He knew when to smile, when to shake hands, when to dig in his claws, when to draw blood. Like most things about him, his name was counterfeit, Franklin Truman, lifted from the 32nd and 33rd Presidents of the United States. Better than Harry Roosevelt, Drake thought, not much but a little. Franklin Truman wasn't President of the United States or running for public office. He knew real leaders aren't elected.
Real leaders pull political strings from behind the scenes.
Drake knew the truth about China. Almost a billion and a half strong. Larger population than Western Europe, Canada, and the United States combined. A standing army of five million Communist soldiers waiting for the order to march against the free world. The idea of free trade with China was so ridiculous Drake would laugh if the likelihood of it occurring didn't increase each day.