CHAPTER THREE.

    The White House, Monday morning

    The sun shone brightly through the colonnade windows of the West Wing's Cabinet Room. The gray morning skies had cleared a bit. It was a classic Washington photo op. The President's handlers had set it up, and the commander in chief had gone along without endorsement or complaint. It was a part of the job and he had learned to tolerate it. The cameras were like a bad back; they were always around and there wasn't much you could do about them. President Robert Xavier Hayes was seated in his leather chair at the middle of the long table, his back to the windows. His chair was taller than all the others, just in case anyone forgot who the most important person in the room was.

    On the President's right was Senator Moeller, a Democrat and the ranking minority member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. To his right was chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Flood. On the President's left were Senator Clark, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the President's national security advisor, Michael Haik. Aides and staffers filled the remaining seats. Photos were snapped almost continually by two photographers from the White House press pool while a cameraman from one of the networks shot video of the meeting. Two reporters waited dutifully for the signal from the White House press secretary to give them the nod to start asking questions. They had been briefed on the purpose of the meeting and were told what would be permitted and what was out of bounds.

    President Hayes, a moderate Democrat from Columbus, Ohio, knew both men on either side of him well, from his years in the Senate. He conversed freely with them and even cracked a few jokes while the cameras snapped away. It was what was called in Washington a staged love-test: the two parties coming together, putting aside their differences and doing the right thing. President Hayes was handsome in a clean-cut way. A shade over six feet, he had thin brown hair that was turning grayer by the month. Hayes stayed thin by putting in thirty minutes on his treadmill or bike four or five days a week. He almost always worked out first thing in the morning, knowing it was usually the only time when someone wasn't trying to get a piece of him.

    Hayes checked his watch and then nodded to the press secretary, signaling that it was time to start the questions.

    Because space was often limited, it was not possible for the entire White House press corps to attend every event. Instead, there was a pool out of which reporters and photographers would take turns covering events, and then share the material they collected. It was Anna Rielly's lucky morning to unearth the obvious. The White House correspondent for NEC hit the record button on her Dictaphone and smiled at Hayes.

    "Good Morning, Mr. President. Will there be a memorial service here in Washington to honor Director Stansfield?"

    "No. Director Stansfield was adamant before he died that he wanted a simple private burial in South Dakota. The CIA is planning on erecting some type of monument to his service out at Langley, and I'm looking into placing a permanent marker at Arlington honoring his service during World War Two."

    "Have you come to any decisions on who will succeed him at the CIA?"

    "As a matter of fact we have." Hayes looked to both of his former colleagues. "We have stumbled across one of those increasingly rare moments of mutual agreement." Hayes laughed and the others joined in. "With very little difficulty we have decided on the one person who is best suited to take over as the new director of Central Intelligence." The President looked to his left and said, "Hank, why don't you do the honors." Rielly was slightly surprised. This truly was a unified front to have a Republican senator announce the nominee of a Democratic President.

    Rielly turned her green eyes on the well-liked senator from Arizona and asked, "Senator Clark?"

    "The truth is, we didn't have to look very hard, or very far, to find the best man for the job." Clark winked at Rielly over his intentional disregard for the politics of political correctness. "The best man for the job is a woman who is currently running the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. Dr. Irene Kennedy is our hands-down choice to be the next Dd."

    The five men smiled and nodded at each other while flashes from the cameras lit up the room. Not to be left out of the spotlight, Senator Moeller cleared his throat and said, "This is truly a historical moment. Dr. Kennedy will be the first woman to head the CIA, and for that matter the first woman to head up any of the agencies that make up our intelligence community."

    Rielly was busy writing something on her notepad and without looking up she said, "That is of course, if she's confirmed by the Senate." "That goes without saying," Clark said. "But Senator Moeller and I can tell you that she will have no problem making it through our committee."

    "Assuming there are no surprises."

    Clark stared at Rielly. She really was a beautiful woman, with a brain and a little spunk to boot. He wondered briefly if she knew the type of person her boyfriend was. The number of people he had killed. "There are no guarantees in this town, Ms. Rielly, but assuming there are no surprises, I am very confident that Dr. Kennedy will sail through the confirmation process."

    Rielly directed her gaze at the President. "Was Dr. Kennedy your first choice, Mr. President?"

    Without hesitation Hayes replied, "Yes."

    "Was Dr. Kennedy Director Stansfield's choice to succeed him?"

    "Director Stansfield felt that Dr. Kennedy was more than up to the task." Smiling, Rielly said, "I assume that means Kennedy was Stansfield's choice."

    "Director Stansfield thought that Dr. Kennedy was more than qualified to head the Agency." The President answered Rielly's question in such a way as to leave little doubt that he would not answer the same question if it was asked a third time.

    Rielly took the hint and checked her notes. "Will Deputy DCI Brown stay on as the number two person at the Agency or will he be leaving?"

    Michael Haik, the President's national security advisor, fielded the question. "I spoke to the DDCI this morning, and he said he will stay on for as long as he is needed."

    "Does that mean that he plans on leaving as soon as Dr. Kennedy is confirmed?"

    "No. Brown has the utmost respect for Dr. Kennedy and is looking forward to working closely with her."

    "Is he disappointed that he didn't receive the nomination from the President?" Rielly didn't look to Hayes for an answer. She kept her eyes on Haik.

    Haik knew he had to throw Rielly a little bone here or she would keep digging. "Of course he's a little disappointed. Brown is extremely qualified. We were fortunate enough to have two great candidates to choose from. Brown respects the choice of Dr. Kennedy and is looking forward to helping her transition into the top spot."

    "I would like to add something here," interjected Senator Clark. "Brown has been invaluable to the CIA, the Senate Intelligence Committee and this country." Clark leaned forward to elicit a nod from Senator Moeller. "There is no reason why just because one of them got the job the other should have to leave. If Brown were to decide to vacate his position I would be extremely upset. I would expect Dr. Kennedy to rely heavily on Brown to get the job done." Clark 's words were intended for one person and one person only: Irene Kennedy. He could ill afford to lose Brown right now. Kennedy needed to understand that if there was any house cleaning to be done, Brown was to remain untouched.

    Rielly flipped to the second page of her spiral notepad. "There have already been some rumblings from the Hill about Dr. Kennedy taking over the top spot at the CIA. Are you sure this confirmation is going to be as easy as you think?"

    "I'm not familiar with these rumblings," the President said. "Would you care to identify the rumblers or rumbler you're referring to?"

    Rielly smiled briefly at the President and said, "Chairman Rudin has gone on the record stating that he thinks nominating Dr. Kennedy as the next DCI is a huge mistake."

    "The last time I checked Chairman Rudin was in the House, not the Senate," said the President flatly. He had a recent history of run-ins with the fellow Democrat, and he was none too fond of him.

    Rielly looked a little confused. "Yes, but he is the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence."

    "He sure is, but that also means he will have nothing whatsoever to do

    with the confirmation of Dr. Kennedy."

    "But, he runs the committee that approves the Agency's budget. Aren't you the least bit concerned that Chairman Rudin considers Dr. Kennedy a disastrous choice?"

    The President forced a smile."I wouldn't be alarmed, Anna. Chairman Rudin isn't truly happy unless he has something to complain about." Hayes winked at Rielly and then turned to his press secretary. On cue, the press secretary sprang into action and ushered the press pool from the room, leaving the President and his guests to discuss business in private.