She rolled over. The clock read 4.31am. Her deputy Kaori’s face was on the slate, coming in over a highly encrypted link from Kaori’s home office.

Pryce answered. “Go.”

“You need to see this,” Kaori said. “Barnes is dead.”

Then the video started to play.

She was on her way to the President’s suite five minutes later.

Secret Service let her pass. She went in to find the President standing, a red velvet robe tied around him, his face still with attention. Even in a robe, even in his fifties, he was undeniably the athlete, dominating the room with his height, his broad shoulders, that square jaw, his sheer physical presence. Behind him, Cindy Stockton was sitting up in bed, wrapped in her own more delicate dressing gown. The First Lady’s eyes were wide open in horror. On the wall screen the video Pryce had just seen was finishing.

“I’ve killed men to keep my secrets,” Barnes was saying. “To keep the President’s secrets.”

Then she saw Greg Chase, standing by the screen, in suit and tie. Did he sleep that way?

Barnes said something else on the video, then he leaned back, and fell, and fell, and fell, a long way down into the fast moving river, and the video collapsed into black.

“Jesus,” the President said.

“It’s going viral, Mr President,” Chase said. “All the networks. Everywhere on the net. We’re getting press inquiries now.”

“We’re under attack,” Stockton said. Then he went on. “What’s the weather in DC?”

Someone behind her answered.

“The storm’s dissipating.” It was Larry Cline, the President’s Campaign Manager. “Air Force One should be able to land by the time we gather every one up and reach DC. Or at least get us close.”

Stockton nodded. “Cancel the rest of the trip, Larry,” he said. “I need to speak to the country. From the White House.”

[Kaori: They’ve identified the bridge. PA state police & DHS are searching river for the body]

[Pryce: I want Barnes’s movements and calls for the last 48 hours. No. Last month.]

[Kaori: Why us?]

[Pryce: POTUS asked.]

[Kaori: OK. What else.]

[Pryce: So he wasn’t at ERD headquarters when Holtzman died?]

[Kaori: ERD says no one entered the room. Door remained closed till Internal Affairs opened it.]

[Pryce: Bullshit. Someone killed Holtzman.]

[Kaori: Yep.]

[Pryce: Get Holtzman’s movements and calls for the month leading up to his death too. Longer if you can.]

[Kaori: Will do]

[Pryce: Video analysis of both videos. Any chance they’re fabrications?]

[Kaori: Already on it. Should have something for you shortly.]

[Pryce: Good. Records search. Start matching the text of the PLF-creation memos against classified archives. Phrase matches. Partial matches. Maybe someone slipped up and left an early draft accessible.]

[Kaori: You think any of it’s real?]

[Pryce: Go hunting as if it is real. That’s the only way to be sure it’s not.]