Page 59 of The Last Kingdom

“Good. Let’s put aside your ill feelings toward me, and the fact that you disobeyed a direct White House order regarding Cotton Malone, and focus on the crisis.”

He was silent with bemusement, then, remembering certain courtesies, he said, “I agree with that, too, Mr. President. That’s always been my goal.”

“Trinity said you were a practical man.”

“I can be. When you say ‘crisis,’ are you referring to what they call the last kingdom?”

“What do you know about that?” Fox asked.

“Enough that the Federal Republic of Germany may have a valid claim to the Hawaiian Islands. The brother of the current Duke of Bavaria is after that deed. I was asked by the duke to help find it first.”

“People have been looking for that deed a long time. Hitler wanted it. Truman went after it. Eisenhower. What makes you think you can find it?”

“I’m good.”

Fox chuckled. “Trinity also said you were modest. Are you the one who enlisted Malone to help?”

“Not at first, but I came to believe it was a good idea.”

“Because he hates me too? Comrades in arms? What did you promise him? That he could save Stephanie Nelle?”

“Something like that.”

“Hate is a powerful motivator. Trust me, I know. But, Derrick, I’m just an imperfect man, hiding behind a self-made myth, one I’ve cultivated hard for years. Say what you want about me, but I don’t pretend to be what I’m not. Like Popeye, I am what I am and that’s all that I am. But this isn’t about me, or you, or Malone. This is far bigger. This is about this country’s future. And it’s our duty to protect it.”

Through the years he’d become quite good at deciphering the silences between words, the thoughts speech disguised. That talent was telling him now that Fox was not posturing. He detected no lies, no embellishing flourishes that added a stronger feeling of truth. Nothing but sincerity.

Which he had to respect.

“I’ve learned something from my short time in office,” Fox said. “An admission that may shock you. This job demands a more moderate personality than mine. A diplomat as well as an administrator. Somebody to inspire trust, not controversy. A father figure with a determined voice that doesn’t offend. Unfortunately, none of that is me. I’m a bull in a china shop. I’ve always been the loudest voice in the room.”

He didn’t know what to say.

So he kept silent.

“Three months ago,” Fox said, “the NSC advised me that the Chinese were actively negotiating with the Germans, all in cooperation with a prince in Bavaria. They all want something and, in the end, that something will cost us dearly.”

Exactly what the duke had reported when Albert enlisted his help. But he still did not know all the details. “Why are the Chinese so interested?”

“When I was first briefed about their involvement, I asked the same question.”

He watched as Fox motioned to someone off-screen.

A moment later the door behind him opened and Trinity entered and handed him a folder.

Then she left.

“In that file is the answer I was provided,” Fox said. “Read it. Then you and I are going to have a serious chat.”

The following information is provided as an operational overview to bring the current situation into a proper perspective.

Background

Rare earths are a collection of 17 elements from the periodic table that possess magnetic and conductive properties. They are: cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and yttrium (Y). Despite their name, rare earth elements are relatively plentiful in Earth’s crust. What makes them rare is that they are widely dispersed, not found in economically viable concentrations.

Until the mid-twentieth century, most of the world’s rare earths were found in India and Brazil. In the 1950s South Africa became the main supplier. Through the 1960s until the 1980s, California made the United States the leading producer. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, China is the number one supplier, producing 70% of the world’s rare earth supply. More importantly, China supplies the United States with 80% of its rare earth needs.

Political Landscape

---