Removal (39 page)

‘And Fox is sure the vote is going to be tomorrow?’

‘That’s what he said.’

‘Well, I just hope he’s right, that’s all. The last thing we need is a fight with the law before we’re ready.’

‘That’s why we need our people to keep calm, Dan. Not do anything to cause trouble. Especially, no weapons on show.’

Rogers surveyed the crowd anxiously.

‘It’s not our people I’m worried about, George. We know they’re disciplined. The same goes for units from the other groups, as far as I know. But a lot of these people…’

‘May not be attached to the groups, yeah, I know,’ Carlson said. ‘It’s a bigger crowd than I’d been expecting.’

‘Who knows who the hell they are, where the hell they come from?’ Rogers asked. ‘They could be Fox’s people, or they could just be trouble-makers, who thought it would be fun to bring the riots to Washington.’

‘I know.’

‘When is Fox going to call again?’

‘Soon.’

Unseen by Carlson and Rogers, a man wearing a black, leather jacket standing nearby turned his back to them and made a telephone call of his own. He was a member of the FBI team which had followed the leaders of the Oregon compound all the way to Washington.

* * *

Frank Worley, Chief of Staff to Senator Joe O’Brien, spent several anxious minutes tossing his mobile phone nervously from hand to hand before he decided to make the call. He was sitting in the Senator’s limousine outside the Wilson Foundation, waiting for his boss to return. They were due to have dinner with a group of lobbyists from back home in Minnesota to discuss the possibility of finding funding for some lucrative projects in the Senator’s home State. Not Frank’s idea of a fun evening, but it was all part of the job. Frank had sent the Senator’s driver for coffee while he thought it over. He was troubled by the thought that what he was about to do might somehow be disloyal, but he had never been comfortable with what went on inside the Committee. Politics was one thing, but playing the kind of games he suspected the Committee of playing was another. Not that he would ever set foot in the Wilson Foundation himself. Even as Chief of Staff, he was excluded from meetings at that level. But he had access to enough information to put two and two together, and what he knew disturbed him. He was also disturbed by what he had seen as they had driven from the Russell Senate Office building. He suspected that Senator O’Brien was troubled too, though he had been typically guarded and had made only a passing comment about layabouts who had nothing better to do. Frank had to decide. The Senator or his driver would be back at any moment. He placed the call.

‘Smith’, a familiar voice said.

‘Kelly… it’s Frank.’

Kelly took the call during a period of silence in Ted Lazenby’s office, one of several such periods when no one seemed to know what to say next. She was still profoundly shaken by what Raul Gutierrez had revealed about the Williamsburg Doctrine and, in her state of disorientation, Frank was the last person she was expecting to hear from. Her initial reaction was one of irritation.

‘Frank…?’

‘Yes, I need to talk, Kelly.’

Kelly shook her head. ‘I can’t talk now.’

‘Kelly, please. It’s important.’

She turned to Lazenby. ‘I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.’

She saw Jeff look inquiringly at her and walked quickly out of the room. She leaned against the wall.

‘Frank, this isn’t the time. I have too much going on…’

‘Kelly, it has nothing to do with us. There’s something I need to tell you.’

‘About what?’

He hesitated. ‘It’s about the riots.’

Kelly’s mind suddenly focused. ‘What about the riots?’

‘Look, I’m not sure, and I only have a minute or two. I’m waiting for Senator O’Brien, and I don’t know when he will be back. But when we left the Russell Building tonight, it looked like there was a crowd beginning to build. Even the Senator was nervous about it. I think it has something to do with the impeachment. I thought you ought to know.’

Kelly bit her lip, uncertain of how much to say.

‘Frank, look, I appreciate your calling, but…’

‘Kelly, that’s not all…’

He bit his lip. This was it. It was now or never.

‘I think there’s more to it than meets the eye. Have you heard of the Committee?’

‘The Committee?’

‘It’s a kind of think-tank the Party has, very high-powered. They plan Party strategy. Senator O’Brien is a member. I think they may have something to do with it…’

‘Something to do with what? I’m not following you, Frank. What are you trying to tell me?’

‘I…’

‘Frank?’

‘He’s coming back. I have to go.’

The phone went dead. Kelly closed her eyes. She stood lost in thought for a minute or two before rejoining the meeting in Ted Lazenby’s office. Jeff raised his eyebrows. She smiled, and silently mouthed ‘It’s OK.’ Then she turned towards Ellen Trevathan.

