Removal

by Murphy, Peter

  ‘Dick Latham?’ Lazenby interrupted. ‘What does he have to do with…?’

  ‘I’ll come to that,’ Gutierrez promised. ‘When I arrive at the meeting, it’s just the Chiefs and a stenographer, plus Latham. No one from the Secretary of the Air Force. No one from anywhere. Completely outside the usual protocol. And everything’s hush-hush, not a word to anyone. Then Latham and Terrell explain to me that, back in the 1960s, after the Kennedy assassination, the Joint Chiefs had this conference at Williamsburg to discuss what to do in the event they had a Vice President they didn’t like, who suddenly had to take power.’

  ‘You mean, if a future President were to be assassinated?’ Lazenby asked.

  ‘If a future President had to leave office for any reason,’ Gutierrez replied, nodding. ‘Apparently, the conclusion they reached was that, if the Joint Chiefs had some reason not to trust the Vice President as Commander in Chief, they would take action to prevent him, or her, from becoming President. This idea became known as the Williamsburg Doctrine.’

  ‘God in Heaven,’ Lazenby muttered. ‘Take action, how?’

  ‘They weren’t specific about that. But I assume it would involve some kind of military response.’

  ‘I don’t believe it.’

  ‘Neither did I. At first. But Latham told me that the President had ordered him to convene this meeting, so that the Joint Chiefs could consider whether the Doctrine should be invoked in Ellen’s case.’

  Lazenby exhaled heavily. ‘I assume the Joint Chiefs told Latham he could go fuck himself?’

  ‘Not exactly. I did, almost in so many words. General Terrell seems to agree with me, but Admiral McGarry and General Hessler voted the other way.’

  There was a prolonged silence.

  ‘Two members of the Joint Chiefs went for this crap?’

  ‘That’s right.’

  ‘But what could they have against Ellen, for God’s sake,’ Lazenby asked.

  ‘She’s too left-wing,’ Gutierrez replied quietly.

  ‘I knew I shouldn’t have put that Che Guevara poster up in my office in the West Wing,’ Ellen observed with a grim smile.

  ‘This is fantastic. I feel like I’ve disappeared through the looking glass with Alice.’

  Lazenby sat back in his chair, looking over at Kelly and Jeff, who were visibly shaken.

  ‘So, you see,’ Gutierrez concluded, ‘why I felt I had to do something. I felt I owed it to Ellen to tell her in confidence what’s going on. Quite apart from the fact that we’ve been friends for years. Incredible as it seems, there is some possibility that these people are going to try to stop her taking over the presidency if Wade is impeached, and the fact that the Attorney-General is involved suggests to me that the White House is up to its neck in it. I wasn’t even sure Ellen would be safe once the vote in the Senate comes down tomorrow. So I went to see her, and we talked it over, and she mentioned that you two go back a long way, and that she trusted you, and we decided to pull this stunt. Maybe we’re out of line but, to be honest, Director, I’m out of my league here. I’ve only been on the Joint Chiefs a short time, and I’ve never been a politician. All I know is that the Constitution says one thing, and some of my colleagues are planning something different.’

  ‘We’re all out of our league here, General,’ Lazenby said.

  There was a long silence.

  ‘Director,’ Kelly ventured tentatively. ‘May I say something?’

  Lazenby nodded.

  ‘I had dinner this evening with a friend who’s on the President’s Detail. You remember, she helped us identify the S-Pass in the Benoni investigation?’

  ‘You mean Agent Samuels?’ The Vice President asked.

  ‘Yes, Ma’am. She seemed worried about what was going on in the White House. She didn’t know anything specific, but she said everybody was going crazy, and there was an unusual military presence in the grounds for no obvious reason. Nobody was aware of any operation going on, but there were armed officers all over the place. General, do you know of any operation taking place which might explain that?’

  ‘None that I know of,’ Gutierrez said. ‘Did she say which branch?’

  ‘Marines, mostly.’

  ‘That bastard, Hessler,’ Gutierrez snarled. ‘He’s up to something.’

  With a massive effort, Lazenby pulled himself up in his chair.

