JК
The Third Option :: Flynn Vince
Страница: 248 из 267«I was hoping we could get a little bonus out of the deal.»
Kennedy thought about it for a second. «I'll check with the director and see what he thinks. But you don't think it will be a problem to create the account and move the money?»
«No. I can have it done within an hour.»
Kennedy had aroused Rapp's curiosity. «How does Congressman Rudin fit into this?»
«We're not sure. The director and the president are going to have a chat with him in the morning, but it never hurts to overdetermine your outcome.»
44
It was Friday morning, and the West Wing of the White House was bustling with activity. Word had quickly swept through the halls that the president was on the warpath.
This didn't happen often with President Hayes, but when it did, the members of his administration usually knew enough to stay away. Today, he had been complicated by two additional pieces of information. The first was that upon entering the Oval Office at 7:54, the president had called his chief of staff, Valerie Jones, and demanded that Secretary of State Midleton be tracked down and told, not asked, to get to the White House immediately. The second was that a very frail-looking Thomas Stansfield had arrived and was now in the Oval Office with the president. The president's surly mood, his rather forceful request for the secretary of state, and the appearance of the director of the CIA had created an uneasy mood in the West Wing.
White House staffers prided themselves on being in the know, but on this particular Friday morning, they found themselves in the unnerving position of not knowing a thing about what was afoot. As the word spread that something big was going down, the phones began to buzz. Valerie Jones, the president's chief of staff, was being bombarded with questions from other important members of the administration. She also received a call from an old mend at the State Department, who wanted to know what was up. Jones answered honestly that she was out of the loop on this one, but she suggested to her friend that he make sure Secretary Midleton didn't keep the president waiting. Jones received her first call from a reporter before Midleton had even arrived. The word was out.
Inside the Oval Office, the president. had calmed a touch. Seeing Stansfield in such obvious pain made him forget about his troubles for the moment. Hayes, like almost all of his predecessors, understood the importance of good theater. There were far more subtle ways to confront this problem, but that was not what Hayes wanted. He wanted to send a message.
Kennedy thought about it for a second. «I'll check with the director and see what he thinks. But you don't think it will be a problem to create the account and move the money?»
«No. I can have it done within an hour.»
Kennedy had aroused Rapp's curiosity. «How does Congressman Rudin fit into this?»
«We're not sure. The director and the president are going to have a chat with him in the morning, but it never hurts to overdetermine your outcome.»
44
It was Friday morning, and the West Wing of the White House was bustling with activity. Word had quickly swept through the halls that the president was on the warpath.
This didn't happen often with President Hayes, but when it did, the members of his administration usually knew enough to stay away. Today, he had been complicated by two additional pieces of information. The first was that upon entering the Oval Office at 7:54, the president had called his chief of staff, Valerie Jones, and demanded that Secretary of State Midleton be tracked down and told, not asked, to get to the White House immediately. The second was that a very frail-looking Thomas Stansfield had arrived and was now in the Oval Office with the president. The president's surly mood, his rather forceful request for the secretary of state, and the appearance of the director of the CIA had created an uneasy mood in the West Wing.
White House staffers prided themselves on being in the know, but on this particular Friday morning, they found themselves in the unnerving position of not knowing a thing about what was afoot. As the word spread that something big was going down, the phones began to buzz. Valerie Jones, the president's chief of staff, was being bombarded with questions from other important members of the administration. She also received a call from an old mend at the State Department, who wanted to know what was up. Jones answered honestly that she was out of the loop on this one, but she suggested to her friend that he make sure Secretary Midleton didn't keep the president waiting. Jones received her first call from a reporter before Midleton had even arrived. The word was out.
Inside the Oval Office, the president. had calmed a touch. Seeing Stansfield in such obvious pain made him forget about his troubles for the moment. Hayes, like almost all of his predecessors, understood the importance of good theater. There were far more subtle ways to confront this problem, but that was not what Hayes wanted. He wanted to send a message.