The President would have a major decision to make, political, for himself, the party and for the sake of the country. Vice President Mason had been a ...unifier able to negotiate across party lines, respected by both houses and worked with the President on the best policies to any problem.I felt sorry for his wife; a decade younger, strong and beautiful. She knew when to be quiet and when to be forceful in any crowd. She was as respected as he was. Behind the scenes she had a distaste for politics. Wallerman asked.“Tell him where Jake is. He’ll go investigate.”“What do I do when he comes back in the house?”“He won’t.”“How do you know?”“I’ll be waiting for him. I’ll take him away.”“Where?”“Is that important?”Mrs. Wallerman studied Steele. “I guess not,” she said in a low voice.“You don’t sound very sure. Look, Ratchett murdered my friend.”Mrs. Wallerman’s eyes opened wide.“That’s why I’m here,” Steele said. “And I think Ratchett had something to do with the disappearance of my friend’s. "There seemed to be interest in his statement. He continued, "The pressing question is the wolverines. We have to handle them by killing enough to give us time to build a safe shelter or by dissuading them from attacking in some manner. I wish I knew more about the habits of wolverines though the comparison may not be appropriate. Let's talk about killing them to try to get enough relief to be able to survive. If we're in the same season as we were, it's summer. Chicago gets cold in the winter. I think I might be allergic to… um animals.’ ‘Yeah? Because you sure look like you had a lead on Claire back there.’ He waggled his thumb behind, and sure enough there stood Gecko Girl. I figured I needed to backpedal at this point. ‘Nah, I was just super excited to see you,’ and at that I jabbed his chest with my finger. His lip twitched and for a moment, I think he believed me. ‘No one’s excited to see me unless you’re my mother.’ ‘Horrifying thought.’ ‘Horrifying to say the least. Mum’s.