As he spoke, Robert felt an absurd sense of the anticlimactic. Robert’s newly discovered evidence suddenly seemed thin...predictable. Sitting next to his father made him feel like he was giving a book report to a teacher—a teacher who had read the book many times before. The President wasn’t responding as though he was surprised at any of Robert’s statements.
“So, you could go forward with charges?” The President was asking.
“Against Senator Farrell, NSA Director Karlovich, and Dr. Torrance, yes, Sir.” Robert nodded. “We have enough to indict, even perhaps to convict, but I haven’t had time to thoroughly investigate. This is the beginning, but it’s clear that we’ve located key individuals involved in the operation.”
“Are we sure that Karlovich and the others were aware that they were involved in an operation to compromise the OPOV system?” The President probed.
“They had to know that they were compromising security, Sir, but the extent of their knowledge was probably limited to their portion of the undertaking. Certainly Senator Farrell knew, but according to what we’ve discovered, he was more interested in supplementing his lifestyle than in issues of national security. They all seemed to have received payoffs, or had been threatened in some way. These people didn’t initiate the actions themselves. Ultimately we will have to make our arrests to find out how they were originally recruited, and by whom. The odds are that anyone under the level of the NSA Director doesn’t know who was at the top.”
“What about OPOV? Was the system compromised?” The President asked directly.
“Yes, sir, the indications are good that the system has been seriously compromised. Now that we have the perpetrators I’m sure we can repair the system, and get started again.” Robert proposed Gregg’s stipulated requests as his own. “I would say an investigation of OPOV election fraud by the House Committee on Rules would make sense. Perhaps they should ask Homeland Security to look into its cyber-security viability.”
“A good idea.” The president looked pleased. “See that your office puts forth a formal recommendation to that effect. Karlovich and Torrance are part of the NSA programming team?”
“Yes, sir. Karlovich is the Director, and Torrance is a key programmer. Both are directly involved. It’s more than a casual security break. Only the best talents could have spotted it, even when knowing what to look for.”
The President thought about it for a while. “I tell you what, Robert: the vote is Tuesday, so you’re going to have to write up a statement for the press. State everything as ‘persons to be named, since the investigation is underway’—you know the approach. We’ll use today’s press meeting. Put in just enough detail to make halting the scheduled vote the right thing to do. Give the statement to my secretary. I’ll have my guys tweak it. When will you make arrests?”
“As soon as we can get the warrants. We should be able to accomplish it today—tomorrow at the latest, with arrests following immediately.” Robert answered.
“Good. Keep me posted.” The President stood, signaling the end of the meeting. Robert and his father also stood.
Robert’s father offered his hand to Robert with a broad smile.
“Proud of you, Son.” He said. “You really came up to scratch on this one.”
Robert barely made eye contact with his father. He was still wondering why the President had discussed this with his father in the room. Robert was also trying to sort out why the President was so quickly ordering a shutdown of OPOV. It had been his “baby” from the start. Robert had thought he’d want to know if a patch job would be possible, so that the vote could continue.
The President put an arm around Robert’s shoulder, and walked him toward the door. “You’ve done a great job, Robert. I won’t forget it.” With that he closed the door behind him. Robert’s father stayed in the office.
Chapter 74
There was, in fact, no meeting with the Chief of Staff. Instead the Press Secretary worked with Robert and Jerry to put together the press announcement for the President. They were careful to indicate the importance of the situation with regard to the OPOV system, but revealed no key details, and no names. After reading it three times, they left it with the President’s secretary. In the Deputy’s office they received a full update from the Secret Service team leader on what had happened over the past twenty-four hours, including the car explosion. ID on Carey had confirmed he was driving, and there were not two, but three bodies in the car. Two had been in the trunk.
“Are you kidding?” Robert asked, unbelieving and dismayed.
“No, Sir.” The team leader continued, “A man and a woman were in the trunk. We have no ID on the bodies, yet.”
“That news may impact another problem I’m looking into.” Robert paused, trying to think of the implications this might have for his investigation. “Let me know what your team uncovers.”
“Yes, Sir.” The man told him.
That was when it hit him. Neither the President nor his father had asked about the car explosion.
Robert and Jerry started to head back to their building, but concluded that there was not quite enough time to make that practical before the press meeting.
The ball was already rolling. While Robert had talked with the President, Jerry had used the secure lines to assign his team the problem of getting warrants for Farrell, Karlovich, and Torrance. Now in the pressroom waiting area, Robert and Jerry were both making follow-up calls. Federal Marshals would serve the Karlovich and Torrance warrants. Farrell would require special handling. Robert was making calls to facilitate this delicate, non-public arrest. Robert began feeling better, since he could at last take some action.
