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Big Dick Diplomacy — Chapter 10

*****

After the midnight encounter with Danielle Houston, Tom almost expected the fallout from it to land in front of him at any time. Not only was her husband (and party chairman) aware of their illicit engagement, but there was also supposedly proof in the form of a picture of Danielle’s cum covered face next to Tom’s presidential lapel pin. No more damning evidence was needed to bury him if someone was so inclined.

But as late summer melted into early fall, not a single word was leaked about the affair to any media outlet. While Elias was still the grudging partner that he always was, at least he was helping with the campaign’s finances as they hurtled ever closer to November.

The problem was that Tom’s prospects weren’t looking any better. The polls still had him down substantially to Governor Norwood. The man was using his newfound popularity to the fullest, often taking the time to appear on talk shows around the country. For many Americans, Norwood’s best asset was his many years of political experience, an area that Tom just couldn’t measure up.

After all, the hunt for the terrorist, Mohammad Kurzon, was still on. Two new videos had been released in the past month promising a devastating attack against Americans on their own soil. There were many in the country that felt the volatile times needed a more capable hand, and that was but one of the many reasons why Tom was constantly playing defense.

Storm clouds were starting to gather overhead—not just for Tom’s campaign but for the country at large.

The only positive spot of sunshine that he could rely on was Aubrey’s presence by his side. Despite the recent turmoil, she was someone that could always take away the negatives and help him focus on the bigger picture. There was something else about her, a unique quality that made her just so damn fun to be around, even when they weren’t having sex (which they did plenty).

The only problem with Aubrey was the love thing. Recently, she’d started telling him that she loved him which in itself was something that was entirely beautiful and something that he treasured. She knew his faults, knew him on a personal level that few could match, and the fact that she still loved him for it meant that she was a special person that didn’t come around too often.

The issue was that he hadn’t reciprocated those feelings back to her. It wasn’t on purpose, as he didn’t want to hurt someone who had become so important in his life. He just . . . didn’t know how he truly felt. It had been a long time since he last loved someone in that kind of way. Frankly, the vulnerability of all of it frightened him.

Aubrey was being so trusting to give her heart to him.

Was he really ready to do the same?

That was illustrated that morning as the couple prepared to start the day. It was early still, with the sun only barely making it above the horizon. The two of them were eating a small breakfast in one of the dining rooms of the White House. Aubrey had spent the night, like she did most nights, and soon she would be off to work at her new job ever since quitting the internship.

It was also a morning when she decided to open up a can of worms.

“You know, I’ve been thinking,” she said after a small sip of her coffee.

Tom stopped eating his bagel in mid-bite. He looked at her, choosing to start the day off playfully.

“Well, this should be interesting,” he teased.

She continued on without acknowledging the joke. “Yesterday, on my way home from work, I was accosted yet again by another reporter trying to find out what we are to each other.”

Tom ate the bite he’d been hesitating on and swallowed it quickly. “What we are?”

Aubrey nodded. “Yeah, like are we official or not? You know how badly the media is trying to spin this as us being in a relationship. I mean, I think that we are. I’m treating this like one. But we don’t call it anything special. We haven’t really acknowledged that it’s official.”

Tom took it all in while choosing his next words wisely. “So is that your stance then? This is official?”

She smiled. “I mean, I believe that to be the case. But it takes two to get there. I’ve been thinking a lot about it recently, and I wanted to know your answer. Are we official? Are we officially in a relationship and not just dating anymore?”

Tom ate another bite, pretending to deliberate on the answer a lot longer than necessary. “That’s a tough one.”

She grimaced and playfully struck his stomach. “Don’t be rude now!”

Tom started to laugh. “I’m just having some fun with you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought we had all of our fun in the shower this morning.”

Tom bit his lip, remembering the way he had her pressed against the shower wall as they had sex. It was a fun position from the way the spray from the nozzle was able to coat both of them at the same time, and he mentally filed it as one to try again soon.

“Not enough fun apparently,” he muttered artemisbet yeni giriş as he pulled her into his arms.

