The sum of all fears - Tom Clancy [72]
"Yes, Mr President."
"And as far as this group is concerned, there will be no leaks." That Presidential command was aimed at the far end of the table. "Adjourned."
Ryan took his papers and walked outside. Marcus Cabot joined him in the hall after a moment.
"You should know when to keep your mouth shut, Jack."
"Look, Director, if we press them too hard -"
"We'll get what we want."
"I think it's wrong, and I think it's dumb. We'll get what we want. Okay, so it takes a few extra months, we'll still get it. We don't have to threaten them."
"The President wants it done that way." Cabot ended the discussion by walking off.
"Yes, sir." Jack responded to thin air.
The rest of the people filed out. Talbot gave Ryan a wink and a nod. The rest, except for Adler, avoided eye contact. Adler came over after a whisper from his boss.
"Nice try, Jack. You almost got yourself fired a few minutes ago."
That surprised Ryan. Wasn't he supposed to say what he thought? "Look, Scott, if I'm not allowed to-"
"You're not allowed to cross the President, not this one. You do not have the rank to make adverse advice stick. Brent was ready to make that point, but you got in the way - and you lost, and you didn't leave him any room to maneuver. So, next time keep it zipped, okay?"
"Thanks for your support." Jack answered with an edge on his voice.
"You blew it, Jack. You said the right thing the wrong way. Learn from that, will you?" Adler paused. The boss also says "well done" for your work in Riyadh. If you'd just learn when to shut up, he says, you'd be a lot more effective."
"Okay, thanks." Adler was right, of course. Ryan knew it.
"Where you headed?"
"Home. I don't have anything left to do today at the office."
"Come along with us. Brent wants to talk to you. We'll have a light dinner at my shop." Adler led Jack to the elevator.
"Well?" the President asked, still back in the room.
"I'd say it looks awfully good," van Damm said. "Especially if we can bring this one in before the elections."
"Be nice to hold a few extra seats," Fowler agreed. The first two years of his administration had not been easy. Budget problems, added to an economy that couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to do, had crippled his programs and saddled his tough managerial style with more question marks than exclamation points. The congressional elections in November would be the first real public response to their new President, and early poll numbers looked exceedingly iffy. It was the general way of things that the President's party lost seats in off-year elections, but this President could not afford to lose many. "Shame we have to pressure the Israelis, but "
"Politically it'll be worth it - if we can bring the treaty off."
"We can," Elliot said, leaning against the doorframe. "If we make the time-line, we can have the treaties out of the Senate by October 16th."
"You are one ambitious lady, Liz," Arnie noted. "Well, I have work to do. If you will excuse me, Mr President?"
"See you tomorrow, Arnie."
Fowler walked over to the windows facing Pennsylvania Avenue. The blistering heat of early August rose in shimmers from the streets and sidewalks. Across the street in Lafayette Park, there remained two anti-nuclear-weapons signs. That garnered a smirk and a snort from Fowler. Didn't those dumb hippies know that nukes were a thing of the past? He turned.
"Join me for dinner, Elizabeth?"
Dr Elliot smiled at her boss. "Love to, Bob."
***
The one good thing about his brother's involvement with drugs was that he had left nearly a hundred thousand dollars cash behind in a battered suitcase. Marvin Russell had taken that and driven to Minneapolis, where he'd bought presentable clothes, a decent set of luggage, and a ticket. One of the many things he'd learned in prison was the proper methodology for obtaining an alternate identity. He had three of them, complete with passports, that no cop knew anything about. He'd also learned about keeping a low profile. His clothes were presentable, but not