“Good thing I’ve got nothing here for now.”
“When you do acquire some essentials, they’ll pick you clean if you’re not careful. So, that’s my word of warning.”
“I’ll be careful,” Hawk said. “I’ll promise to do a perimeter assessment tonight if it’ll make you feel better.”
“It’ll make me feel a lot better. Ciao.”
Hawk settled into one of the wooden chairs atop the balcony and wondered what he’d just gotten himself into. He was hoping it would be enough to stop the sale of the weapons to Al Hasib. Deep down he also hoped to get a crack at the terrorist outfit that had wreaked havoc all across the Middle East, the aftermath drifting onto the shores of Washington, D.C.
He settled into his chair and stared at the twinkling lights in the city below as he contemplated how he should proceed. Telling Alex was a must, but such a decision would lead to a protest, albeit a mild one. He needed to be ready with an explanation for why such a mission was necessary.
And he was more than ready. Ray had been evasive about the meeting, but he didn’t need to be. Hawk already knew what it was that Ackerman was going to ask him to do.
CHAPTER 13
Washington, D.C.
MICHAELS GRIPPED THE LECTERN, knuckles whitening as he surveyed the room packed with journalists. Flash bulbs exploded as he looked down at his notes and prepared to speak. Under the circumstances, the last place he wanted to be was standing at a press conference and answering questions from a pack of media members, who looked as though they were frothing at the mouth to tear into him.
Damn Wikipedia.
The bombshell dropped by the website just a few hours earlier contained a recording of him engaged in a conversation with someone named “Ollie.” Several news agencies proffered forth a wide range of possibilities, but no one could pin down the voice of the speaker without a wide margin of error.
“Today, I stand before you ashamed,” Michaels began. “Ashamed that we live in a society where news gets reported before it gets verified. Ashamed that we seek to take down our political opponents with a public display of grandeur while privately entering into collegial relationships that extend far beyond partisan boundaries. Ashamed that good theater trumps the truth. And today, I’m here to speak with you in order to set the record straight.
“The United States isn’t interested in selling weapons to terrorists or any other rogue factions living among sovereign states. That’s not what this country is about nor is it what we do. And any reports suggesting otherwise are patently false.
“The phone call you heard me on was little more than a deceptive trick to make me sound as I was attempting to do the thing I was accused of doing. But the reality is that the voice has been altered and digitally enhanced. Our forensics experts have done an incredible job in determining that the voice that was spliced onto the audio file with mine is not talking about the same thing. In essence, someone recorded my voice and manipulated my answers in small nuggets to make me sound as if I was talking about selling weapons to a terrorist group.
“Not only was that wrong—it was also criminal. And I can promise you that whoever compiled that recording will be severely punished once they are caught.
“At this time, the perpetrators behind this heinous act have yet to be identified. I’m not prepared to answer any questions on the topic, which will be addressed next week at a briefing with my spokesperson. In the meantime, I suggest that you do your due diligence as part of the free press and dig deep into the players behind this stunt. The timing appears suspect at best, launching this into the public sphere with no accountability just weeks before the election. Whoever these people are that want to smear my name among the American people are also smearing democracy. And I won’t stand for it—and neither should you.”
Michaels released his grip and stepped down from the podium. The gaggle of journalists present shouted questions at him, questions that demanded an answer. He wanted to stop and defend himself. To Michaels, this was a vicious attempt at a political takedown, directed by someone with inside knowledge of what he was doing. If he were in any other position, he would’ve been afraid of being exposed. But as president, he knew he could swing the full weight of the law to his side and eviscerate the people behind this virtual coup.
“How’d I do?” Michaels asked Kriegel after rejoining behind the closed doors of the Oval Office.
“You really sold it,” Kriegel said.
Michaels narrowed his eyes. “What was there to sell? I was only sharing the truth. This wasn’t some spin job.”
“You can bullshit the American people, but you can’t bullshit me. I know what’s going on.”
“What’s going on is someone is trying to prematurely end my place in office through nefarious means. I don’t have time to ward off every whisper of treason that appears in The Post or The Times or The Tribune. These claims are patently false, designed to cast me in the poorest of light among the American people.”
“So, that phone call really was cobbled together by someone? I heard what you said for myself when you answered. I was standing right there. Please tell me you weren’t simply fooled by the caller. Please tell me you were discussing anything else but what it sounded like you were talking about.”
Michaels pounded his fist on his desk.
“I swear to God, David, if you keep this up, you might be looking for a new job before I will.”
“As much as I like this job, it isn’t everything to me. What’s more important is that I know everything I’m getting myself into. At least tell me the truth so I
