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“Would anyone care for coffee or tea?” Hayes was hovering in between the two couches. He bent down and dropped a bag of Green Tea in a china cup and added hot water. His hand shook ever so slightly. “Irene.” He placed the cup on a saucer and handed it to Kennedy.
Kennedy had not missed the president’s unsteady hand. Even with the medicine he’d been taking for his Parkinson’s, the tremors had grown in frequency and severity over the last few months. He’d lost nothing mentally, but she understood why he’d decided to not seek reelection. In this new media age the scrutiny would have been horrible. The other side would have attacked him as selfish for not stepping aside. Elements of his own party would have undoubtedly done the same, and with an approval rating in the low forties, his chances for victory were a crapshoot at best. With his decision not to run he had secured his reputation in the history books. He would be looked on as a wise, unselfish man. Kennedy agreed with that assessment. Robert Hayes had never lost sight of the fact that the office was bigger than the man.
The other three men took coffee and then Hayes settled in next to Alexander in front of the fireplace. He looked over at his replacement and asked, “Where are you staying this week?”
“The Willard.”
“Ah,” the president nodded. “A grand old hotel.”
“Yes.”
“They have you in a good room, I hope,” Hayes grinned.
“The top floor.”
“My offer still stands.”
“Blair House,” Alexander said in a dead voice.
“It’s close, and very secure.”
“Thank you, Mr. President, but there are simply too many people coming an
d going this week. The party has me booked from sun up till sun down.”
“Thanking all the fat cats.” Hayes nodded, having gone through the same thing four years earlier.
Hayes was turned sideways in his chair half facing his replacement. He barely knew the governor from Georgia, but it was obvious that he had changed since the attack on his motorcade. He seemed more distant. His eyes were not as full of promise as they’d been during the early months of the campaign. Hayes wondered if this would help him when he took over the reins of power. Make him more thoughtful and reflective. Or if he’d become jaded from his experience. The president felt sorry for him. This should be a week full of hope and promise. A renewal of sorts. Maybe the news he had for him would help bring about some closure.
Hayes smiled. “Well…if you change your mind and decide you need to get away from it all, just let me know.”
“I will, Mr. President. Thank you.” The president–elect took a sip of coffee and then asked, “Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. President?”
“For me?” Hayes grinned and shook his head. “I’m looking forward to retirement. Although my dreams of becoming a master model plane builder have been dashed,” Hayes held up an unsteady hand, “there’s still a lot of other things I can do. My doctor, who happens to be my old college roommate, tells me the Parkinson’s shouldn’t affect my golf game at all, which really surprised me. His explanation was very interesting. He said I’ve never been able to putt and since it was impossible for my putting to get any worse, there was actually a chance it might improve.”
Hayes laughed at his own humor and the others smiled.
“Can you believe that? One of my oldest friends. And I actually have to pay him to hear crap like that.”
Everyone laughed. Alexander smiled briefly and then stared at the man whose job he was about to take. “Mr. President, your attitude amazes me.”
Hayes shrugged and said, “What are you going to do? You’ve been dealt a bad hand. If you don’t laugh about it, it’ll eat you up.”
“I don’t think I’ve laughed…I mean really laughed in over two months.”
Hayes cringed slightly. “You’re situation is a little different from mine. I have a disease. A manageable disease,” he added in a hopeful tone. “It’s no joy, but I still have some good years ahead of me. Your situation is a little different. You were blindsided, and someone very important to you was taken away. Forever,” he added with a force that surprised everyone. “It’s hard to find any humor in that.”
“No, just anger, shock, and sadness.”
“Well…this might help.” Hayes uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. “As you know, after the attack on your motorcade, the FBI launched one of the biggest investigations in the history of the organization. Homeland Security, Defense, State, NSA, CIA…everyone got on board to help, but the FBI was the lead agency. This is where they excel…the forensics, the thousands of man-hours it takes to run down every lead. Director Roach tells me he has kept you fully briefed on the investigation.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Now here’s the part you don’t know.” Hayes pointed to Stokes and Roach. “They don’t know about it either. Homeland Security, National Intelligence, tearing down walls between the FBI and the CIA…that’s all fine in theory, and in the wake of 9/11 it actually looked like it might happen for a brief period, but it’s a pipe dream. It’ll never really work. Not in this town. Not with all the gotcha politics, and the journalists who care first and foremost about making a name for themselves. The FBI must follow the law and tread very carefully everywhere it goes. Lots of rules. Now the CIA on the other hand…they deal with a different crowd. And when it comes to international things…they can move much faster and in circles where the FBI would find themselves in over their heads. Agree or disagree with some of their methods, the CIA is much more suited to go up against an enemy that does not play by the rules. An enemy that’s willing to set off car bombs in Georgetown on a Saturday afternoon.”
Alexander looked down at the floor and slowly nodded.
Hayes continued. “After the attack on your motorcade, I sat down in private with Director Kennedy and told her to pull out all the stops. To put her best people on this…and once again she did not disappoint me.”
