Either way, it was giving him a serious case of the creeps.
“I thought the two of us should meet,” the president said, stretching expansively across the car seat. “I mean, I know we’ve run into each other on occasion, when you were on duty. But I thought we should have a chance just to…talk. In private.”
“Why is that, Mr. President?”
Blake looked at him as one might look at a small child whose attempts at dissembling are so pathetic as to draw a smile. “Tom, let’s not play games. I know. What’s more-I think you know I know.”
Gatwick looked at his knees and said nothing.
“Emily was a wonderful woman, wasn’t she?”
Gatwick remained silent.
“Wonderful, indeed. So full of energy. So warmhearted. So…loyal.”
The president paused, but Gatwick didn’t take the bait.
“Tom,” the president said, as casually as if he were ordering ice cream, “why were you fucking my wife?”
“Mr. President, I never meant-”
“Oh, please spare me the excuses. We’re both grown-ups. So was Emily. These things don’t happen by accident. They happen because the participants want them to happen.” He stopped for a moment, as if realizing that by interrupting his companion he had stifled the conversation. “Did she give a reason? Or was she just… overwhelmed by your masculine good looks? Because frankly, I’ve been watching you for a long time, and I’m considerably less than overwhelmed. If she’d taken a shot at Brad Pitt-well, who wouldn’t? But you?” Blake shrugged. “It’s kind of insulting, really.”
Gatwick spoke quietly. “She said she was lonely. That you were always busy.”
Blake nodded slowly. “Yes. That’s what I imagined she would say.”
“And she said that you were having…problems. In the bedroom.”
“Well, she hardly needed to add that.” He stared out the window, watching the landmarks of Memorial Drive pass by. “It’s hard being the leader of the free world.”
“I would imagine so.”
“So many people depend on you. So much rests upon your shoulders. It should hardly be surprising if a man suffering under that kind of stress occasionally has…issues.”
“Of course.”
“Don’t patronize me. You took advantage of the situation to put cuckold horns on my head. You’re a sorry son of a bitch.”
“As you say, sir.”
“And I want your resignation.”
Gatwick’s head rose. “What?”
“You heard me. I’m your boss, remember?”
“Carl Lehman is-”
“I’m the commander in chief, Tom.”
“I’m not in the military.”
“If I want you out-you’re out.”
“I won’t resign.”
“I’m not giving you a choice.”
Gatwick drew in his breath. “You have no direct authority over me.”
“You’re not listening to me, Tom. I’m the president. Your job is to protect the executive branch. How long do you think you’ll last if I don’t want you around? I don’t even need a pretext. I know for a fact that some people in your own office think your protocol changes on April nineteenth resulted in the death of my wife. All I have to do is make a phone call.”
Gatwick’s lips tightened. “You can’t fire me.”
“I would prefer it if you resigned. It would look better.”
“Then let me put it differently. You don’t want to.”
The president slowly drew himself in. “Do I understand this correctly? Are you threatening me?”
“Weren’t you just threatening me?”
“I was managing my branch of the government. That’s my job.”
“Well, I like my job, too. And I intend to keep it.”
“If Carl Lehman knew what you’ve done-”
Gatwick cut him off with a laugh. It seemed he had no choice but to be an enemy of the president. Very well, then. In for a penny, in for a pound. “You won’t rat me out. If I lose my job, I go public.”
“You think that will help you get reemployed?”
“I think that’s a revelation you don’t want in the public forum. It could ruin you.”
“Like hell. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“If the truth came out about your late wife’s hanky-panky, it would, first, make you look like a weak-kneed loser, and second, make your late wife considerably less sympathetic in the public eye. You’re counting on that sympathy to get your amendment passed. And probably to get yourself reelected.”
“Public opinion is already wildly in my favor. On both counts.”
“Because you’re a bereaved husband who lost a wife who had a huge approval rating. If it turns out you’re a-what was your word?cuckold, and she was a tramp-”
“You son of a bitch.”
“I didn’t start this, Mr. President. But I’m not going to sit around and let you walk all over me. If you hadn’t been such a crappy husband, it wouldn’t have occurred in the first place.”
“You twisted sick-”
“Maybe I am partly to blame, and maybe she is. Maybe no one is. But I won’t let you take my job from me. Especially not now.”
“Why not now?”
“Never mind. This is a critical time for both of us. We want to continue to get our jobs done.” He looked the president straight in the eye. “So you leave me alone and let me get my work done, Mr. President. And I’ll leave you alone and let you do yours.”
47
Ben spent ten minutes just getting past all the protestors outside the entrance to the main Senate building. The Capitol Police were doing an admirable job of managing the huge and boisterous, and in some cases downright angry, crowd. Several years back, the Capitol Police were almost a joke, once referred to as the least qualified security team in the country, mostly staffed based upon political patronage rather than qualifications. That changed with 9/11. In this era of suicide bombers and maniacs crashing into the building, the Senate took its security very seriously. The Capitol Police were well trained, highly organized, and double the numbers of a decade before. Metal detectors, a host of surveillance cameras, and many other security measures had been implemented. Most times, Ben thought of them as a hassle, hoops to be leaped through to get to his office. Today, he was glad they were here.
Despite all that had happened in the interim, the polarized forces making themselves heard outside the Capitol Building had not changed much since the time of the subcommittee hearings. Civil libertarian groups still opposed the amendment, although Ben noticed now their placards and chants put more emphasis on the need for calm deliberation and sober second thoughts, with less emphasis on the potential threat to freedom. There were as many if not more people forcefully advocating the adoption of the amendment; Ben knew many of them had been privately bused in by PACs beholden to the president’s party. They went about as far as they could possibly go to suggest that this amendment was needed to stop the “slaughter” of American citizens. Many held placards bearing
