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‘In addition to that, Sir, if we did try to take action, and the crowd resisted, there would be the potential for an incredible loss of life. We have superior fire power, but we are greatly outnumbered. We might not even be able to hold them.’

O’Brien shook his head in disbelief.

‘Can’t you send for reinforcements?’

‘I have made the request, Sir. The Washington police are standing by a short distance away. But you have to understand that there are thousands of people out there, many of them armed. The sight of more fire power might panic them. If they get excited and start a firefight, we’re out of options. So, right now, we’re trying to keep the situation calm.’

‘Well, it’s not very calm in here. The Chief Justice is not well.’

‘I’m fine,’ Sam Mayhew interrupted.

‘Sam, let me, please,’ O’Brien continued. ‘Another thing I don’t understand is why the electricity and water are cut off. We’ve already had one or two people take nasty falls down the stairs, we have a couple of staff members trapped in the elevators, and I don’t even want to describe the state of the bathrooms. What are they playing at, for God’s sake? Heads will roll over this when we get out of here, I promise you that.’

The colonel and the lieutenant exchanged grim glances.

‘As I understand it, Senator, some of the demonstrators arranged some pretty sophisticated sabotage. I’m not sure how. But you’re not the only people in town without those amenities right now. I know they’re working on the problem, and I’m sure it will be fixed before too long.’

‘We’re supposed to have back-up generators.’

‘I understand, Sir.’

O’Brien looked at his colleagues. None of them seemed to have anything useful to add. Even the Chief Justice seemed subdued. None of it made any sense to O’Brien. His gut told him that there was something very wrong. It should not be this easy to incapacitate the Senate. The crowd had brought the government, or at least part of it, to a complete standstill. Then, a thought came to him. What if this was not an isolated incident? What if they had done the same to the other branches of government? What about the Supreme Court, just a few blocks away? What about the White House? What about the President? Frank had picked up some story about her setting up Headquarters in Houston. Nonsense, of course. Why the hell would she do that? Or was it nonsense? And suddenly, as O’Brien put the various pieces of the puzzle together, the reality of the situation dawned on him with a clarity that made his blood run cold. The presence of so many armed people outside the Capitol was no coincidence. Nor was it a spontaneous protest on behalf of Steve Wade. He was witnessing a
coup d’état
. Not only witnessing it, but he was also one of its victims. Steve Wade was gone, but who, if anyone, had taken his place? Who was running the United States? Whoever they were, it seemed they controlled the military. And, at least for now, they controlled the Senate. O’Brien sat down heavily in a chair, feeling the eyes of the marine officers fixed on him like the little red dots that mark a target for a rifle. With a massive effort, O’Brien took a deep breath and tried to control himself sufficiently to begin to think of a way out.

‘So, Colonel, am I to understand that you have no suggestions as to what might be done to resolve the situation?’

‘As I said before, Senator,’ the colonel replied, ‘the only course seems to be to wait it out.’

He seemed to hesitate.

‘Well… I suppose there is one thing I might suggest… But it’s hardly my place…’

‘If you have anything to suggest, go right ahead and suggest it,’ O’Brien said firmly.

‘Well, Senator, it did occur to my lieutenant and myself… well, it’s pretty obvious that those folks out there are supporters of President Wade.’

‘So…?’

‘And we were thinking that, if the vote had gone the other way, we probably wouldn’t have the problem we do now.’

The man’s audacity took O’Brien’s breath away. It was some moments before he could respond and, looking around the room, he saw that his colleagues were having the same reaction.

‘Are you…, are you suggesting that we change our vote?’ he asked.

The colonel coughed awkwardly.

‘I’m suggesting you
announce
another vote,’ he replied. ‘Whether or not you
take
another vote is up to you.’

‘For God’s sake,’ one of the other Senators exploded.

‘You asked for a suggestion, Senator,’ the colonel said. ‘I’ve given you one. Whether you follow it is up to you. Frankly, even if you did, there’s no guarantee that the crowd would disperse immediately. They might decide to throw an impromptu street party. But it might increase our chances of getting rid of them.’

O’Brien held up his hand to restrain the other senators, all of whom seemed ready to weigh in with howls of outrage.

‘I think, Colonel,’ he said, ‘that my colleagues and I need to take stock of our situation, and try to figure out what to do next. If you would excuse us.’

