Removal (45 page)

‘I’m only authorized to speak to you over the phone.’

Kelly planted her feet firmly on the floor. The time had come for the part of her strategy she had not confided to the President. She felt her stomach tie itself in knots.

‘I know. But I think it would be better face to face, Linda, just like in the old days, sit down together, work things out.’

‘I don’t know how we could do that, Kelly. I can’t leave the President. Gary Mills and I are the only agents he has left to protect him.’

‘Fine, so get me in there. I’ll come to you.’

As she said it, Kelly raised her eyes to the ceiling. There was a long silence.

‘Jesus, Kelly, I don’t know how I could do that. The White House is under military command now, and I’m right at the bottom of the food chain.’

‘I assume the White House is ultimately under Steve Wade’s command. Isn’t it? I mean, as far as you’re concerned, he’s still the President, right?’

‘Yes, he is.’

‘So he gets to decide who gets into the White House and who doesn’t. You’re close enough to him to have his ear. Why don’t you run it by him?’

‘You’re suggesting I should go to the President, and say I want a visit from an old friend, to talk over old times, and would it be OK for her to come to the White House?’

‘No. I’m suggesting you tell him that the Acting Director of the FBI has asked for a meeting to discuss the situation before the deadline expires.’

Linda gave a little squeal of delight. Kelly smiled. Just for a moment, she had heard the Linda she had always known. Just for a moment, she had dropped her guard. Linda was genuinely pleased for her.

‘Kelly, you’re Acting Director? Way to go, girl. When did this happen?’

‘Lazenby conferred it on me just as I was about to leave for Houston. I haven’t had much time to think about it. But I do have official status, and I do have President Trevathan’s authority to negotiate. It’s a chance, Linda. Things are going to get seriously out of control before long. There’ll be nothing either one of us can do then. If there’s anything we can do, now is the time to do it. All I’m asking for is the chance to talk.’

Linda hesitated. ‘I can’t give him up, Kelly. He’s my President.’

‘I’m not asking you to give him up, Linda. He’s going to have to make that decision for himself. All I’m asking for is the opportunity to talk. Me and one agent, Jeff, probably. No one else.’

‘How is Jeff? You guys doing OK?’

‘Yeah, we’re doing fine.’

‘You always were the lucky one.’

Kelly grinned. ‘Hey, I gave you a chance, remember? When we were at the D.C. Police Headquarters that time. You were the one who said ‘no’.’

‘One of the many fine decisions I’ve made about my life.’

‘You’ve made a lot of very fine decisions in your life, Linda, and don’t you ever forget that.’

‘Yeah, well…’

‘So, what do you say, girl? Shall we give it a try?’

It was some time before Linda replied.

‘I’ll do my best to speak to the President and Mr. Latham about it, Kelly. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll get back to you.’

‘You’re doing the right thing, Linda. Thanks.’

‘Sure. Love you.’

‘Love you.’

* * *

Kelly hung up the phone, got to her feet, and walked slowly into the anteroom to the dean’s office, where Jeff was waiting for her, reclining on a sofa with his eyes closed. As she closed the office door gently behind her, he opened his eyes, and sat up.

‘How did it go?’ he asked.

‘I got to first base,’ Kelly replied. ‘She’s going to try.’

‘OK. So, now what? You want to report to the President?’

‘No. Let her rest for a while. We’ll tell her when we get a definite response one way or the other. Did you work on the arrangements?’

‘Yes. General Gutierrez has his personal plane standing by at Ellington Field with an escort. We’re all set for the flight into Andrews, and from there we’ll have an Air Force helicopter available. We can set it down on the White House landing pad. That should mean we don’t have to worry about the crowd outside, just the Marines inside.’

‘Great, Jeff. How about Justice Finnis?’

‘Waiting for us over at the hotel. You want to go see him now?’

‘You have the paperwork?’

‘Got it.’

‘OK. Let’s go.’

