Hil ary Clinton had been back at her desk in the Old Executive Building, across the street from the White House, for only a half hour after briefing the President about the Pan Am people. She now had to work double-time to take care of her other dossiers, which were stil important. Too many things were going wrong around the World and in the United States, despite the best efforts of the Obama administration.
Paramount were two major foreign crisis: first, the continuing financial and economic recession in many countries, including the United States; second, the apparent ongoing collapse of the Pakistani government, crumbling under the pressure of Muslim extremists, with the control of Pakistani nuclear weapons presently a big question mark.
In the domestic arena, the reelection of President Obama, helped by his selection of Hil ary Clinton as his Vice-Presidential candidate, had not stopped the paralysis of the Congress, stil split squarely along party lines and with practically no law or budgetary measure able to pass without endless debates and filibusters. The word ‘politician’, either Democrat, Republican or Independent, was now firmly considered a dirty word by the large majority of the American population, something that Hil ary Clinton regretted very much.
Her intercom buzzed as she was reviewing with growing frustration the latest budget amendment counter-proposal presented by the Republican Senate leaders: as usual, the words ‘flexibility’ and ‘compromise’ seemed to be absent from their dictionary.
Making an effort to put a cheerful tone in her voice, she pushed the ‘speaker’ button on her intercom.
‘’Yes, Sharon?’’
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‘’Madam, I have State Secretary Burns on the phone for you. He says that it is urgent.’
‘’Transfer him on Line One, Sharon.’
Hil ary wondered as she picked up her receiver if Burns’ call had something to do with the Pan Am affair. The voice of the veteran diplomat quickly came on the line.
‘’Hil ary, this is Joe Burns. I have right now with me the ambassadors from France and Monaco, who came to me with an urgent request. It is about the passengers of that Pan Am flight and they are quite firm about their request. Since you are the main person in charge of that dossier, could I slide this your way, if you wouldn’t mind?’’
‘’Let me guess: they want access to Princess Grace and to Coco Chanel.’
‘’Uh, actually, they want more: they want their immediate release. Furthermore, their governments are considering that subject as a very serious one.’’
‘’I see! Very well, send them to the Old Executive Building: I wil be waiting for them.’
‘’Thanks, Hil ary! That wil give me more time to deal with this mess in Pakistan.’
‘’Don’t mention it, Joe. I wil keep you appraised of the results of our meeting later tonight.’
Hil ary then put down her receiver and thought for a moment about how she was going to deal with those two ambassadors. Despite the minuscule size of the Principality of Monaco, its ruling family had very influential financial and diplomatic contacts and knew wel how to play them. As for France, it was one ally the United States could not afford to alienate right now. Playing hardball without good reasons would be stupid of her. Her mind made up, Hil ary returned to her reading.
Less than twenty minutes later, the French and Monegasque ambassadors were introduced in her office, with Hillary going to them to greet them with a handshake. In typical French fashion, the ambassadors also gave her an accolade and kisses of the cheek.
‘’Monsieur De Lafrenière, Monsieur Noghes, welcome! Please, sit! Would you like something, tea or coffee?’’
‘’Thank you, but no, Madam Vice-President.’ Replied the French ambassador as he sat in a corner sofa pointed by Hil ary. Noghes also declined the offer of refreshments, so the trio was able to sit and go down to business right away.
‘’So, what precisely could I do for you, gentlemen?’’ Asked Hil ary with a smile.
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The French ambassador nodded and spoke first.
‘’We know that you are a very busy woman and we wouldn’t want to waste your time, Madam Vice-President. I will then be direct: I came with Ambassador Noghes to secure the speedy release from American custody of all the passengers of French and Monegasque nationality that were aboard the Pan Am aircraft that landed yesterday morning at JFK Airport. Our request is particularly important concerning Princess Grace of Monaco and Miss Coco Chanel.’
‘’I understand your interest in this matter, Monsieur De Lafrenière, but you must understand in turn that the unexplained appearance of the Pan Am aircraft near our East Coast has raised some serious questions about what caused it and its possible implications for our national security. Both the plane and its occupants have barely started to be examined to try to find first if they are real y what they claim to be, and second to find how they came here. I assure you that we are proceeding as fast as we can in this matter and that, if authenticated, the crew and passengers of the Pan Am flight wil be promptly released, probably within mere days.’
The Monegasque ambassador then waded in, his face most serious.