‘Yes, Sir,’ the colonel replied. He nodded to the lieutenant. Both rose smartly and left the room. Two Marines stood outside the door, waiting to escort them back outside.

‘For God’s sake, Joe,’ the Chief Justice began, roused to action again.

O’Brien restrained him with a touch on the shoulder, and turned to face the other senators.

‘Just a moment, Sam. I don’t know whether you understand what’s going on here,’ he began quietly. ‘But I think I do.’

‘I’m glad somebody does,’ Senator Alan Boswell replied angrily. ‘Because I sure as hell don’t.’

O’Brien threw up his hands.

‘We’re prisoners, my friends. Prisoners. Those people out there aren’t there to protest. They’re there to seize power. And the Marines aren’t here to keep them out. They’re here to keep us in.’

‘What?’ Boswell shouted.

‘Hear me out, Alan. Think about it for a moment. Wade is gone. We impeached him. We have several thousand armed people on the street. The Marines won’t lift a finger to help. We’re getting this story about Trevathan getting the hell out of Dodge, and Wade still being in the White House. But we don’t have any real idea what’s going on. And we’re completely cut off. For all we know, the whole of Washington could be in their hands.’

‘Of course Wade’s still in the White House,’ Boswell said. ‘There hasn’t been time for him to leave. That doesn’t mean he’s trying to hang on to power.’

Senator Kate Green shook her head.

‘I’m not so sure. Joe may be right. I’m sure your aides got the same story mine did, Alan. Trevathan’s in Houston because she has to be, and nobody knows whether Wade is going to leave or not.’

‘That’s ridiculous,’ Boswell protested. ‘How could he not leave? My aides told me all this stuff was coming from Lazenby. He’s a loose cannon. Who knows what the hell’s going on?’

‘Well, something is,’ Kate said.

Boswell turned back to Joe O’Brien.

‘Are you really saying that Wade is trying to hang on to power, even though we’ve impeached his ass?’

‘At this point,’ O’Brien replied, ‘I almost hope that’s what I’m saying. Because if not, some other people are trying to take power, and I don’t even want to speculate about who they might be.’

‘Whoever they are,’ Kate Green pointed out somberly, ‘they’ve got Hessler with them.’

There was a long silence.

‘God in Heaven,’ Boswell said. ‘What the hell are we going to do?’

‘I guess we could follow the colonel’s suggestion,’ Kate Green said tentatively. ‘Send word out that we changed our vote. Make up some procedural crap about the first vote being invalid. The press people here would go along with it. They’re in the same boat we are. Once they restore order, no one would hold us to any announcement we made under duress.’

O’Brien shook his head firmly. ‘Once who restores order?’ he asked.

‘Good question,’ Kate admitted.

‘Whatever the situation is outside, it might only make it worse.’

‘I can’t see how,’ Boswell said. ‘But I don’t think it’s a question for us. I think we should go back to the Chamber and report back on our meeting, and I think we should let everyone know what the colonel said.’

‘I’m not sure we ought to bring it up,’ O’Brien said. ‘I really don’t think we should be encouraging our colleagues to think that way. I don’t want to be responsible for it.’

‘We could treat it as a suggestion of last resort. Offer it only if no one has a better idea,’ Kate Green said.

O’Brien nodded. ‘I can live with that.’

He looked around at the other senators and the Chief Justice, who nodded their agreement.

‘God bless democracy,’ he added ironically.

‘Come on, Joe,’ Boswell said. ‘You know we don’t have any real choice.’

‘OK. Let’s go,’ O’Brien replied.

* * *

‘With all due respect, Mr. President, I don’t see what we have to gain by letting her in here.’

General Hessler was leaning across Steve Wade’s desk in an effort to make his point more emphatically, but he was not sure that anyone was listening to him. The former President had his head turned to one side. The other occupant of the room, Dick Latham, seemed completely out of it. He was sitting wearily in an armchair, appearing almost to ignore the conversation. The White House’s unreal quietness was getting on everyone’s nerves. The corridors and offices were almost empty. Agents Linda Samuels and Gary Mills patrolled the halls, and marine guards patrolled the grounds, but the occupants of the Oval Office hardly noticed them. The nerve center had shifted to the situation room, some distance from the Oval Office, in which a group of senior marine officers supervised a network of sophisticated computerized tracking devices providing information about military movements throughout the world. In the situation room, printers worked ceaselessly, television and computer screens provided immediate access to news and weather information. But none of this reached the Oval Office, except for the occasional report deemed important enough to require Hessler’s personal attention. The Oval Office seemed strangely detached from reality, a head without a body.

