Group Writing: Getting to the Truth

 

For the second time in a single minute, I looked at my watch. Although I felt some anxiety, I knew that I had truth and justice on my side. Ordinarily a Chief of Staff wouldn’t have taken on this task, but I was glad to be leading it. And I had to admit going to war on these issues was thrilling; we had waited far too long to act in a decisive and forceful way.

I ducked my head into the President’s office. “I’m heading over,” I said. Any last thoughts, Mr. President?”

“Nope,” he answered. “You’ve got your orders, John.” And then he smiled slightly.

“Yes sir, Mr. President, I do.” I nodded my head and headed out.

I gathered up the White House staff who were going to assist me; the other staffers from other departments would also walk, ride or drive over to the Robert F. Kennedy Building; some of them were already over there waiting for the rest of us. We’d calculated that 20 well-briefed people would be enough to do the job. I was counting on our people inside the DoJ to have a pretty good handle on where the files and computers were located. We exited the White House briskly and headed out.

I despised having to take these steps; it was so out of the appropriate, traditional order of things. But the time had arrived where the President would no longer play games.

After entering the RFK Building, I ignored Jeff’s secretary and walked into his office with Kelly Anne by my side. (We had briefly thought about leaving Jeff out of the loop, but felt that for protocol reasons we should include him.) He smiled at first, then looked at us quizzically. I didn’t even greet him, but explained that Kelly Anne would explain our presence. Then I headed to Rod’s office, planning to tell him briefly what we were going to do: seize key computers with relevant files and take them to the White House for review.

As I approached Rod’s office, his secretary started to ask about my business, but she quickly stopped. I entered Rod’s office (I knew he’d be in that day) and told him our plans. At first his mouth dropped open. Then he laughed. Then he gasped. Then he proceeded to tell me that I couldn’t take these actions. I turned on my heel and left his office.

Our inside people at the DoJ had told us precisely which computers had to be seized and where they were located. They assisted those who had accompanied me to do the work. Within 30 minutes the computers were loaded into a specially-prepared van that would deliver them to the White House basement.

Our work had just begun.

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There are 31 comments.

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  1. MichaelHenry Member
    MichaelHenry
    @MichaelHenry

    Art imitates life. Excellent tension. Well done, SQ/Group.

    • #1
  2. EODmom Coolidge
    EODmom
    @EODmom

    If only. 

    • #2
  3. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    EODmom (View Comment):

    If only.

    And I had great fun imagining!! ;-)

    • #3
  4. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    MichaelHenry (View Comment):

    Art imitates life. Excellent tension. Well done, SQ/Group.

    Thank you so much, @michaelhenry.

    • #4
  5. PHenry Inactive
    PHenry
    @PHenry

    Susan, this is a style we haven’t seen before from you, isn’t it?  I enjoyed it!

    Susan Quinn: Our work had just begun.

    yes, yes it has! 

    • #5
  6. WillowSpring Member
    WillowSpring
    @WillowSpring

    The only part I had trouble believing is that there were actually “inside people” in the Justice department on our side.

    • #6
  7. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Oh, yes! I only regret that it is just a bit of imagination.


    This conversation is part of the Group Writing Series under June’s theme of Now That’s Imagination! and boy is it ever. Kudos to Susan for the short story. If you have an imaginative short story to share, why not go sign up? We have dates available as soon as tomorrow.

    • #7
  8. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Should have happened months ago.

    • #8
  9. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    WillowSpring (View Comment):

    The only part I had trouble believing is that there were actually “inside people” in the Justice department on our side.

    Awesome. :-)

    We really need to institute a Comment of the Month feature here. 

     

    • #9
  10. Whistle Pig Member
    Whistle Pig
    @

    Very nice, Susan.  Like others have noted – a different style for you – it works.

    Also as others have said – if only.

    • #10
  11. Mim526 Inactive
    Mim526
    @Mim526

    And not one word of Operation “Getting to the Truth” leaked to the NYT beforehand…definitely using your imagination, SQ! LOL

    Thoroughly enjoyed this stretch of our imagination. Wonder if WH Counsel McGahn has palpitations in Ch. 2 imagining the legal saber rattling/press/constitutional crisis claims post-raid :-)

    • #11
  12. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    PHenry (View Comment):

    Susan, this is a style we haven’t seen before from you, isn’t it? I enjoyed it!

    Susan Quinn: Our work had just begun.

    yes, yes it has!

    Thanks so much, @phenry! Kudos to @arahant for picking a topic that calls for creativity!

    • #12
  13. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Mim526 (View Comment):

    And not one word of Operation “Getting to the Truth” leaked to the NYT beforehand…definitely using your imagination, SQ! LOL

    Thoroughly enjoyed this stretch of our imagination. Wonder if WH Counsel McGahn has palpitations in Ch. 2 imagining the legal saber rattling/press/constitutional crisis claims post-raid :-)

    Oh, @mim526, there were so many ways this could not have happened. I decided that it was my imagination and I do believe in miracles! Your comment is hysterical!

    • #13
  14. Mim526 Inactive
    Mim526
    @Mim526

    Well…if you wanted to stretch your imagination farther, @susanquinn, think you’ve got a good serial opportunity here. Sort of a political “Wonderful World of Susan” a la Walt Disney (I loved that Disney show every Sunday as a kid).