‘’Madam Vice-President, you may not appreciate the full impact that this story had in Monaco, or its implications for the reigning family of Monaco. In truth, the whole of Monaco is upside down right now and it is facing a constitutional crisis of the first order.’
‘’Oh? Could you elaborate, please?’ Said Hil ary, truly surprised.
‘’Certainly, Madam Vice-President. To resume quickly the situation in Monaco, Prince Albert II is the present ruler of the principality, while his elder sister Caroline is for the moment the heiress presumptive until Charlene of Monaco, the wife of Prince Albert, produces a legitimate heir. Unfortunately, the first pregnancy of Princess Consort Charlene had to be terminated for medical reasons, so Princess Caroline is stil directly in line for the throne.’’
‘’I understand all this, Monsieur Noghes, but I fail to see the connection to the Pan Am flight, except maybe for the fact that there is now a possible young twin of Princess Caroline.’
‘’That fact has not escaped us, Madam Vice-President, believe me, but it is not the one that is our main concern in Monaco. It is Princess Grace that is now critical for the affairs of the principality. Simply said, Princess Grace is the mother of the present reigning Prince of Monaco, as well as that of the present heiress presumptive, and thus 41
would legitimately become the heiress presumptive herself. Furthermore, she would be able to claim back, as mother of the ruler, many if not all of the titles and estates she held until her official death in 1982. Those titles and estates represent actual y a staggering amount of money and their transfer could thrown the finances of Monaco in turmoil.’’
‘’Just out of curiosity, Monsieur Noghes, how much approximately would those titles and estates be worth right now?’’
‘’Approximately 1.2 bil ion dol ars, Madam Vice-President.’ Answered the Monegasque ambassador, making Hil ary’s jaw drop.
‘’One point two bil ion dollars?! I had no idea she was worth that much.’
‘’Actual y, the fortune of the whole Grimaldi royal family is publicly estimated at 3.5 bil ion dol ars, Madam Vice-President. Without getting into the details, I can tell you that this figure is on the low side. So, you can see why I am anxious to meet with the Princess Grace from the Pan Am flight, as well as with the little Princess Caroline.’
‘’I do indeed, Monsieur Noghes.’ Said Hil ary before looking at the French ambassador. ‘’And you, Monsieur De Lafrenière? What is the interest of France in the quick release of Miss Coco Chanel, apart that she is a French citizen?’’
‘’She is not only a French citizen, Madam Vice-President, although that sole fact is enough for us to treat this case with the utmost seriousness. Coco Chanel is a national icon in our country and her name stil brings prestige to French culture.
Furthermore, the Chanel enterprises have an annual business output in the hundreds of mil ions of dol ars. When the first pictures of her, coming out of that Pan Am jet, were seen in France, the reaction was no less than pandemonium, especial y among the fashion industry. My President has since instructed me to gain her prompt freedom and return to France, and this in no uncertain terms. Of course, the liberation and return of any other French national that was on that plane would also be greatly appreciated by France.’
‘’And what if Miss Coco Chanel, or Princess Grace, refuse to leave the United States right away?’
Both De Lafrenière and Noghes were shocked by Hillary’s hypothetical question.
‘’Why wouldn’t they want to go back to France, Madam Vice-President?’’
‘’Because we are a free democracy, Monsieur De Lafrenière. If and when we free them from their protective custody, it wil be up to them where they want to go and what they want to do. May I remind you that Princess Grace has dual American-42
Monegasque citizenship, while Miss Coco Chanel was justly famous for being a woman with a mind of her own.’’
‘’Touché, Madam Vice-President.’ Conceded De Lafrenière with a forced smile.
‘’But we won’t be able to ascertain what they want if you keep them incommunicado. At the least, we would most appreciate if you would let us visit them, ideally this evening at the latest.’
Hillary sat back in her sofa, thinking over the request from the Frenchman. She final y made a nod of the head to him.
‘’I wil agree to your request for a visit and interview, both by you and Monsieur Noghes. In fact, we can go right now: it wil give me a good excuse to put back to later the reading of some rather frustrating documents.’
‘’Congressional documents, Madam Vice-President?’’ Asked Noghes with a smile, making Hil ary smile as well.
‘’How did you guess, Ambassador Noghes?’’
‘’Just a hunch, Madam Vice-President. Is your husband, President Clinton, planning to visit the people of the Pan Am flight?’’
Hil ary gave him a knowing look.
‘’With Marilyn Monroe as part of that group? Not if I can help it, Monsieur Noghes.’
18:13 (New York Time)