Despite the late hour, and the sense of urgency she felt, Kelly could find energy only for a slow pace as she and Jeff strolled hand-in-hand along the short city blocks from South Texas College of Law to the Four Seasons Hotel. Light rain was falling, but after so many hours spent inside the law school, they found it refreshing, and gave no thought to opening an umbrella. There were no longer any ordinary guests at the Four Seasons. The manager had relocated those who were there when the crisis broke to other hotels in the city. An armored personnel carrier stood guard outside the main entrance and uniformed military police officers were stationed at either side of the entrance, providing a stark contrast to the uniforms of the regular doormen. Kelly and Jeff presented their identification, were admitted, and made their way through the lobby to the bank of elevators. They rode in silence to the eighteenth floor, then walked the short distance to the room where United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, Jeremy Finnis, was in temporary residence. The Justice was expecting them. Although it was now well after midnight, he was dressed in a suit and tie. Despite his small stature, Justice Finnis had an imposing presence which fully supported his reputation as one of the country’s leading legal minds. Opening the door, he graciously ushered them into the living room of his suite.

‘Well, Madam Director,’ he smiled at Kelly, ‘this is a rather unusual request. I never thought I would be asked to issue warrants. That normally happens at a rather lower level.’

‘Yes, Mr. Justice,’ Kelly replied, returning the smile, ‘but these are unusual times.’

‘Indeed they are. Do you have the applications?’

‘I have them, Mr. Justice,’ Jeff replied.

‘Good. Have a seat while I take a look.’

Jeff produced a bundle of papers from his briefcase, handed them to the Justice, and sat beside Kelly on the sofa. One of the law school secretaries had prepared them earlier, using forms supplied by the clerk of the local federal District Court. Justice Finnis seated himself nearby in a comfortable armchair, donned his reading glasses and, without undue haste, perused the documents he had been given. Having done so, he gazed into space for several seconds, removed his glasses, set them down on a small coffee table, and sat forward in his chair, clasping his hands together.

‘So, if I understand correctly, Madam Director, I am being asked to issue warrants for the arrest of a former President of the United States, a former Attorney-General of the United States, and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in addition to…’

‘A search warrant for the whole of the White House, yes.’

Justice Finnis rose and, holding the documents, walked slowly around the room towards the window. Outside he could see the dark, cloudy sky and the yellow sodium lights of the city stretching apparently without limit into the distance.

‘Off the subject for a moment, I don’t suppose there’s any news about the other…’

‘The other Associate Justices are safe, Mr. Justice. They’re on their way to Houston. Of course, the Chief Justice is still in the Capitol. We have no reason to believe he has been harmed.’

‘His heart hasn’t been too good over the last few years,’ Justice Finnis said. ‘I hope he has his medication with him.’

‘We’re doing everything we can.’

‘I know,’ Justice Finnis replied.

‘You should be able to sit as a Court in a day or two if you need to.’

The Justice nodded.‘Realistically, what chance is there that these warrants will ever be executed?’ he asked.

Kelly rose and joined Finnis at the window.

‘Mr. Justice, there are certain aspects of our plans I’m not at liberty to disclose at this time, but I assure you it is my intention to execute every one of them. As to probable cause…’

Justice Finnis stopped her.

‘Oh, you hardly need to persuade me about probable cause,’ he said lightly. ‘Anyone who’s been breathing during the last few days knows there’s probable cause. All the same, you’d better swear to it formally. Based on the information supplied to you, do you believe there is probable cause to believe that the offenses named in the applications have been committed by the persons named, and that evidence may be found at the location named to support the charges against those persons? Do you so swear, so help you God?’

Kelly raised her right hand. ‘I do, Mr. Justice.’

Finnis turned, and walked to the writing desk by the window. Picking up a pen, he carefully signed each application. Jeff walked over to the table, took the applications back, and replaced them in his briefcase.

‘Please return copies to me when you get the chance.’

‘I will, Sir,’ Jeff replied.

‘Have I done the right thing?’ Finnis asked, with a smile.

‘I believe you have,’ Jeff replied. ‘Thank you, Mr. Justice.’

‘No, thank you,’ Justice Finnis replied. ‘Both of you. As a Justice of the Court, I’m not supposed to express opinions about what might become a pending case one of these days but, as an American, I want to say I’m glad for what you’re doing and I wish you God speed. When we spoke earlier, you wouldn’t tell me much about what’s going on, Agent Morris, but I have enough marbles left to figure some of it out for myself. Oh, I won’t say anything, of course. But it seems to me that there may be a certain amount of danger involved in what you’re proposing to do. I hope you will both be careful.’

