“You said you launched a nuclear missile at the asteroid––”

“Nuclear anti-satellite, yes.”

“Isn’t the radiation from such an explosion something that can compromise the ozone layer?”

“The weapon we launched at Apophis was launched early enough to connect with and destroy the asteroid before it reached anywhere near Earth or its atmosphere. Thanks to the swift and expeditious actions from my team and I, any and all damage that occurred anywhere was only to the asteroid. You can continue to work on your tan this summer without worry,” he chuckles.

“Mr. President, Mr. President!” another reporter shouts and is subsequently pointed at. “Yes, Bill?”

“If that’s true, then that means the debris from the asteroid exploding would’ve spread out before reaching our planet. Does that mean there are meteors coming down all over the planet and not just here in the U.S.?”

“Good question. The anti-satellite weapon that was launched earlier this morning is unlike any we’ve ever developed; the asteroid was only hit with one part of a dual-rocket system. When the first part of it hit Apophis, it neutralized the main threat Apophis posed by turning the large asteroid into a series of smaller, manageable rocks. The second part destroyed those smaller rocks and took care of any residual debris thereafter. This is why you haven’t heard any reports from anywhere else in the world about there being any meteor sightings or collisions. Because our nation possesses the most diverse catalog of weapons for countering any threat in the entire world, we took special care and made it our sole responsibility to make certain that not just here in our borders, but that humankind everywhere was protected from this potentially catastrophic event. America is the strongest nation on Earth, and because of that, we must often be the sword that destroys whatever threat comes our way, whether domestic or foreign. More importantly, we must also act as the shield and take a hit, no matter how big or small, in order to make certain that the rest of the planet and our species is completely safe from harm.”

“Mr. President, Mr. President!”

President Lamarch raises his hand. “That’s all the questions I can take for now, thank you all very much. God bless the world, and the United States.”

The president walks from the stage as quickly as he entered it and ignores the storm of voices yelling out his prestigious handle. He knows they just want one more question answered, even though time after time again they are reminded that once the president walks away from the podium, it’s fruitless to try to get him to continue to answer any more questions.

Not a moment after he leaves the room, does he turn to his Vice President, Reed Wise, who is wearing a scowl that the audience on the other side of the partition will never see. The face on Wise is evident that he also noticed the blunder that almost turned that press coverage into the New York Times’ next front-page article.

“How the hell did she know about the astronauts?” President Lamarch screams in a whisper to his V.P. as they stride down the hall.

“I have no idea, sir. Maybe someone from Gusarov’s camp contacted her,” Wise replies.

“Gusarov? He will never allow such a thing to get out, it will ruin his ability to put us at a disadvantage. No, it had to be someone from our side. Maybe one of the staff?”

“Harold?” Wise proposes, hoping to bring more attention to a man that the president tends to overlook most of the time.

“Harold? No, no the good general can be a downright barnacle at times, but he isn’t corruptible. He would never conspire to something like this.”

“He’s the only one I can see that would be capable of leaking something like this, this quickly.”

“Reed, I’m not about to have speculation floating around that General Clemens is leaking classified information to the media. It’s outlandish and unsubstantiated. Someone else in that Situation Room had more of a reason to have such a thing be known to the media, especially to Debra Levine of all people.”

The president stops in his steps and so does Wise. “Yes, you’re the vice president now, but you were once my chief of staff, so do me a favor and implore some of your trademark, tenacious tactics to find out who in that room would have benefited from her knowing such a thing,” he says to Wise with a sternness and agitation that he’s known to show only when he’s completely blindsided.

The president continues to walk down the hall, only this time without the vice president by his side.