Flying in a suitcase isn’t exactly pleasant. Especially for hours over the North Pole.
I woke up in the place of my country’s president. A hospital mix-up; the faces matched. Then I was carried across an ocean in a suitcase. I climbed out at the border under the astonished gaze of the guards. In Washington I was painted as an African American, put in a wheelchair, and driven around to see the ideal state. The Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, the air and space museum.…
I’m the “gray mouse” from the Administration. As a teenager I was taken to America, then studied at the Intelligence University, then sent back to clean up my own mess. I blackmailed him and married him. I love him. Now we’re heading to our son and my parents. He crosses the border in a suitcase, and I walk through with a diplomatic passport. Then I vanish into shops: I want to bring home as much joy as I can carry.
My name is John. “Today we have a special program: one day for you to understand how our country works.” I keep my hands tight on the wheel as if I’m carrying not a passenger but a secret. I don’t say the guest’s surname: that’s how it’s done when everyone knows everything.
He is wheeled around Washington like a curiosity, and notices that here they aren’t afraid to show either triumphs or failures. He decides he’d like to stay “among those who build the future.” Tomorrow he will ask to meet the people in charge of energy. That request will decide everything after.
Read the complete story in “Putin’s Double in USA.” This page contains only a short excerpt; the book has the rest.
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