Removal (43 page)

‘Time,’ President Trevathan said quietly.

‘Right. It’s not on our side any more. The Senate is in an impossible situation. We have to help them, and we have to do it quickly. Raul is working on our options now with some of his people. We should have them for you in an hour or two.’

‘This is all sounding rather grim, Ted,’ Ellen observed.

Kelly was sure she picked up Lazenby’s smile on the other end of the line.

‘I wanted to give you the bad news first,’ he replied.

‘Feel free to continue with the good news any time.’

‘Yes, Madam President. Well, Terrell is with us. So are most of McGarry’s people. The only areas we can’t control are the Marines and the nuclear weapons. Other than that, we have a clear military superiority.’

‘Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the theater?’ Ellen commented.

‘Something like that. But assuming Wade would not actually use a nuclear weapon, and further assuming that no officer would obey an order to use one, we do have a decisive advantage in any foreseeable conflict. Given the use of conventional forces, Raul and Terrell have no doubt we could liberate the Senate and take back the White House, and do it quickly.’

Ellen Trevathan closed her eyes. ‘But the cost would be…’

‘Horrendous, yes. There would be considerable loss of life, and we would essentially have to rebuild Washington. We would probably have to reduce the White House to rubble.’

‘I’m sure you’ve asked Raul to think of alternatives.’

‘Yes, of course. His options will be designed to minimize the damage. But they will also be designed to achieve the objective.’

‘I thought this was the good news section,’ Ellen said, after a pause.

‘There is more,’ Lazenby said. ‘As I’m sure you’ve noticed in Houston, the country is pretty quiet.’

‘It’s weird,’ Ellen replied. ‘Unreal. General Terrell’s people have cleared everyone out of the downtown area. It’s like a ghost town. But the local TV stations are saying it’s that way throughout the city.’

‘Same everywhere. We’ve got police on the streets everywhere, just in case. But there’s nothing for them to do. Wade has miscalculated, Ellen. Other than the loonies in Washington, people are staying in their homes. The news channels are saying people are frightened and concerned. But there are no demonstrations, nothing in the streets. There’s an incredible volume of chatter on all the social networking sites, way too much for our analysts to evaluate within any useful time frame, and they say it’s totally impossible to define the trend at any given moment. But they have been taking large random samples, and they are all highly favorable to you.’

‘Which proves your point that the demonstrations were orchestrated by the loonies all along,’ the President observed.

‘Yes. The other good news is that the media have abandoned any pretense of neutrality. It looks like we’ll have one hundred percent support from the press, home and abroad. Obviously, everyone will carry Wade’s broadcast, but they will also carry yours, and I don’t think there’s any doubt which way the verdict will come down.’

Ellen reflected for a moment. ‘So, what you’re telling me, Ted, is that if we can deal with the immediate problem in Washington, we have a good shot at uniting the country behind us.’

‘We have a great shot. The two unknown factors right now are whether Wade’s broadcast will change anything, and whether we can deal with the Washington mob.’

‘What’s the word abroad, politically?’

‘Everyone’s keeping quiet and waiting. It may be a while before they send out their formal congratulations, but no one’s interfering. State says we have the Brits to thank for that.’

‘How so?’

‘Well, officially they’re not taking sides, but behind the scenes, they’ve made it clear through diplomatic channels that anyone who tries to take advantage of our situation will get their asses well and truly kicked in short order.’

‘We owe them one.’

‘Yes, we do.’

‘Madam President,’ Kelly Smith said, ‘I’m sorry to interrupt, but Wade’s broadcast is about to start.’

The President nodded. ‘Ted, I’ll call you back as soon as I’m through with mine. We hit the airwaves as soon as Wade has finished.’

‘Good,’ Lazenby said. ‘I’ll be here. Oh, very quickly, Madam President, there is one piece of good news from the Senate.’

‘What might that be?’

‘Well, having nothing better to do, they thought they might as well go ahead and confirm your first appointments, myself, Raul, and Ken Hunt. And they said, if there’s anyone else, just call in the names.’

Ellen laughed out loud, but then stopped abruptly.

‘Do they know how serious the situation is?’

Lazenby hesitated.

