the end of the library and not wanting the young man to be exposed to what a folder on the President might contain.
‘I get paid for this now,’ Corey said, giving Kate a grin and writing down a series of code words that would get Curtis back into the systems. ‘As long as you’re careful not to change anything they probably won’t notice you’ve been in there, although if Ferraro is the only one that opens some of these files, the date/time group for the last usage could alert him.’ With that Corey headed back towards the basement.
‘Jesus Christ!’ Curtis muttered. The bribes to the then Vice President Bolton ran into the tens of millions, all directed to a bank in the Bahamas. Curtis clicked on a subfolder headed ‘Meetings’ and opened the most recent file. The audio took a few seconds to spool up but the voices of Bolton and Richard Halliwell were unmistakable.
CHAPTER 90
T om McNamara shook his head in disbelief after Curtis had shown him the bank accounts and played the tape of the conversation. In a career spanning nearly forty years, McNamara had seen President Nixon resign before he was impeached for criminal conduct and he’d seen Vice President Spiro Agnew resign over corruption. For McNamara, corruption in high office was nothing new, it had been going on since the dawn of time, but the sheer magnitude of the payments to Bolton made Nixon and Agnew look like amateurs.
‘Well, I suppose if you’re going to rob a bank, you might as well rob a big one,’ McNamara said cynically.
‘It’s not the bribes I’m worried about, Tom, it’s the conspiracy to attack the Chinese in Beijing and murder half the human race in the process. In a few days time, Beijing’s Capitol Airport will be handling more than eighty aircraft an hour. And at the end of the Games we might be faced with Ebolapox being transported to hundreds of thousands of cities and towns as people return home.’
‘Every time I think I’ve seen everything in politics, some power hungry asshole proves me wrong and from what Professor Sayed and Dr Braithwaite have told us, Dolinsky was a lot further down the track than we thought. Where’s Halliwell at the moment?’
‘Campaigning in Louisiana. Kate says he’s due back the day after tomorrow.’
‘And the Ebolapox?’
‘Ferraro alias al-Falid left for Beijing yesterday and although he wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and get vials of a deadly virus through an airport, or I hope he wouldn’t, I’ve scrambled one of our jets. Imran’s got some debriefing to do at the UN, so I’ve sent Braithwaite down to Atlanta to check it’s all still there in the Halliwell vaults. This is every bit as dangerous as you and I thought it would be.’
‘I think Imran’s right. We should shut this fucking Ebolapox program down immediately,’ Tom said, angry at the short-sightedness of those who’d refused to destroy the smallpox stocks when they’d had the chance. ‘Although that’s only half the problem. After we’ve arrested Halliwell, all hell’s going to break loose because it will just about sink the Republicans. Given wunderkind’s relationship with the President,’ Tom said, looking up towards the seventh floor, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they try and find a way of keeping this quiet until after the election. As for arresting the President…’
‘Impeachment?’
‘That’s what it will come down to, but can you imagine the impact of a trial in the Senate? Thanks to our “bomb now, ask questions later” foreign policy, not to mention the conviction in some quarters that God is on our side, somewhere in the world, someone burns one of our flags every day of the fucking week. I’m not one for covering up the stinking cesspits some of our politicians swim in, but if it ever comes out that the American President was part of a plot to poison half the world’s population, Islam versus the West will go into meltdown.’
‘I think you’re right,’ Curtis agreed. ‘The fact that he wasn’t President at the time is not going to save us, although I have a suggestion. Before you go up to the seventh floor and give them a chance to put the lid on this, there is one man on the Hill we can trust.’
‘Name him,’ Tom responded grumpily, ‘or is it a her?’
Curtis grinned, ignoring the bait. ‘Professor Sayed is very good friends with the Speaker of the House.’
‘Didn’t you say Speaker Burton is Halliwell’s father-in-law?’
‘Even if his daughter is up to her neck in this, and I suspect she hasn’t the faintest idea what her psychopathic husband’s been up to, he wouldn’t flinch. More importantly, he might have an insight into how best to handle this. Davis Burton is a man of great principle and a Vietnam veteran.’
Tom nodded. ‘I remember, Congressional Medal of Honour when his platoon bumped into 200 VC on a track in the jungle. Very cool under fire and effectively saved their lives.’ Tom McNamara looked thoughtful. It was a risk, but he’d been in that business all his life. Wunderkind could wait a little while longer. ‘Twenty-four hours long enough?’ was all he said.
CHAPTER 91
R andy Baker’s ears pricked up as the young congressional page in the House Speaker’s Office watched the flurry of activity around the Speaker’s personal secretary. Appointments for meetings with some of the most powerful people in Washington were being rescheduled at very short notice and that could only mean something of importance. Baker was surprised when they introduced themselves. He’d never heard of a Professor Sayed or a Curtis O’Connor but in a moment they were hurried into the Speaker’s Office.
‘I must admit,’ Davis Burton said solemnly after Curtis had played the tape and briefed him on the possibility of a cover-up, ‘this is arguably the gravest constitutional crisis the United States has ever faced. And I mean no disrespect, gentlemen, but if you hadn’t brought that recording with you I would have found it hard to believe,’ he added. ‘Although it wouldn’t be the first time men in high office have been seduced by power and money.’
‘I think Tom McNamara and Curtis are right though, Davis,’ Imran responded. ‘I’m not one for covering things up either, but exposure of the President’s involvement in something the magnitude of the Beijing conspiracy would do immense harm, not only to the United States, but to other nations around the world. The economic implications would make the Wall Street crash of 1929 look like a small bump in the road and anti-western sentiment would explode. This is one of those rare occasions when disclosure is not in the public interest. The trouble is, Davis, if Bolton is impeached – and he clearly should be – I don’t see how you and your colleagues can prevent it from becoming public.’
The great southern statesman was silent, wondering how he might deal with the crisis in a way that would best serve his nation and the wider world.
‘Not only that,’ Curtis added, ‘if I understand the impeachment process correctly, President Bolton would continue to act as President until the Senate decides he’s guilty or they acquit him. We can’t just bowl in to the Oval Office and arrest the President.’
‘If this was not so real it would be the stuff of movies,’ Davis Burton said. ‘You’ve actually given me an idea. It will depend on whether I can get my colleagues on side. It will be important for them all to remain silent until we’re prepared to act. There is a little-known section of the Constitution that allows just one person in this country to arrest the President. But you’re right,’ he added, ‘it would be unwise to attempt that in the Oval Office.’
It was a very risky strategy and one that could only be justified by the extraordinary circumstances that prevailed when a President or Vice President became involved in criminal activities.
As soon as Burton’s visitors had left, Randy Baker became even more intrigued. All of the Speaker’s appointments were suddenly cancelled. Randy wandered down the corridor to find a quiet place to use the mobile phone his generous mentor had provided. He felt a surge of excitement. Politics was where it was at and he knew that this was going to be a very exciting career.
