EPU to respond to a dangerous call while protecting the First Family.
“Far as I concerned, you still an intern right this minute, ” Macovich said as he sped west on Broad Street, weaving in and out of traffic. “So you get some big idea about snitching on me like you already done before when I beat you fair and square in pool, I gonna deny it and say you was officially riding along. ”
“It’s Papa who got mad at you, ” Regina retorted.
“Huh! ‘Cause you such a sore loser and malingered me to him!” Macovich roared through a yellow light.
Motorists were pulling off on the shoulder, certain they were about to get a ticket for something. Traffic had slowed to ten miles an hour as other drivers cowered in terror and prayed they hadn’t driven over a stripe on the street and their speed hadn’t been checked by some helicopter and now a trooper was after them.
“The governor didn’t see me beat you, ” Macovich irritably went on as he did his best to cut through the barely moving cars. “So you had to snitch, and then suddenly I have to hope he don’t remember me. ”
“He doesn’t remember you, ” Regina reminded him. “He says you all look alike, and he doesn’t mean it in a way that’s not nice. But Papa can’t see most people, and sometimes he calls Constance Faith and the other way around, especially if they haven’t put on makeup and are still in their robes. ”
“Would you get outta my way?” Macovich yelled at the cars he was trying to pass.
Within minutes, he was turning off Three Chopt Road into a long driveway that led to the stately country club with its elegant clubhouse, tennis and paddleball courts, and sprawling golf course. CCV, as the Country Club of Virginia was called, was in a very wealthy neighborhood where many of the homes were as big as the governor’s mansion. Macovich was in an anxious sweat as he drove slowly over a speed bump. People around here thought all black folks looked alike, too, and poor vision had nothing to do with it.
“I tell you, nothing I hate more than coming over here, ” he muttered.
“What for? Papa’s been a member ever since he was governor the first time. I practically grew up in this club. ” Regina scanned for the Grand Prix, hoping she would spot it first.
“Yeah. You a member as long as it’s a family membership, but the day come you try to get in on your own when your daddy no longer the guv, then you see what happen, ” Macovich said, spotting the car near the indoor tennis facility. “Folk like you and me don’t get ‘cepted into places like this, in case you ain’t figured that out yet. And most other guv’ners turn down the membership even if it’s free, ’cause it go against their conscious. ”
This was news to Regina. “Why wouldn’t I get in on my own? I’m white and from an old Virginia family. ”
“You still a minority. ”
Macovich radioed that he had found the Grand Prix and requested a backup as he lit a cigarette. He got out and checked the car, noting that the key was still in the ignition, and when he cranked the engine, he discovered that the gas tank was on empty. It also did not escape his attention that there were no personal effects inside the vehicle or the trunk. He got back on the radio.
“Subject appears to have abandoned the vehicle, ” he informed another trooper who was minutes away. “I’m going to check the area and let you work out getting the vehicle to the city tow lot. ”
“Ten-four. ”
“What do you mean I’m a minority?” Regina resumed arguing with Macovich. “How dare you insult me like that. ”
“Oh, I get it. ” Macovich got mad inside his cloud of smoke. “It ain’t no insult for me to be a minority, but it is if you’re one. Well, let me tell you something, Miss Majority. Every time you daddy ain’t in office and you don’t have EPU following you around, it’s well known you hang out at Babe’s playing pool. “