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‘General Hessler?’

‘Trevathan is a left-winger, a radical, and a pacifist. She’s right within the guidelines. We keep the President in office or protect him until suitable arrangements can be made.’

‘Admiral McGarry?’

‘I’m with General Hessler.’

‘General Terrell?’

Terrell shook his head.

‘I don’t know what exactly was in the minds of those people back in 1965, but I don’t believe it has any place today. There’s no Cold War any more. I don’t care for Trevathan that much, but neither do I have any real problem with her. Even if I did, I don’t see any legal basis for what’s being suggested. I’m with General Gutierrez.’

Latham breathed deeply and looked down at the table.

‘So, we have a hung jury. Is that what I’m to report to the President?’

‘You report to the President whatever you want to report,’ Gutierrez replied. He seized his hat from the chair next to him, rose, and began to walk to the door. ‘I’m having nothing to do with this. I’m out of here.’

‘One moment, General Gutierrez,’ Latham said. ‘Please remember that you signed the confidentiality agreement. We are entitled to expect that the proceedings of this meeting will remain secret.’

Gutierrez wheeled around.

‘The President is entitled to that,’ Terrell agreed.

‘That depends,’ Gutierrez said. ‘There are some things which take precedence over a confidentiality agreement. The Constitution, for example.’

‘I must advise you, General Gutierrez,’ Latham said heavily, ‘that the President places the utmost trust in your discretion. It would be very unfortunate if that discretion were lacking. Very unfortunate indeed.’

Gutierrez looked briefly into the implacable faces around the room and left without another word.

E
LLEN
T
REVATHAN
LOOKED
at her watch again, and rose angrily to her feet. She had been waiting for over an hour for the meeting she had scheduled with the President. She had made several calls to Steffie Walinsky, only to receive the reply that the President was still in a meeting with the Attorney-General. It was not the first time she had been treated like this recently. The message was becoming clear. She was being excluded from the President’s inner circle. He had not asked her for advice, and he had not asked her to make any calls to senators to solicit votes. Used to being one of the President’s most trusted advisers, Ellen was chafing at the bit. That was far from being the worst problem. The impeachment proceedings were not going well. There was every chance that Steve Wade was about to be removed from the Presidency. Ellen might be on the point of taking over from him, and yet she could not even see him to talk about the transition. She was being put on hold because the President was engaged in ‘important business’. What could be more important than the business she had to discuss with him? Didn’t the President read the papers any more? Didn’t he know what was going on in the Senate? Ellen walked hurriedly from her office in the West Wing back to Steffie’s office. Steffie was nervous. Ellen Trevathan was not the person she wanted to see.

‘I’m sorry, Madam Vice President, the President is still…’

‘I don’t care what the President is still doing, Steffie,’ Ellen interrupted. ‘Call him, and tell him I’m here in your office, and I want to see him now. Either he’s going to go ahead with our meeting, or he’s going to explain to me personally why he’s not available.’

Steffie looked into the Vice President’s eyes, hoping that she might change her mind. She did not.

‘Yes, Ma’am.’

Steffie picked up her phone and punched the intercom button. She turned away from Ellen and spoke in a half-whisper. She replaced the receiver.

‘Someone will be right out,’ she said.

‘Someone…?’

Steffie threw up her hands.

‘That’s what they told me. Look, I’m sorry, I really am. But it’s not up to me…’

Ellen began to recover her composure.

‘I know, Steffie. I’m sorry.’

The door to the President’s office opened, and Martha Graylor came out. She walked up to Ellen and took her by the arm.

‘Come with me,’ she said quietly.

‘Come with you where, Martha? I’m here to see the President.’

‘My office. Please, Ellen. I’ll explain everything, I swear. But not here.’

Ellen studied Martha’s face carefully. She looked pale and tense. And her face was covered in lines that Ellen felt sure had not been there when she had last looked. Martha and Steffie both looked as if they were on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Something told Ellen to do as Martha had suggested.

They walked in silence and entered Martha’s office. Martha slowly seated herself behind her desk. Ellen took an armchair in front of the desk and waited patiently.

‘The President can’t see you today, Ellen. He has to meet with the Attorney-General and some other people, and…’

Martha’s voice trailed away.