‘We haven’t told them everything. We don’t want to create a panic. Also, the press is in there with them. We thought it might be better to leave it vague for now. Even so, it’s only a matter of time – a short time – before they start speculating.’

‘You’re afraid they might change their minds about the impeachment?’

‘Right now, no. But it’s a very volatile situation, Madam President. We don’t know what they might do if this goes on for too long.’

‘Well, tell them I really appreciate it, and I’ll say thank you properly down the road.’

‘Will do.’

‘And Ted…’

‘Yes, Madam President.’

‘You’re right not to say too much. But tell them we’re going to find a way to get them out of their situation, and we’re going to do it quickly.’

‘G
OOD
EVENING,’
S
TEVE
Wade began, staring stonily into the camera in front of him. ‘As you all know, this afternoon the United States Senate voted in favor of an article of impeachment against me. In their eyes, I have become the first President in our nation’s history to be impeached successfully. The Constitution gives the Congress the right to bring impeachment proceedings against a President, and there is then a trial in the Senate. If the President is convicted of treason or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then he is to be removed from office. And tonight, I want you all to know that I respect the Constitution. If I had committed any such crimes, I assure you that I would have removed myself from office. I would not have waited for proceedings in Congress, or a vote in the Senate. But I have not committed any such crimes. Recently, when I was a guest on Conrad Beckers’ show, I made it clear that these allegations that have been made against me are utterly untrue. They are the work of my political enemies, who have become almost insanely jealous of the success I have had in doing the work the American people elected me to do. They can’t stand the fact that this Administration has been so successful. They hate me for it. In short, I have been set up. I never met the man, Hamid Marfrela, and I know nothing about his activities. I have no connection with the State of Lebanon or with any of its operatives. I have never solicited or accepted any money or favors from anyone in Lebanon. All that happened is, I fell in love with a woman called Lucia Benoni. Now, it is true that I lied about my relationship with Ms. Benoni. I lied to you, the American people, to my closest advisers, and even to my wife. Those lies cost me my marriage, and I regret them. But that is what happened, and that is all that happened.

‘Tonight, I have to do what is in the best interests of the United States. And, after close consultation with my advisers, I have determined that what is in the best interests of the United States is for me to remain in the White House and carry on with my work. This has not been my decision alone. Many influential political and military leaders agree with me. I am in the best interests of America. I know that, you know it, and so do my enemies. I know I have your support, the support of the people, because you want me to get on with the job. You don’t care about political wrangling. You want to see America made safe and strong, and that’s what I intend to do, as I always have. But there are those who want me to leave office. Among them, to my great regret, is my Vice President, Ellen Trevathan, a woman I trusted. I am told she has left Washington, together with some of her advisers. I am told that some elements in our military are supporting her. You may hear her claim to be the new President of the United States. But I don’t believe that’s what you want. I believe you want the same firm hand on the tiller that you have had during the last six years. There is trouble brewing in the Middle East. Africa is in turmoil. America must take its place on the world stage. So, tonight, I call upon the Vice President and those with her to return to Washington, and help me to keep America strong. I hope that all my supporters will stand up for me now. Come out and support me in this hour of trial, just as you did in two elections. Take to the streets and show the Senate how much you care. Don’t let these people get away with what they are trying to do. Show them that the will of the American people is more important than any political maneuvering. Take back your government tonight.

‘There are certain short-term measures I have been obliged to take in order to maintain our national security. Threats have been made to the Senate, which is still in session in the Capitol. The cooler and wiser heads in the Senate have called for a fresh vote on my impeachment. They know they have done the wrong thing in trying to impeach me. But a crowd of people has gathered outside the Capitol. Many of them support me, but some of them intend to intimidate the Senate, as they have already been intimidated, into voting me out of office. I am told that many of these people are armed and dangerous. The Washington Police have been unable to disperse them. I cannot allow this intimidation to succeed. Therefore, I have today ordered units of the United States Marine Corps to stand guard over the Senate, and to be ready to do whatever is necessary to protect public order in Washington. I have temporarily closed the White House and placed it under the protection of the Marines also. While this crisis continues, there will be daily press briefings, and I have assured our allies abroad that we will not allow the crisis to interrupt our work on the many serious issues we are facing. I am confident that we will resolve this crisis speedily and that everything will be back to normal within the next few days. In the meantime, I need your support. I am your President. You need me. America needs me. I am here, and here I will remain. Thank you, and God bless America.’