‘Madam Vice President, have you ever heard of something called the Committee? It could be something to do with the other side, the people who are behind the impeachment?’

A
T
DAWN,
J
EFF
Morris was handing out cups of coffee to the occupants of Ted Lazenby’s office. Ellen Trevathan was lying on Lazenby’s sofa, covered by a blanket, her head propped up on a cushion. Raul Gutierrez and Kelly Smith were sprawled in armchairs. Lazenby himself alternated between sitting at his desk and walking slowly around his office. It had been some time since anyone had spoken. Slowly, the coffee began to revive them.

‘They’re going to miss me soon,’ Ellen said, giving way to a yawn. ‘I need to be going. The press will be camping outside my house today waiting for the big story to break. It’s not going to look so good when I try sneaking in through the back door at this hour of the morning.’

‘We’ll get you home, Ma’am,’ Kelly volunteered. ‘They’ll never know.’

‘That’s all right, Kelly. My agents should still be around somewhere. I’d better go wake them up.’

‘No disrespect to your agents, Madam Vice President, but they’ll find their own way home. We can do a better job of getting you in the back door.’

‘She’s right, Ellen,’ Lazenby said. ‘The press will spot your car and agents a mile away. Let us put you in something a little more nondescript, something to match your disguise.’

‘I didn’t know you guys kept a fleet of Yugos,’ Ellen said.

‘Only for special occasions,’ Lazenby smiled.

‘Sounds like a good idea,’ the Vice President replied. ‘Thanks.’

‘Ellen, I know you have to get back, but we haven’t reached a decision about what to do,’ Gutierrez said. ‘We can’t do this again. Sneak in here in disguise, I mean. We need to have something worked out.’

Lazenby paused in his walking. ‘My view hasn’t changed. We have to get you out of Washington. It isn’t safe. Once that vote comes down tomorrow, there’s no telling what these people might get up to.’

The Vice President shook her head. ‘I told you, Ted. I’m not going abroad.’

‘Ellen, England is just a plane ride. We have friends there. The Prime Minister has never cared for Wade, and he’s certainly not about to help him stage a coup. You’ll get a warm welcome, and you’ll be safe. In the meanwhile, we can do what we can to take care of things here without having to worry about you. Time is on our side. Wade has to go eventually. We wait it out, then we bring you back.’

Ellen sat up, holding the blanket around her shoulders. ‘I’m not going abroad.’

‘Ellen…’

‘Ted, if Wade is impeached a few hours from now, I become the President of the United States. Do you understand that? I become the Commander-in-Chief, for God’s sake. I can’t run away.’

‘It’s not running away. It’s a tactical retreat.’

‘Call it whatever you want. What kind of message would that send to the people? That I hide in England while you guys fight for me? That I’m a President in exile? No. I can’t do that. I won’t do it. You can’t protect me like that.’

Lazenby shook his head and glanced towards the Air Force Chief.

‘She’s right, Ted,’ Gutierrez said quietly. ‘And she would be too far away to take decisions, military or otherwise. It wouldn’t work.’

Lazenby sat down at this desk.

‘All right, then. How would you feel about staying in the States, but setting up a temporary government outside Washington?’ he asked.

‘Where outside Washington?’

‘We’ll get to that. But, as a matter of principle? If you could establish a temporary base of operations somewhere else? Somewhere those loyal to you could defend? Just until the problem in Washington is resolved?’

The Vice President hesitated.

‘Ellen,’ Lazenby continued, leaning towards her over his desk, ‘you’re not the only person who’s in danger here. Anyone who supports you, anyone who believes enough in the Constitution to stand up to Wade, is a potential target. You said it yourself. You’re going to be the President. So you need to act like the President. You need to put together a functioning administration which has some legitimacy. You need to be able to gather the necessary people around you, and you owe it to them to offer them protection. What about the judges, for example? The Courts may be crucial in convincing the people of the legitimacy of your Presidency.’

Ellen stood, still clutching the blanket around her.

‘If I did that, it could only be for a very short time. Just enough to let the crisis die down and force Wade out. It still seems an awful lot like running away. Besides, there would be no way to run the government like that on a long-term basis. I couldn’t take enough people with me. The country would fall to pieces.’

