about the hand McMahon had just played.
Garret was furious. Who in the fuck did this no-name agent think he was, coming into the Oval Office and denying the President information? Nance, on the other hand, admired the move. In light of the position he had just taken, they had no choice but to accept McMahon’s excuse. The maneuver had been planned by Roach and McMahon before they left the Hoover Building, and now it was the director’s turn. “Mr. President, I
realize things were very tense and confusing last night, but during your speech you said the Bureau told you there was a good chance the letter was a piece of disinformation.” ‘I’ll take the blame for that,” Garret blurted out. “I was in charge of editing the speech and I
missed it. Sorry.”
Garret’s apology smacked of blatant insincerity. Roach looked at Garret for a moment and then back to the President. “You also quoted me as saying that I guaranteed the perpetrators would be caught and brought to justice.” Again, Garret fielded the question.
“That was my fault also. I should have caught it. We meant it to sound more general, but it came out sounding like a direct quote. I apologize.”
Roach nodded his head in a feigned acknowledgment of Garret’s apology.
He knew they would lie. He just wanted to see how they would do it.
Roach looked away from Garret.
It was time to get down to important matters. “Sir, my main concern right now is not the authenticity of the letter; it is the security of the remaining five hundred and thirty-two Senators and Congressman.
The letter clearly states that if these reforms are not acted on, this group will kill more politicians. They have even made a direct threat to you, sir. For now, we have to assume the letter is real and that they will strike again. We have to arrange for protection.” The
President, Nance, and Garret nodded their heads in agreement. “I have spoken with
Director Tracy of the Secret Service, and most of the chiefs of the metro-area police departments. We are meeting this afternoon to discuss additional security measures. The tab for this protection, sir, is going to be rather large. I am going to need you to authorize special funding.”
“Don’t worry about the money. Whatever it costs will be taken care of.”
The President waved his hand in the air emphasizing that money was the least of their concerns. “How are you planning on handling the security?”
“Well, Director Tracy and I have agreed that initially we should concentrate on giving the best security to the senior-ranking members of both the House and the Senate. He and
I are working on pulling agents out of the field so they can provide personal protection
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for the ranking members. The Presidential security detail will not be weakened. If anything, Director Tracy is thinking about adding more agents. This afternoon, we will determine how many of the ranking members we can protect with just the agents from the
FBI and Secret Service. When we run out of agents, we will have to start using local police officers for the protection of the less senior members. We are also looking at using
Federal marshals, Treasury agents, and various military units. Director Tracy has also recommended that we shut down Lafayette Park and the streets surrounding the Capitol and the House and Senate office buildings. The White House is very secure, but the same cannot be said of the Capitol and the House and Senate office buildings.
To bolster the security in and around the Capitol we are considering moving in a light armored division from the Army.” Garret scoffed and shook his head vigorously. “A light armored division? Are you talking just personnel or are you talking equipment also?”
“Equipment and personnel,” Roach responded in an even tone. “You mean to tell me you’re going to surround the Capitol with tanks?”
“No, with Humvees, armored personnel carriers, and Bradley fighting vehicles.”
“Like I said, you’re going to surround the Capitol with tanks.”
“No, light armored divisions don’t have tanks. That would be an armored division.”
“I know the difference,” Garret said in a mocking tone. “But the average American doesn’t.” Garret looked to the President and said, “I think we’re going a little overboard here. We can’t have tanks driving down the streets of Washington, D.C. We’ll look like the fucking Chinese, for Christ’s sake.”
The President paused while he digested Garret’s comments. “I agree with Stu. For now let’s try to keep things as normal looking as possible. I don’t want the press and the
American people to think we’re panicking. Besides, these killers would have to be suicidal to try something at the Capitol.” Roach nodded his head in compliance and then went on. The meeting lasted for another ten minutes while Roach continued to give them a broad overview of the extra security measures.
When he was done, the President walked them to the door and thanked them for coming. Roach and McMahon did not say a word until they climbed into the limo. Once the doors closed, Roach immediately started to shake his head in disapproval. He did not swear but wanted to. Roach liked to stay on a nice, even keel, while McMahon was just the opposite. “What a bunch of assholes.”
“I take it you didn’t believe a word of their story,” Roach said.
“Are you kidding me? He gets on national TV and announces to the country that he believes the letter is phony, but he won’t tell ‘the director of the FBI or the agent running the investigation where he got the information.
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