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Out of the corner of her eye, Kelly was able to see Manning’s hesitation all too clearly. The Marines standing behind him also seemed transfixed, waiting for someone to make a decision for them. Kelly knew that Manning was all that now stood between America and a second civil war. She tried to find words to tell him, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, the officer in Captain Manning took over.

‘I’m sorry, General Hessler,’ he said. ‘I can’t carry out your order, Sir. It’s over now. Please place your weapon on the floor, Sir.’

‘Fuck you,’ Hessler shouted. ‘If you don’t obey me, I’ll have you shot, you impudent little cocksucker…’

‘Marines,’ Manning shouted, even more loudly than Hessler, ‘disarm the General. And if he resists, shoot him.’

The lance-corporal’s eyes opened wide, and he swallowed hard, but he obeyed Manning.

‘Sir. Yes, Sir. Marines, take aim. On my command, forward march!’

Levelling their assault rifles at Hessler, the Marines awaited the lance-corporal’s order, which was only a second in coming.

‘Forward march.’

‘Thank you,’ Kelly said, under her breath.

‘No, you fucking don’t,’ Hessler snarled, extending his arm and his Glock in the direction of the approaching Marines. ‘I’ll have you all shot, you insubordinate assholes. In fact, I’ll do it myself.’

‘No, you won’t, you psychotic bastard,’ Jeff said. He took several bold steps forward, and put Gary’s gun right against Hessler’s head. ‘Try anything, and you’re the first to die. You have my word on that.’

Before Hessler could reply, the Marines were on him. After a momentary hesitation, he permitted the lance-corporal to take away his gun.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ he muttered, as much to himself as anyone else in the room. ‘There’s nothing you can do to me. The Williamsburg Doctrine has been part of the procedure since the Sixties. I did what was right for America. Fuck you all. You can’t touch me.’

‘We’ll see about that,’ Kelly replied quietly.

The Marines surrounded General Hessler and led him away.

‘Thank you, Captain,’ Jeff said, the relief evident in his voice.

‘Yes, Sir,’ Manning replied. ‘What else can I do?’

Jeff looked at Kelly, who had slumped into a chair, and knew that, for now, he had to take command.

‘Do you have any way to contact the Marines on duty outside the Capitol?’

‘Yes, Sir. My colonel’s in command there. We’re in constant communication by radio.’

‘Secure?’

‘Of course, Sir.’

‘Contact your colonel immediately. Tell him Wade is dead. Tell him that President Trevathan has declared a state of emergency, and that you are temporarily in command. Order him, and the Marines who are with him, to defend the Senate with any and all means at their disposal. Then get whatever reinforcements you can to Capitol Hill, ground troops, helicopters, whatever. You’re the expert. Whatever you think will help.’

‘Yes, Sir. Should the Marines move in and disperse the crowd, Sir?’

Jeff considered for a moment.

‘Are those big TV screens still in place and operational around the Capitol and down the Mall?’

‘As far as I know, Sir.’

‘Good. In that case, order them not to take action for now, except to defend the Senate if necessary. But they should stand by to move on your command. After you’ve done that, alert all sections of the military to the fact of Wade’s death, starting with any units in charge of nuclear weapons.’

Manning hesitated. ‘There is one thing, Sir…’

‘Go on.’

‘The ‘football’.’

‘The what?… Oh, you mean…’

‘The box containing the nuclear codes, Sir. It’s supposed to remain within the reach of the President at all times. If I’m to give out news that President Wade is dead…’

‘Where is the ‘football’ now?’

‘It’s secure, Sir, but we need to get it to President Trevathan. Especially if the news of Wade’s death is going to be made public, and word gets out abroad. We don’t want to be caught with our pants down.’

Jeff put a hand up to his forehead. ‘Oh, God, this is out of my league.’

Manning smiled. ‘If I might make a suggestion, Sir?’

‘By all means,’ Jeff replied, returning the smile.

‘There’s talk that President Trevathan has appointed Mr. Lazenby Acting Vice President, and that he is still here in Washington. Is that correct, Sir?’

‘As far as I know,’ Jeff replied cautiously.

