Debt of Honor - Tom Clancy [164]
The upper deck of the VC-25B contrasted sharply with the lower deck. Instead of plush appointments, the compartment here was lined with military-style electronics gear whose individual boxes had chromed bars for easy removal and replacement. A sizable team of communications specialists was always at work, tapped into every source of information one might imagine: digital radio, TV, and fax, every single channel encrypted. Arnie van Damm stood in the middle of the area, and handed something over. It turned out to be a facsimile copy of the Washington Post's late edition, about to hit the street, four thousand miles and six hours away.
VICE PRESIDENT IMPLICATED IN SUICIDE, the four-column headline announced. FIVE WOMEN CHARGE EDWARD KEALTY WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT.
"You woke me up for this?" Ryan asked. It was nowhere near his area of responsibility, was it?
"You're named in the story," Arnie told him.
"What?" Jack scanned the piece. " 'National Security Advisor Ryan is one of those briefed in on the affair.' Okay, I guess that's true, isn't it?"
"Keep going."
" 'The White House told the FBI four weeks ago not to present the case to the Judiciary Committee.' That's not true."
"This one's a beautiful combination of what is and what isn't." The Chief of Staff was in an even fouler mood than Ryan.
"Who leaked?"
"I don't know, but Libby Holtzman ran this piece, and her husband is sleeping aft. He likes you. Get him and talk to him."
"Wait a minute, this is something that a little time and truth will settle out, Arnie. The President hasn't done anything wrong that I know about."
"His political enemies can call the delay obstruction of justice."
"Come on." Jack shook his head in disbelief. "No way that would stand up to examination."
"It doesn't have to, damn it. We're talking politics, remember, not facts, and we have elections coming up. Talk to Bob Holtzman. Now," van Damm ordered. He didn't do it often with Ryan, but he did have the authority.
"Tell the Boss yet?" Jack asked, folding up his copy.
"We'll let him sleep for a while. Send Tish up on the way, will you?"
"Okay." Ryan headed back down and shook Tish Brown awake, pointed upstairs, then headed aft to a flight attendant—crew member, he corrected himself. "Get Bob Holtzman up here, will you?" Through an open port he could see that it was light outside. Maybe it was nine o'clock where they were going? Yeah, they were scheduled to arrive in Moscow at two in the afternoon, local time. The head cook was sitting in his galley, reading a copy of Time. Ryan went in and got his own coffee refill.
"Can't sleep, Dr. Ryan?"
"Not anymore. Duty calls."
"I have rolls baking, if you want."
"Great idea."
"What is it?" Bob Holtzman asked, sticking his head in. Like every man aboard at the moment, he needed a shave. Jack merely handed over the story.
"What gives?'
Holtzman was a fast reader. "Jesus, is this true?"
"How long has Libby been on this one?"
"It's news to me—oh, shit, sorry, Jack."
Ryan nodded with more smile than he felt. "Yeah, I just woke up, too."
"Is it true?"
"This is on background?"
"Agreed."
"The FBI's been running the case for some time now. The dates in Libby's piece are close, and I'd have to check my office logs for the exact ones. I got briefed in right around the time the trade thing blew up because of Kealty's security clearance—what I can tell him, what I can't, you know how that goes, right?"
"Yes, I understand. So what's the status of the case?"
"The chairman and ranking member of Judiciary have been briefed in. So have Al Trent and Sam Fellows on Intelligence. Nobody's putting a stopper on this one, Bob. To the best of my knowledge, the President's played a straight game the whole way. Kealty's going down, and after the impeachment proceedings, if it goes that far—"
"It has to go that far," Holtzman pointed out.
"I doubt it." Ryan shook his head. "If he gets a good lawyer, they'll cut some sort of deal. They have to, like it was with Agnew. If he goes through impeachment and then a Senate trial,