text and e-mail messages to news-starved reporters was all it took.

The media questions came fast and furious. What was the former president doing in Japan? Why wasn’t this widely known? Was she on a secret mission? Was her visit in response to the Chinese attack on the Japanese dive boat? Does this mean the United States will be coming to the aid of Japan now? Will a carrier be dispatched? Myers deflected each question, as did the prime minister who promised an “off the record” conversation later with the press in attendance.

Myers continued.

“I was diagnosed with adult-onset type 1 diabetes just over a year ago. It’s an extremely rare condition, and I have been able to manage it quite nicely thanks to my personal physician and endocrinologist back home in Denver. I’m afraid that I didn’t monitor my insulin and glucose levels closely enough in the last few days, and this induced a hypoglycemic reaction. Too much fast-acting insulin and not enough carbohydrates, I’ve been told. I was rushed to the hospital and treated, and within an hour, I was fully recovered. But it was at that time we decided to take the unusual step and install a bionic pancreas.”

The press gasped at the words “bionic pancreas” and began shouting questions louder and louder over one another to catch Myers’s attention. Once again, Ito quieted them down. Myers continued.