Balance of Power

THIRTEEN

"I'm not naive," Martin Bresler told Sarah in an agitated voice. "If I cooperate with you, sooner or later my name will come out."

It was early morning, and Sarah's office was quiet. The night before, she had been revising the complaint against Lexington Arms, planning to file in two days' time, when Lara Kilcannon's call had turned these plans on their head. Calling Bresler in Washington, Sarah recited the facts as Lara related them: that Bresler had been working on a voluntary agreement to require background checks at gun shows; that Lexington had been amenable; and that, by destroying Bresler's association of gun manufacturers, the SSA had thwarted the deal and paved the way for the Costello murders. Even over the telephone, Sarah could hear the impact this blunt recitation was having on Martin Bresler.

"You've got two choices," Sarah replied. "You can cooperate with us in private, and we'll keep your name out of this as long as we can. Or we can take your deposition as soon as we file, under oath, with Lexington's lawyers in the room. Which effectively means the SSA."

"If I 'cooperate,' " Bresler retorted, "you may sue the SSA. Why would I touch that? I don't think you get it, Ms. Dash. I've got two kids in college, and my career's on life support. I'm just trying to land a job . . ."

"Exactly," Sarah said in a calm, implacable tone. "I'm offering you a chance to do the right thing in private, which gives you more time to regroup before the SSA finds out. But letting you off the hook is not an option."

Sarah waited out Bresler's silence. "I'll have to call you back," Bresler said in a defeated tone. Only then did Sarah permit herself to feel a certain pity.

* * *

With quiet fury, Kerry said, "This is the SSA's Trojan horse. Designed to humiliate me, politically and personally."

Alone with Kerry in the Oval Office, Chad Palmer remained calm. "Fasano," he answered, "would call that a 'leadership priority.' As for Trojan horses, I must say that you're taking a keen interest in Mary Costello's prospective lawsuit.

"We have a fundamental difference of opinion, Mr. President. You and people like Bob Lenihan think that lawsuits against gun companies will force them to give you what Congress won't. Others think they're an abuse of a legal system too open to abuse already . . ."

"Are you supporting this thing," Kerry interjected, "or just tolerating it?"

"Supporting it," Chad said baldly. "I mean to get it through committee and speak for it on the floor."

Kerry felt shaken. There was no need to remind Chad of the immensity of his decision, or of how much more difficult it would make the President's task. Softly, he said, "You despise the SSA almost as much as I do. What in the world did Fasano offer you?"

For an instant, Chad looked discomfited. Almost unique among politicians, in Kerry's mind, Palmer possessed a sense of shame which diminished his skill at functional insincerity. "I'm sorry this is personal to you," he said at length. "But, this time, I'm not carrying your water. Caroline Masters was enough."

Though spoken quietly, the last phrase reminded Kerry that he would always be associated with the death of Chad's daughter and that Chad's bitterness, however well suppressed, would never entirely vanish. With equal quiet, Kerry answered, "Then I have a courtesy to ask. Not for me, but for Lara."

Chad hesitated. "What might that be, Mr. President?"

"You've scheduled hearings, including on this gun immunity clause. The witness list is up to you."

Chad stared at him. "You want me to call Lara."

"And Mary."

A grim comprehension stole into Chad's eyes. Personally and politically, he could not ban a First Lady and her sister, the survivors of a nationally televised slaughter, from confronting him on every cable news network in America. Now Chad would pay a price, and so would Frank Fasano. "Please tell the First Lady," Chad said with formal courtesy, "that I welcome them both."