“No.” There was another awkward silence while Dorrell waited for Nance or Garret to say something, but neither made the effort. Then Garret stepped toward the table.
“Agent Dorrell, we have been receiving reports all afternoon and we know the basic facts about what happened.
What we don’t know, and what I would really like to know, is, how did it happen?”
Garret said in one of his more confrontational tones.
“What do you mean ‘how’?” asked Dorrell. “I’ll tell you what I mean by how. I want to know how in the hell the Speaker of the House, the third most powerful man in this country, was killed in broad daylight while he was surrounded by a dozen Secret Service agents and police officers.” Garret leaned over, placed both hands on the table, and stared at Dorrell as he impatiently waited for a response. Dorrell looked at Garret and realized how this meeting was going to go. He’d heard all about Garret and his style, so he sat up a little straighter and prepared himself for the confrontation. It had been a long day and
Dorrell was not in the mood to be dumped on. His face tensed slightly as he spoke.
“Speaker Basset was killed because he refused to cancel a public appearance. He was warned that we could not guarantee his safety, and he chose to ignore our advice.”
“That’s bullshit, Dorrell. He was killed because you and your men didn’t do your jobs.
It’s as simple as that.” Garret banged his fist on the table. Dorrell rose out of his chair to meet Garret eye to eye.
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“Oh, no, you’re not.” Pointing his finger at Garret, he said, “I’m not going to sit here and let you hang the blame for this on me.” Garret interrupted Dorrell and shouted, “Agent Dorrell, you are in the White House, and I run the show around here. You will sit your ass back down right now and keep your mouth shut!”
“I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re the king of Siam! I told him it wasn’t a good idea to go out in public, and he ignored me. I did my job, and if Basset would have listened to me, he’d still be alive!”
Garret looked over at Director Tracy and screamed, “I want this man fired right now!”
Without waiting for Tracy to respond, Garret snapped his head around to Lortch and pointed at Dorrell. “Get him out of here now! I want his ass thrown out on the street!”
Dorrell went to step toward Garret, and Lortch rose out of his seat, blocking him. “Harry, it’s not worth it.”
“Bullshit, I don’t need this crap. I’ve been around too long to take shit from this little
Hitler.” Garret looked back at Director Tracy.
“I want him fired right now! I want his badge before he leaves this building.” Lortch pushed Dorrell out the door and closed it behind him.
Dorrell was shaking and his face was red from yelling. “Jack, I’m not going to take the blame for what happened to Basset.”
“I know, Harry. I know, just relax.” Dorrell took a couple of deep breaths. “I haven’t lost my temper like that in years.”
“You’ve had a long day, and Garret doesn’t usually bring out the best in people.”
“I can’t believe that guy. Does the President actually listen to him?”
“I’m afraid so.” Back in the Roosevelt Room, Mike Nance stood and gestured for
Garret to follow him.
He opened a door at the opposite end of the room and walked across the hall to the
Oval Office. Garret walked around the large table and through the door. When he entered the Oval Office, Nance closed the door behind Garret and stood staring at him for a full thirty seconds while he waited for Garret to calm down. In a steady voice Nance said, “Stu, you’ve got to learn to control yourself.”
“Mike, this whole damn thing is falling apart. We’ve lost Koslowski and Basset. Do you know what our odds are for getting him reelected with those two dead?” Garret held up his hand and formed a zero.
“They’re zip, Mike. You and I are going to be out of a job next year.
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This whole thing is falling apart, and it’s because idiots like that Dorrell can’t do their job.” Nance looked at Garret and wondered momentarily if he really was nuts. “Stu, you have to get a hold of yourself. A lot of things could happen between now and election time.
Losing your temper doesn’t do us a bit of good. We have a lot of work to do tonight, so calm down. The important thing right now is to get the public behind us.
We have to find a way to turn this thing around. It’s not going to be easy, but we have to keep our heads.”
Garret nodded in agreement and Nance said, “Let’s go back in there and keep our cool.” Speaker Basset had left the Capitol’s underground parking garage in a black limousine less than twenty-four hours earlier.
He was now being returned in a black hearse. As the vehicle rolled to a stop, the back door was opened, and a special detail of six military personnel in dress uniform lifted the flag-draped casket out of the hearse and onto a gurney. After consulting with Speaker
Basset’s family, President Stevens had given the order to make arrangements for Basset to be included in the already planned ceremony for Senator Fitzgerald, Congressman
Koslowski, and Senator Downs. All four of the deceased had stated in their wills that they were to be buried in
