“World leaders are too smart to be really stupid,” Strasky said. “All we have to do is keep the element of surprise.”

Penn stopped before he got to the bottom and turned. “This is the stupidest goddamn thing that this country has ever done,” he said.

“We can’t expect Israel to just sit idly while—”

“I know the arguments, Arlen. Jesus, I’ve been in the meetings. Blah, blah, blah, Iran has nukes. Tell me how a first strike can do anything but—”

The door at the top of the stairs opened and Angela Fortnight crossed the threshold. She was pissed. “Penn, would you please tell me when the United States Congress became a military state?”

“Good morning to you, too, Angela,” Penn said. Nothing spun up the House minority leader quite as tight as feigned politeness when she was on a rant.

Angela Fortnight, of Oregon’s Fifth, understood her job as minority leader to be the equivalent of being anointed most bothersome fly at the picnic. If Penn and his party proclaimed the sky to be blue, Angela and her team were sure to find it to be green, and to start an investigation into Penn’s association with companies that produced blue paint. It had been thus for the past few years—since the dissolution of civil political comity—and Angela seemed to revel in partisan antics. Penn was capable of playing the same games, but he hated having to do it.

“There’s nothing funny about any of this, Penn.”

“No, there’s not,” Penn agreed.

“These uniforms are a mistake,” Angela said.

“I couldn’t agree more. And I couldn’t have less sway in the matter. Serenity Prayer, and all of that. Have you heard any current news?”

“I haven’t heard any old news,” Angela snapped. “All I know is that this is the most dehumanizing experience I’ve ever been through.”

“Think of the rationale behind it, though,” Penn said. “And then think how much better off we will be than our constituents if this thing goes south. Have you seen any more of the leadership?”

“I think I saw Dennis Laraja in the line out there, but I’m not sure. There’s a sea of people out there. And your girl Vicky Emerson certainly threw a wrench in the works when she quit.”

“I just heard about that,” Penn said. “That had to be a tough choice for her.”

“Her choice damn near caused a panic,” Angela said. She sat heavily in one of the lecture hall chairs.

Penn sat on the edge of his new desk. “What does that mean?”