‘In that case, Sir, President Trevathan can execute what’s called an Article Twenty-Five in favor of the Vice President. It would allow him to take control for a limited period of time until the President arrives back in Washington. It would really help to know that is in place when I contact the various units. Just so there is no question as to who’s in charge.’

Jeff nodded. ‘Very good, Captain. I’ll see to it.’

‘Yes, Sir. Anything else, Sir?’

‘Yes. Please take Agent Mills into custody, and have someone bring us our side-arms.’

‘Yes, Sir.’

Captain Manning turned to leave the room, taking Gary by the arm. ‘Oh, and Captain…’

‘Sir?’

‘This isn’t your highest priority. But when you get a chance, send some of your men to arrest Admiral McGarry and Attorney-General Latham. The charges are the same as in General Hessler’s case.’

Manning smiled.

‘It will be my pleasure, Agent Morris.’

S
UDDENLY,
THEY
WERE
alone, and the room was silent. Jeff walked over to the chair in which Kelly was sitting, removed Linda’s gun from her lap and placed it on the floor. He knelt beside her and held her as she wept silently. After some time, Kelly looked up.

‘I did it, Jeff. I killed her.’

‘No, you didn’t.’

‘If I hadn’t played on the doubts she was having… I saw it while we were talking. She had started to see what was going on. I thought if I could …’

She lowered her head against his chest. Jeff kissed her gently on the forehead.

‘And you were right. But there was no way you could have foreseen what she would do.’

He kissed her again. ‘She did it for you.’

Kelly looked up.

‘It was after Wade told her he planned to have us killed. That was the final straw. She couldn’t see any other way out.’

‘She must have known what Gary would do,’ Kelly whispered.

‘Yes.’

Jeff allowed her a minute more to pour out her tears.

‘Kelly, listen. I know this is hard for you. But I need you to function. We have to call the President.’

Abruptly, Kelly got to her feet. ‘Oh, God, yes. Where’s the phone?’

‘I’ll get it.’

As he did so, a Marine entered the room carrying their weapons, placed them on the table, saluted, and left. Jeff nodded to him. Kelly was dialing the number. Ellen Trevathan answered immediately.

‘Kelly, thank God. Are you OK? What’s going on?’

With an effort, Kelly composed herself. ‘We’re fine, Madam President. We’re still at the White House.’

She hesitated.

‘Look, there’s no easy way to tell you everything that’s happened. But you need to take action without delay. There are some things I’m going to have to explain to you later…’

‘That’s fine, Kelly,’ Ellen replied. ‘Talk to me.’

Kelly took a deep breath. ‘Well, first, Steve Wade is dead…’

Kelly heard the intake of breath on the other end of the line.

‘It was nothing to do with us,’ she continued. ‘His own people turned against him. I’ll tell you more later. The important thing is, whatever happens in the Senate, you are now President, and the mob has no basis for saying otherwise. Not that they ever did, but…’

‘I understand, Kelly’. The President’s voice betrayed her profound shock. ‘What else?’

‘General Hessler is under arrest, and the other conspirators soon will be,’ Kelly said. ‘But the most important thing is, a Captain Manning has taken charge of things here for the Marines. He is doing his best to make sure they can protect the Senate, but the situation there is very volatile. The Marines are outnumbered. We have reinforcements moving up, but they’re playing a very dangerous game.’

‘What should I do?’

‘Madam President, I think it’s time for you to speak to the American people,’ Kelly replied. ‘The big TV screens are still in place, and they can patch you through. I know it’s asking a lot, but if you can talk to them, you may be able to make them see sense. You should also make sure your broadcast reaches the military.’

‘No problem,’ Ellen replied. ‘We can do that.’

‘The other thing is…’

‘The ‘football’? I know. General Gutierrez had that figured out. Ted Lazenby should have the Article Twenty-Five declaration by now. I’ll be on my way to Washington as soon as I can arrange to leave here. Was that what you were going to say?’

‘You read Captain Manning’s mind,’ Kelly said.

‘Good, then let’s talk after my broadcast. You two stay put and take care of yourselves.’

‘We will, Madam President. And good luck.’

