Capitol Threat

25

“Now that was more like it,” Senator Hammond said, slapping Roush on the back. “You really came to life. That little speech was just what we needed. Don’t you agree, Ben?”

Ben nodded. He was enjoying this little post-game rehash a lot more than he had the last. “I thought it was perfect. I was worthless, but happily, Tad was able to save his own bacon.”

“More than that,” Hammond continued. “You showed Keyes and his cronies this mudwrestle isn’t over yet. If you can speechify like that, son, you could have a career in Congress.”

“Thanks,” Roush said, shrugging, “but I think I’ll stick to the bench. If the bench will still have me.”

“I concur with the senator,” Beauregard said. “Tracking polls suggest that many people have a higher opinion of you now than they did before.”

“But none of those people will be voting on my nomination.”

“In effect, they will. The Republicans will back off if the public starts to perceive this as an anti-gay witch hunt. Not even the staunchest Republicans want anything to do with that.”

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Sexton interjected. As the senior strategist on the team, Ben assumed it fell to him to be the perpetual wet blanket. “They didn’t get the coup they wanted on their first day before the cameras. But since it’s still a horse race, the second-day audience will be above average. They’ll redouble their efforts to trash Judge Roush.”

“How?” Ben asked. “Keyes has to call a Democratic senator next. He indicated he was going to move to Senator Dawkins, since he’s the senior Democrat on the committee. And we know he’s friendly.”

“And a friendly witness is a good thing. But it’s still Keyes’s playground. He’ll come up with something.” He leaned closer to Ben. “You’re going to have to be ready. And be tough. Tougher than you’ve been so far, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

Ben liked to think he was thick-skinned and above taking offense at constructive criticism, but he wasn’t sure this was all that constructive. “I’m doing my best out there.”

“Don’t give me that ‘doing my best’ crap. That’s what children say. It’s a way of making excuses for failure.”

“Excuse me? Where do you get—”

“You’re playing in the big leagues now, Kincaid, so you’re going to have to act like it.”

“If you’ll recall, I didn’t want this job in the first place!”

Sexton tugged at his three-piece suit. “I don’t care if you did or you didn’t. You’re there now and it’s too late to make changes. It would be perceived as a sign of weakness. And you’re already fighting a wimp image.”

Ben bristled. “Look, here in Washington, you may think it’s always best to come on like a two-ton pile of bricks, but in my experience, most people respond better to a calm and reasoned approach.”

“That’s our problem.” He paused. “Your experience doesn’t mean crap here.”

Ben clenched his teeth. “No one is persuaded by somebody who acts like an asshole.”

“You’re not trying to persuade anyone. Tad is!” Sexton shook his head. “Damn it, Ben, you’ve got to stop thinking like a trial attorney. This is a whole new arena. Tad is the one who has to be calm and reasonable. You should act like an asshole. You’re there to be his asshole. An attack dog in heat. You fight the fight so he doesn’t have to. You protect him.”

“I have protected him.”

“Bull. You left him hanging out to dry, morning and afternoon. He saved himself.”

Christina stepped forward. “That’s more than a little harsh. I totally disagree.”

Sexton acted as if she weren’t there. “Did you think that was bad out there today, Kincaid? Let me tell you something—that was nothing. Kid-glove stuff. They were going easy on you because they thought the nomination was dead in the water. Now that they know we have a little fight left in us, they’ll likely bring up the murder.”

“We can deal with that.”

“How? Your investigator has nothing. Listen to me, Ben—I was at the press conference when that woman’s corpse was uncovered. So were Gina and Charles. We saw the expressions on people’s faces. It doesn’t matter whether the police have linked Ray to the crime. It’s a blot on his record. A serious problem.”

“I don’t think they’ll play that card.”

“Then you are living in a dream world. Now that Tad has had a good day, made a good impression, they’ll be pulling out all the stops. Firing with all chambers. Shooting with—”

“I don’t mean to interrupt the stream of manly metaphors,” Ben said, “but I don’t need you to tell me that we face some tough opposition. I’ve known that from the start.”

“I have, too,” Roush said, stepping between them. “So cool it, both of you, okay? I’m the one whose butt is on the line. We need to be fighting our opponents, not each other.”

“And on that note,” Christina said, deftly joining the effort to change the subject as soon as possible, “am I the only one who heard that the lovely Senator Matera of Wyoming was seen with the leader of the Christian Congregation yesterday?”

Hammond sat up. “Richard Trevor? I hadn’t heard that. Who’s your source?”

Christina fluttered her eyelashes. “Oh, I get around.”

“Been here a few months and she’s got better intel than my senior staff.” He gave Ben a direct look. “Hang on to that lady.”

“I will. I mean, I want to. I mean—” Ben pressed two fingers against his forehead. “You know what I mean.”

“I for one wouldn’t object to a little clarification,” Christina said, lips pursed.

Ben slouched lower into his seat.

“So Trevor and Matera are talking. Probably wooing a replacement Supreme Court nominee. And I have a pretty good idea who that will be.” Hammond batted his finger against his lips. “I have to tell you, Tad. This isn’t good news.”

“What’s the problem?” Roush asked. “I’m the one with the nomination.”

“For the moment,” Sexton said. “But the Christian Congregation represents a huge voting bloc, and they’re not all nutcases who think God sends hurricanes to Florida to punish gays and career women, either. If both the President and the President’s biggest pocketbook are backing the same nominee, and the powers that be know it, they’re going to be fighting even harder to kill this nominee. They’re going to aim for the head. Fire with both barrels. Charge like—”

“Yes, yes, we know,” Ben said, cutting him off. “They’ll go nuclear.” He turned to Christina. “Any idea whether Judge Haskins is interested?”

“In an appointment to the Supreme Court? I think we have to assume he is.”

“I saw him give a press conference with his wife and the mother of that baby he saved, and he indicated otherwise.”

“No one wants to be overt about it,” Gina Carraway said. “These are judges, not politicians. Presidents usually avoid anyone who appears to be campaigning for the job. On the other hand, if the President needs a candidate who is sure to be confirmed quickly and without objection, he could hardly do better than the man who saved a baby from a burning building. Never mind arguing about judicial qualifications and deliberative theories; most Americans don’t really understand what appeal judges do anyway. As soon as the President starts calling him a ‘bona fide American hero,’ he’ll be unstoppable.”

“So we have to make sure he never gets a chance to be nominated,” Ben said quietly.

“Yes,” Sexton concurred. “That’s what you have to do.”

Thanks, Ben thought, drumming his fingers on the table. I always work best under pressure. Not.