She didn’t answer but she searched his gaze for several moments. It was a look that he recognized, one that was vulnerable and aching for an answer. He decided to stop teasing her at that moment.

“I think you’re right about us,” he said quietly. “I think we’re official.”

Aubrey lit up with the brightest smile. “You really mean it?”

He nodded. “I do.”

She leaned in and kissed him furiously. “So I can finally tell people that I’m your girlfriend? Your exclusive girlfriend?”

Tom nearly choked on air when she said exclusive. She noticed his reaction and the smile dropped slightly from her face.

That was another area of conversation they hadn’t covered yet. Tom had told her about the occasional need to have sex with other women as part of his presidency. She hadn’t taken it so well in the beginning, but she seemed to relent when it came to Danielle Houston and what needed to be done to keep his campaign alive. It was a gray area of their relationship—one that didn’t have many boundaries or much discussion at all.

“About that exclusive part,” he said before she raised her fingers to his lips.

“I don’t want you to finish that sentence,” she said.

“I don’t really want to finish it either,” he admitted. “But it’s something we should talk about.”

Aubrey let out a low sigh. “What’s to talk about? Your job requires you to go above and beyond sometimes.”

“Above and beyond is an interesting way to put it,” he added.

Aubrey shrugged. “It’s the way I choose to look at it. It helps me process it. After all, I’d have a hard time processing what happened with Danielle Houston any other way.” She stopped for a moment and sought out his eyes. “It did happen with her, didn’t it?”

Tom nodded. “It did.”

“That’s what I thought,” said Aubrey as she chewed on her bottom lip. “I mean, I thought you did but we just didn’t talk about it. I figured it happened.”

“It happened once and it had a good outcome for us,” said Tom. “It kept the campaign alive.”

Aubrey nodded again. “I get it, I think. I don’t particularly care for it, but as long as it’s just sex without feelings attached, I can accept it. That’s all it is, right?”

Tom nodded quickly. “That’s all it is,” he confirmed. “What I do with these other women is just sex. What I do with you is different. It means something.”

Her cool exterior started to melt. She smiled again. “What does it mean?”

Tom chuckled and kissed her on the nose. “That we care about each other.”

“That we do,” she said with a small giggle. “I care about you greatly. I love you, Tom.”

He’d never found saying three simple words so hard to do. Despite the fact that Aubrey was so amazing, he just couldn’t say them just yet. He knew that part of him was waiting to see how they settled the sex question but with her acceptance of it, he knew that was no longer an issue. So why was it so hard for him? In fact, he’d rather stare down President Feng Jin of China right now instead of confronting the way he felt about Aubrey.

So what was stopping him?

Aubrey buried her face against his shoulder. It was a move he’d recognized before, something that she did to take the pressure off him from repeating the words back to her. She didn’t want to watch his face while he struggled with it, no doubt a source of stress for her. Tom hugged her tightly while his inner conscience wondered if he was truly in love with her.

The moment passed them quickly and Aubrey seemed to recover her earlier cheerfulness.

“See you for dinner tonight?” she asked as she grabbed her purse.

“Of course.”

Tom kissed her soundly before she was gone, allowing him a moment to reflect on what just happened. He had the love of a beautiful woman who not only knew about him having to fuck other women, but gave her tacit permission to keep doing it. Most men would acknowledge that as being quite the gift.

He just wished it didn’t make him feel so damn guilty.

Tom was still struggling with that guilt as he arrived in the oval office carrying a mug of coffee. What should have been a quiet morning was interrupted from the start by the immediate appearance of his National Security Advisor, Ryan Douglas. Ryan was carrying a thick folder and looked like the cat that caught the canary.

“I didn’t expect to see you so early,” said Tom as he moved closer to his desk.

“Trust me, I have good news for once,” replied Ryan as he waved the folder. “Guess who just caught Mohammad Kurzon’s second courier?”

Tom stopped walking and stared at the other man. They’d been searching for the second courier ever since they found the first one. Kurzon used the couriers to deliver news, plans, and any messages of importance between the two cells of his terrorist network. In short, finding the second courier was the final step in finding Kurzon himself.