* * *

In an office in the White House, Dick Latham turned to face General Hessler as the President’s broadcast ended.

‘We’ll never get away with this,’ he muttered.

‘Well, Mr. Attorney-General,’ Hessler replied, ‘it’s too late to worry about that now.’

* * *

At the same time, in his office in
The Washington Post
Building, Harold Philby shook his head.

‘He’s lost it,’ he said to Mary Sullivan. ‘He has finally lost it.’

‘Is that what you want me to write,’ Mary asked. ‘That the President of the United States has lost his sanity?’

‘Write the truth, Mary,’ Philby replied. ‘What did you see this evening?’

* * *

Across town, in front of the Capitol, where the crowd had been watching Steve Wade’s speech on a huge television screen erected for the occasion, loud cheering broke out, Wade’s name was chanted and, on George Carlson’s phone command, shots were fired into the air.

‘This is it, Dan,’ Carlson shouted to Rogers over the cheers and the chants. ‘It’s all going to fall apart. This time tomorrow, we will be in control.’

‘Why doesn’t Fox give the order?’

‘He will. Soon. All we have to do is be ready to move.’

* * *

Fighting an urge to run for dear life, Ellen Trevathan adjusted her hair one last time as she sat in the chair behind Ken Hunt’s desk, listening to the producer count her down.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening,’ she said, forcing her voice to remain calm. ‘Tonight I address you for the first time as your President. I know you didn’t vote for me as your President. But I became President by the operation of our Constitution earlier today, when the Senate voted to impeach former President Steve Wade. And I have become President during what may be the most serious crisis in our nation’s history, a crisis every bit as serious as 9/11, a crisis every bit as serious as the attack on Pearl Harbor, a crisis every bit as serious as our Civil War. So tonight, I want to be as honest with you as I possibly can. I wanted to become President one day. I intended to seek my party’s nomination at the end of President Wade’s term of office. But, much as I wanted to be your President, I never wanted it to be like this. I have no idea whether Steve Wade did the things he has been accused of. I have no means of knowing. I worked closely with President Wade for several years. I always had a high opinion of him. Otherwise, I would never have agreed to run for office as his Vice President. In all frankness, I would never have believed him capable of the things he has been accused of. That’s why I stood by him during the impeachment. But the question of whether he was guilty or innocent was not mine to judge. That is the Senate’s job. The Senate held a trial, and determined that President Wade was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. Whether or not I agree with them, whether or not you agree with them, does not matter now. Whether you or I want Steve Wade to continue in office no longer matters. I need you all to understand that, once that vote was taken in the Senate, Steve Wade ceased to be your President, and I became your President. All of this happened automatically, by operation of law. Those of you who do not want me as your President will have the opportunity to vote against me in two years’ time, when our next election is held. If I decide to run which, I have to tell you, is a big ‘if’ right now. That is what our Constitution provides for. That is the way we do things in America because we believe, as we must, in the rule of law. Until the next election, I am your President, and it is my intention to act as such.

‘Steve Wade, however, does not believe that. He has seized control of the White House, your White House, and he refuses to leave. I don’t know why or how this has happened. But I must be frank with you about how serious this is. There are a few high-ranking military officers who believe that they have the right to decide who becomes President, and Steve Wade has enlisted the support of these officers. I want to make it clear that the overwhelming majority of the members of our armed forces are loyal to the Constitution. But there are a few who are not, and these few have taken control of our most important public buildings in Washington – the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the White House itself. They are keeping your senators imprisoned in the Capitol, and are depriving them of food, water, electricity, and contact with the outside world. Their intent appears to be to coerce the Senate into changing its mind about the impeachment. I must tell you that former President Wade retains control of the codes governing deployment of our nuclear weapons. I must also tell you that, based on intelligence reports, many of the people gathered around the Capitol at the present time are not, as Steve Wade claims, members of the public engaged in a lawful protest, but members of right-wing supremacist groups whose aim is to do harm to your Government.