“Some of those Democrats like to rattle on about constitutional rights, although sometimes I suspect the men have never actually read the document.” He pushed away from his desk and paced a moment, walking closer to Sobel, pausing at the north end of the room just beside the portrait of George Washington. “What about you, Tracy? What are your thoughts about the amendment?”
“My job is to make your policy reality, sir.”
“Yes, but that wasn’t the question.” He was standing close to her now, close enough that she was forced to look directly into his eyes. He prided himself on his ability to communicate, on his ability to talk to people and make them feel as if they were the only sentient beings in his universe while they talked. That, perhaps more than any other, was the attribute necessary for success in politics, at least in his opinion. He was giving Tracy that look now, and she was probably familiar enough with it to know that he wasn’t going to let her slip away. “I asked you what you thought of this amendment. You, personally.”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me.”
She stared at him a moment, blinked a few times, then answered, “Well, sir, since you asked, I think it’s a very bad idea.”
“And why is that?”
“I believe the Bill of Rights exists for a reason. To protect the people from the state. If we allow those rights to be taken away under any circumstance, we risk losing them forever.”
“Those rights have been suspended many times before when our security was threatened. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. The NSA wiretapped private citizens-”
“Yes, but that was blatantly illegal and unconstitutional, even if they got away with it. It wasn’t done under the color of law. This amendment would change that. It would effectively repeal the Bill of Rights during a time of crisis. If we allow those rights to be taken away in this manner-we may never get them back.”
“I think you’re being a bit melodramatic.”
“Sir, the Founding Fathers-”
“They killed my wife, Tracy!” He took a step back, his elbow resting on the Spanish ivy atop the mantel. His voice dropped to a whisper. “The bastards killed my wife.”
Sobel’s eyes dropped to her clipboard. “I know, sir.”
Blake took a moment, wiped his forehead, pulled himself together. “Sorry. I just got-”
“No need to apologize, Mr. President. None at all.”
“So,” he said, wiping his eyes, “I guess the question is whether you’re going to be able to work for me effectively on a bill you don’t support.”
“Of course I will, sir. No question about it. That’s my job.”
“Even if you oppose my policy?”
“With respect, sir-are you assuming this is the first time I’ve opposed one of your policies?”
Now that took him by surprise. Maybe this woman had hidden depths he’d never imagined. “All right then, Tracy. You’re my master architect. Tell me how I get this amendment through the Senate. As quickly as possible.”
“It won’t be easy, sir. It might be impossible.”
“Yes, yes, cut through all the ‘impossible odds’ chatter. I already know you’re a miracle worker, and I already know you have a plan. Spill.”
Sobel tapped her clipboard a few times before answering. “You are aware, I assume, that”-she drew in her breath-“Major Morelli has not come out of his coma. In fact, he’s still in ICU. Critical condition.”
“Yes, I read the update this morning. Your point?”
“He was-is-Senator Kincaid’s best friend. Has been for many years.”
“Isn’t Kincaid pretty liberal?”
“What I hear is that he’s very shaken up about his friend. Has spent days in the man’s hospital room.”
“Kincaid’s the most junior senator the Democrats have. At least until the governors appoint replacements for Tidwell and Hammond. How influential can he be?”
“How influential was he during the confirmation hearings for Justice Roush?”
The president pursed his lips. “Mmm. Good point. So you’re suggesting…?”
“I think you know what I’m suggesting, sir. And as it happens, I have the phone number right here.”
12
Christina rushed into the office, her arms brimming over with files, folders, and large saddle-stitched reports. Somehow, in an act seemingly defiant of gravity, she also managed to carry a briefcase, although in the mass of paperwork obscuring the upper half of her body and most of her strawberry blond hair, the briefcase seemed to be floating along on its own powers of levitation.
As she passed by his station, Jones eyed her with his usual stoic expression. “Got anything going on, Chris? Or are you just goofing off again?”
As if in response, or perhaps in revenge, she dumped the entire mass of papers on his desk, knowing full well the effect it would have on Jones’s neat-freak temperament.
When the screaming stopped, she smiled and said succinctly, “File that, would you?”
Jones’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits. If heat vision had been among his powers, Christina would have been charbroiled. “May I ask what this is?”
“Everything I’ve been able to drum up relating to the new proposed constitutional amendment. Polling data, both of the public and the Congress. Judicial and historical precedents. A formal copy of the evil amendment itself as submitted to the appropriate committees in both houses. And a lot of other crap acquired from virtually every other senator’s office.”
“Were you able to get an idea which way Congress leans on this?”
“The problem is that every other chief of staff in every other office is doing exactly the same thing.”
“Ah, but they don’t all have your gift for setting tongues a-wagging.”
“Well, I like to think I have a certain panache,” she said, lightly buffing the bob of her hair. “But they do their best. At any rate, I was able to learn what the consensus opinion is on who’s leaning where. Whether that reflects actual reality I can’t be certain.”
“So don’t keep me in suspense.”
Christina picked up one of the file folders she had dumped on Jones’s desk and flipped it open. “Everyone seems to think the House is a done deal. The Republicans have a significant majority; the president basically has them in his back pocket.”
“But he’ll need two-thirds.”
“And everyone seems to think he’ll get it, given the massive public support for the bill. Have you seen today’s polls?” Jones nodded. “They show that the voting public favor passage by a huge margin. Apparently a lot of people have always thought civil rights favored criminals more than good honest God-fearing folk. But even some who generally consider themselves civil libertarians are supporting the bill. The attack in Oklahoma City dramatically changed the way some people think.”
“It-was a rather horrific event,” Jones said. “You can see where people might feel the need for greater protection.”
“I can see that people are running scared,” Christina replied. “And when people are scared, they don’t think clearly. Somehow, we have to slow down this process. Give the reasoning public a chance for some sober second thoughts.” She did a quick scan of the office. “So where’s our dear senator Benjamin?”
