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The reporter placed a finger on the tiny microphone inside her ear.

‘I’m being told that the Washington Police are advising us to move to a safer distance from the building, which we are just about to do. It looks like we have a very tense situation developing here, and no one I’ve spoken to has any idea what might happen next.’

A
GENTS
L
INDA
S
AMUELS
and Gary Mills flanked President Steve Wade, as he walked unhurriedly from the Oval Office to the situation room. The White House was eerily quiet. Most of the civilian staff were gone, told to stay home but remain available by phone until further notice. A team of Marine Corps specialists was working with a minimum of conversation in offices throughout the building. The atmosphere in the situation room mirrored the uneasy quiet of the rest of the White House. In one corner, a large screen television was tuned to CNN, the sound muted. On one side of the room, flanking the large conference table, several junior officers were manning computers, whose screens flashed images of the United States on to the opposite wall. Key military installations were indicated by blinking lights. Clocks on the wall above recorded the time in all the time zones around the world. Already seated around the conference table were the Marine Commandant, General Hessler, Admiral McGarry of the Navy, and the Attorney-General, Dick Latham, together with a number of lower-ranking Marine and Navy officers and civilian intelligence personnel. Martha Graylor sat, silent and alone, in a chair in a corner of the room. The occupants stood as the President entered. Taking his seat at the head of the table, Steve Wade gestured to them to sit.

‘I call this session of my Emergency Council to order,’ the President announced. ‘It appears we have very little time. My information is that we may have less than two hours, three tops, before the Senate takes this ill-considered vote. General Hessler, your report, please.’

Hessler glanced down briefly at the notes in the folder before him on the table.

‘Mr. President, I have dispatched two units to the Capitol. Their commanding officers have instructions to make sure that the public understand that the military presence is there to protect them in the exercise of their rights, and is not hostile. Many of those present are armed, and we have no information as to whether or not they are subject to disciplined leadership. Things could get nasty if they get out of control. The Washington Police have been advised not to interfere. First reports are that the units are achieving their objectives.’

‘Good,’ Wade said. ‘And they will ensure that no one is allowed in or out of the Capitol once the vote has been taken?’

‘Yes, Sir. The Senate isn’t going anywhere.’

‘What about response around the country?’

Hessler hesitated.

‘The Marine Corps has a tradition of unquestioning obedience to orders, Mr. President. But there has been a great deal of anxiety, especially among the more junior line officers. We may lose many units. But I don’t think that matters at this point. I must emphasize that we have a limited objective here, namely, to secure the White House and the Capitol until the crisis is resolved. We have enough men in place to accomplish that objective. But I must repeat the advice I have given before, that the faster we can resolve this crisis the better.’

‘I understand, General,’ Wade said. ‘I don’t think that will be a problem once the senators appreciate their situation. Our strategy is simple. The show of support we have in place around the Capitol is intended to change the minds of seven senators. That’s all we need to reduce the majority to less than two thirds. We will give them time for reflection, for reason to prevail, and a new vote will be taken, one that goes the right way. I’m quite confident that will happen. The people have decided to make their voice heard.’

‘I sincerely hope so, Mr. President,’ Hessler said.

‘Admiral McGarry, what about the Navy?’

‘Not so good, Mr. President. We’re pretty much split down the middle right now, but once the vote is taken, I’m afraid I may not be able to hold the line. Naval commanders can be a pretty independent bunch, and…’

‘I’m not interested in the psychology of naval commanders, Admiral,’ Wade almost hissed, as Hessler muttered an obscenity under his breath. ‘I don’t have time. What’s going on?’

McGarry shrugged.

‘With regard to our surface ships, we’ve lost the fleets almost entirely, Mr. President, in the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Med,’ he replied in a subdued tone. ‘The ships that are at sea are on their way back home at full speed. The aircraft carrier
Admiral Kelso
pulled out of Norfolk this morning, three days ahead of schedule, without telling anyone, and we haven’t heard from it since. Maybe they’re just going to wait it out, but maybe they’re ready to do more than that. Either way, it’s not good.’

‘So, what you’re saying is, you don’t have any damn control at all over your own Service,’ Hessler interrupted. ‘What kind of outfit are you running, Admiral?’

‘One that calls for a certain degree of intelligent thought,’ McGarry shot back.

