Assassin's Clue

Inside the White House, there were far more officials coming and going than usual. The Secret Service personnel were especially on alert; not only had their numbers increased, but they were visibly carrying special equipment meant to deal with Mutants.

All visitors had been asked to leave. White House public tours had been temporarily canceled, with no date set for their resumption.

At that moment, a group of people approached with brisk, resounding footsteps. Every official and Secret Service agent they passed stepped aside and saluted them. "Mr. Vice President."

Richard Bruce Dick Cheney, the vice president who had run alongside George Bush in 2000 and won the election.

He had entered politics in 1969, become Wyoming's representative in the House in 1978, and been appointed Secretary of Defense in 1987, commanding Operation Desert Storm.

Within the government, he was unquestionably a hawk. He would later be regarded as the most powerful vice president in United States history.

A man like that naturally carried an imposing presence. He was nothing like the vice presidents of American history, most of whom had merely been inconspicuous stand-ins for the president.

Naturally, the Secret Service did not dare obstruct the people he brought with him too much. Dick Cheney strode straight into the Oval Office.

"George, are you all right?"

Seated some distance from the desk made from the timbers of the Royal Navy's HMS Resolute, George Bush was still shaken. When he saw the vice president he trusted enter, he could only force an unpleasant smile.

"I thought we were supposed to maintain the principle of dispersal, so the center of power wouldn't be crippled all at once."

Dick Cheney waved for the unimportant people to leave. "Something like this happened to you. How could I possibly remain indifferent? Besides, I brought