Minute Zero by Todd Moss

Egypt?”
    “I don’t know, Mariana. But they aren’t picking sides in Zimbabwe as far as I know.”
    “Believe me, I know that. It pisses me off! What I want the U.S. government to do is to just stand up for the truth. No hiding behind diplomatic protocol and all this neutrality crap. Just keeping things quiet isn’t good enough, Judd.”
    “What are you suggesting?”
    “Gugu is going to win this thing.”
    “She is?”
    “I don’t work for losers. You should know that by now. I’m not going to work for a candidate I can’t help win. You know I always do my homework.”
    “Yes, Mariana. You always do your homework.”
    “Always a deep dive, Judd. Always a deep dive. That’s why I’m working for Gugu. And now I’ve got private polling showing we are going to take the election on Saturday. We’re winning this fucking thing.”
    “You’re winning? You have the data?”
    “I can’t show you any numbers yet, but I’ve got it. And Tino is going to do everything he can to stop us. He’ll cheat, lie, and steal if he has to. He’s already sent out his goon squads to suppress the vote. I’m documenting all the election abuses and intimidation. I’m going to need the U.S. to push for a speedy announcement of the election results and then to stand up for the winner.
The real winner.
When it comes to a head on Sunday, I need to be able to count on you.”
    “Have you spoken with Landon Parker? Is that why you’re calling me?”
    “I always speak with Landon. He’s a dear, but he’s being cagey on Zimbabwe. I don’t understand it. He should know what’s right, what’s in the interests of the United States, but he says it’s complicated and won’t commit. I’ll keep working on him, but
I need you
, Judd.”
    “What about William Rogerson?”
    “You must be joking. Bill Rogerson’s got his head so far up South Africa’s ass, he has no idea what’s going on anywhere else. All he cares about is keeping Pretoria happy. He doesn’t give two shits about Zimbabwe.”
    “I can’t make any promises, Mariana.”
    “I know you only do crises, Judd. That’s your thing, right? Crisis reaction? Zimbabwe could easily blow up. So how about getting ahead of this? How about
preventing
a crisis? How’s that for your Golden Hour?”
    “Maybe.”
    “So you’re in, then. Good.”
    “That’s not a yes, Mariana,” Judd said, stepping out of his ride and onto the cobblestone path leading to the White House. “The politics here are . . . complicated.”
    “That’s what Landon said! What’s wrong with you guys? Has the United States government completely lost its balls?”
    “I’ve got to run, I’m sorry. I will look into it. That I promise,” Judd said as he approached the visitors’ security gate for the West Wing.
    “Do you know about Motowetsurohuro, Judd?”
    “What?” he said, stopping to listen.
    “Moto-wet-suro-huro. In Shona it means the Great Rabbit Fire.”
    “Okay, what is it?”
    “To hunt rabbits in Zimbabwe, people burn a field using the flames to chase the rabbits into a trap so they can be killed, skinned, and eaten. Well, back in the 1980s, in a remote part of the country, a group of kids—you know, teenage boys—got into a fight with a policeman over a girl or a goat or something, I don’t know. But the policeman was killed. When the police came, the families hid the kids. So they called in the army on trumped-up charges that they were rebels or something. The army flooded the area with troops and attack helicopters. They went on a rampage. They burned down the villages. They killed hundreds of people.”
    “That’s horrific, Mariana.”
    “They called it Operation Motowetsurohuro. They hunted down the people like rabbits. They trapped them and killed them. Can you even imagine?”
    “Awful.”
    “It was a massacre, Judd. A slaughter.”
    “Why are you telling me this, Mariana?”
    “Guess who tried to help those people?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Well, the