Cabinet Battle 1
“Secretary Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton,” said a petite omega.
Thomas felt his breath being stolen away. This is the man he is supposed to be opposed to? This adorable, tiny, cute omega?
“You’re drooling,” Madison mutters under his breath to the shocked alpha.
Thomas quickly regains his composure.
“Nice to meet you all,” he says with all the elegance of a man of his stature. “We are having a meeting soon, yes?”
Alexander’s eyes widened comically. “We do?” he shrieks in alarm.
Washington tries not to sigh. “Yes. I’ve been telling you about it for a week.”
“I cannot believe you expected me to pay attention!” Alexander replies haughtily.
Washington couldn’t withhold his sigh this time and Thomas had to bite back a grin.
“Just go, son,” George said, tiredly.
Hamilton huffs but complies.
He rounds the corner to walk right into Angelica.
Angelica’s lips quirk up slightly but allows the omega to pass.
“Mrs. Schuyler-Burr! What a pleasure!” James says with a smile.
“Hi, James! How’s Dolley?” Angelica replies with an equally sincere smile.
“She is fine. She would like to invite you and your husband along with Peggy and Maria Schuyler-Reynolds for the annual Christmas party,” James says.
“We’d love to come. Will Lafayette and Hercules be there?” Angelica asks.
“Yes, they will! I do believe Eliza and George, along with their significant others, received the invitation,” James answers smoothly.
George smiles in confirmation.
“I do believe it’s time to start the meeting,” George said, gesturing to the large room behind him as he opens the door.
Thomas thanks him for the kind gesture and James follows in suit.
They enter the room and see Hamilton flip over through a couple of pages of notes.
“Alexander has a plan to take care of the National Debt as you all know. Thomas is representing the Southerners with Madison. You may speak first,” Washington says, addressing the room when they settle into their seats.
“‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ We fought for these ideals; we shouldn’t settle for less. These are wise words, enterprising men quote them. Don’t act surprised, you guys, because I wrote them. But Hamilton forgets. His plan would have the government assume state debts. Now, place your bets as to who that benefits: The very seat of government where Hamilton sits,” Thomas says, feeling slightly bad for the omega.
“Not true,” Alex retorts.
Thomas snaps back, “If the shoe fits, wear it. If New York’s in debt why should Virginia bear it? Our debts are paid, I’m afraid. Don’t tax the South because we got it made in the shade. In Virginia, we plant seeds in the ground. We create. You just wanna move our money around. This financial plan is an outrageous demand and it’s too many damn pages for any man to understand. Stand with me in the land of the free and pray to God we never see Hamilton’s candidacy. Look, when Britain taxed our tea, we got frisky. Imagine what’s gonna happen when you try to tax our whiskey.”
Thomas sits down, pleased with himself.
“Just watch. Hamilton is smarter than you think,” Madison murmurs.
Alex stands and openly smiles at Thomas.
Thomas’s lips twitch downwards. What was he planning?
“Thomas. That was a real nice declaration. Welcome to the present, we’re running a real nation. Would you like to join us, or stay mellow doing whatever the hell it is you do in Monticello? If we assume the debts, the union gets a new line of credit, a financial diuretic. How do you not get it? If we’re aggressive and competitive the union gets a boost. You’d rather give it a sedative? A civics lesson from a slaver. Hey neighbor, your debts are paid because you don’t pay for labor. ‘We plant seeds in the South. We create.’ Yeah, keep ranting. We know who’s really doing the planting,” Alex said vehemently.
Thomas was taken aback. This omega had the guts to stand up to him? He was impressed and irritated but allowed him to continue.
“And another thing, Mr. Age of Enlightenment. Don’t lecture me about the war, you didn’t fight in it. You think I’m frightened of you, man? We almost died in a trench while you were off getting high with the French,” Alex hisses in accusation.
“You don't have the votes,” Thomas says before he can stop himself.
Hamilton looks surprised at his outburst. “What?” he asked, confused.
Madison gave Thomas a warning look. Despite common belief, James truly did care for the immigrant. He was loud, annoying, and a pain in the ass, but he was also an omega.
That didn’t denote his worth but he was in an alpha and beta only field. He was quite literally, the only omega in the entire Government. And James Madison wanted to make sure he didn’t get hurt.
“You’re going to need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes. Sometimes you make me wonder why I even bother trying to argue with you,” Thomas says smirking.
“Oh yeah, Thomas? Turn around, bend over, I’ll show you where my shoe fits,” Alexander seethes.
“Ok, that’s enough! Jefferson, Madison take a walk. Alexander, come here,” Washington yells.
Thomas has to do everything in his power not to walk over to the omega and show him who’s in charge in front of everyone but manages to stay calm long enough to exit the room with James.
“You’ve made an enemy out of Alexander Hamilton. A man that I like. A man that many people respect and love.” Madison said, emphasizing the words, like, respect and love.
“I know,” Thomas says through gritted teeth.
“I hope you're prepared, Thomas. You just declared war,” James said.
Thomas simply nods.