‘We will, Mr. Justice,’ Jeff replied.

‘Thank you, Mr. Justice,’ Kelly said.

They shook hands, left the room, and walked back along the silent carpeted corridor to the elevators, where they stood for a moment without pressing the button.

‘Nothing we can do now till Linda calls back,’ Jeff said.

‘No.’

‘So, where do you want to wait it out?’

‘My room,’ Kelly said. ‘That’s where they’ll call as soon as she calls the school.’

‘Sounds good, Madam Director,’ Jeff grinned.

Kelly leaned against the wall and smiled.

‘“Madam Director”,’ she mused. ‘That’s the first time anyone has called me that. Was he really referring to me?’

‘Unless there was some other woman in the room I didn’t see,’ Jeff said. ‘It sounded pretty good, didn’t it?’

‘Yes, it did,’ Kelly said. ‘But it’s going to take some getting used to.’

‘Can I still call you ‘Kelly’ in bed?’

‘I’ll think about it.’

She pressed the call button. The elevator in which they had come was still on the eighteenth floor, waiting to take them elsewhere.

‘Whatever you call me, Jeff, I’m not sure it’s going to cut any ice with those people in the White House.’

‘Maybe it will,’ Jeff said, holding the door for her. ‘Maybe someone still cares about the institutions of government. Our job may be to figure out which one of them it is.’

‘A
ND
I
’M
telling you, I don’t give a damn what your orders are.’

‘Easy, Sam,’ Senator Joe O’Brien said quietly.

He gently eased the Chief Justice back into his chair. O’Brien’s own blood pressure was rising fast, but he remained calm enough to realize that the colonel and lieutenant they had been trying to negotiate with for the last hour were holding all the cards. O’Brien also knew, as did his colleagues, that the Chief Justice’s heart condition was not being helped by the mood of confrontation. The small supply of his medication he had with him had run out, and one or two senators who had medical training were expressing concern. O’Brien had tried to persuade Sam Mayhew to relax, but the feisty head of the Supreme Court was having none of it. Used to picking fights with counsel in the courtroom, he did not seem to appreciate that he could not do the same with the military officers who now sat opposite him. The meeting had not gone well. Like the Chief Justice, the colonel was not a diplomat. The Marines, it seemed, had their orders, and not even the Senate or the Chief Justice of the United States was going to prevent them from carrying them out. Prospects of resolving the situation any time soon did not seem good. And O’Brien was receiving some very disturbing reports from Frank Worley, whose mobile phone was still receiving some messages, about what was going on in the outside world. Unlikely reports, perhaps even unbelievable, but disturbing nonetheless. He sensed that time was of the essence, but he remained powerless. At last, the Chief Justice subsided into his chair. O’Brien decided to try one last time.

‘Colonel, I think we at least have the right to know whether your orders came from President Trevathan, or whether she authorized them,’ he said.

The colonel seemed unimpressed.

‘My orders came directly from my Chief of Staff, General Hessler, Senator. It’s not up to me to question a direct order, and you can be sure I’m not about to. In any case, there’s no way I would let you out there right now, because we are not in control on the ground. I couldn’t guarantee your safety.’

‘If the only problem is the crowd, I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. Disperse them.’

‘We can’t do that, Senator.’

‘Why not, for God’s sake. You’re the Marines. You ran up the flag at Iwo Jima. I can’t see why…’

‘With all due respect, Senator, this is not a wartime situation. Those people out there are not the enemy. They’re citizens engaging in a lawful protest.’

‘Lawful protest, my ass. They’re holding the Senate hostage.’

‘Be that as it may…’

‘It’s not a lawful protest, for Christ’s sake, it’s a lynch mob. They’re carrying guns, and they’re threatening us with violence. Disperse them. Don’t you have water cannon, plastic bullets?’

‘Dispersing them would be a police action, Senator. The military doesn’t have police powers unless the President declares a state of emergency and asks us to step in. That has not happened, as far as I’m aware.’

‘You need a declaration of a state of emergency, when an armed mob imprisons the Senate in the Capitol?’