‘Thank you, Kelly. Good luck to us all.’

* * *

Kelly and Jeff watched the broadcast with Captain Manning in the situation room, which he was now using to coordinate the defense of the Capitol. Other TV sets had been placed so that the Marines on duty in and around the White House could also watch without leaving their stations. It seemed to Kelly that Ellen Trevathan had aged visibly in the short time since their last meeting. She understood exactly how the President felt.

‘The first thing I have to tell you,’ Ellen began after greeting the viewers, ‘is that former President Steve Wade died this afternoon in the White House. I very much regret that I do not have access to all the details of his death at this time. I am told that he died as a result of a confrontation involving members of his guard. Although I have no further information right now, I can assure you that no one in my Administration was responsible for his death in any way. I can also assure you that, as soon as I return to Washington, I shall ensure that there is a full inquiry into the circumstances, and I undertake to make the findings of that inquiry public, whatever those findings may be. For now, I am sure you will join me in mourning the loss of a great public servant and, in my case, an old and dear friend. I have one other particular regret, which is that the urgency of the situation did not permit me to convey the news of Steve Wade’s death personally to the former First Lady and her children before announcing it on national television. Julia, wherever you are, if you are watching, I am truly sorry that you had to find out about it like this. If there had been any way to avoid it, I would have taken it.

‘Now, I must address myself to a nation which has been brought to the brink of a second civil war. In doing so, I am speaking to the whole nation, but of course particularly to those citizens who have chosen to make their views known by protesting in such large numbers outside the Capitol and in the surrounding areas of Washington. To you, I have to offer both a message of hope and a warning. First, you must understand that I am speaking to you now as your President. I became your President as soon as President Wade was impeached by the Senate. I know some of you wish that had not happened. That, of course, is now academic. As soon as President Wade died, the Presidency would have passed to me automatically, even if he had not been impeached. As your President, I cannot and will not tolerate the continued siege of the Senate. Not only has it caused enormous hardship to the senators, their staffs, the Chief Justice, and the many journalists imprisoned in the building, but it cannot be tolerated in a free society that the government, or any part of it, should be held hostage. Peaceful demonstration is one thing. Armed intimidation is quite another. This is not the time to apportion blame for what has happened, and that is not my purpose in speaking to you. I am sure many of you came to Washington for what you considered to be good reasons. But whatever your reasons may have been, it is now time to go home. You will have your opportunity to judge my Presidency at the next election, and I will welcome your judgment at that time. But I will not allow you to dictate the course of events by force. Therefore, I am giving you notice now to lay down your weapons and go home. Anyone who does this is free to leave, and will not be arrested or harassed by the military or the police. Simply put your weapons on the ground, and walk away. That is all you have to do.’

Ellen paused for effect.

‘I must tell you that, because of the gravity of the situation, there will be extremely serious consequences if you do not do as I have asked. I have determined that the situation at the Capitol constitutes a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States, and I have declared a national state of emergency. The armed forces are now completely under my control. Some factions of the military were opposed to me, but the officers in charge of those factions are now under arrest, and I have the loyalty of all our men and women in uniform. I have ordered the armed forces to use all necessary means, including the use of deadly force, to defend the Senate from any violence or threat of violence which may be offered to it. If you look around you, you will see reinforcements beginning to arrive, on the ground and in the air. I assure you that you are no match for these military units. I have further ordered the use of all necessary means to disperse the crowd holding the Senate hostage, unless the crowd immediately begins to disperse, and has taken substantial steps to vacate the area around the Capitol within ten minutes of the end of this broadcast.’

Ellen softened her voice.

‘I don’t want to use force against my own people. No President would. But I will not be intimidated or prevented from exercising the authority of my office by mob violence. I promise you, I will be as good as my word. Before I go, let me just add one last thing. I know that most of you are good, law-abiding people who love your country. By now, I am sure you realize that you have been deceived and led astray by a handful of people who do not have the same interests as you do, and who came to Washington, not to support our government, as they pretend, but to overthrow it by force, if necessary. Do not try to take action against these people. I will do that soon enough. But walk away from them. And do it now. God bless you, and God bless America.’