The Rat
A Short Story by Jen Ives
Margaret Tucker Smith stood before the court, her head held high, as she awaited their final verdict. She wasn’t too worried about the outcome - she had friends in high places. Plenty of people owed her big-time, and she’d done a lot to help out. No one had been more useful these past few months - doing a total 180 like that! Depending on how you looked at it, you could say she was an American hero.
She had seen the writing on the wall just in time. Left the sinking ship before anyone even knew it had sprung a leak. A terrible, irreparable leak. Sure, she’d gone on record a few times in the past with some pretty extreme stuff. Some racist remarks here and there. A bit of genocide apoligism. A modest campaigning effort for women who have had abortions to be imprisoned. The homophobia, which was more of a joke really. Oh, and the Islamophobia - in hindsight Margaret blamed 9/11 for blinding her judgement. Some claimed she did irreparable damage to trans healthcare, but how could you really prove that? Sure, she called to have a few prominent democratic politicians publicly executed for crimes of treachery. And sure, she endorsed a couple of white nationalists, but who hasn’t? She had quite a run there. People get carried away sometimes.
But Margaret had a miraculous change of heart. Somewhere along the way, during the second term, something woke up inside of her. Stranger things have happened! People do change sometimes you know… But some had accused Margaret of ‘cynically jumping ship’ in order to save her own skin. She denied it, of course. Margaret insisted that it was solely to do with her commitment to protect the disenfranchised - to stand up for those who had been victims of systematic, clandestine abuse networks - which she had absolutely no idea about until just recently. Well, okay - she’d heard a few things, here and there, but now it was getting harder to brush it all under the carpet.
Margaret knew she was going to have to eat some crow. She didn’t like it, but she had done the calculations, and it was either that, or end up behind bars. So, she recalibrated - quickly, and efficiently. If there was one thing she’d learnt working under the administration she was now turning her back on, it was that - it only really matters what you’re saying right now. People might call you a hypocrite for changing your mind, but you can always deny having the full facts. You can always claim you were playing 4D chess the entire time - that you were trying to bring things down from the inside.
The court had asked Margaret if there was anything she’d like to add before judgement. Hundreds of people were in attendance, and she had turned to face them. Margaret cleared her throat, and told the court, in no uncertain words, that she had been wrong in the past. She explained to any who would listen, that she had now realised her previous words and actions had largely been unhelpful for America. As she saw it, we were living in a time of great division - and, to her, there were more important things than ‘left’ or ‘right’. If anything, she said, the left had taught her the value of kindness. Besides, she reminded them, ehe files must be released. Justice must be had. Plus, he had called her a ‘rat’ - despite everything she’d done for him. Every single lie she’d told. Every single fire she’d put out. How fucking dare he call her a rat.
Margaret assured the court that she was a changed woman. She had woken up, like Ebenezer Scrooge had done, after being visited by three prophetic ghosts. She understood now that she had gone about things in entirely the wrong way - been, perhaps, a little too extreme in her rhetoric. Too cruel in her judgments, maybe? She was, despite everything she’d advocated for over the past seven years, at her core - a woman of God. And God said - turn the other cheek. And God said - do unto others. And God said - forgive. If the court could only see it in their heart to forgive Margaret, she assured them that she had access to information, documentation and profound, secret insights into her old congress members - all of which she’d happily disclose. After all, we must protect the children. And America.
The Head Judge, Francine Bead, stood up. She first thanked Margaret for her honesty, and bravery in defying the president she’d once served so loyally. It couldn’t have been easy to do - and Bead explained that, without Margaret’s testimonial, they may very well not have had the means to impeach. So, for that, her country thanked her - and she could rest assured that her reputation, as complex as it may be, would be documented truthfully and fairly in the American historical record.
However, Francine Bead went on to state that, as pleased as she was to hear that Margaret had grown in her outlook - and come around more to a liberal perspective on some things, many in the democratic camp had also had a change of heart as of late. The Honorable Judge Bead went on to explain that, Margaret Tucker Smith had taught them valuable lessons in the value of callousness. She had shown them that, sometimes, cruelty can have great utility.
And with that, Francine Bead sentenced Margaret Tucker Smith to death by firing squad - active immediately.
As Margaret found herself frog-marched down the aisle of the bustling Court House, many democrats and republicans alike moved to one side - each saluting her as she passed. Margaret’s legs felt heavy, and as she began to feel them failing her - the guards on either side lifted her up from under the arms. It reminded her in some way of being a child again, when her parents would swing her as they walked out of church.
Margaret was tied to a pole - right outside the Court House - and a sack was placed over her head. Without any fanfare, or audience - she was shot by 5 men holding rifles loaded with blanks, one man holding a rifle with a bullet, and one holding a video camera.
While this took place, more ex-congress men and women were brought into the Court House. It was going to be a long day, and there was no time to waste.
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I am currently on the look out for a literary agent, and have many other short stories, and the first draft of a novel completed. If you are a literary agent, and would like to read more of my work, please email me at jeniveswriter@gmail.com