Michael Palmer - A Heartbeat Away

“Sir, there was evidence presented inside this chamber that suggests you may have condoned or even ordered murder.”

“Well, obviously that’s not the truth, and you know it.”

“All I know is what I saw on that videorecording,” Ellis said. “Answer one question for me, Mr. President.”

“Go on.”

“Did you authorize the military’s use of deadly force?”

Allaire’s eyes narrowed.

“No,” he had said.

“Well then, I’d like to form a special committee to establish independent corroboration of that claim. I assume you’ll vigorously endorse such a measure. Unless, of course, you have something to hide … sir.”

“And just how do you propose going about organizing such a committee, Ursula?”

“Simple, Mr. President,” Ellis had said, her tone syrupy with confidence. “At my last count, we have two hundred and eighty voting members of the House of Representatives, all confined by your orders here inside the House Chamber. You have not made it clear whether or not I have access to the ones who are not here.”

“And your point?”

“Constitutionally speaking, whether or not we get the others, that gives us a quorum to conduct business.”

Allaire went from calm to livid in a blink.

“You want to hold an official House vote in the middle of this crisis? Are you insane?”

“With all due respect, sir, if your intention is to maintain order, you’ll need to reestablish trust. I believe this is the best way to proceed in doing that.”

“Let me get this straight,” Allaire said. “The purpose of this special committee of yours is to investigate me ?”

Ellis could almost feel the man’s desire to wrap his hands around her throat. The notion made her smile.

“Oh, not you specifically, Mr. President. The committee will focus on Senator Mackey’s tragic death. Naturally, I’d expect your full cooperation when the committee calls key witnesses to testify under oath. Yourself included.”

“And if I refuse my support?”

Ellis did not hesitate to respond, although given the jubilation she was feeling, it took effort to maintain an outward expression of gravity.

“In that case,” she said, “I’d request that the House Judiciary Committee consider evidence of wrongdoing. The Constitution does grant us the authority to impeach you for high crimes and misdemeanors. I’d say that murder falls under the former of those transgressions. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Ms. Ellis,” Allaire said, “given the threat to our nation posed by these circumstances, what you are doing borders on treason.”

“We have only one Constitution, sir, and I will be only one of those committed to protecting it.”

The anger on Allaire’s face had quickly yielded to stoicism.

“Conduct your hearing and call your vote,” he said. “You’ll have my support.”

“Thank you, Mr. President.”

Leland Gladstone crafted the first draft of the resolution to form the special committee. Ellis edited much of it. Still, she was impressed that her precocious aide’s prose demonstrated a remarkably mature acumen for the craft of politics. Multiple possible interpretations for every statement. Copies of the resolution were made in the media room, and were distributed to each voting member. Then Ellis called the quorum together. The measure passed with near unanimous support.

Ellis appointed herself chairperson, which did not violate House rules given the committee’s lack of a legislative agenda. Her next task was to select the fourteen committee members from a candidate pool of more than five times that number. The resolution called for equal representation from both parties, though Ellis’s presence ensured that deadlocks would be broken in her favor. She purposefully picked several Allaire loyalists. After they turned against their beloved leader, which Ellis was confident they would, the shockwaves sent through his supporters would be that much more profound.

Access to nearby meeting rooms was not permitted, so Ellis’s newly formed Select Committee met in a cordoned-off section in the upper gallery. Despite the frigid temperature outside, body heat was threatening to convert the chamber into a sauna. And of course, not only were the windows locked shut, but the air-conditioning had been disabled. Shipments of utilitarian clothing had finally been distributed throughout the three groups, and as a result, morale was slightly improved.

“Before we commence with committee proceedings, I want to personally thank each of you for putting aside extremely valid concerns for your own health and safety to focus on vital congressional business,” Ellis began. “I would have not pushed to create this select committee had I not believed it was of the utmost importance to the health and safety of our most pressing responsibility—the welfare of the citizens of the United States. Through your courageous vote, you’ve shown your support in the most significant of ways.”

Silver-haired Barbara Crain, a many-term representative from Delaware, whose ashen complexion cried out for fresh air, spoke first.

“To be honest, Madam Speaker, any action at this time is a welcome distraction. We are feeling impotent and stifled here.”

Many nodded agreement and Ellis graciously thanked them all again. She kept her attention focused on the body language of Allaire’s hardliners, and asked Gladstone to do the same. As she expected, they initially appeared ready to stonewall progress and vociferously defend Allaire to the end. Their postures would change soon enough.

“Just a procedural note,” Ellis said. “My aide, Mr. Gladstone, will be compiling complete and detailed reports of all committee activity. However, under the Open Meetings and Hearings rule, clause two of House Rule eleven, we’ve voted these proceedings will remain closed. Therefore, I’ll remind this committee to refrain from recording any of what is discussed here.”

A congressman from Ohio, overweight and perspiring profusely, scoffed, “We don’t even have anything to record with. Allaire’s damn Nazis have made sure of that.”

That led to a volatile exchange. Ellis banged her gavel to reestablish order.

“A reminder that we will conduct this committee with established House rules for special investigative committees. The chair recognizes herself for five minutes to deliver an opening statement.” Ellis had written out her remarks, but could have easily recited them from memory. “Today, we are faced with one of the greatest and gravest threats our country has ever known. I am of the opinion that this is a threat from within. By within I mean not only from the terrorists calling themselves Genesis, but from our own government, and, yes, from the president himself. It will be the business of this committee to ascertain the validity of my disturbing claim.

“Let us begin with an examination of the facts, such as they might be. Genesis, a known terrorist organization, has allegedly penetrated our extensive, state-of-the-art security to infect us with a virus of some sort. How did they accomplish such a feat without assistance from the very forces assigned to safeguard us? Why have we been prevented from participating in the response to this devastating attack? Why is the executive branch of our government not giving us, the legislative branch, the chance to do the job for which we were elected?”

Ellis paused and let her gaze linger longest on several of the staunchest Allaire supporters. Gladstone checked his watch and held up two fingers to signal Ellis the number of minutes she had spoken.

“As the gentleman from Ohio sadly pointed out,” she continued, “under presidential order, you no longer have phones to contact your own base of support. Why is that? Let me ask: How many of you have a major university in your congressional district?” Half the hands were raised. “And don’t these major universities have scientists? There are vast resources at our disposal that could assist in ameliorating this crisis, and yet we’re denied access. Why?” Again Ellis paused. She had learned that a question often carried more persuasive weight than a claim of fact.