Contents ( 84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
Despite what Duffy had said, Michael did not follow. Not yet. There was something he wanted to know.
‘You weren’t surprised,’ he said slowly, his mind only a step ahead of his voice. ‘Or confused.’
The man turned his head back towards Michael.
‘What?’
‘Will Duffy just accused Romeo Meyer of being involved in all this. You, too. Yet you didn’t bat an eyelid at the suggestion, or at the mention of his name.’
Michael saw the flash of uncertainty and anger in the man’s face; he didn’t like what he was hearing.
Michael continued.
‘And if none of it surprised you, and if none of it confused you, what’s the logical conclusion?’
Michael was now doing what he did best. He was cross-examining. But unlike a trial, this witness could not be compelled to answer. Or to stay.
The smile returned.
‘We’ll see you very soon, counsellor.’
He turned and walked away, leaving Michael with his moment of bravado ebbing away, replaced with a leaden feeling in the pit of his stomach.
It was an instinct that had never failed him before.
This just got dangerous.
TWENTY-FOUR
‘The problem, surely, is the groundswell of public opinion on this?’
It was 8 a.m. in Washington DC, and Kelvin Cunningham was attending a presidential meeting. His second of the day. The first had been just Cunningham and President John Knowles himself, but the follow-up was much more heavily attended. Cunningham, Knowles and seven others. Six of whom had left Cunningham’s Georgetown home barely nine hours earlier.
It was the seventh man – Nicolas Dupart – who now held the floor.
Cunningham watched Dupart from his usual seat next to the Resolute desk, an ornate wooden unit gifted to the United States by Britain’s Queen Victoria in 1880 and first appointed to the Oval Office by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. Now a mainstay of the world’s most famous workspace, the desk had become an iconic symbol of the position Knowles held.
Like most presidents since JFK, the current commander-in-chief conducted his day-to-day business from its far side, looking outwards onto those who had secured their time in the presidential presence.
From the perspective of the seven men facing him, Knowles was framed by three floor-to-ceiling windows and the two flags that flanked them.
Cunningham was sat by the president’s side. It was an auspicious position. Exactly where one would expect to find a second-in-command. And that was, as far as Cunningham was concerned, no less than his role deserved.
The office of deputy assistant to the president did not carry the kudos of a secretary of state or a vice-president. Or the public attention of the senior sounding assistant to the president. But where were any of them right now? Where were they while Cunningham was in the room and beside the man? Unlike politicians with more impressive titles and media profiles, Cunningham’s position placed him at the ultimate seat of power. Trappings of office be damned; for him, nothing mattered more than the unseen influence he enjoyed.