Once the calls stopped, Robert had a few minutes to reflect. Something was bothering him. He hashed and rehashed the week. His elation at getting the information from Gregg was fading. The adrenaline rush from talking to the President passed. He slowly came to the conclusion that he’d missed some key point. Something was wrong with this whole picture. He knew he didn’t completely understand Gregg’s involvement, but something else was wrong. He tried to figure out how Farrell might have masterminded this project. The evidence from Gregg made Farrell look like the big fish, but Farrell had dished the same type of dirt on Gregg. Could either of them really have the connections to have Chris killed, and to arrange Grady’s death? Assassins weren’t generally listed for hire in the yellow pages, or on the internet. He rethought that; maybe one could find an assassin on the internet, but wasn’t it a huge risk to hire anyone for a job like that?
The files had shown that Farrell and Karlovich had some large bank accounts aside from their personal accounts, directly and indirectly grown from what looked like subversive groups’ deposits. They’d have to spend some time tracing those, but Robert wondered whether Farrell’s expensive habits had been enough to make him a target for insurgents, or if Farrell was the one with an agenda. Farrell hadn’t been a supporter of the President, so it was possible that he’d intended to damage his credibility by corrupting OPOV. Some of Farrell’s colleagues would have found that useful. But Gregg was no fan of Baxter, either, Robert reflected.
Torrance was a weak link in the chain, when it came to money. He didn’t have a bank account swelled by strange deposits. He appeared to have been threatened in some way. Robert would have to investigate that further.
He checked in with Lorraine. “Any messages?”
“Yes, you just got a call from Colonel Barlow.” She gave Robert the number. Robert didn’t wait for the rest of his messages. He hung up, and began dialing.
“Robert?” Grady answered cheerfully.
“Grady?” Robert answered. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m back in DC, and I’m about to get on the Metro to your office. I’ve got to tell you what we found.”
“Wait,” Robert stopped him. “Where have you been? What’s happened?”
“We can talk about that later, over a beer. You’re buying.” Grady responded.
“Fine, but if you’re here, you must have found something important.” Robert said.
“I did.” Grady said firmly. “I can tell you in the office.”
“No time for that. I’m not there now.” Robert said as he looked at the clock. There were only a few minutes left before the press conference. He decided to take a chance.
“I need to know now, Grady—it can’t wait.”
“Get a pen. I’m on a brand new cell phone I just bought from a machine here at the station, so I hope that helps.” Grady walked to a quieter spot in the station that still had a signal, and laid out the information to Robert. “OPOV has been manipulated to report fake vote counts, Robert. It can increase or decrease them by any ratio, depending on what the guys behind this want.” He briefly explained what McGarrity’s team had discovered. “There’s more, Robert. “The link in all of this is the activation code that drives the whole system.” Grady took a deep breath. “You know how all the networks, like the Senate and House systems, won’t let anyone use the same code twice?”
“Sure, our system is set up the same way.” Robert confirmed. “That’s standard.”
Grady stopped talking as a man walked close by him, then continued, “The activation code used to break into OPOV is Senator Tom Baxter’s six-year old password.” Grady paused. He let Robert take that in before moving on. “Robert, either the President’s involved, or someone awfully close to him is. It’s unlikely that his code would be stolen. The list of old passwords is quite definitely not public. It must be him, or someone intimately involved with him. Whichever it is, you need to watch your back.”
“Was it the President’s, I mean the Senator’s personal password?” Robert asked quickly.
“It was his official access password to the Senate network. My guys can only see it because it is supposed to be inactive, and one of them was involved in the design of that program. Even at that, they had to break in to get it. I can’t imagine anyone letting someone use an important password like that. So like I said...watch your back.”
“Can you get a hard copy of any of this?” Robert queried. He knew this was dangerous ground, but he had to have the hard evidence.
“Already did, I’m on my way with it, so I’d better get moving.” Grady answered, sounding ready to hang up. “I need to stay in a secure area as much as possible.”
“More trouble?”
“You have no idea how much more.”
“Wait a minute. Why are you in DC? What about laying low?” Robert asked.
“Didn’t work worth a damn. So, I decided to man-up, and get this job done. See you at your office.” Grady hung up the phone.
Holding the disconnected phone in his hand, Robert fleetingly wondered what had made Grady decide to come out of hiding. He didn’t have much time to dwell on the thought. He had to decide what to do about Grady’s information.
President Baxter’s former password being used to infiltrate the security on OPOV made everything more complicated. The scenarios racing through Robert’s mind were politically dangerous. The President would be furious if it was made public that his password had been used in this way. Robert could easily imagine how, as a Senator, Baxter might have been sloppy about giving someone on his staff the password. Discovering, quietly and quickly, who had used the password was essential. Robert had to do something, but what and how, he wasn’t sure.
Robert grabbed Gregg’s folders and looked again through the information on Farrell, Karlovich, Torrance, and Stoker, carefully reading each detail. The material in the folders was damning, and not all of it was related to OPOV. Drugs, payoffs, prostitutes, lobbyist influences, and extortion were all tools Farrell had used in high-level political deal making. Farrell had links to some important names—the President would have to be consulted about some of them. Farrell’s manipulations to control OPOV were clear. The President was going to get a very visible scapegoat out of this, unless Farrell was able to cut a deal.
