57

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
WASHINGTON, D.C.

“Thank you for seeing me,” Ben said as he entered Carl Lehman’s office. “I appreciate it. I…wasn’t sure what to expect.”

Lehman stood and shook his hand. His face was bandaged and bruised, but mostly functional. “I’m not one to hold grudges, son. The amendment is dead. Time to move on.”

“That…wasn’t exactly what I meant.”

“Oh?” He pointed to a nearby chair. “Please take a seat.”

“Thanks, but I’d rather stand, if you don’t mind. I think better on my feet.” Which was true, he had learned over the years. And right now, he really needed to be able to think.

“What’s the problem?”

“My problem is…” Ben took a deep breath. “I saw your assistant, Nichole Muldoon, a little while ago.”

“Why is that a problem? She give you one of those patented I-can-see-through-your-clothes looks of hers?”

“No. But she said something. She reminded me how much inside information the sniper seemed to have, during both attacks. Even if you assume he tortured some information out of your predecessor, he was still uncommonly knowledgeable about Secret Service procedures. Who would be doing what and when. Where the security detail would be stationed. How to find the sniper nest he eliminated. How to plan an escape route. We’ve always said he needed inside information.”

“He was working with Senator DeMouy.”

“And I’m sure that was helpful, but in the end, I don’t think the assistance of a politician would cut it. He had access to information he could only have gotten from someone working in or with the Secret Service. That’s the only way he could have gotten as far as he did.”

Lehman leaned slowly forward. “What are you saying?”

Ben began to pace. “I’ve always been troubled by the suggestion that Senator DeMouy masterminded the attacks. Did he really have the know-how? Would his co-conspirators have continued with the plan after his death? Doesn’t make any sense. And to imagine that he did all this just to position himself for the White House? Troubling.”

Lehman batted his lips with his index finger. “I’ll admit, I’ve had difficulty with that part of it myself. But I assumed there was more to it that we hadn’t uncovered yet.”

“Did you?” Ben asked, staring at him intently. “Did you really?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

This was where it was likely to get sticky. In Ben’s experience, people rarely liked being accused of murder. Especially if they were guilty.

“If this wasn’t about stacking the deck at the next presidential election, what was it about? Wanton violence? Seems too well planned. Regime change? Nah. Grudge against Emily Blake? I considered that, especially when I learned what everyone else in Washington apparently already knew, that she was having an affair. But I couldn’t believe anyone would arrange a major assassination attempt and kill all those people just to eliminate the first lady. The person who orchestrated the attacks in Oklahoma City and Baltimore was seriously trying to stir up terror—to make the American people feel weak and poorly defended. Vulnerable.”

Lehman was squinting, as if his difficulty understanding translated into difficulty seeing. “Who would want to do that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No, it isn’t.”

“The only person who would benefit from instilling terror—is someone who really wanted that constitutional amendment to pass.”

If Ben were hoping for a big reaction, or perhaps a confession, he was disappointed. “Nah,” Lehman said succinctly.

“Excuse me?”

Lehman shrugged. “Doesn’t make any sense. Don’t you remember? The president didn’t propose the amendment until after Oklahoma City.”

“That doesn’t mean someone couldn’t have already dreamed it up. And staged Oklahoma City to get it on the agenda and to ensure its passage.”

“But who would do such a thing?”

“Who benefits most?” Ben said. He stopped pacing and hovered over Lehman’s desk. “I would say the person who becomes the chair of the Emergency Council. The person who leads the small committee that has the ability to give and take fundamental human rights as they unilaterally see fit.” Ben paused. “And that would be the director of Homeland Security. You.”

Lehman went bug-eyed. “Are you kidding? Me?”

“What’s so incredible? You have the experience, the knowledge. The inside information.”

“I’ve been a devoted public servant for more than three decades. I’ve given my entire life to law enforcement.”

“And no doubt have been frustrated by what you perceived as law enforcement’s inadequate powers.”

“That’s absurd.”

“Is it?” Ben leaned closer. “I’m remembering something the president told me. After April nineteenth, he was obviously in a state of shock from having lost his wife in such a violent manner. He was very subject to influence. Malleable. An easy target for someone with a private agenda. And he told me that the idea for the proposed amendment had actually come—from you.”

Lehman raised his head. “That’s true….”

“This whole thing has been an insane power grab concocted in your sick mind to—”

“…but the idea didn’t originate with me.”

Ben stopped short. “It didn’t?”

“No. It was suggested to me.” He drew himself up. “And I think I can prove it.”