Part 27 (1/2)
”Dale, I want to make something clear. We'll get through the rest of today, and then I want you to take some time off, understood?”
Dale nodded.
She was trying her hardest to sound normal. If Melanie was wrong about Craig being the leaker, this stunt would destroy her closest friends.h.i.+p in Was.h.i.+ngton. She reminded herself that the president had approved their effort and went back to the script that Melanie had suggested.
”I came to see you because the press is starting to ask for excerpts from the speech. Do you have any that stand out for you that I could release?”
”I didn't pick up my copy yet. I was about to go get it from Samantha,” Craig said.
”I have it.”
He looked surprised. ”That's good, Dale. You should have it. I'm sure that Ben just forgot to pick mine up. Ben?” Craig yelled at his a.s.sistant.
”Yes, sir?”
”Can you call Sam and ask her for a copy of the president's speech?”
”Yes, sir.”
”Sam gave me your copy when I picked up mine,” Dale said carefully. She pulled out a brown envelope with a staffing sheet stapled to it. It was the typical way sensitive speeches were shared with senior staff. Only hard copies were circulated, and edits were made by hand and input by the speechwriters.
Craig looked relieved to see it. ”Ben, forget it!” he yelled.
Craig opened the envelope and pulled the sheets of paper out.
”Have you read it? How is it?” he asked.
”It's very Melanie,” Dale replied.
Craig rolled his eyes. ”I'd better read this right away and send back my comments. Let me call you after I get through it, and we can select a couple of excerpts and go through the plan for morning shows and the rest of the interviews for CBS.”
”Sounds good. Everything going smoothly with Richard and Lucy?”
Craig raised an eyebrow. ”I think so. Why?”
”I was planning on babysitting them all afternoon, and I wasn't able to, so I just wanted to make sure they hadn't caused any incidents.”
”Not that I'm aware of.”
”Not yet, anyway, right?” Dale tried to make a joke.
”Dale, I'm serious. If you think of anything that I can do for you, please let me know.”
”I will.”
Dale walked out of his office and closed the door behind her.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT.
Charlotte On days when the CIA director didn't travel to the White House to brief Charlotte personally and on all of the days when she was on the road, she received her daily intelligence briefing from a woman named Sydney Travers. Charlotte and Sydney had spent countless hours together discussing the threats facing the United States from the various Al Qaeda networks and their more lethal affiliates in Iraq and Syria, ISIS and ISIL. Not once had Sydney suggested that an attack on the U.S. was imminent. But not once had Sydney failed to mention the groups' ongoing desire and intent to strike America again, in the same way and with similar effect as it had done on September 11, 2001. Even her shortest briefings and those delivered by cla.s.sified top-secret white papers included Sydney's reminder that Al Qaeda and the Islamic State remained committed to planning and carrying out another attack on the homeland. Now Sydney was sitting across from the president, and they were discussing the ident.i.ties of the bodies found in Chicago and Los Angeles.
Sydney handed the president the two-pager she'd quickly compiled on the Chicago bomber. Charlotte read it carefully.
”Madam President,” Sydney interrupted.
”I'm almost done, Sydney.”
”I just wanted to say that I'm sorry,” Sydney whispered.
”For what?”
”Madam President, I was twenty-six years old on September eleventh. I remember watching the towers fall a couple of hours after the planes. .h.i.t them and swearing that I would spend the rest of my career making sure it never happened again.”
Charlotte smiled sympathetically at her briefer. They'd all missed something, but the members of the CIA would face harsh recriminations from their critics on Capitol Hill, given the legacy of September 11 and the growing list of intelligence lapses. Charlotte suspected that these attacks would embolden the agency's harshest detractors, who would call for investigations into the counterterrorism units that were supposedly strengthened and augmented after September 11.
”Sydney, the failure is ultimately mine, and I will make sure that everyone who needs to understand that hears it from me. You are going to have your hands full in the coming weeks, and you need to tell your colleagues that I have their backs. I'll take the blame, but I want everyone focused on the task at hand.”
Sydney nodded and returned to her file of notes about the suicide bombers.
Charlotte looked up again when she saw Sam standing in front of her desk.
”He's here,” Sam whispered.
Charlotte had reluctantly filled Sam in on the details of their strategy to find out if Craig was leaking to CBS.
”Sydney, give me a minute?”
Charlotte watched as Sydney exited and Craig entered the Oval.
”Craig, did the national security advisor talk to you?”
”Yes, Madam President. That's why I'm here. I want to talk to you about this a.s.signment. You have an entire advance operation that is designed to plan days like this. I don't have the first clue about how to move you to five cities and get you back in time for a memorial service. I'm really, honestly not the best guy to oversee the planning and advance work for your trip tomorrow.”
”Craig, I was afraid you'd feel that way, but this is the most sensitive and important day of my entire presidency. Someone has to be on the phone with the mayors and first responders and thinking about getting the correct congressional delegations on board Air Force One for the trip. The White House chief of staff is uniquely positioned to move the mountains that are going to need to be moved to make this trip happen.”
”With all due respect, Madam President, there are also established lines of communication between the offices of intergovernmental affairs and the local officials. Those are the people who are accustomed to doing these trips. I would add a layer of bureaucracy.”
”I doubt that. You are the only person who can actually speak with authority about what I want for a trip like this. That can't fall to a twenty-eight-year-old advance person. I will not put those kids in that position. I would make the calls and set up the trip myself if I could. It's that important to me. But we both know that I can't do that. I need you to lead the countdown meetings and be my eyes and ears and mouthpiece on the ground with these mayors and local officials.”
Craig knew he was losing the argument.
”Please,” she implored.