Madame President

"Madame President," Mary Ekua addressed confidentially, "You've been criticized harshly for your somewhat lack of an immigration policy this election season compared to Republican nominee, Governor Paul Edvarkson, who has outspokenly said one of his top priorities is border control."

Mary Ekua was one of the world's top journalist who had spoken with many a presidents, prime minsters, and even nobility. She had a record for shaking her guests to their core, considered harsh by many. If you were perceived to be unfazed in a Mary Ekua interview, you were guaranteed to have an immediate rise in approval rate. Unfortunately, not many were able to achieve such.

Angela sat, her hands folded upon her beige pantsuit. Every hair follicle on her head was perfectly groomed, not a piece out of place. Her makeup was light and neutral, just enough but not too much. She nodded at all the right intervals, not once breaking eye contact. She was perfect.

"How do you respond to that?"

"Well, I think it's unfair to say I have not announced a position on immigration policy. I have clearly shown through my administration that I believe in a fair chance for those who are undocumented in our country. Through the Documented Forward Program implemented two years ago, we've seen over two hundred thousand undocumented immigrants become documented. And that's not only help improve the economy, bringing in an estimated one point two billion dollars in extra income taxes but we've actually seen crime rates drastically decrease in areas with high undocumented populations."

"Governor Edvarkson, if nominated, plans on repealing the Documented Forward Program. He has also spoken out against the C.M.A. otherwise known as the Children's Medical Act which provides free healthcare for minors under the age of eighteen. If repealed, what implications do you believe that will have on our economy?"

"Well Mary, not only does that go against staunch morals that myself and many of those in Congress hold, it would of course negatively impact our economy. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Maya Cummings, has estimated that an extra trillion dollars would be added to our deficit and actually decrease the qualities of our hospitals. Not to mention Secretary of Education, Tamas Adelaide, an avid supporter of the legislation, has time and time again spoken on how that would negatively effect children not only in their homes, but in our schools as well."

"And cut!" a voice yelled, allowing Angela to finally let out a sigh of relief. Nowhere was the interview over, but a break was well needed.

"If you'd excuse me," she nodded to Mary, removing herself from her seat and walking over to Paula who was scrolling away on her phone in the corner.

"What are we looking at here?" Angela whispered, leaving a light smile on her face, putting on a facade for the room.

"We're gonna have time to stall on Paulner because we're getting reports that a terrorist attack has affected Budapest, Hungary. Reportedly one hundred and fifty people are being held hostage in an art museum. We have 15 minutes at most before this goes viral."

"Have we already worked on increased security protocol?" Angela whispered, her eyes scanning the room. She couldn't alert anyone there was something wrong otherwise Mary would jump on it immediately. Interviews were fairly pre-planned in advance. Nothing was written in stone, but it was easy to expect what questions would be thrown at you. It was rare an interviewer was able to stump President Wright. Angela didn't plan on today being one of those days.

"Already done, ma'am," Paula answered, typing away on her phone. "We have one of two options, we wrap up this interview in under seven minutes and haul our asses straight back to the White House where we await an official press conference or....," she stopped biting her lip. Her eyes moved downwards, refusing to meet her lover's.

"Or? Or... what? Paula what do you mean we have another option! Of course we're going to get ready for a press conference," she spat out through clenched teeth. Her facade broke for two seconds as her eyes caught Mary's.

"Oh fuck," Angela muttered to herself as she watched Mary grin and scatter away. She was going to do everything in her power to figure out what was going on. Which in reality meant they had even less time then they thought.

"This is going to sound crazy," she whispered, still looking down. "We address it mid interview. You make a speech so god damn powerful that it cancels out Paulner."

"Of course we can't cancel out Paulner! You think by addressing an attack on an interview that won't even be aired until Sunday night that Louisiana will just suddenly forget about the Zika Priority Act? Are you out of your god damn mind?" Angela couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Paula's mouth. It was nearly a death sentence to possibly be crucified for making a statement on a national safety matter too late.

"I know it sounds fucking downright stupid, but it's our only shot," Paula threw her hands up, quickly recovering by pretending to run her fingers through her hair. She looked down briefly before locking eyes with the President. "Do you remember when you were polling eight points behind Gomez in New Hampshire?"

"Of course, I remember," POTUS breathed out, straightening her posture. "Three students were shot during a peaceful protest at Dartmouth."

"And what did you do?" Paula's eyes locked into Angela's, an invisible wave of lightning pulling them together, sending a wave of chills down their spines.

"You wrote me the best god damn speech I've ever made in my life," she whispered. Paula nodded, wishing she could embrace her lover.

"I believe in you. New Hampshire was only the beginning." She placed a hand upon the President's shoulder briefly, the slightest of touches in public were all they could do, but it meant the most to each other.

"Madame President," Mary Ekua started, approaching them. "Are we ready to finish our interview?" She motioned to the two chairs they sat in previously.

"Of course," Angela smiled and nodded, walking back to her chair with purpose. This was it. Her only moment to save her campaign.

"And........ action!," the produce yelled, the room suddenly becoming silent.

"I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your busy schedule to share a few words today, Madame President. My final question for you is simple. What last words would you like to speak to the American people?"

Angela took a deep breath, glancing over to Paula briefing. She nodded her head and mouthed, "you can do this". She turned her attention back to Mary and smiled.