  ‘All right. Raul, you said that Hessler and McGarry voted in favor of the doctrine, and Terrell voted with you. Is that right?’

  ‘Yes. But I wouldn’t bet on Terrell holding firm. I think he might bend under pressure. God only knows what Dick Latham told the President.’

  ‘How in God’s name did Steve Wade even get into the position of calling such a meeting?’ Lazenby asked. ‘It’s beyond belief. Has the man totally lost it?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Ellen replied. ‘But I could tell something was up when I was over there yesterday. I was supposed to meet with him to discuss a transition plan. It’s getting urgent. The meeting had already been rescheduled several times. I couldn’t get in to see him. I couldn’t get past Martha Graylor and Steffie Walinsky. There’s something going on, that’s for sure. And, whatever it is, they’re not going to let me in on it.’

  ‘They, being who?’ Lazenby asked.

  ‘I was told Steve was meeting with Dick Latham, that’s all I know. Martha advised me to go home and wait it out. Ted, you know Dick better than I do. Would you think he would involve himself in an intrigue like this?’

  Lazenby shook his head. ‘Not in a million years.’

  ‘And you haven’t heard anything about this before now?’

  ‘Not a word, Ellen, I swear to you.’

  ‘So, now what?’ the Vice President asked.

  Lazenby shrugged.

  ‘Well, let’s see. We have a President who’s about to be impeached, and we have at least two of the Joint Chiefs saying he shouldn’t be removed from office, and maybe it’s their job to make sure he isn’t removed. We also have carefully-orchestrated riots going on in support of the President across the country, and a large number of concerned citizens making their way to Washington to voice their opinion on the matter. What we have here is the makings of a monumental fuck-up.’

  ‘What we have here, Director,’ Raul Gutierrez said quietly, ‘is the makings of the second American Civil War.’

  42

  JOHN MASON SMILED at his visitor.

  ‘You look like you could use a drink,’ he said graciously. ‘Come and sit down.’

  The Wilson Foundation was officially closed for the evening, and its director was alone in the boardroom. He had no intention of going home, at least not yet. The Senate was getting close to voting on the impeachment of President Steve Wade, and Mason wanted to know what the tally was going to be. He had Selvey on standby to leak the information to Mary Sullivan without delay, so that any statement by Steve Wade would be pre-empted by whatever spin he, John Mason, chose to put on it. It was a moment he had been anticipating for some weeks, and at last it had arrived.

  ‘Thank you. I don’t mind if I do. It’s been a long day,’ Senator Joe O’Brien said, seating himself in one of the comfortable leather chairs around the conference table.

  Mason poured the senator a stiff scotch whisky, exactly as he liked it. He placed the drink in front of O’Brien, walked around the table and sat opposite.

  ‘From what you said on the phone, it sounds like we’re in business.’

  O’Brien gratefully took a deep drink of the scotch, nodding.

  ‘It was touch and go until today, despite what they’ve been saying in the papers. The White House has been fighting tooth and nail. Dick Latham has been telephoning their people non-stop, trying to buy them, even threatening them in some cases, so I hear. But it hasn’t been enough, John. Too many of their people are thoroughly disgusted with Wade. They’ve decided it’s time for him to go. I made a final check this evening. We’re six or seven votes over the two-thirds we need. Wade is history.’<
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  Mason nodded with satisfaction.

  ‘In that case,’ he said, ‘I believe I’ll join you.’

  He returned to the wet bar and poured himself a generous bourbon over ice.

  ‘I have arrangements in hand to make sure we have the attention of the press, just so they give the thing proper coverage,’ he said contentedly on his way back to his seat. ‘Just as we discussed. No attribution, of course. All from sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.’

  O’Brien drank again. ‘Good. I just hope to God we can keep George Stanley quiet until your people have had the chance to put everything in place.’

  ‘I think we can. I had a long talk with him this morning. I think he understands how important it is. Joe, when do you expect the actual vote? On the Six O’Clock News they were saying tomorrow morning.’

  ‘Afternoon, more like. We still have a couple of Wade die-hards to listen to, but I’m pretty sure it will be over by mid-afternoon.’

