Page 32 of Prisoner of War
“Huh?” Josh blinked.
Carmen, with the legally trained mind, answered for him. “Nick cannot be president of Vistaria. He’s only half Vistarian. He cannot lead.”
Minnie jumped on that one. “Who says?” She was outraged by such prejudice. It was ridiculous.
“It is the law,”Carmen said.
“What law? Where?”
Nick tried to appease. “Carmen just graduated from Harvard Law School, Minnie. She knows what she’s talking about. This has long been established in our country. Your own president must also have been born in the United States, yes?”
Minnie focused on Nick’s phrasing. “Long been established” had a lot of meanings. She faced Carmen squarely. “Is there a law? Isit written down anywhere that Nick can’t be a leader because his mother was Irish?”
Carmen bit her lip, staring at her. Then she grimaced. “No.”
“Any case law?” Josh asked, stepping to the other side of Carmen. Minnie appreciated his support. She wouldn’t have thought to clarify between case law and statutes.
Carmen was getting edgy. Her hip bone thrust forward and she crossed her arms. Aftera long pause she said, “No.”
Minnie turned to Nick. “So there’s no real reason you can’t be the President. You just don’t want to be a leader. You’re too used to being the Red Leopard who skulks in the background, manipulating but never visibly taking the power. I guess, in that regard, youwantto be Zalaya’s equal.”
Nick opened his mouth, then closed it.
Minnie didn’t wait for him to figureout his next protest. “Out of everyone in this room, it’s you who can pull victory out of this chaos because you know what needs to be done and you can do it. Why won’t you do it, Nick? What’s stopping you?”
“Right now? Right at this very moment?” he asked.
“Sure.”
“Well, arranging a wedding for one.” He held his hand out to Calli and she took it, a soft smile on her face. “Calli has consentedto marry me as soon as I can arrange it. You’ll forgive me if I off-load the concerns of a country for forty-eight hours?”
Carmen straightened up, almost snapping to attention. “Forty-eight hours?” she cried. “How can I get a proper dress in forty-eight hours? How can Calli? Have you no idea at all about the scale of a thing like a wedding? You have to give us a week at least, Nick!”
“And whyhaven’t you asked anyone else to help?” Josh asked, moving closer to the pair.
Minnie found herself slowly edged to the side of the room as the four of them gathered together, talking over the top of one another excitedly.
She couldn’t rejoice. Not just yet. Nick had deliberately dropped the news of the wedding into the conversation to distract everyone. He confirmed it by looking her way amoment or two later. He didn’t say anything but his smile faded, until Josh clapped him on the shoulder and forced his attention back to talk of the wedding.
Minnie clutched her middle with both arms, feeling a chill despite the mid-afternoon heat.
Nick wasn’t ready to face Serrano. He wasn’t in a position to take on Zalaya.
That meant the only person left who could help Duardo was her.