‘All right, that’s enough,’ Wade intervened. ‘We don’t have time for squabbling. Let’s get to what really matters, Admiral. What about the nuclear subs?’

‘We have the subs,’ McGarry said. ‘At least for now. They operate on a different protocol. As long as you hold the keys to the nuclear codes, they will not accept orders from anyone else. Obviously, that’s only going to last for so long. Once the word gets out about the vote, they may decide their only option is to head back to base.’

McGarry leaned forward on the table and looked nervously around the room.

‘Of course, one possibility would be to make sure the word doesn’t get to them for a while,’ he suggested tentatively.

‘You mean, we could insulate them from that information?’ Wade asked.

‘We could, Mr. President,’ McGarry replied. ‘A submarine is an isolated environment. They are cut off from the rest of the world in a way surface ships are not. Signals are strictly controlled. Even so, we could only hold them for a limited time. We could buy more time by planting some positive disinformation.’

‘You mean, tell them the vote went in my favor?’

‘It’s a possibility,’ McGarry replied.

Wade took a deep breath. ‘Let’s do it. Has anyone heard from Terrell?’

‘He’s ratted on us,’ Hessler snarled. ‘Same with Gutierrez, although we expected that.’

There was a silence around the table.

‘Sounds like we’re out-gunned,’ Wade observed somberly.

‘In some ways,’ Hessler replied. ‘But in two decisive respects we have the advantage.’

Wade looked up.

‘First, we control Washington. We’re surrounding the Capitol, and we’re occupying the White House. The opposition isn’t going to risk the kind of damage it would take to dislodge us.’

‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that,’ the President said quietly.

‘If they did,’ Hessler said, ‘it would only be as a last resort. It would take them time just to position themselves for the attempt and, meanwhile, the whole world will be urging restraint, which is what the diplomats like to call not having the balls to take decisive action. By that time, the situation will have resolved itself, one way or the other. Assuming everything goes well, we don’t have to worry about it. If not, it gives us a chip to bargain with.’

‘Besides,’ McGarry said. ‘We’re dealing with Ellen Trevathan. She’s a pacifist. She’s not going to open fire on us. Not until every other possible approach has failed.’

‘As I said,’ Steve Wade replied, ‘I wouldn’t be so sure of that. What’s the second thing?’

‘We’re in control of the nukes,’ Hessler said, with a grim smile. ‘You have sole charge of the codes, Mr. President. There’s nothing the opposition can do about that.’

Every eye around the room was on Hessler.

‘I hope, General,’ Dick Latham said, his face white and strained, ‘that you are not suggesting the President would use a nuclear weapon within the United States, against his own people. I can’t believe you would even say it out loud.’

Hessler returned Latham’s look with a contemptuous sneer.

‘I’ll put your lack of sophistication down to your lack of military training, Mr. Attorney-General,’ he replied tersely. ‘The point is not that the President would order the use of a nuclear weapon. The point is that he could. It’s something we can use to keep the other side off balance. They have to make the calculation. I would remind everyone present that we’re not planning a prolonged campaign here. We only need a very short-term tactical advantage, just long enough to allow the President to resolve the political situation.’

Wade looked around the room for Martha.

‘What’s the word on the Vice President?’ he asked.

‘I’ve confirmed that the Vice President has established Headquarters in Houston, at a law school, Mr. President, as we were told earlier,’ Martha replied, her voice barely audible. ‘We’re not entirely sure who is with her. We know one or two members of the Court, a few Congressmen, and her personal Detail, obviously.’

‘Gutierrez or Terrell?’

‘We don’t think so, Mr. President. Word is they’re still in Washington, though we’re not sure exactly where.’

‘What about Lazenby?’

‘Same goes for the Director, Mr. President. He’s probably still in town, but we’re not completely sure.’

Wade looked at his watch.

‘General Hessler, can’t we prevent these people from going to Houston to become Knights of the Round Table at the Vice President’s Camelot?’

‘Prevent travel? No, Mr. President,’ Hessler replied at once. ‘We cannot.’

‘But…’

‘We don’t have the resources. The only way would be to detain them, and we don’t have the man-power to do that. Besides, if part of the idea is to avoid adverse publicity, that would be worse than letting them go.’

‘I hardly think publicity is an issue in this situation,’ Latham said.

