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“Georgia Mason, After the End Times, here to see Governor Tate”

One of thelasses atMy own sunglasses were fir it difficult, if not i ed a look I’ve found that lasses really hate it when they can’t see your eyes—it’s like the air ofto create isn’t meant to be shared with anyone else, especially not a silly little journalist who happens to suffer froround and my smile

Late or not, they didn’t have a valid reason to keep ain,” said the taller of the two, and opened the door to the governor’s private office

“Right,” I said, and let my smile drop as I walked past them They closed the door behind et one first look at the private office of theme out of a job I wanted to savor it

Governor Tate’s office was decorated austerely He’d chosen to cover the room’s ts; shelves blocked theht was provided by soft overhead fluorescents Two , respectively, the United States and Texas There were no other personal touches in evidence This office was a stopping place, not a destination

The governor himself was behind his desk, carefully placed so he was fra hours arguing about how best to create the i, both for his country and for the world They’d done it; he looked perfectly presidential If Peter Ryood looks and all-American charm, Governor David Tate was the embodiment of the American military ray crew cut I didn’t need to call up his service record; the fact that he had one while Senator Ryman didn’t has been the source of a lot of ads paid for by “concerned citizens” since the caeneral, saw co of ’17, e took back Niagara Falls froain in New Guinea in ’19, when a terrorist action involving aerosolized live-state Kellis-Amberlee nearly cost us the country He’d been wounded in battle, he’d fought for his nation and for the rights of the uninfected, and he understood the e fight every day against the creatures that used to be our loved ones

There are a lot of good reasons the

“Miss Mason,” he said, indicating the chair on the far side of his desk with a sweep of one hand as he rose “I trust you didn’t get lost? I was beginning to think you weren’t intending to come”

“Governor,” I replied I walked over and sat down, pullingit on the table The action triggered at least two video ca Those were the ones I knew about; I was sure Buffy had hidden half a dozen ot cute with an EMP pulse “I was unavoidably detained”

“Ah, yes,” he said, sitting back down “Those security checks can be murder, can’t they?”

“They certainly can” I leaned over to turn on the MP3 recorder with a theatrical flick of ht that wasdevice, he’d worry less about as really going on the record “I wanted to thank you for taking the time to sit doith me today and, of course, with our audience at After the End Tireat deal of interest, and your platforer to understand in overnor drawled, settling back in his seat I glanced up withoutmy head; the ability to see your interviehen they don’t know you’re looking is one of the great advantages to living your life behind tinted glass

It was easier to look than it was to avoid flinching at what I saw The governor atchinga bug he intended to s reporters, but that was a bit lasses and said, “They are a community”

“Is that so? Well, I suppose that explains their unflagging interest in this year’s race Been glorious for your ratings, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, Governor, it has Now, your run for president was a bit of a surprise—political circles held that you wouldn’t be reaching for the office for another cycle What proovernor s the blankness from his eyes Too late; I’d already seen it In a way, the sudden life in his expression was even ht he kne to handleand the short of it is that I’ve been getting aaround here I looked out at the field and realized that, unless I was on it, there just wasn’t anyone out there that I’d trust to watch after my wife and two boys when the dead decided it was ti leader in this time of turht to hold what’s his No offense against ht for what he loves He doesn’t understand it the way he would if he’d ever bled to keep it” His tone was jovial and aled student

I wasn’t buying it Keeping my expression professional, I said, “So you see this as a two-man race—between yourself and Senator Ryman”