Consent To Kill

43

Kennedy went straight for the situation room. In her twenty plus years at the CIA she had never sat through a bigger cover-your-ass meeting. It was not her boss or the attorney general or the secretary of state who she was upset with, though. She had expected them to protect their fiefdoms, just not so soon. Her ire was directed at the president. She'd never seen him so ineffectual before and especially on an issue where she thought he would be every bit as upset as she was. None of it made sense.

She reached the outer door to the situation room and punched her code into the cipher lock. She opened the heavy door and ignored the duty officer who was sitting behind a desk a few paces ahead. Kennedy turned to her left and entered the soundproof conference room, where she was surprised to see two individuals sitting at the far end of the long, shiny, wood table. Before she had a chance to address them, the president entered the room and closed the door. The two men attempted to stand, but the president told them not to bother.

Kennedy assumed Senators Walsh and Hartsburg had been asked by the president to come to this meeting. As to why, she hadn't a clue. Instead of sitting in his normal chair at the head of the table nearest the door, Hayes walked to the other end of the room and grabbed the chair next to Senator Hartsburg, "Irene, have a seat."

Kennedy took her place and the president walked around the table and sat next to Senator Walsh. Hayes leaned forward and placed his forearms on the table. "Irene, I'm sorry you had to sit through that."

Kennedy was rarely caught off guard, and she rarely allowed anger to get the best of her, but today was a day of firsts. "Mr. President, would you mind telling me just what in the hell is going on?"

"Irene, there isn't a proverbial snowball's chance in hell that the explosion was an accident. You know it, I know it, and they know it."

"Then why are you allowing them to put Mitch on ice and cut the CIA out of this?"

"I'm not."

"That's not what I just heard upstairs."

"Irene, what do you think Mitch is going to do when he's well enough to get out of bed?" the president asked.

Kennedy knew the answer, but was reluctant to respond to the question.

Senator Hartsburg coughed and said, "He's going to kill anyone who had anything to do with his wife's death."

"That's right," said the president, "and I can't say I blame him."

"Then what's this nonsense about revoking his passport and putting him under protective custody?"

"Not my idea." Hayes shook his head. "And what does it really matter? You and I both know there's no stopping him. Passport or not…he's going to leave the country and go wherever he damn well pleases."

"Mr. President, I'm confused. Mitch has sacrificed a great deal for this country. I think there is a better way to handle this than treating him like a criminal." Kennedy shook her head in disgust. "To be honest, sir, after all Mitch has done for you, I would have expected you to stand by him when he needs you most. Not cave into the demands of a few cabinet members."

Hayes took the rebuke surprisingly well. He sat back and looked at his two former colleagues from the Senate and then slowly returned his gaze to Kennedy. "I'm going to let you in on something that only a handful of people know, but first I need your word that you will not discuss this with anyone."

Kennedy looked at him intently. "Of course."

"I've decided not to seek reelection."

Kennedy's eyes opened a bit wider upon hearing the shocking news. With a little more than a year left in his first term, and a solid approval rating, there wasn't a person in town who had even mentioned the possibility of Hayes not seeking a second term. "Do you mind my asking why, sir?"

"I have some health issues that I think preclude me from serving as president."

Kennedy wanted to ask what those health issues were, but knew it could be personal. "I'm sorry, Mr. President."

Hayes glanced up at the clocks on the far wall and then said, "Parkinson's. It runs in my family. My mother's side."

"But I haven't noticed any signs."

"They're there. Trust me. I've been taking medication for five months. At first the results were good, but over the last few weeks things have gotten worse. My doctor tells me I should have no problem serving out my first term, but any hope of a second term would be purely selfish."

"But Parkinson's…"

Hayes shook his head. He'd studied every side of it. He'd discussed it with his wife until they had beaten the subject to death. Was there a chance he could stay on top of his game for four more years? The answer was maybe, and maybe wasn't good enough. And then there was the other issue of his physical appearance. That was the thing that really decided it for him. Hayes smiled and said to Kennedy, "The man in charge of the word's most potent nuclear arsenal cannot be seen standing at a podium with shaky hands."

Kennedy blinked slowly and glanced at the other two men. They all knew he was right, and admired him for making the difficult decision. There were others who would not have relinquished the mantle of power so easily. "Mr. President, I'm very sorry."

