Balance of Power

Lexington Arms and the Sons of the Second Amendment. Because of the importance of the information we are about to share with you, Ms. Costello wanted to be here in person.'

    For a final instant, Sarah hesitated on the brink of defiance. 'Yesterday,' she continued, 'I deposed George Callister, the CEO of Lexington Arms. In the box behind me are copies of the videotape of that deposition, which we will make available at the conclusion of this press conference. In the meanwhile, I have prepared taped excerpts of Mr. Callister's testimony, which I will play in a few moments.'

    Attentive, the reporters began stirring with surprise and anticipation—those who had followed the case knew at once that Sarah was violating a court order. She saw a reporter from Fox start speaking rapidly into his cell phone. 'As you know,' Sarah went on, 'Judge Bond has ordered us not to disclose evidence revealed in discovery. We do not do so lightly . . .'

* * *

    Summoned to the SSA's conference room by a hasty call from Carla Fell, Charles Dane found her watching CNN.

    'What is it?' he demanded sharply.

    'Sarah Dash. She just told the judge to go fuck himself.'

    Filled with foreboding, Dane mentally replayed the phone call from Harrison Fancher, the sleepless night which followed—spent alone because Dane could confess his involvement to no one—spinning calculations about how to keep the lid on Callister. The best plan he could construct was to make sure Fasano shut down the lawsuit in the Senate, do everything possible to keep the files under seal and, should they surface nonetheless, to claim that Callister was lying—or, at least, had badly misconstrued their conversation.

    'What's she saying?' Dane asked Fell.

    'We don't know yet.'

    On the screen, Sarah Dash appeared composed. One of the principal claims in Ms. Costello's lawsuit is that the SSA controls the American gun industry. Yesterday, we learned how true that was. But we learned far more than that.

    Turning, Sarah walked to the television, and punched a button on the VCR. In close-up, George Callister's image filled the screen.

    How did Dane react? Sarah's voice inquired.

    He said that the SSA would commit whatever resources were needed to pass tort reform in both houses of Congress. Then he told me something that I didn't understand: that Kilcannon could be handled if he got in the way.

    Heavily, Dane sat down. At the corner of his vision, he saw that Carla Fell was watching him. Her eyes seemed to ask the question Sarah's voice was putting into words.

    Did Mr. Dane tell you what he meant by that?

THIRTEEN

On returning to her office, Sarah was assaulted by phone calls from the print media; interview requests from CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and the evening news and early-morning shows for the three major networks; angry messages from supporters of the SSA; calls of encouragement from friends, including several she had not heard from in years; and—unbelievable to Sarah—a film producer who had rescripted her defiance of Judge Bond as a vehicle for Sandra Bullock. ' 'Sarah Brockovich'?' Sarah mused aloud, and told her assistant to keep stemming the deluge. Sarah had done all the talking to the media she intended to or, clearly, needed to. The cable news stations were awash in images of Sarah and Callister; speculation regarding the impact of Callister's revelations on the gun debate, the SSA, the Congress and both political parties; instant polls asking whether the videotape had affected the Kilcannons' standing with the public. Sarah felt tired, worried, and altogether overwhelmed. To have generated such a firestorm by defying the legal system, rather than working within it, deepened her anxiety. She could only guess at how George Callister must feel.

    At two-thirty, Sarah left the office, having taken only two calls.

    The first was from Lara Kilcannon. With a depth of emotion Sarah had not heard before, Lara told her how grateful she was, even more for the President than herself. 'Is there anything we can do for you?' she asked.

    'One thing,' Sarah answered simply. 'When anyone asks, make it clear I did this on my own. Or the whole situation will be that much worse for me.'

    The second call was from Gardner Bond. 'I'm issuing an order,' the judge said with a coldness more daunting than angry. 'But court orders don't seem to impress you very much, so I thought I'd deliver this one in person.

    'Tomorrow afternoon, at four o'clock, I'm holding a contempt hearing regarding your activities this morning. You may wish to consider attending.'

    Without awaiting Sarah's answer, Bond hung up.

* * *

    Paul Harshman was the first of the Republican leadership to reach Fasano's office. As he entered, Fasano was watching a liberal columnist eviscerate the SSA on MSNBC.

    'This all could be a smear,' Harshman cautioned. 'Orchestrated by Kilcannon.'

    Fasano turned to him. Evenly, he inquired, 'Do you really think that?'

    Harshman's expression took on an obstinate cast. 'What do we really know about this man Callister . . . ?'

    'Give it a rest, Paul. Let's focus on saving this bill.' Fasano's tone brooked no argument. 'I'm not taking calls from Charles Dane. I don't want you to take any. As soon as we're through here, I'm going to distance us from Dane as quickly as I can, and you'll be right there with me. Just like Sarah Dash and Mary Costello.'

* * *

    Gathered in the Oval Office, Kerry, Kit and Clayton watched Fasano on CNN.

    Flanked by Paul Harshman and others in the Republican leadership, he stood in the rotunda of the Capitol. None of us, he said, can know what Mr. Dane intended to convey to Mr. Callister, and its precise connection to the President's own admission of his personal conduct prior to assuming office.

    'Do remind us,' Clayton said caustically. 'Some may have forgotten.'

    Only Mr. Dane knows, Fasano continued. But we cannot be blind to the implications of what we learned today. The blackmail Mr. Callister suggests has no place in our public life. However committed we may be to the protection of unborn life—and, for that matter, gun rights—we in the Republican Party utterly repudiate such despicable tactics.

    'But not their benefits,' Kerry said softly.

    Senator Fasano, Kate Snow of CNN called out. How does Ms. Dash's revelation affect the prospects of overriding the President's veto?

    It's too soon to tell, Kate. Frankly, we're still absorbing this. But I can tell you what logic suggests, at least to me. Fasano's expression was grave, his tone measured. This is, as I've said, a sad chapter in our civic life. But—just as Mr. Dane's alleged conversation should not reflect on the four million members of the SSA—Mr. Callister's charges have no more to do with the merits of the Civil Justice Reform Act than does the private life of the President and First Lady.