  ‘And you’re sure it’s solid?’

  ‘It’s solid. I wouldn’t have told you so otherwise.’

  ‘Outstanding,’ Mason replied. ‘Then I’ll try to stop worrying.’

  O’Brien put down his drink.

  ‘Well, I hope that’s not premature,’ he said slowly. ‘Actually, John, I wanted to ask you something. Perhaps it’s nothing, but it concerns me.’

  ‘Of course, Senator. Shoot.’

  O’Brien seemed hesitant.

  ‘Do we have any… does your source know anything about all these riots that have been going on?’

  Mason smiled.

  ‘What’s the matter, Joe? Getting nervous about your constituency? Look, it’s a tempest in a tea cup. Once Wade is out of the picture, we will be waging war on Ellen Trevathan. Trying to find out how much she knew about all this, and when she knew it. That should be more than enough to take the pressure off you guys. By the time the next election comes around, they will have forgotten that Steve Wade ever existed. The public has a short attention-span, Joe. The timing of all this couldn’t be better.’

  The Senator put his hands on the table in front of him.

  ‘John, I’m worried. When I left the Senate office building earlier this evening, there was a crowd starting to build outside. My driver had to go pretty slow to get through them. They were pretty rough-looking types, too. I felt threatened.’

  Mason sipped his bourbon thoughtfully.

  ‘How many?’ he asked.

  ‘Difficult to say. I didn’t see any more than a hundred or so, I would guess, but I didn’t go the whole way round the building.’

  ‘What were they doing?’

  ‘Just standing around, nothing in particular, you know. Looking at everyone coming out of the building, or going in.’

  ‘What about the police?’

  ‘There were a few on horseback, one or two cars, about the same as usual. That was it.’

  ‘Well, if they thought there was a real problem, they would be out in force, I’m sure. Look, if you’re worried about it, why don’t you have your office call Chief Bryson tomorrow?’

  ‘What can Bryson do about it? I didn’t see anyone doing anything against the law. They’re entitled to be there, as far as I know.’

  ‘They can protect the legislature from harassment. Bryson could clear them out if he wanted to. Perhaps he doesn’t think they have anything to do with the riots. Have your people keep an eye on them over the next day or two. Assuming they’re still around. They will probably have gone home by the time you show up tomorrow.’

  Senator O’Brien walked towards the wet bar to freshen his drink, without being asked.

  ‘Well, that’s the thing, actually, John. I don’t believe they will be gone. I’m not sure why. But they just had the look of people who might be around for a while.’

  He paused, before walking back to his seat. ‘John, look, what I wanted to ask is, this has nothing to do with us, right?’

  ‘No,’ Mason said firmly. ‘But I’ll find out if my source knows anything.’

  * * *

  From the top of the Capitol steps, George Carlson and Dan Rogers kept track of the arrival of the crowd. Using mobile phones, they contacted colleagues stationed along the Mall and around the Monuments, with the object of covering as large an area as possible while attracting the minimum attention from the growing number of police officers. Incoming calls kept them advised about the influx of protesters into Washington from across the country. This was being closely coordinated, and the protesters were being ordered to spread out as far as possible along the various routes into the city. Soon, they would occupy almost all the space around the centers of the United States Government. It would be like the anti-war demonstrations of the 1960s, or the Million Man March. Although he despised those particular demonstrations, Carlson had no doubt of the power such a concentration of people could wield. Unlike those earlier demonstrators, his people would be armed. And it was almost too late for the authorities to stop them. The beauty of it was that they were not arriving in huge numbers, just a slow, steady trickle of people, spreading themselves out over a large area, almost too gradually for anyone to notice. That was the plan, anyway. He needed just a few more hours.

  ‘Make sure you tell them to keep all weapons out of sight,’ Carlson reminded Rogers. ‘The police are on to us. There are more of the bastards every time I look.’

  ‘Yeah? Well, they’re too late, aren’t they, George?’ Rogers replied. ‘We’re here now. Enough of us.’