‘I agree,’ Lazenby said. ‘It would be a short-term measure. But, in my opinion, we need to get you out, and we need to do it the moment Wade is impeached.’

The Vice President looked across at General Gutierrez.

‘Raul?’

He nodded.

‘I can go along with that. I can get you anywhere you need to go. The arrangements can be in place by this afternoon. Ted is right. You do need to protect yourself and those around you. Frankly, I’m more worried about Hessler and McGarry than Wade. I honestly don’t know how far they might go, and I’m not sure I want to find out.’

‘Well, OK, let’s assume you’re right,’ Ellen said. ‘Where would I go, for God’s sake? I can’t just pick some city, drop in at the local airport, and say, ‘Hi, I’m your new President. I’d like to stay over for a few days and run the country. Can you fix me up with somewhere to do it?’ And I don’t think it ought to be Richmond, Virginia, do you? That would give the wrong message altogether.’

The others smiled through their tiredness.

‘How would you feel about Houston?’ Lazenby asked, after a pause.

Ellen turned her head to look at him. ‘Why Houston?’

Lazenby stood again. ‘A close friend of mine from Princeton is a law school dean there. I went down there and spoke at their graduation last year. Ken is a very big fan of yours.’

‘Well, that’s very nice, Ted, but I don’t see…’

‘Wait, let me finish. The school is called South Texas College of Law. They have a great building that takes up an entire block of downtown Houston. It’s the best-equipped law school I’ve ever seen. They have state-of-the-art technology. They could have the building ready for you to occupy in a matter of hours. There’s a parking lot right next to the building, where you could land a chopper if you had to. The Court could even sit in the moot courtroom. And there’s a Four Seasons Hotel two blocks away, for the residential side. Most importantly, Ken would do it if I asked. Without hesitation. He’s a constitutional law specialist. All I have to do is pick up the phone.’

Ellen sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

‘How would you feel about Houston from a military point of view, Raul?’ Lazenby asked.

‘Houston has good air accessibility, military and civilian,’ Gutierrez replied. ‘I like that. And it’s not too far away. It’s within reasonable range of Washington, and it’s central. We could move in enough forces to defend the city within a day or two.’

‘General, forgive me if I’m speaking out of turn,’ Jeff broke in. ‘Obviously, I’m no expert on these matters. But isn’t Houston a bit close to the ocean? If we can’t rely on the Navy, aren’t we offering the opposition an easy target?’

Gutierrez nodded.

‘You’re right, Jeff. But if any one of the branches goes entirely against us, we’re in a pretty hopeless situation, wherever we decide to go. What I believe, and what we have to hope for, is that all the branches will do no worse than split. If there’s a reasonable balance of power, then I believe the Director is correct. I believe that most military officers will support Ellen once they have time to think about it, whatever some of their commanders may be telling them. Time is on our side. All we have to do is hold firm, and Houston seems like a pretty good place to do that.’

‘So, you agree with Ted?’ Ellen asked.

‘It seems the wisest course to me,’ Gutierrez replied.

‘All right,’ Ellen said. ‘I’ll leave as soon as it becomes clear that I need to.’

‘That time has already arrived,’ Lazenby said. ‘You should be in Houston by the time the vote is announced.’

‘Agreed,’ Raul Gutierrez said.

‘Oh, come on, Ted. Look, I have no legitimate reason to be in Houston today. What happens if Wade isn’t impeached?’

‘That’s academic.’

‘OK. What happens if he is impeached and goes quietly? Why am I in Houston when all this is happening? Shouldn’t I be in Washington waiting to take over?’

Lazenby shrugged.

‘Ellen, if that ends up being the only problem we have out of all this, I’ll be doing an Irish jig all over the office. If we need to invent a story for you being in Houston, we’ll do it. No one’s going to care. Besides, I think we all know Wade isn’t going to go quietly.’

‘I think he might,’ Ellen said.

‘What about the Williamsburg Doctrine?’ Gutierrez asked. ‘What about the crowds of people camping out around the Capitol? It doesn’t look to me like he’s going quietly.’

The Vice President shook her head.

‘It’s one thing to fantasize in the privacy of the White House or the Pentagon, Raul. It’s another thing to take the fantasy on to the streets or national television and ask people to go along with it. It’s so blatantly illegal. How can they think they would get away with it?’