The Book of Fate - Brad Meltzer [124]
“Nice work by Dad—put the family business at risk, boot your wife out on the street, and stick your kid with all the leftover debt.”
“Wait, that’s the good part,” Dreidel said, turning to the last few pages of the application. Here: Is there anything in your personal life that could be used by someone to embarrass the President or the White House? Please provide full details.” Flipping the page and revealing another single-spaced typed document, Dreidel shook his head, remembering the stories that Boyle had disclosed early in the campaign. Even at the beginning, Manning stood by his friend. “Most of this we know: Dad was first arrested before Boyle was born. Then arrested again when Boyle was six, then again when he was thirteen—the last time for assault and battery on the owner of a Chinese laundry in Staten Island. Then he actually wound up staying out of trouble until just after Boyle left for college. That’s when the FBI picked him up for selling fake insurance policies in a New Brunswick nursing home. The list keeps going . . . importing stolen scooters, check kiting for a few thousand bucks, but somehow, barely serving any time.”
“It’s a Freudian field day, isn’t it? Dad breaking all the rules with the con man shtick, while Boyle throws himself into the preciseness of accounting. What was that Time story when Dad got arrested for shoplifting? Black eye . . .”
“. . . on the White House. Yeah, clever. That’s almost as good as that political cartoon where they had him robbing Toys for Tots.”
“I still can’t—” Rogo cut himself off, shaking his head. “All this time, we’re hunting for Boyle like he’s the great white evil, but when you hear all the details: miserable childhood, deaf sister, working-class Italian mom . . . and yet he still manages to claw his way out and make his way to the White House . . .”
“Oh, please, Rogo—don’t tell me you’re feeling bad for him.”
“. . . and then his dad lies, cheats, steals, and on top of it all, leaves Boyle holding the bill. I mean, just think about it—how does a father do that to his own son?”
“Same way Boyle did it to his own wife and daughter when he disappeared from their lives and turned them into mourners. People are scumbags, Rogo—especially when they’re desperate.”
“Yeah, but that’s the thing. If Boyle were really that bad, why’d they even let him work in the White House? Isn’t that the purpose of all these forms—to screen people like him out?”
“In theory, that’s the goal, but it’s not like it was some uncovered secret. Everyone knew his dad was trash. He used to talk about it—use it for sympathy in the press. It only became a problem when we won. But when your best friend is President of the United States, oh, what a surprise, the FBI can be convinced to make exceptions. In fact, let me show you how they . . . here . . .” Dreidel said, once again thumbing through the folder. “Okay, here,” he added, unclipping a sheet of stationery-sized paper as Rogo took a seat on the edge of the desk and started flipping through the rest of the file.
“Boyle had codeword clearance. Before they dole that out, they need to know what side you’re on. FBI . . . Secret Service . . . they all take a look. Then Manning gets to see the results . . .” On the small sheet of paper was a list of typed letters lined up in a single column, each one with a check mark next to it:
BKD √
MH √
WEX √
ED √
REF √
AC
PRL √
FB √
PUB √
“Is that the same as this?” Rogo asked as he turned a page in the file and revealed a near-identical sheet.
“Exactly—that’s the same report.”
“So why’s Boyle have two?”
“One’s from when he started, the other’s probably from when they renewed his clearance. It’s the same. BKD is background—your general background check. MH is your military history. WEX is work experience . . .”
“So this is all the dirt on Boyle?” Rogo asked, staring down at the sparsely covered page.
“No, this is the dirt—everything below here,” Dreidel said, pointing to the underlined letters AC halfway down the page.
“AC?”
“Areas of concern.