Murder in Foggy Bottom - Margaret Truman [77]
Harris entered the command center and used a direct line to Director Templeton’s Washington office. “It’s Harris, sir,” he said.
“What’s the status?”
“No movement yet. He’s holding firm but it’s early.”
“Is he just demonstrating bravado or does it look like he’s getting ready to defend the place?”
“Hard to say, sir. The surveillance agents report having seen men with weapons leave the main house and disappear into other areas of the ranch. We’ve established posts behind and to the sides of the ranch. They’re in position and have just started reporting their sightings.” He went on to recount his conversation with Jasper.
“Keep negotiating, Joe. I want to see this resolved peacefully.”
“Yes, sir.”
“The president wants it resolved peacefully.”
“We’re all in agreement on that, sir.”
President Ashmead met with his cabinet and select members of his inner circle in the Situation Room on the first floor of the White House. They were joined shortly after convening by FBI Director Templeton and State’s director of counterterrorism ops, Colonel Walter Barton, who arrived together. Ashmead sat stoically as National Security Advisor Tony Cammanati chaired the meeting, turning first to Templeton for an update on the Jasper ranch situation. Templeton reported what Joe Harris had told him from the scene. Others at the table asked questions of the FBI director, most focusing on whether the agency’s manpower and equipment were sufficient to conduct a swift, clean assault on the ranch, should that be necessary.
After everyone had had their say, the president asked Barton for a status report on State’s efforts in Moscow to trace the source of the missiles.
“That effort, Mr. President, is being coordinated through the CIA. It’s our people but they don’t report to us. Frankly, I find it an awkward situation and not terribly productive.”
Ashmead drummed his fingertips on a yellow pad. He’d heard it before, State’s complaints about the clumsy system of their operatives at embassies around the world reporting to CIA handlers back in Langley. He understood the concern. At the same time, it was a system in place long before he took possession of the White House, and he saw no reason to interfere with it. Secretary of State Rock had raised it with him a year ago, although she hadn’t lobbied for change, simply mentioned it during conversations about State’s internal structure and embassy operations, and what could be done to smooth out some rough edges.
Templeton offered, “Finding out who provided the missiles is, of course, extremely important, Mr. President, but it should not be the priority. As we’re all aware, missiles are for sale everywhere by underground arms dealers. What we’ve got to concentrate on is identifying those who would use them here in the United States and putting them out of business. Groups like the Jasper Project are always looking for ways to spill innocent blood and disrupt the country.”
There was obvious truth to what the FBI director said, although Ashmead also knew it was part of a continuing battle for dominance between the FBI, whose jurisdiction was domestic, and the Central Intelligence Agency, whose mandate was overseas. The seemingly constant, petty infighting between agencies and even among his own staff—everyone vying for attention and favor, at times putting those needs ahead of more vital national priorities—was an ongoing source of irritation for this hands-on president, whose patience with what he considered trivia could be as thin as tissue paper.
He was also aware that State’s Barton and the FBI’s Templeton had deliberately been kept out of the loop when it came to the State Department’s efforts in Moscow to trace the missiles to their source. Through personal, twice-daily phone briefings with Secretary Rock, or Ashmead’s special assistant, Mike McQuaid, he knew that a seasoned CIA operative named Max Pauling was working undercover in the Russian capital. He’d been told, too, that the CIA had dispatched a senior officer named Hoctor to manage Pauling’s effort through the embassy.
Secretary