Removal (50 page)

‘Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the Senate,’ Monahan began hesitantly. ‘I realize that this is probably out of order. In fact, I’m sure it is. But you were kind enough to listen to me for quite a while over the last few days, and I would ask for your further indulgence, just for a few minutes, because I have something to say which I believe is important. So, please, listen to me for just a moment.’

Out of the corner of his eye, Monahan saw that Senator Boswell was looking none too pleased. But his audience gave no such sign. He decided to continue until he was interrupted.

‘Now, you all know that I represented President Wade, and tried my best to stop you impeaching him. So you know which side I was on in that debate. But things have changed now. Because of your vote, Ellen Trevathan is now President of the United States. With all respect, you can’t put the clock back. There’s no way to undo what you did and put Wade back in office, which is what those people out there want.’

‘That’s not the suggestion,’ a senator called out. ‘The idea is to
say
that we…’

‘I understand that, Senator,’ Monahan interrupted, fearful of being drowned out in a sea of protest. ‘But hear me out. That isn’t just a mob out there. Those are intelligent people, people smart enough to have orchestrated whatever is going on. And those people are probably more than smart enough to figure out that you would not, and could not, have taken a vote to reverse your position on the impeachment. If that’s the case, the only thing you’re going to achieve by spreading a false rumor is to make them even more angry than they are now. At best, nothing changes.’

Monahan saw a large number of senators began to nod. No one was disagreeing. Boswell’s consensus was beginning to die as quickly as it had been born. Ed Monahan decided to add what was really on his mind.

‘But the most important point is, that if you did put out a story like that, it might jeopardize whatever President Trevathan and her advisers are doing out there. We know from Senator O’Brien’s Chief of Staff that the President is in Houston. We’re not sure why, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet that it’s not so she can enjoy the climate.’

‘Hey, not so fast there, young fella,’ the senior senator from Texas drawled, breaking the ice and drawing some sympathetic laughter towards Monahan. ‘Ain’t nothing wrong with Houston.’

Monahan smiled, despite his anxiety.

‘I’m sure that’s true, Senator, and I didn’t mean to disparage your home town. But my point is, I think we have to assume that the President is in Houston because it’s not safe for her to be here in Washington. Now, we may not know all the details, but one thing we do know. She needs all the help she can get. If you suggest that the Senate has capitulated, it may send a message to her enemies that her support is falling away, and it may encourage them to go even farther than they have. So I believe you have to hang tough now, for the sake of our Government, for the sake of our Constitution. I beg you, don’t go along with this idea.’

Monahan waited only for a moment before resuming his seat. The conversation resumed, but only momentarily. To everyone’s surprise, Sam Mayhew gaveled again and, once he had induced silence, he walked slowly to the podium and took the floor himself.

‘Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s probably just as much out of order for me to interrupt the Senate’s proceedings as it was for Mr. Monahan. Now, this may be the first time I’ve agreed with him since this whole thing started, but since he took the risk of speaking up, I guess it’s probably all right for me to do the same.’

There was a little laughter, dying quickly away.

‘Mr. Monahan is right. If you release this story of a vote that was never taken, everybody will find out the truth eventually, that’s true. But ‘eventually’ is not the problem. The problem is here and now. I believe President Trevathan is in a good deal of trouble right now. Like you, I don’t exactly know why. But I have been made aware that my colleagues on the Court have gone to Houston with her, so I have to assume that the danger goes beyond the President herself, and is reaching out to our Government as a whole. So, in my estimation, whatever is going on is of a very grave nature. If you undermine the President’s position now by releasing a story that you have been pressured into changing your vote, it might give her enemies, the enemies of America, perhaps I should say, just enough encouragement to make a decisive difference. I want to get out of here as much as anyone else. But I believe it to be our duty, mine as well as yours, to stay and to support the new Administration.’

After almost a full minute of silence, Senator Joe O’Brien walked to the podium and stood alongside the Chief Justice.

‘I don’t believe there’s any way to argue with what the Chief Justice has said,’ he observed gravely. ‘I guess, if necessary, we can take a vote, but I sincerely hope that will not be necessary. Anyone who feels it is, please raise your hand now.’