‘We have to talk to someone,’ Wade replied eventually. ‘It’s not good politics to ignore an offer to talk. That’s not what the American people want. They are looking to us to resolve this situation. If Trevathan wants to talk terms, we should listen to her.’

‘They’re not asking us to listen to her,’ Hessler said. ‘They’re sending some young woman…’

‘That young woman happens to be the Acting Director of the FBI, General,’ Latham interrupted, apparently taking a renewed interest in his surroundings.

‘That title is not legal,’ Hessler rejoined, ‘and it doesn’t conceal the fact that we are being asked to deal with the minor leaguers.’

‘That’s the way it’s done,’ Latham insisted. ‘I would have thought, with your experience, General, you would know that. You don’t bring in the big guns until the deal is ready to be done. You don’t expose them to the risk of failure.’

‘And they want her college buddy, Agent Samuels, to talk to her?’ Hessler snorted contemptuously. ‘The two girl friends are going to negotiate for us? Sounds like a typical Trevathan idea to me.’

‘It’s a damn good idea,’ Latham said, getting up slowly. ‘Agent Samuels is very loyal to the President. She went to prison for him. She’s not going to give anything away. And Kelly Smith is a very smart woman. You don’t get to be Ted Lazenby’s personal assistant without having what it takes, believe me.’

‘And it gives us cover,’ Wade added. ‘While they’re talking, we’re making other plans, or carrying out other plans. We look like good guys for talking to them, but we’re also pressing forward with our agenda. And we can buy more time by saying we have to consider very carefully any suggestions that they may make. I don’t see a downside to it.’

Hessler stood up straight and faced Steve Wade.

‘All right, Mr. President, if you put it like that, I guess I don’t have an objection. But you do understand that once she’s in, Miss Smith can’t leave, and neither can anyone she brings with her.’

Dick Latham turned around sharply to look at Hessler.

‘What the hell do you mean by that?’

‘Just what I said,’ Hessler snarled viciously. ‘Anyone we allow into the White House will get a first-hand look at our operation. We can’t allow the other side to gain access to that kind of intelligence. It’s not secure.’

Latham pushed himself up out of his chair and walked decisively towards Hessler as if to confront him.

‘I don’t believe this,’ he said angrily. ‘You’re seriously proposing to kill the woman, you’re going to murder her?’

‘I’m drawing attention to a regrettable operational necessity.’

‘Are you out of your fucking mind?’ Latham screamed. ‘Steve, would you get this psychopath under control, for Christ’s sake?’

‘It’s not murder, Mr. Attorney-General,’ Hessler replied. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, we are in a state of war. The disposal of enemy agents is a normal incident of war. I don’t expect you to understand that, but that’s the way it is.’

‘That’s bullshit,’ Latham shouted. ‘We are not at war. Smith is not an enemy agent, and she’s not going to go anywhere near our operation. She’ll have a marine guard every step of the way. We’re not going to let her anywhere near the operations room.’

‘It’s not secure,’ Hessler repeated. ‘Who cares, anyway? By the time anyone asks what happened to her, we will have the entire Senate under threat of immediate invasion, and we’ll have a battery of nuclear weapons trained on Houston. Kelly Smith will be the last thing on Trevathan’s mind, I guarantee you that.’

Latham looked hopelessly at Steve Wade.

‘Steve, come on. For God’s sake.’

Hessler smiled. ‘Do you really think it’s up to him any more?’ he asked.

Wade turned even further round in his chair, his back to the other occupants of the room.

‘I have to leave security matters to General Hessler,’ he said quietly. ‘I have other things to consider.’

‘The hell you do.’ Latham walked up to Wade’s desk and brought a fist crashing down on it. ‘I didn’t sign up for this. I’m a prosecutor, for Christ’s sake. I’m not about to condone murder.’

‘You don’t have any choice, Mr. Attorney-General,’ Hessler said.