Removal

by Murphy, Peter

  * * *

  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.’

  54

  LINDA SAMUELS 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 himse
lf, 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.

  ‘If I understand you, Sir,’ he began, ‘your reason for wanting to remain in power is because that’s what the people want. You’re popular, you were elected to a second term in office, you should be allowed to finish it. Am I correct? I mean, is that what we should report to Ellen Trevathan?’

  Kelly looked closely at Wade, and saw him connect with Jeff. ‘Attaboy, Jeff,’ she said to herself.

  ‘That, plus the fact that I did nothing wrong,’ Wade replied.

  ‘And all those people out there at the Capitol? I don’t mean General Hessler’s Marines, but all those people who are out there protesting? That’s a spontaneous demonstration by the people, to show how much they care, to show that they want to keep you in power?’

  ‘Certainly. What else?’

  Kelly looked at Linda, who was suddenly looking pale.

  ‘The Director was claiming, Mr. President,’ Linda said, ‘that…’

  Wade turned to face her.

  ‘Who was claiming?’ he demanded.

  ‘The… I’m sorry, Agent Smith,’ Linda replied nervously. ‘Agent Smith was claiming that the people supporting you at the Capitol are thugs organized by a white supremacist group. I pointed out that she was wrong, of course. But it might help to move things along if you would confirm that personally, you know, just so that we can get past it and move on.’

  Wade laughed again.

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ he said. ‘You see how much you people need me? You see how naïve you’re being? What does it matter who they are? What does it matter what groups they may be members of? They are the people, and they are about to ensure that the will of the people is carried out.’

  ‘You mean, they’re there to intimidate the Senate into taking another vote, this time to keep you in office?’ Kelly interposed.

  ‘That would not be my choice of language,’ Wade said, with a nod in Kelly’s direction. ‘But essentially, that’s what the people seem to have set out to achieve. And I’m sure you will agree that whatever agents the people may choose to act in this matter, those agents are acting on behalf of the people. The people want me, Miss Smith, and the people need me. That is why I cannot leave. The people will not allow me to leave.’

  Wade began to laugh quietly. Everyone else remained silent.

  ‘Mr. President,’ Linda said. ‘Before I go on with the negotiation, there’s one thing I need to know. Can you deny for us that you played any role in bringing white supremacists to Washington in advance of your impeachment?’

  Wade did not respond immediately, but continued to laugh to himself. Linda looked anxiously at Gary Mills, but he did not seem to want to make eye-contact. Eventually, Wade appeared to consider the question.

  ‘I wanted to make sure that the people were heard,’ he replied. ‘That’s all. I don’t handle the details. That’s up to Hessler. I’m the President of the United States, for God’s sake.’

  Linda had risen slowly to her feet. Her manner was serious and intense.

  ‘And is it also true that these white supremacists are the same people who were involved with the Lebanese agent, Hamid Marfrela?’

  Steve Wade threw his hands in the air in apparent exasperation.

  ‘Whoever the fuck Hamid Marfrela was,’ he replied to the room at large. ‘I keep telling you I didn’t know him. Why won’t anybody believe me?’

  ‘Yeah, imagine that,’ Jeff Morris muttered.

  Kelly took a deep breath. It was time to roll the dice.

  ‘All right,’ she said, as authoritatively as she could. ‘Before we go any further, Mr. Wade, I have to advise you that I have a warrant for your arrest…’

  Jeff’s eyes opened wide as he turned to face her.

  ‘What?’ Gary Mills shouted, in disbelief.

  ‘The charge is one of treason. I have a duty to advise you that you have certain rights. You have the right to remain silent…’

  ‘Oh, for Christ’s sake,’ Gary shouted.

  ‘If you give up that right, anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law.’

  Steve Wade threw his head back, laughing hysterically. Linda remained completely silent.

  ‘You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney…’

  Abruptly, Wade stopped laughing.

  ‘I have a goddamned attorney,’ he shouted, ‘and much good it’s done me. You want me to answer your question, Agent Smith? OK, I’ll answer it.’

  ‘Mr. President,’ Gary Mills interrupted, ‘perhaps you should…’

  Wade brought his fist crashing down on to the table.