    • #14
  15. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Mim526 (View Comment):

    Well…if you wanted to stretch your imagination farther, @susanquinn, think you’ve got a good serial opportunity here. Sort of a political “Wonderful World of Susan” a la Walt Disney (I loved that Disney show every Sunday as a kid).

    Oooohhh! I like it! I watched Disney on TV, too. I just wonder if people would eventually get annoyed with me–like, get over it, Susan! It ain’t gonna happen and stop reminding us. Then again . . . .

    • #15
  16. KentForrester Coolidge
    KentForrester
    @KentForrester

    Well look at you, Susan, conjuring up scenarios, putting words in people’s mouths, using plotting devices.  Is there no end to your talents?  Next thing we know you’ll be writing epic poems made up of heroic couplets.

    Kent

    • #16
  17. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    KentForrester (View Comment):

    Well look at you, Susan, conjuring up scenarios, putting words in people’s mouths, using plotting devices. Is there no end to your talents? Next thing we know you’ll be writing epic poems made up of heroic couplets.

    Kent

    You’re sweet. But probably not. Way beyond my pay grade. Now @arahant is the one to call on for that. How about an epic poem on politics?

    • #17
  18. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    How about an epic poem on politics?

    Poetry used to sell when it was the version of the Star Wars movie or other adventure movies. Parchment/Papyrus/Vellum was expensive, so they had to memorize their stories, and mnemonic devices, such as rhyme and rhythm and alliteration, helped them tie it all together and keep it in their heads. Nowadays? Try a screenplay. Even Jo Rowling has gone that route.

    Pay no attention to us hold-outs, still scribbling rhymes on the walls of the Internet.

    • #18
  19. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    How about an epic poem on politics?

    Poetry used to sell when it was the version of the Star Wars movie or other adventure movies. Parchment/Papyrus/Vellum was expensive, so they had to memorize their stories, and mnemonic devices, such as rhyme and rhythm and alliteration, helped them tie it all together and keep it in their heads. Nowadays? Try a screenplay. Even Jo Rowling has gone that route.

    Pay no attention to us hold-outs, still scribbling rhymes on the walls of the Internet.

    Graphic novel.

    • #19
  20. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Judge Mental (View Comment):
    Graphic novel.

    That works, too. Ooooh! Pictures!

    • #20
  21. PHenry Inactive
    PHenry
    @PHenry

    Mim526 (View Comment):
    la Walt Disney (I loved that Disney show every Sunday as a kid).

    Anyone else watch Disney night on TCM last night? I missed some, but they did a documentary on the making of Cinderella that was very interesting.  Remember, that was way before CGI, so every frame was hand drawn and colored. 

    Then they did some of the Wild World of Disney, 9 academy awards!  Those were the first actual nature shows I ever saw, the clear forerunners of the BBC’s planet earth series. 

    Disney changed the world and entertainment in so many ways! 

    • #21
  22. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    PHenry (View Comment):
    Disney changed the world and entertainment in so many ways! 

    And they were enormously powerful in feeding our imaginations!

    • #22
  23. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    • #23
  24. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):
    Graphic novel.

    That works, too. Ooooh! Pictures!

    OC (original cave ) style.

    • #24
  25. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Judge Mental (View Comment):
    Graphic novel.

    That works, too. Ooooh! Pictures!

    OC (original cave ) style.

    Fascinating! Did you see the film, @cliffordbrown?

    • #25
  26. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    Susan Quinn: I turned on my heel and left his office.

    The heel.

    • #26
  27. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    Why Susan, you have gone radical. I like. 

    • #27
  28. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Kevin Schulte (View Comment):

    Why Susan, you have gone radical. I like.

    Thanks, @kevinschulte! I think . . . ;-)  It was fun to play with the idea.

    • #28
  29. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    Post

    Yes. In the theater, in 3D. I enjoy Werner Herzog’s work generally (you like his style or you don’t). He went 3D not as a gimmick, but rather because it was likely to be the only time most people in the world would be allowed into the caves. What impressed me most was that “primitive” humans were as capable of realistic representations as moderns, to my inexpert eye.

    I think the 2D version is fine as well. It has been on Netflix, looks like it is on Amazon Prime now.

    Among his other documentaries, his 2013 short From One Second to the Next is the most chillingly understated argument against texting while driving. Grizzly Man is also not to be missed.

    • #29
  30. Susan Quinn Contributor
    Susan Quinn
    @SusanQuinn

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    Susan Quinn (View Comment):
    Post

    Yes. In the theater, in 3D. I enjoy Werner Herzog’s work generally (you like his style or you don’t). He went 3D not as a gimmick, but rather because it was likely to be the only time most people in the world would be allowed into the caves. What impressed me most was that “primitive” humans were as capable of realistic representations as moderns, to my inexpert eye.

    I think the 2D version is fine as well. It has been on Netflix, looks like it is on Amazon Prime now.

    Among his other documentaries, his 2013 short From One Second to the Next is the most chillingly understated argument against texting while driving. Grizzly Man is also not to be missed.

    Thanks for your input! 

    • #30
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