A Heartbeat Away - Michael Palmer [94]
Ellis pointed a finger at Gladstone to emphasize that the issue he had hit upon was a significant one.
“I’ve been pondering that very question myself,” she said. “Let me ask you something: Why do you think Allaire had us all separated into groups?”
“To help manage the distribution of resources during the quarantine period,” Gladstone replied quickly.
“Ah, dear Leland. That explanation sounded lame to me when Allaire tried to foist it on us in the first place, and it sounds as lame as a three-legged hog now. Assuming it is just another one of his lies, I ask you to reason out why we were sent to different rooms.”
Gladstone had to think only briefly.
“Assuming the threat is real, and Allaire knows how deadly it is, then he might be attempting to control the spread of the virus.”
“Now you’re cooking, Leland. And how would that best be done?”
For the first time, Gladstone firmly met Ellis’s gaze with his own.
“By separating out the most severely infected.”
Ellis’s expression was that of a proud teacher toward her star pupil.
“Do you recall,” she said, “how I asked you to map out where the explosions had occurred, and who was sitting in each area?”
“Of course.”
“Let’s look at that list.”
Gladstone stretched his long legs to extract several folded pieces of paper from the front pocket of his tuxedo pants. Then he handed the sheets to Ellis. The speaker carefully read them over, folded them again, and returned the stack to him.
“You have about forty names here,” she said.
“Those are the ones I could get. People at the center of the blasts, including those seated next to, in front of, or in back of each ground zero.”
“And tell me, do you know the present location of Archibald Jakes, or Senator Cogan?”
Ellis picked two names from Gladstone’s list that she had personally seen take a hit.
“I believe they’re in C Group.”
“Have you had any contact with C Group?”
“No,” Gladstone said.
“And do you know where Group C is currently residing?”
“From what I’ve heard, they’re in the Senate Chamber, but that’s just rumor and not something I’ve confirmed.”
“In that case, I think I should go and confirm it for myself. Is your BlackBerry charged?”
“It is,” Gladstone said. “Thanks to your standing up to Allaire, I still have it.”
“You look troubled, Leland. What is it?”
“You’re not allowed to leave this chamber. How do you plan to get across the Capitol complex to the Senate?”
Ellis favored Gladstone with a mischievous smile.
“Because of Sean O’Neil’s … um … not so minor transgressions, I still have my hand cupped around his balls. I think it’s about time I gave them a good, hard squeeze.”
CHAPTER 43
DAY 6
2:00 A.M. (EST)
From the recesses of the upper gallery, Ellis watched Sean O’Neil patrol the aisles of the House Chamber. He looked ill at ease, and avoided any eye contact with the anxious faces that he passed, perhaps feeling as if he were being held responsible in some way for their plight.
Ellis felt some pity for the man. He was at once prisoner and jailer, neither of them very enviable positions. At least amid this mess, she had a purpose—some control and power over her fate. Soon enough, though, O’Neil would have some purpose as well. And once Allaire and his vice presidential toady were put in their places, once she was president, she would reward the Secret Service agent’s assistance by keeping him on staff, pledged to take a bullet for her.
The speaker descended the carpeted stairwell to the chamber floor level, approached O’Neil from behind, and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around, reaching for his gun.
“Easy, cowboy,” she said. “Maybe it’s time to switch over to decaf.”
O’Neil glared at her.
“Next time you come up on me like that, don’t expect me to stop.”
“We need to talk,” Ellis said.
“I’m busy right now.”
“Oh? Doing what?”
“The president asked me to make some observations and report back to him.”
“Observations?”
“Check and see how people are holding up.”
“Oooo. Sounds important.”
“What do you want?”
“I told you, to talk. Please?”
Ellis motioned to a dark