Michael Palmer - Oath of Office

He was lonely.

Fantasizing that Darlene might fill that void had been where he went off the track, so to speak.

Smiling at the irony of the image, Lou padded to the kitchen for some cold cranberry juice and a four-pack of SnackWell’s vanilla cookies. There was nothing that could happen in his life that the combination of the two wouldn’t help. He had just returned the Ocean Spray to the fridge when his doorbell buzzer went off. Nine thirty. A little brazen of this reporter-no, a lot brazen. Ready to dismiss whoever it was with a lesson in civility, he stalked to the intercom.

“You’re way out of line coming here at this hour,” he snapped. “Now, go home and write a story about consideration for others.”

“Lou, it’s Darlene,” her voice said softly. “Can I come up?”

“Of course you can come up,” Lou said well after he had buzzed her in.

Moments later, she was there beside him, and all the work he had done reeling in his feelings crumbled. She was wearing jeans and a Windbreaker as she had when they first met, and just as then, she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

“I figured you came to my house last night,” she said. “The least I could do was come to yours.”

The summons to attend a critical meeting at the White House had come from Martin Mallory’s chief of staff, Leonard Santoro. Lou was ushered into the Cabinet room, where most of the Cabinet, as well as the vice president and Speaker of the House questioned him politely about what they called the Chester Affair. The president showed up toward the end of Lou’s testimony, and the First Lady arrived just as Lou was about to leave. Aside from shaking his hand, and a moment of eye contact, there was no obvious connection between them. When the session was over for him, Lou was escorted without comment to his car. He drove home with the strong sense that Mallory’s presidency was about to come to an end.

“I like your place,” Darlene said, taking a spot on the couch without waiting for Lou to offer her one.

He took the other end, knee on a cushion, hands folded in his lap. “Thanks,” he said. “Next to some other places I’ve lived, it’s the Taj Mahal. Emily likes it here, and that’s what really counts, and I love being right across the street from the gym. Do you want something? Milk? Juice? Cookies?”

Darlene shook her head. “I won’t stay long. Is Emily okay?”

“Doing fine. Hopefully she’ll never know how close she came to being fatherless.”

“I know. Martin and I listened to your testimony last night from his office. What you and your friends went through was so damn horrible. You were terrific, by the way.”

“Thanks. I probably wouldn’t have been able to speak if I had known you were listening.”

“You do know that sending in the Rangers was Martin’s idea, yes?”

Lou nodded. “His man Santoro told me. Santoro didn’t say so, and maybe he didn’t know, but I was pretty sure you had something to do with it.”

“When I found out about the deal with China, I pushed and shouted for that train to be stopped. I spoke about what you and I had learned about Kings Ridge. I even pleaded with Marty that there were more important things in life than being president if it came to that. For the first time, he didn’t simply dismiss me out of hand. He just got real quiet and still, and then asked to be alone. When he called me back into his office, he told me he had spoken with William Chester and told him he was going to cancel the deal with the Chinese. He demanded the train be stopped immediately.”

“But Chester refused.”

“Exactly. There was a lot of money at stake, not just for the corn, but for the technology. Billions, I think.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Lou said.

“Chester said the cargo ships and planes were waiting, and the shipments were going to happen no matter what. He also said that you were totally wrong and the corn had been proved safe through thousands of trials in humans. Martin mentioned the communication you and I had with Edwin, and Chester went ballistic. If he had to, he said, he would divert one of the trains to one of his distribution centers here in the States and give the corn away. Then he would just make a deal with the Chinese himself. Martin decided that Chester had gone over the edge. He sent in a reconnaissance flight and got the report that there were armed guards and that men were being held at gunpoint beside the train.”

“Guess who,” Lou said.

“I know. Well, Martin tried one last time to reason with Chester, but apparently the guy actually hung up on him. That’s when Martin sent in the Rangers. Their instructions were to avoid bloodshed at all costs and take Chester and his men prisoner. But before they could do that, some of Chester’s goons started shooting. You know the rest.”

“I’d like to say I’m sorry, but you, your husband, and the Rangers saved our lives.” Lou chewed on his lip for a time, then reluctantly asked, “So what happens next?”

He could see the answer in her eyes.

“Martin met with his people and discussed if there was a spin they could put on things that would at least get him through to the election. If he just stayed in the race, there was no predicting what might happen. They considered telling the world that a large shipment of drugs was involved, but in the end they decided that there were too many ways things could break down, and they would end up with another Watergate on their hands.”

“So he’s just going to go with the truth.”

“It came down to being guilty of a colossal lapse of judgment, or trying to get away with an equally grand lie.”

“You and Lisa should be proud of him.”

Darlene’s eyes had begun to well. “Lou, before he went out to tell his advisers his decision, he asked me if I would stay with him if he resigned. I wasn’t surprised that I told him I would. What I was surprised about was that I found myself thinking about you when I did. Weird, because we’ve known each other such a short time.”

“Believe me, I’ve been thinking the same sort of thing.”

“I felt pretty sure that was the case.” Darlene shrugged what can you do? but her expression said much more. “I think the announcement is going to come tomorrow. It’s a shame. Martin’s not a bad man. He just made a bad mistake.”

“Is Victor outside?” Lou asked.

“Nope. He gave me his car when I asked. I came alone. Wasn’t sure I’d remember how to drive. I didn’t even know if you’d be home. It’s silly, I know, given our situations, but I … I just wanted to be sure you knew that when Martin leaves, I’ll be going with him.”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Lou asked, swallowing against the sudden appearance of a softball in his throat.

“As I told you, he and I were on shaky ground before all this happened. I was seriously starting to think about a separation, even before I met you.”

“That would have been hard.”

“I don’t care. After you and I met, those thoughts intensified. I don’t believe I’ve ever met a man as genuine and caring as you are. If Martin hadn’t made the call to Chester, I really think I would have left him.”

Lou flashed on the corn rising past his mouth and nose, and actually managed a grim smile. “I don’t think we would have benefited much as a couple if that’s the way it had come down,” he said.

“I suppose not,” she said, her expression bittersweet. “Lou, I know it’s not fair, but please, come and sit by me here.”

Lou hesitated and then did as she asked.

She set her hand on his and made no attempt to stem a gentle flow of tears. “I can’t leave Martin,” she said. “Not now. Not after the choice he made. Not after he … saved you.”