Not a single hand was raised. From his seat at counsel’s table, Ed Monahan nodded to Sam Mayhew. For the rest of his life, Ed would believe, and would tell everyone he could, that he distinctly saw the Chief Justice of the United States wink back at him.

* * *

For just a moment, the colonel experienced an absurd flashback to a movie he had seen as a child with his father, a diehard fan of old Westerns. Who had the hero been, John Wayne, Randolph Scott? He could not remember. But he remembered the scene in every detail. The hero, the cavalry officer, and his companions were trapped in the ruins of their fort, cut off from their reinforcements, just waiting for the Indians to attack again. ‘It’s too quiet out there,’ the script had told the officer to say to his sergeant. And, sure enough, the officer had been right. The Indians were just picking their moment. The colonel had the same feeling about the situation which confronted him now. Something in the mood of the crowd had changed. The chanting and shouting had largely subsided. Most of the crowd surrounding the Capitol seemed to have turned to face the Marines head on, and the occasional flash of metal suggested that their weapons were barely being concealed any longer. There was a mood of expectancy, almost as if they were waiting for a command. They were too quiet. And too organized. Unobtrusively, he gestured to the lieutenant to join him.

‘Lieutenant, order your men to prepare to fire a warning shot over the heads of the crowd. But they will not fire without my command.’

‘Yes, Sir.’

‘I don’t want any accidents, here, Lieutenant. Remember, General Hessler’s orders are that no one in the crowd is to be harmed.’

‘With one exception, Sir, I believe.’

‘That’s correct. Does Sergeant Hendricks still have Carlson in his sights?’

‘He’s never let go of him, Sir.’

‘Good. But not until General Hessler gives me the order, and I pass it on to you.’

‘Yes, Sir.’

‘Dismissed, Lieutenant.’

‘Yes, Sir.’

But the lieutenant did not immediately move away.

‘Sir…?’

‘Yes, Lieutenant.’

‘I’m not trying to question General Hessler’s orders, Sir. But if they do rush the building, and we do nothing…’

‘I’m aware of that, Lieutenant. As I am sure is General Hessler. I’m assuming there’s a plan to cover that eventuality. But it’s important not to act prematurely here. If we do, we could endanger lives unnecessarily. I’m sure General Hessler is doing everything he can to be cautious, as should we. Our job is to follow orders, Lieutenant.’

Unconvinced, the lieutenant saluted.

‘Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir.’

L
INDA
S
AMUELS
AND
Gary Mills entered the room quietly and took their seats.

‘It seems we’ve reached an impasse,’ Gary observed.

‘I can’t accept that,’ Kelly replied. ‘There’s too much at stake here.’

‘There’s word that the Senate may be about to revisit the question of the impeachment vote,’ Gary said. ‘If that happens, Wade remains President, and Trevathan will have to make whatever deal she can.’

‘I don’t believe that,’ Jeff said. ‘What is the source of your information?’

Linda and Gary looked at each other without replying.

‘Don’t tell me. General Hessler,’ Kelly said acidly.

‘It doesn’t matter what the source is,’ Gary responded. ‘That’s the word that’s going out, and that’s the word which will be passed to the Marines and to the President’s supporters outside the Capitol.’

‘If you do put that word out,’ Jeff said softly, ‘whatever blood is spilled out there will be on Hessler’s hands. Yours too.’

‘Hessler’s manipulating the whole situation,’ Kelly said animatedly. ‘Jesus, Linda, can’t you see that? This isn’t about Wade and Trevathan any more. It’s about Hessler. Wade is just as much a pawn in his hands as you are.’

‘General Hessler is doing his duty, Kelly, just as Gary and I are,’ Linda replied. To most listeners, Linda’s voice would probably have sounded the same as it had earlier in the meeting. But Kelly had known Linda for too long not to notice the difference in her tone. The conviction which had been there before had gone. It was as if she were repeating her arguments by rote. Gary Mills now represented the voice of conviction. Kelly wondered what they had discussed during the recess. She decided that a weakness had arisen in the opposition camp. She did not know how or why, but she knew that it must be exploited.

‘Tell me how you see this going, Linda,’ Kelly suggested.

