Davids shoulders dropped. He paused. Thomas, I can do that for you. Then what? Are you going to reread a Nuclear Regulatory Commission briefing from three years ago? I think weve got bigger fish to fry right now. Weve got an ongoing crisis in the Middle East, and a drumbeat for war in the media and in the halls of Congress. Weve got stolen radioactive material and a potential terrorist attack unfolding in New York City. Were losing the right flank in our own party. They may well go over to the other side en masse by this afternoon. And the second most powerful man in Washington just called for your impeachment. We are standing on an island, and the water is rising all around us. We need to take action, and we need to do it today.

Hayes had never felt so lost. It was all too much. His wife and daughters were on vacation in Hawaii. Good for them. He wished he was there instead of here.

He reached for David Halstram like the man was a life preserver tossed to him in a stormy sea.

What do we do?

We circle the wagons, David said. Your cabinet is still firm. They have your back. I took the liberty of calling a meeting for later this morning. Were going to get all the big brains in here and build a unified front. Kate Hoelscher at Treasury. Marcus Jones at the State Department. Dave Delliger at Defense cant be here for obvious reasons, but hes going to call in on the secure line. And Susan Hopkins is flying in from the West Coast as we speak.

Susan, Hayes began.

He couldnt even get past the name. For more than half a decade, he had done everything in his power to distance himself from his running mate and Vice President. The whole situation with Susan, the reality of her, embarrassed him. She had begun life as a fashion model. When she retired from that at age twenty-four, she married a technology billionaire. When her kids reached school age, she launched herself into politics with her husbands money.

People loved her because she was beautiful. She had stayed fit and healthy and enthusiastic into early middle-age. A womans magazine had recently photographed her out jogging in bright orange yoga pants and a tank top. She was a decent public speaker. She was unstoppable at ribbon-cuttings and cook-offs. Her issues were breast cancer awareness (as if somehow people were not already aware of breast cancer), lifelong exercise, and childhood obesity.

Eleanor Roosevelt she wasnt.