The Abduction by James Grippando Read Free Book Online Page B

at the brow by the time they emerged from the White House basement.
    The meeting was scheduled for seven-thirty inthe Oval Office. As usual, President Sires was late. Wilcox and Helmers sat in silence in the first-floor lobby of the West Wing, sipping White House coffee beneath a framed antique map of Colorado, the president’s home state. At eight-fifteen the president’s executive secretary led them to the Oval Office. Barbara Killian, the stoic chief of staff, greeted them at the door.
    “Gentlemen,” she said ominously.
    The president stood at the center of the room, dressed in a madras shirt and khaki slacks, crouched over a little white ball in a somewhat awkward putting stance. A long, thin strip of synthetic putting green stretched across the presidential seal woven into the oval office carpet. A half-dozen golf balls surrounded the plastic cup at the other end of the greenery, each engraved with the slogan “Fore More Years.”
    He took a smooth stroke, sending the ball eighteen feet straight into the cup. “Yesssss!”
    “Good shot, Mr. President,” said the chief of staff.
    He flashed a boyish grin. “They don’t call me Lucky Chucky for nothing.” He laid his putter aside and greeted his guests, directing them to the armchairs facing his desk. No introductions were necessary.
    “Thank you for taking the time to meet with us, Mr. President,” said Wilcox.
    The president returned to his leather chair, flashing his trademark smile. “Hey, we lame ducks have all the time in the world.”
    Then why the hell did you keep us waiting for forty-five minutes? thought Wilcox. “Not to be disrespectful, sir, but with just eight days to the election, time is running out for Allison Leahy. She isgoing to lose this election if she doesn’t get her head out of the sand and flat out deny that she has ever cheated on her husband. I’ve told her that. Eric has told her that. The polls are telling her that.”
    “Shoot, David. You can’t put that much stock in polls. If I actually believed my public approval rating was as high as the pollsters say it is, I’d be out there dating again.”
    Wilcox grimaced.
    “That was a joke,” said the president.
    The chief of staff chuckled dutifully. Wilcox forced a smile, then turned serious. “Someone needs to talk to her, sir. You’re still her boss. It should come from you.”
    The president leaned back in his chair, framed by the American flags behind him. “Allison is a woman of strong principles. That’s why I named her attorney general. It’s not my place to tell her what to say on matters relating to her own personal integrity.”
    “Sir, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it weren’t crunch time.”
    President Sires folded his hands atop the desk. The smile was gone. He was suddenly presidential. “Let’s be frank. The whole world knows that Allison Leahy wasn’t my first choice for the Democratic nomination. To this day, I believe there was no stronger successor to the Sires administration than my own vice president.”
    Wilcox bristled. “So you’re saying you want Allison to lose?”
    “Of course not. Personal feelings aside, I realize that a lot of senators, congressmen, governors, and everyone else on down the line could get hurt bad by a presidential candidate with no coattails. So Isupport Allison. But I’m not going to micromanage her campaign.”
    “This is not micromanagement. This is the difference between winning and losing.”
    The chief of staff checked her watch, catching the president’s eye.
    He rose from behind his desk, taking the cue. “Just one more thing before we break, gentlemen. Although I didn’t support Allison for the nomination, I respect her position on this issue. I have no doubt in my mind that she could truthfully deny she’s ever cheated on her husband. But if she answers that question, she’s setting a precedent that will haunt every woman who ever runs for president in the future. Now, I won’t stand here and