“I’m sure your people are already looking into that as we speak. Mark, level with me, does Chaney have the inside track?”

“Opinion polls show Chaney’s popularity stretches across both party and racial lines. He’s down-to-earth. The public trusts him even more than Colin Powell.”

“Don’t confuse trust with qualifications.” Borgia stands, then paces. “The polls also show Americans are concerned about Russia’s collapsed economy and how it will affect the European market.”

“Pierre, take it easy. A lot can happen in forty-five days.”

Borgia exhales. “I’m sorry, Mr.President. It’s a great honor just to be considered. Listen, I’d better get going, I have to meet with General Fecondo before this afternoon briefing.”

Borgia shakes his friend’s hand, then starts for the camouflaged panel door. He turns before leaving. “Mark, any advice?”

The president sighs. “I don’t know. Heidi did mention something at breakfast. Ever thought about replacing that patch with a glass eye?”

Dominique exits the treatment facility’s lobby, the south Florida summer heat blasting her in the face. A distant bolt of lightning streaks across an ominous afternoon sky. Shifting the leather-bound journal from her right hand to her left, she presses her thumb to the keyless entry, unlocking the driver’s side door of the brand-new, black Pronto Spyder convertible, an early graduation gift from Edie and Iz. She places the journal on the passenger seat, buckles her seat belt, then presses her thumb to the ignition pad, registering the annoying microscopic pinprick.

The dashboard computer jumps to life, flashing its message:

ACTIVATING IGNITION SEQUENCE.

IDENTIFICATION VERIFIED. ANTITHEFT SYSTEM DEACTIVATED.

She feels the now-familiar double dunk as the axle locks disengage.

CHECKING BLOOD-ALCOHOL LEVEL. PLEASE STAND BY …

Dominique lays her head back against the leather seat, watching the first heavy drops of rain pelt the polyethylene terephthalate plastic hood of her roadster. Patience is a requirement of the new safety ignition features, but she knows it is well worth the extra three minutes. Drunk driving has become the leading cause of death in the United States. By the fall of next year, all vehicles will be required to have the blood-alcohol devices installed.

The ignition activates.

BLOOD ALCOHOL AT ACCEPTABLE LEVELS. PLEASE DRIVE SAFELY.

Dominique adjusts the air conditioner, then presses the power button of the Digital DJ CD player. The built-in computer processor reacts either to voice inflection or touch to interpret the driver’s mood, selecting the appropriate music from among hundreds of preprogrammed selections.

The heavy bass of the Rolling Stones’ latest album, Past Our Prime, begins pumping out of the surround-sound speakers. She backs out of the visitors lot and begins the forty-minute drive home.