The Fourth of July War by Allan Topol

Author:Allan Topol [Topol, Allan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Trab Publishing
Published: 2011-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

When Elliott arrived at the Metropolitan Club on Monday morning Stewart was waiting at the top of the circular center staircase. They shook hands, and Stewart led the way through the deserted lounge to the dining room. Elliott was startled to see Morris sitting at a table, his cold, stone face staring straight ahead.

"What's he doing here?" Elliott asked Stewart. "You didn't tell me that Morris was coming."

"You two know each other, I see," Stewart said.

"We've been to a number of receptions together," Elliott said coolly.

Morris poured three cups of coffee, handing one to Elliott.

"I usually like a Bloody Mary with breakfast," Elliott said.

Morris ignored his comment. But Elliott continued, "My granddaddy used to say, 'You can't trust a man who doesn't drink.'"

Stewart decided to take control of the discussion.

"Listen, Bill," Stewart said, "for the last two years you've been yelling into my ear that one day you're going to get that bastard in the White House for what he did to you at the convention."

"You bet your ass.," Elliott said. "I'm just waiting for the right chance."

"Well, the right chance is here now. George Morris and I are thinking about a little governmental operation, and we need your help. George is going to explain it to you, and I want you to listen carefully."

Morris then described the plan in detail, carefully and precisely. At first he had been concerned about the disclosure to Elliott. What if Elliott didn't go along with the plan and then leaked their discussion? Morris quickly swept aside those thoughts. They hadn't taken any affirmative action. If Elliott didn't go along, that would be the end of the plan. If Elliott disclosed the conversation, Morris, Stewart, and Thomas would deny what Elliott said. The three of them had greater credibility than Elliott.

"Holy shit," Elliott said when Morris was finished. "That is some idea. If it worked, we would make the President look like a horse's ass. Sooner or later people on the inside in this town would know privately that we took the government away from him. And if he ever gave me any trouble again, I could threaten to go public. That's beautiful."

"Then you'll go along with us?" Stewart asked.

Elliott was hesitating. Perhaps his initial reaction was too fast.

"What if it doesn't succeed?"

"It will succeed," Stewart said. "Our buddy Morris here doesn't fail. That's why the President brought him to Washington to handle the energy program."

"What if I don't go along?"

"Then there's no plan," Morris said.

"I don't know," Elliott said slowly. "I just don't know. I'm no fool. I know damn well that if this doesn't work, we all end up in the pokey for criminal conspiracy. Look at the whole Nixon crowd."

"It will work," Morris said firmly.

Elliott just sat there staring into his cup. He was stunned by the proposal. This whole idea was so different from anything he had ever done. He despised Edwards more than any other man alive. But he still respected the Constitution and that bastard Edwards happened to be the President.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.