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘Well, OK, let’s say for argument’s sake that Hessler’s people and the crowd outside the Capitol close down the Senate. That still leaves almost the entire military working for Trevathan, not to mention the House, the Supreme Court, and the Agencies. Some time tomorrow, Trevathan will order the military to retake the White House. It will be a mess, but there’s no doubt that they will succeed in doing it. It’s just a matter of superior forces. How do you see it going from there? For Wade? For you?’

‘I don’t think Trevathan will do that,’ Gary Mills broke in. ‘And you’re forgetting about the nukes.’

‘That’s a bunch of crap,’ Kelly replied, ‘and you know it. And my question was directed to Linda.’

Reluctantly, Gary held his tongue. But Linda did not respond immediately.

‘It’s not a bunch of crap, Kelly,’ Linda said.

It was said weakly. She now knew the truth. Kelly instinctively sensed a breakthrough. She knew now was the time to press home her advantage. But she was not given the chance.

‘Well, yes, it is a bunch of crap, in a manner of speaking,’ a smooth male voice said from the door on the far side of the room. He had entered so quietly that no one in the room had sensed it.

‘But that’s politics, isn’t it, Agent Samuels? Most things in politics are a load of crap, when it comes right down to it. But it hardly matters, does it? You see, in the end, it’s all about power. And sometimes, if you want power, you have to take whatever help you can get, wherever it may come from, crap and all.’

The four negotiators stood up and looked in the direction of the voice.

‘Mr. President,’ Linda muttered.

‘Welcome to the White House, Agent Smith, Agent Morris,’ Steve Wade said. ‘I hope everything is to your satisfaction, and you find your visit useful?’

‘We’re making some progress, Mr. Wade,’ Kelly replied evenly.

Wade smiled.

‘I will overlook your ungracious failure to accord me the proper title, Miss Smith. I’m not a small-minded man.’

‘I accorded you your proper title, Sir,’ Kelly replied.

‘Kelly…’ Linda whispered.

Wade gestured as if to wave Linda away.

‘No. Don’t be concerned, Agent Samuels. Agent Smith’s failure to follow protocol is unimportant in the circumstances. Now, where were we? You were saying something about a load of crap, if I remember rightly.’

Kelly looked briefly at Jeff, whose gaze seemed to be frozen on Steve Wade.

‘Is it your intention to join in the negotiations, Mr. Wade?’ she asked.

‘No, no, I don’t think so,’ Wade replied, laughing. ‘I was just passing, and I overheard what you were saying, and it struck me as rather funny.’

‘Really?’ Kelly rejoined. ‘In what respect?’

Wade spread his arms out wide to either side. ‘In every respect,’ he said. ‘The whole damn thing. The Senate thinking it can impeach me when I’ve done nothing wrong; thinking they can get rid of me when I’m the most popular President in history; Ellen Trevathan, the peace-maker, thinking she can storm the White House with all the king’s horses and all the king’s men, and take over from me. It’s all funny. Downright hilarious, in fact.’

Wade continued to smile, as he took a seat at the table. Kelly and Jeff resumed their seats, followed by Linda and Gary. Linda could not take her eyes off Wade. She had never seen him like this, seemingly not taking the situation seriously, perhaps even detached from reality. From the time when Julia had left the White House, Wade had not been himself, and as the impeachment crisis lurched along, he had become more and more withdrawn, remote, at times inaccessible. But what she was seeing now was a new level of disfunction, and she could not begin to guess how she was supposed to react to it. An image of Hessler in a very different light came to her and would not go away.

‘Now, why doesn’t someone explain to me what I have to do to get Ellen Trevathan off my back?’ Wade was asking.

‘I’m afraid there’s no way to do that,’ Kelly replied. ‘But by agreeing to step down peacefully now, you could avoid a great deal of unnecessary bloodshed and damage. I know that would count for a lot in whatever decisions President Trevathan might make once this is over.’

‘I could just as easily say the same to her,’ Wade countered. ‘I know how to be magnanimous.’

The smile seemed to be frozen on his face. Something about it made Kelly feel cold. All at once, she began to see what Linda had seen, how tenuous the man’s grasp on reality had become. She cast about desperately for inspiration. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jeff’s gaze shift a little. She glanced across at him and knew that he had seen the same things she had. Jeff leaned forward across the table.