  ‘I’ll answer,’ Wade repeated. Suddenly, he dropped his voice, appearing calmer. ‘After all, it’s not going to make any difference.’

  Kelly suddenly became very cold again. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked.

  Wade snorted. ‘You’re not going to be able to execute your warrant, Agent Smith, and you’re not going to be in any position to repeat anything I might say to any court.’

  Kelly felt Linda look across at her.

  ‘I’m sorry, what exactly do you mean, Mr. President?’ Linda asked.

  Wade shifted a little in his seat.

  ‘It wasn’t my choice,’ he ventured, almost sounding apologetic. ‘It was Hessler’s decision. He said it would be insecure to let the two of you leave. It’s an operational matter. I have to leave that kind of decision to him. It’s nothing personal, you understand.’

  Instinctively, Kelly’s hand moved to where her side-arm should have been. She tried to withdraw it without being noticed. As she did so, she noticed that Linda’s face had turned from pale to deathly white.

  ‘Kelly,’ Linda said, ‘I swear to you by all I hold sacred, I had no idea…’

  ‘I know,’ Kelly replied.

  Linda turned back to face Steve Wade.

  ‘It’s true, isn’t it?’ Linda asked quietly. ‘You used those people, those white supremacists or whatever the hell they are, to try to stay in power. You and Hessler.’

  ‘I don’t care who I have to use,’ Wade shouted. ‘Why can’t you people understand that? Who cares whether it’s the Lebanese, or the Sons of the Flag, or the Lions Club of America? If they can help do the will of the people, yes, I will use them.’

  ‘You’ve lost your mind.’

  ‘Perhaps I have, Agent Samuels. But I’m still the President.’

  Linda had stopped listening to him. ‘You bastard,’ she continued in the same quiet voice. ‘I went to prison for you.’

  ‘For which I was appropriately grateful.’

  ‘And now it looks like I’ve committed treason for you.’

  ‘Words, Agent Samuels. Hot air. By this time tomorrow, none of this will matter.’

  ‘And, on top of everything else, you’re telling me that you’re going to kill my best f
riend. Is that what you’re telling me?’

  Steve Wade smiled a smile of pure contempt.

  ‘Some people are expendable, Agent Samuels. Including, I’m afraid, you and your best friend, the would-be Director. I’m afraid that’s just the way power works. By this time tomorrow, this whole affair will be over, and none of these little distractions you’re talking about will matter a damn. Not to me, not to anyone else. And if a couple of people had to die along the way because they were foolish enough to become involved in a conspiracy to overthrow me, well, that’s how these things go sometimes.’

  In the terrible silence which followed the final revelation of Steve Wade’s insanity, Kelly saw the whole thing in her mind’s eye before it happened. She made a hopeless effort to push herself up out of her chair. But there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Both Linda Samuels and Gary Mills were far too fast, far too well trained, for anything to be averted. All Kelly could do was watch the events which followed, as if in an endless slow-motion sequence, events which, in actuality, could have taken no more than a couple of seconds. Watch, and uselessly scream Linda’s name. With practiced ease, Linda drew her service weapon and, from a range of just a few feet, placed two shots with clinical accuracy side by side in the middle of Steve Wade’s forehead. Without a sound, Wade slumped backwards in his chair, instantly dead, the force of the bullets not quite enough to topple him out of the chair, but more than enough to detach substantial parts of the back of his head. A mere instant later, true to his training, and without independent thought, Gary Mills drew his own weapon and shot Linda twice in the region of the heart. The gun fell from her hand and, after snatching briefly at the edge of the table, Linda collapsed on to the floor. Kelly at last came out of her chair and fell to her knees, her breath gone, and her eyes beginning to glaze over. Vaguely, she saw Jeff walk over to Gary, who seemed to be standing frozen, as if in shock, and disarm him. Climbing unsteadily to her feet, and holding on to the table for support, she slowly maneuvered herself past the chair containing the body of Steve Wade, to where Linda lay slumped on the floor. Slowly, Kelly lowered herself to kneel by her friend. Shocked and disoriented as she was, one look was enough to tell Kelly that Linda was almost gone. For the last time, Linda opened her eyes. Kelly took her hand and, just for a moment, experienced the false hope of a look of recognition.