"Don't be. This office is bigger than any single person. It's been my honor to serve." Hayes regarded his two old friends from the Senate. Walsh smiled, Hartsburg frowned, and they both nodded. The two career politicians would have gladly settled for one term. Not one to feel sorry for himself, Hayes changed the subject. "Irene, let me lay things out for you. I have a vice president who is in over his head, I have a deeply flawed attorney general, a secretary of state who is more concerned with appeasing foreign governments than protecting our own long-term national security, and I have a new director of National Intelligence who will probably throw a party when he learns that I have Parkinson's." Hayes gave Hartsburg a sideways glance. It was Hartsburg who had recommended Ross for the top intelligence job.

The gruff senator said, "Bob, he's an ambitious fellow, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he's going to celebrate your misfortune."

"Okay, he'll celebrate his own opportunity."

"He's off to a bit of a rocky start," Hartsburg conceded and then looked to Kennedy. "Don't worry. We'll have a talk with him and get him settled down."

"The point is, Irene," the president said, "that I don't plan on spending my last year in office refereeing battles between my cabinet members. They sprang this one on me this morning," Hayes shook his head, "I should have seen it coming, but I didn't have a lot of time to prepare for it. As it is, I don't agree with them, but I do see their point."

"I'm afraid I don't, sir."

"We are a civilized country ruled by laws. We are constantly preaching to other countries about free speech, due process, and fair and just courts. It is one of the most important missions of the State Department. Here at home, our Justice Department and the courts are tasked with keeping things fair. A crime has been committed on American soil. Yes, it was perpetrated against an employee of the CIA, but the jurisdiction still falls squarely in the lap of Justice, and there is nothing any of us can do about that."

"Irene," said Senator Walsh, "there's another angle to consider. Mitch's wife was a fairly well-known reporter. The press is going to follow this story closely. The Justice Department would much rather announce that this was an accident, that way they won't have to set the bar too high for themselves. They'll quietly continue to investigate, but my guess is they will not classify it as a crime unless they have a suspect they can pin it on."

"That explosion was not an accident."

"We all know that," answered Hayes.

"Then what are we going to do about it?"

"Let me be very clear about this." Hayes placed his forearms on the table and clasped his hands. "I want whoever did this brought to justice, and I want it to happen quickly. I don't want an investigation that goes on for years, and I don't want to see a single person dragged in front of a court unless there is absolutely no other alternative."

"What about the Justice Department?"

"Let them run their official investigation." Hayes waved his hand as if the massive Justice Department were some inconsequential nuisance. "You and Special Agent McMahon have a good working relationship. Anything he finds I want him to pass on to you, but to be honest, I expect you to be way out in front of him on this."

"Why is that, sir?"

"Because you don't have to play by the rules, Irene, and they do."

"What about Ross?" Kennedy turned to Senator Hartsburg.

"Mark will be fine."

Kennedy shook her head. "I don't think so." She looked to the president expecting him to back her up. Ross had after all told the president about Rapp's insubordination and thuggish behavior.

Instead of giving her a knowing nod, Hayes's face twisted into a frown of confusion.

Kennedy realized at that moment that Ross had lied to her. "Mr. President, I don't think Director Ross has been as forthright with you as he's led me to believe."

"What has he led you to believe?"

"He told me that he briefed you on a problem he'd had with Mitch recently."

Hayes shook his head. "He hasn't said a word to me about Mitch since he got the job."

"Last week I was having a meeting in my office with Mitch and Scott Coleman." Kennedy spoke directly to the president. "Director Ross showed up at Langley unannounced and barged in on the meeting." Kennedy went on to explain how the IRS showed up on Scott Coleman's doorstep the next day and that Ross had his people call the Pentagon and request Coleman's service record. She ended the recap by explaining that Rapp had decided to pay Ross a visit at his office and when he walked in, Ross was having a meeting with several investigators and the topic of conversation was Scott Coleman. Rapp picked up a dossier containing Coleman's tax returns and slapped Ross across the face with it."

Hartsburg looked a little stricken, while Walsh and the president sat in stunned silence until finally Senator Walsh said, "I told both of you he was the wrong man for the job."

"He'll be fine," said a defensive Hartsburg. "I'll have a talk with him."

"He's done listening to you," grumbled Walsh. "I told you, he's a damn power-hungry peacock."

"I'll talk to him," the president said quietly.

"I don't want you to have to do that, Mr. President." Hartsburg had pushed Ross on the president and he felt obliged to straighten out the mess. "Let me have one more shot at him."

"Fine." Hayes turned his attention back to Kennedy. "We'll keep Ross off your back. You just stay out in front of Justice and the FBI."

"What about Mitch?"

The president leaned back and gave the matter some thought. After a lengthy pause he said, "Officially…I want him involved in the CIA's international aspect of this investigation. Please take special note of the word international." Hayes paused for effect. "Unofficially…he has my consent to kill anyone who had a direct hand in this."