Stoker was dead, but it hurt Robert to know that his name would be publicly trashed. He winced as he read of Chris’ involvement, but it was small compared to the others. His family would suffer a little shame, and the confiscation of a secret bank account that they probably knew nothing about. Maybe Chris hadn’t known, either. The links looked strong on paper, but why would Chris blow the whistle on something he was involved in? It was possible that Chris had been set up to look guilty after he’d discovered and leaked the information on the conspiracy. Robert hoped that was what had happened, and that the evidence would clear Chris as they investigated.
Robert glanced one more time over the material to find something that made a link to Baxter’s password understandable. He knew that the odds of someone accidentally duplicating the six-year-old password were extraordinarily remote.
Six years before those passwords had been required to have random capitals, lowercase letters, and numbers. Even if they were based on something easily remembered the odds were hugely against random discovery. The system had required a change to the password every three months, with no duplications. Most people ran out of ideas for passwords within a year or two. So the passwords became less personal, and more obscure over time. Security regularly swept all offices, so the chance of it being discovered on a sticky note under the desk was remote. Unless Baxter had broken the rules and given it to someone, the most likely scenario was that it had been stolen. This pointed to an insider within the then Senator’s office.
An assistant to the Press Secretary came out to lead Robert and Jerry to the hallway outside the pressroom. They now stood watching the Presidential Seal come up on the monitors. The Press Secretary walked up to Robert’s shoulder.
“Thank you for coming.” He told him. “I’ll need you to stand over here.”
Robert was surprised to be ushered onto the elevated platform. He was shown where to stand, just behind the President’s right shoulder, opposite the press secretary.
The press secretary stepped forward to introduce the President. “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
The press corps stood as the President walked in confidently, briefly shaking Robert’s hand before taking command of the podium.
“Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here.” The President began. The press took their seats following his gesture to sit down. “As you know, my administration has fought hard to put the ‘One Person, One Vote’ system in place. It has been my personal mission to bring each and every citizen direct access to government deliberations through voting. I believe in following the framers of our Constitution’s intention to support every citizen’s right to be heard, but which, until now, resulted in representation that didn’t always reflect public interest. We’ve worked hard to put a more direct voting system in place. This easily accessible method of voting has been designed to put the public’s wishes before Congress, knock out the lobbyist influence, and to give everyone a voice in their government.
Today I am saddened to inform you that multiple agencies, in cooperation with the Department of Justice, have uncovered an attempt to undermine that system. Key perpetrators have been identified, and are being taken into custody. It is unfortunate that this crime will delay the One Person, One Vote system. This is disappointing to all of us. Be assured, we will not rest until we deliver to all citizens the kind of voting that belongs in the greatest democracy in the world. Now, I’ll take a few questions.”
He pointed to the sixth chair. “Yes, Mary.”
Mary Rutherford was a favorite with the President, and a long-time White House correspondent. “Thank you Mr. President. Is it true that this announcement comes as part of an investigation initiated by the Justice Department, and that as a result you have named Robert Carlton as Deputy Attorney General?” The question was obviously planted. Robert was reeling. He’d worried the President might direct some questions to him since he was on the stage, but this was completely unexpected.
“Yes,” the President beamed. “Mr.
Carlton discovered the breach, and immediately brought it to my personal attention. His efforts have been unparalleled in uncovering the perpetrators of this crime against the citizens of this country, and in protecting our rights. Come up here, Robert.”
Robert tried to maintain his composure in spite of the multiple shocks he had received in the last few hours. His pulse was out the roof. He knew his hands were visibly shaking, so he had been holding them together. Robert quickly hid his left behind him as he accepted the President’s handshake firmly for the cameras. They both smiled. Robert marveled at how steady the President’s hands were as he grabbed Robert’s forearm for a double handshake, stabilizing Robert from head to toe.
“It is my pleasure to announce that Robert Carlton will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General immediately. His leadership and resolve will continue to protect our country. His team will continue to bring offenders to justice, under the auspices of Attorney General Jack Crain. We couldn’t have done it without you, Robert.” Robert suddenly realized that Jack had come in behind him, and had also stepped forward to shake Robert’s hand. He and Jack automatically stepped back as the President turned back to the podium.
In all the turmoil, Robert had completely missed the public announcement of Jack Crain’s appointment to Attorney General. Tracie would be livid at Robert’s failure to be the first to congratulate Jack.
“Next question,” The President was saying, pointing to another reporter in the crowd.
“Mr. President, can you confirm that a high ranking director at the National Security Agency has been named in the OPOV investigation, and that a warrant has been issued for his arrest?”
Another shock shook Robert. He had not released that information, nor would he have done so. This would put Karlovich on the defensive before they had time to issue a warrant. Had this question been planted, as well?
One Man Two Votes (The Robert Carlton Series Book 1) Page 40