  ‘Almost. And there’ll be a lot more by tomorrow. Fox wants to make sure they’re all in place by the time the vote is taken. We go into action as soon as it’s announced.’

  ‘And Fox is sure the vote is going to be tomorrow?’

  ‘That’s what he said.’

  ‘Well, I just hope he’s right, that’s all. The last thing we need is a fight with the law before we’re ready.’

  ‘That’s why we need our people to keep calm, Dan. Not do anything to cause trouble. Especially, no weapons on show.’

  Rogers surveyed the crowd anxiously.

  ‘It’s not our people I’m worried about, George. We know they’re disciplined. The same goes for units from the other groups, as far as I know. But a lot of these people…’

  ‘May not be attached to the groups, yeah, I know,’ Carlson said. ‘It’s a bigger crowd than I’d been expecting.’

  ‘Who knows who the hell they are, where the hell they come from?’ Rogers asked. ‘They could be Fox’s people, or they could just be trouble-makers, who thought it would be fun to bring the riots to Washington.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘When is Fox going to call again?’

  ‘Soon.’

  Unseen by Carlson and Rogers, a man wearing a black, leather jacket standing nearby turned his back to them and made a telephone call of his own. He was a member of the FBI team which had followed the leaders of the Oregon compound all the way to Washington.

  * * *

  Frank Worley, Chief of Staff to Senator Joe O’Brien, spent several anxious minutes tossing his mobile phone nervously from hand to hand before he decided to make the call. He was sitting in the Senator’s limousine outside the Wilson Foundation, waiting for his boss to return. They were due to have dinner with a group of lobbyists from back home in Minnesota to discuss the possibility of finding funding for some lucrative projects in the Senator’s home State. Not Frank’s idea of a fun evening, but it was all part of the job. Frank had sent the Senator’s driver for coffee while he thought it over. He was troubled by the thought that what he was about to do might somehow be disloyal, but he had never been comfortable with what went on inside the Committee. Politics was one thing, but playing the kind of games he suspected the Committee of playing was another. Not that he would ever set foot in the Wilson Foundation himself. Even as Chief of Staff, he was excluded from meetings at that level. But he had access to enough information to put two and two together, and what he knew disturbed him.
He was also disturbed by what he had seen as they had driven from the Russell Senate Office building. He suspected that Senator O’Brien was troubled too, though he had been typically guarded and had made only a passing comment about layabouts who had nothing better to do. Frank had to decide. The Senator or his driver would be back at any moment. He placed the call.

  ‘Smith’, a familiar voice said.

  ‘Kelly… it’s Frank.’

  Kelly took the call during a period of silence in Ted Lazenby’s office, one of several such periods when no one seemed to know what to say next. She was still profoundly shaken by what Raul Gutierrez had revealed about the Williamsburg Doctrine and, in her state of disorientation, Frank was the last person she was expecting to hear from. Her initial reaction was one of irritation.

  ‘Frank…?’

  ‘Yes, I need to talk, Kelly.’

  Kelly shook her head. ‘I can’t talk now.’

  ‘Kelly, please. It’s important.’

  She turned to Lazenby. ‘I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.’

  She saw Jeff look inquiringly at her and walked quickly out of the room. She leaned against the wall.

  ‘Frank, this isn’t the time. I have too much going on…’

  ‘Kelly, it has nothing to do with us. There’s something I need to tell you.’

  ‘About what?’

  He hesitated. ‘It’s about the riots.’

  Kelly’s mind suddenly focused. ‘What about the riots?’

  ‘Look, I’m not sure, and I only have a minute or two. I’m waiting for Senator O’Brien, and I don’t know when he will be back. But when we left the Russell Building tonight, it looked like there was a crowd beginning to build. Even the Senator was nervous about it. I think it has something to do with the impeachment. I thought you ought to know.’

  Kelly bit her lip, uncertain of how much to say.

  ‘Frank, look, I appreciate your calling, but…’

  ‘Kelly, that’s not all…’

  He bit his lip. This was it. It was now or never.

  ‘I think there’s more to it than meets the eye. Have you heard of the Committee?’

  ‘The Committee?’