“Where was he artemisbet giriş found?” asked Tom. “Is he in our custody?”

“The Turks picked him up,” replied Ryan. “He almost made it to the Syrian border. Unfortunately for him, he was put in the back of a truck and hidden within a wooden crate of assault rifles that were being delivered to Syrian rebels. The truck was stopped and searched. Not only is weapon running highly illegal during a civil war but finding the courier was like the cherry on top of the whole ordeal.”

“I’ll say. So how long ago was this?” asked Tom. “And what are the Turks doing with him? Do we have any people there?”

Ryan winced. “It was only a few hours ago but so far the Turks are playing hardball with him. They aren’t willing to give him up to our people since he was caught on Turkish territory. It was the same situation with the last courier.”

“Yeah, and they drove the last courier mad because they were too intense with their interrogation methods,” muttered Tom quietly. “We don’t have any other options unless Kurzon starts hiring new couriers, and he’ll have struck by the time he gets to that point. We have to get our hands on that courier.”

“How do you want to do that, sir? You know how the Turks can be. About the only way we can get them to relent on this subject is if you fly there yourself.”

Tom immediately gestured toward the door. “Then let’s do it.”

“Sir?”

“I mean it, Ryan. We need to get our hands on that courier. It’s the only way we can have a real chance at stopping Kurzon. You’ve seen all the videos that Kurzon has released. He’s going to strike soon. American lives are at risk, so if I have to fly halfway around the world to prevent it, then I’ll do so.”

Ryan looked like he wasn’t sure if Tom was joking or if he should make a call to get Air Force One fueled and ready to depart. Going to Turkey certainly wasn’t in Tom’s plans, and it would require many things to be rescheduled (in particular, his call with his friend, Lucy, which still hadn’t happened yet) but Tom was determined to get a jump on Kurzon.

It only took about two hours to get the wheels in motion on Tom’s suggestion. He made a quick call to Aubrey to explain the situation and that he would be home in a few days. It would be the first time he was gone for an extended period without her, and he disliked having to go back to sleeping by himself. This had to be done though. He would fly to wherever necessary to stop a terrorist before he struck again.

Tom watched from the cabin of Air Force One as they pushed off the ground and soon turned to fly over Washington. In a matter of minutes, they were over the ocean to begin the long flight to Turkey.

It took about twelve hours to make the flight to the Turkish capital city of Ankara, all the while diplomatic cables were exchanged with the Turkish government in preparation for his arrival. Tom arrived closer to midnight in Eastern time but in Turkey, it was already morning. He took a nap to ward off the jet lag and then was immediately sent to meet with their government.

The ride to the center of power was an interesting one. The city of Ankara was split into two distinct parts—reflective of its long history and changing allegiances. The older part of the city had a clearly eastern blend to the architecture, with many mixtures of Greek building styles. The mosques themselves were made with marble. Residential homes still shouldered the distinctive Mediterranean style roofs. This part of the city seemed to be a perfect blend of east and west.

The other part of Ankara was the more modern part, where steel and glass were used in equal amounts to give the city an appearance that would fit in just about any place in North America. Skyscrapers were common, glimmering in the early morning lights. There was even a modernist approach to this architecture, amazing Tom at some of the designs of the buildings to be seen within the city.

Finally, they came into the Presidential Complex itself, the seat of all power in Turkey. It was an elaborate structure, known colloquially as “Versailles” for its appearance and concentration of ability. There were three distinct buildings, facing south, east, and west with a stunning courtyard in the middle dominated by a long and splendid fountain.

Tom went through the usual pleasantries of a foreign head of office, but the person he was looking forward to meeting the most wasn’t the Turkish President. Despite being the formal head of state of the government, it was widely known that the Turkish President was infirm and quickly approaching senility. He’d retained the position out of respect for his past when he was a much more virile and passionate man. Time had slowed his movements, and these days, he was usually sidelined for public appearances while his deputies took over the day-to-day running of the state.

That meant the person that Tom would be seeing was thede facto second-in-command. The Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs artemisbet güvenilirmi was technically fifth on the list of seniority within the government, but all power had concentrated in their able hands for the running of the country.

