“Democracy has always been messy, but now it seems to be going beyond that. Chaos is too strong a word, but we may be moving in that direction. And faster than I would have guessed.” He shook his head in irritation. “I wish I could send everyone in America to live under the dictatorship in Turkmenistan. Or to spend a little time in a New Delhi slum. Maybe they’d gain a little perspective about how good they have it. But I can’t. So instead, they’ll listen to politicians tell them how they’re getting screwed. Or the media telling them about all the things that can kill them. Or some YouTube influencer showing off their fake idyllic life. Where’s it all leading?”

“I wish I knew,” Kennedy said.

“Me too, but I’m starting to get glimpses of possible futures that didn’t exist only a few years ago. I can see our democracy collapsing into something that more resembles what they have in Moscow. I can see states actually trying to secede again. And what’s weird is that I can see those things happening in our lifetime. Think how much this country’s changed in the last five years. The last ten. And it seems like it’s accelerating. Where will we be at the end of the next decade?”

“But what side of all that is Anthony Cook on?”

Nash laughed. “I know you don’t like him, but he’s actually not that bad. He’s thinking about the future in a way that maybe no president has had to. He doesn’t seem particularly happy about it, though. I imagine he wants four years of smooth sailing, to get reelected, and to build a nice library. But the way I see it—and probably the way he sees it—he doesn’t have that luxury. Wrong place. Wrong time.”

Kennedy nodded slowly, warming her hands on the teacup. Not really an answer, but at this point maybe there wasn’t one. Or maybe there was, and she just couldn’t find it. She was pulling back too much. Counting on Mike Nash to run too much interference. She needed either to do this job to the best of her ability or to step aside.

“Contact the Chinese,” she said finally. “I want to talk to them about the North Korean facility. Over the phone if possible, face-to-face if necessary. Even if this is just a feint by the Korean leadership, it’s crossing the line. But if it’s real, then we need to decide how far we’re willing to go to head it off.”

“Will do,” Nash said, gathering his things. “And on another subject. Have you heard anything out of Mitch lately?”

“I haven’t. My understanding is that Scott’s still in Uganda but I’m not sure where Mitch is. I assume back home.”