Ellen placed her hands on the desk and leaned towards her.

‘Isn’t he following what’s going on in the Senate?’

‘He is following it, Ellen. Believe me.’

‘Well, what are you telling me? He’s not going to deal with it? He’s setting up some Hitler-style bunker in there, except Eva Braun got out while there was still time? What’s going on, for God’s sake?’

Martha looked away.

‘I can’t talk about it. I…’

Ellen took a deep breath.

‘Martha, look, I understand that the President has some important decisions to make about his defense. But he has to understand that we need to have some kind of plan in case things go against him. I intend to keep his team in place, those members of it who are willing to serve under me, anyway. But it’s still going to be a nightmare. I need to be able to reassure the country and our allies abroad that the administration will continue as smoothly as possible. I know Steve doesn’t want to face that prospect, but he owes it to the country, Martha. I need his attention, and I need it now. When is he going to see me?’

‘I’m not sure.’

Martha was avoiding her eyes. Suddenly, Ellen’s stomach seemed to tie itself in knots. For a second or two, she had difficulty drawing breath. When her mind focused again, she realized that Martha knew much more than she was saying. Martha was trying to stall her. There would be no meeting with Steve Wade, at least not any time soon. But why? She had to find out. Ellen became conscious of the silence. Nothing was to be gained by arguing with Martha in this frame of mind. She had to try a different tack. She managed a tentative smile.

‘Forgive me for saying this, Martha, but you look like shit. Is all this getting to you?’

Tears formed in Martha’s eyes.

‘I feel like I’m falling to pieces.’

‘You look like you’re falling to pieces. You want to tell me why?’

Martha shook her head.

‘Look, I know it’s tough for you. You’ve been with Steve a long time. I understand that. But there’s nothing you can do about this, Martha. There’s no point in making yourself sick over it. Whatever happens in the Senate happens. There’s nothing either you or I can do to stop it.’

Ellen paused.

‘I assume you’re still trying to pull some votes among our friends up there. How is it going?’

‘It’s not going,’ Martha replied bitterly. ‘Rats leaving a sinking ship.’

‘So, it’s going to turn out the way the press is predicting? He’s going down?’

‘Barring a miracle,’ Martha replied. ‘I can’t believe it. The President has denied any relationship with Marfrela or anyone else until he’s blue in the face. There’s been no evidence of damage to national security. It’s just speculation. You’d think at least some of them would give him the benefit of the doubt.’

Ellen shrugged her shoulders.

‘After his record of lying about Lucia Benoni? It’s hardly surprising. I admit I didn’t expect such a negative reaction from our party, but it’s not as though they don’t have their reasons. And if you’re blaming yourself for not being able to make them leap to his defense, forget about it. There was never a way to save him.’

‘It got a lot worse after it finally came out that Julia had left him,’ Martha added. ‘Not that it had much to do with the impeachment really. But Steve insisted we stall for so long, with that crap that she was just visiting friends to explore resuming her career, that by the time we told the truth, even that was held against us.’

Martha suddenly looked directly into Ellen’s eyes.

‘You want to know why I look like shit, Ellen? I’m tired of telling lies, telling lies to the press, telling lies to myself. Ellen, there are times when I come out of a press conference and go straight into the john and puke my guts up. I’m not sure how long I can go on.’

Ellen reached across the desk and took Martha’s hand.

‘I’d really like to see you hang in there, Martha. If I have to take over, it would mean a lot to me to have you there beside me. The continuity is important. And you’re so good at what you do. I have no idea who else I would ask. Are you taking anything?’

Martha nodded. ‘Everything I can lay my hands on. My doctor’s using up whole prescription pads on me.’

For the first time, Martha smiled thinly. Ellen returned the smile.

‘What can I do to help?’

Martha swallowed hard. ‘You really want to know?’

‘Sure.’

‘Get out of here. Don’t press for a meeting right now. Go back to your official residence and wait it out.’

Something in Martha’s eyes disturbed Ellen. She gently withdrew her hand.

‘For God’s sake, Martha… why? I don’t understand.’

Martha leaned forward across the desk.

‘Haven’t you been watching the news on TV? Have you been seeing what’s going on across the country?’