It just so happened that this particular minister was a woman.

Zera Varank was a ruthless operator known to just about everyone in Turkey as someone not to be trifled with. She was a woman who’d worked her way to the top in her twenty years in the Turkish government, starting off as an embassy clerk until becoming the Minister of Foreign Affairs two years prior. She was widely seen as being next in line to take over the presidency once the old man actually croaked, and it was for that reason that anyone of importance that came to Turkey met with her first.

As Tom walked toward her, he couldn’t help but reflect on how she looked like anything but a politician. Zera was a powerfully built woman with broad shoulders and a thick waist. Normally, these qualities might instill a certain masculinity to women who held them but that wasn’t the case for Zera. Despite her broad shoulders, she still had prominent breasts that hinted at her femininity. Her thick waist was all bone, and when viewed from the side, showed no hint of fat or unwanted excesses.

The rest of her was equally as pleasant to look at as well. Her face had the same blend in east and west as did the rest of the city. Her skin was porcelain white and beautiful but her eastern features added in the rest of the color. Her hair was thick and dark, starting at the top of her head and moving down to her shoulders. She had thick, long eyebrows that were held aloft dark piercing eyes. Her lips were thin but ruby, and her nose could be adequately described as being of the button variety.

In short, Zera was a woman of a distinct mixture, and she perfectly represented her homeland in appearance.

“Mr. President, so nice to meet you on such short notice,” replied Zera, her English thick with accent but still pleasing to the ears in its musical quality.

“And I thank you for your hospitality at a time like this,” replied Tom as he shook her hand. He marveled at the strength in her grip. It was not a dainty one like those of most women.

She showed him into her office in the secondary building that faced east. This was where all the cabinet ministers worked, a clear separation from the other two buildings that housed the president and the legislative bodies, respectively. Zera’s office was minimalist in appearance as most of the decoration was centered on the large bay window behind her desk that showed off the modern aspect of Ankara.

Zera was also a woman who didn’t mess around with small talk.

“You’re here about the courier,” she stated plainly once they were seated. It was a statement more than it was a question.

Tom nodded. He found it refreshing to tackle the subject head-on rather than engage in the verbal dueling that typically happened at these affairs.

“We are,” he replied. “I understand your men have him and I want him. Stopping Mohammad Kurzon from striking again is a high priority in my administration. We have reason to believe that he’s going to up the ante on his next attack and strike American soil directly. I cannot allow this to happen.”

“Because it might jeopardize your reelection?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “A terrorist attack right before your people go to the polls would surely hurt your chances of retaining the presidency, no?”

“Even if I was a lame duck president, I would still hold this as my top priority,” said Tom. “There are many things that are above the need to get reelected.”

Zera smiled, a lovely gesture that didn’t match the words that came out of her mouth. “So you say. We have a much more practical way of looking at elections in Turkey.”

“And that is?”

“That every advantage is used to stay in power,” she said simply as if there was nothing more evident in the world. “An attack like that could be a powerful tool to discredit my enemies if it were held in Turkey.”

Tom glowered at her. “We aren’t so haphazard when it comes to American lives.”

She smiled again. “No, but I suppose that’s the difference between your people and mine.”

Tom studied her face for several moments without offering a response. He could see now why she was near the pinnacle of power in this country. With only a few simple statements, Zera had cemented her ruthless reputation. Her suggestion would set the tone for the rest of their conversation.

“The answer is no.”

Tom blinked and looked back in her direction. Getting out of his mind, his eyebrows tightened as he asked the only thing he could think of at that moment. “I beg your pardon?”

Zera separated her hands. “I won’t release the courier to you. My people were the ones to capture him and bring him in. We’ll also be the ones to interrogate him and glean the last bits of information he has to offer. My people, Mr. President. I appreciate the time that you spent flying to Turkey, but my answer won’t change.”

Ruthless indeed.

“What is your reasoning for it?” Tom asked. “My men are better funded, trained, and have better resources. We could surely get any information he has to give a lot more quickly.”

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