Hellfire by Keith Douglass

Author:Keith Douglass [Douglass, Keith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The White House

2230 local (GMT-9)

Either traffic was exceptionally light or both men had been expecting trouble. Probably the latter. Even in the lightest Beltway traffic, it would have been almost impossible for them to arrive at the White House so quickly.

The president had long ago given up apologizing for ruining either man’s evening. It was the price they paid for wielding power. And if you got right down to it, that’s what holding public office was about. Neither the general nor the adviser’s salary would have been sufficient to entice them into the hours they worked. No, it was the ability to control what was happening in the world, the feeling of power, and, in the best cases, the fervent belief that somehow one could make a difference in the world for the better.

“Good evening, Mr. President,” both men murmured as the Secret Service showed them in. The president had elected to receive them in his private quarters, and shoved the dinner tray away. He pointed at the televisions, which were now providing updates on the Montego Bay situation.

“Tell me what I need to know,” he said simply.

The two men had undoubtedly discussed it on their way here because neither bothered to glance at the other. The general began. “I spoke to the skipper of the carrier and the admiral of the battle group on the way over here, Mr. President,” he said. “We were not on a secure line, but I made sure that they would be standing by one later for instructions. From what they could tell me, the reporter—that Winston—ambushed the skipper on the bridge. Sure, maybe he said some things he shouldn’t have, but he thought he was talking to one of his officers. He’s read her the riot act.”

“A woman scorned,” the national security adviser said quietly.

The president shot him a disgusted look. “I don’t care if she’s female, male, or something in between. What matters right now is that the situation is a mess. I need some answers, gentlemen. And I need them now.” He pointed at the general. “Get the facts. You can use the secure phone in the situation room. I want to know everything.” He turned to the national security adviser. “Organize State and the embassies. I want it made clear to Russia right away that we are not certain what happened and intend to investigate fully. If they want to send an observer over, that’s fine.”

The general started to protest, and the president cut him off. “I know about the additional security precautions. I think your people can handle them, don’t you? We don’t admit we’re testing the system, nothing like that.”

“I was just going to suggest, Mr. President,” the general said, “that we have an exchange of observers. Surely the Russian data systems also captured the incident. If they’re coming over to take a look at our data, we should be taking a look at theirs. It seems only fair.”

The president nodded his approval. “I like it. It also shows that we’re not admitting culpability.

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