Ellen laughed. ‘You mean the thing in Portland, those people protesting? Yes, I’ve seen it. It’s nothing to worry about.’

‘You don’t think so?’

‘No, I don’t.’

‘It’s not just Portland though, is it, Ellen? It’s Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas. It’s a new city every night, Ellen, haven’t you noticed that? There are people in the streets, and these are very angry people.’

Ellen sniffed dismissively. ‘It’s just a few people jumping on the bandwagon. If the media would quit paying so much attention to it, it would die out in a day or two.’

‘I don’t think so.’

‘Well, so what, anyway? It’s not exactly a surprise that people are reacting. Steve’s a popular guy. The fact that he’s being impeached hasn’t changed that. It didn’t in Clinton’s case. Besides, they’re on our side, Martha. Have you considered that it might be good news, that it might just tip one or two senators over the edge into supporting us? These people are on our side.’

Martha bit her lip.

‘No, they’re not, Ellen,’ she replied softly. ‘They’re on Steve’s side.’

Abruptly, the knots returned to Ellen’s stomach.

‘What are you saying…? I…’

Martha took Ellen’s hand again.

‘I can’t say any more. Please believe me. I wish I could. But I can’t. Now, in the name of God, Ellen, take my advice. Go home and wait this out.’

Slowly, Ellen stood and walked to the door. As desperately as she wanted to ask more questions, to shed light on a situation that was making less and less sense every minute, she knew now that Martha Graylor was not going to help her. Somehow, she had to figure it out for herself.

‘Take care of yourself, Martha,’ she said, on her way out.

‘You too,’ Martha replied.

After Ellen had gone, Martha remained seated at her desk for some time, until she reminded herself that she would be missed in the President’s office. Slowly, she stood and walked back along the corridor and into the anteroom, where she ignored Steffie Walinsky’s inquiring look. She opened the door of the office without knocking and entered. The meeting had broken up. Only the President and the Attorney-General remained. Steve Wade looked up as she resumed her seat.

‘How did it go?’ he asked tersely.

‘She left,’ Martha replied. ‘But, Mr. President, with all respect, you can’t go on ignoring her. It’s only a matter of time before…’

‘I know, I know,’ Wade said. ‘I’ll get to her. But it’s a matter of putting first things first. While you were gone, we decided that I should speak to the American people the day after tomorrow. I need you to arrange coverage. I want all the networks. I’m going to do it from the Oval Office.’

‘Mr. President, I don’t know what you’re going to say. If I’m asked…’

‘If you’re asked, you tell them that, given the state of the proceedings in the Senate, my advisers believe I should reserve that information for the speech itself. They’ll get copies from your office just before I go on the air. They should be able to live with that. It’s happened before.’

‘In times of crisis, yes, but…’

‘This
is
a crisis, Martha, or hadn’t you noticed that? The Senate may be about to impeach me, based on no evidence at all. We’re involved in all manner of important foreign policy negotiations, some of them very sensitive. This charade, this political game, is not in the best interests of the country. I need to stay in office to make sure these important matters are handled correctly. The country needs to come together on this.’

‘Come together? … I’m not sure I understand.’

‘You will.’

‘Mr. President, I’m your Press Secretary. If you can’t take me into your confidence, I don’t know what I can do to help. If you’d prefer to get someone else… if you’d like me to resign, I…’

Steve Wade stood, walked around his desk, and perched on the edge of it near Martha’s chair. He smiled.

‘Resign? For God’s sake, Martha, how long have we worked together?’

‘A long time, Sir.’

‘A very long time. And during that very long time, how many crises have we gone through together?’

Despite herself, Martha smiled. ‘More than I can count.’

‘Exactly. And that’s all that’s happening here, Martha, another crisis. One that we’ll live through, just like we have all the others.’

‘But Mr. President…’

‘Don’t worry about it. All will become clear. I fully expect that it may not be necessary to give the speech at all. We’re still working on people on the Hill. Some of them are regretting having come out against me, now that such large numbers of their constituents are out on the streets, telling them they want me to serve out my term. I’m a very popular President, Martha. The people aren’t going to let me go. They want to keep me, and they’ll find a way to do it. I’m betting we will have nothing to worry about.’