‘Be that as it may, as I said before, Mr. President, this is a short-term operation. I recommend we use our resources only for necessities, such as remaining in control in Washington. That’s all that matters. Let them play whatever games they want in Houston. Who cares?’

The President nodded.

‘Martha, are we all ready to go with the broadcast?’

‘Yes, Sir, all set.’

‘Good. Then let’s turn up the volume on the TV and see if the Senate has got the message yet.’

‘Mr. President …’

‘Yes?’

‘You should know that… that the Vice President is planning her own broadcast immediately following your address.’

Wade nodded.

‘Yes, I’m sure she is,’ he replied. ‘What a field day for the press!’

He stood and faced the entire room.

‘I want to say one other thing. If anyone wants to leave, if anyone feels they cannot be part of what we’re doing here, I understand. I can’t force anyone to get involved. But if you want to leave, do it now. An hour or two from now, I may not be able to allow it. All I require is that you keep the confidentiality of what has been said in this room. If you agree to that, you are free to go, with my thanks for everything you have done up to now. If you remain, then I must demand your absolute loyalty. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Does anyone want out?’

The President’s eyes fell on Linda Samuels and Gary Mills.

‘What about you, Agent Samuels? Agent Mills? Will you continue to protect me?’

Linda stood. For a moment, she had difficulty in focusing her eyes. She was aware of the gaze of everyone in the room.

‘You’re the President, Sir. We will do our duty by you.’

‘Thank you,’ Steve Wade said.

* * *

When the call came, Carlson was standing as close as he could get to the top of the Capitol steps, where a line of heavily-armed Marines stood shoulder-to-shoulder, holding the crowd at bay. On hearing his mobile phone ring, Carlson turned his back on the Marines and made a space for himself to answer in the midst of the people standing around him.

‘This is Carlson,’ he said, holding the receiver as close as possible to his mouth and pulling the top of his coat down over it.

‘Carlson, this is Fox,’ the voice said.

Instantly, Carlson’s mind came to attention.

‘I heard you spent your vacation in France?’

‘No, I prefer Italy.’

‘Acknowledged. Thank you, Fox.’

‘Is everything under control?’

‘That’s affirmative, Fox,’ Carlson replied. ‘Is everything under control at your end?’

‘Everything’s going according to plan.’

‘Good.’

‘Make sure you stay in contact. Things are going to move very quickly from now on.’

‘Roger that, Fox.’

The line went dead.

‘Good news?’ Rogers asked.

‘Good news,’ Carlson replied. ‘We’re almost there.’

S
TAGE
FRIGHT
WAS
a new experience for Ed Monahan. Before today, he had never been able to understand why some lawyers felt nervous before going into court. For Monahan, appearing in front of a judge or jury was as natural as taking a shower in the morning. Like all good trial lawyers, he experienced a mild rush as he stood to cross-examine a witness or make a closing argument, but it had never been a problem. On the contrary, he had learned to value the added sharpness of mind it gave him in his mental battles with witnesses, judges, and opposing counsel. Even during the impeachment he had felt nothing more than the usual rush. But then again, there was little for him to do, except make a few objections which the Chief Justice overruled with the kind of summary verbal blow to the head for which he was famous. Opening statements were brief and to the point. The House manager’s counsel was good. Her opening statement gave away little information about the case she intended to present, so Monahan decided to reserve the substance of his defense for his closing argument. There were no witnesses. The Senate agreed with the Prosecution that they could rely on the record developed by the House Intelligence Committee. Monahan decided not to call witnesses for the defense, because he saw nothing they could usefully say. The President’s only hope was that the Senate would find the evidence against him to be insufficient. And now, it was Monahan’s job to persuade them of that. Monahan had won one battle. He had persuaded the Chief Justice that closing arguments should be given after the senators had made whatever statements they wished to make, rather than before. At least, this way, he did not have to worry about sixty-seven or more speeches to which he had no right of reply. Even so, what they said left him in no doubt that, if the President were to have any hope at all, this would have to be the best closing argument of his career. Like everyone else in the Senate Chamber, he was aware of the large and vocal crowd and the Marines outside the building, and he could only guess at the effect that was having on his audience. The closing argument for the House was effective. Counsel sounded confident, apparently feeling that she was pushing on an open door. Now, it was his turn, the eyes of the entire world were on him in real time and, for the first time in his life, Ed Monahan had stage fright.