He called down to have his limousine brought around, grabbed his jacket off the coat rack, and turned off the light on his desk. Just as he was walking out of the office, an assistant called out, “Mr. Secretary, it’s the secretary of defense. What do you want me to tell him?” Reluctantly, Wong picked up the phone and stabbed at the flashing button with his finger. “Al, I was just leaving. What’s up?”

A worried Al Augustus responded, “James, we’ve got a political crisis that could hurt us worse than the meteor. I’ve got to see you right away.”

“Al,” the secretary moaned, “I’ve been on the wire to Asia and Europe all night long. I’m dead tired. Can’t it wait until morning?”

“Okay, Jimmy. I guess you’re right. We’ll both think more clearly after a few hours’ sleep,” the equally weary secretary of defense replied. “Your place is only two blocks away from mine. What do you say? Can you come by for breakfast at six-thirty? We may be a few minutes late for the cabinet meeting, but I’ll ask the good lady from Energy to hold the fort until we get there.”

“Al,” James asked, sensing the gravity of his friend’s late-night call, “what’s this all about?”

“Not on the phone, Jimmy,” he said. “Just come over tomorrow, and I’ll fill you in.”

“I’ll be there at six-thirty,” James Wong replied. Then, he quickly hung up the phone, took his private elevator to the street floor, walked to his limousine, got in, and promptly fell asleep in the backseat on the way home.

Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

SECRETARY JAMES WONG arrived at the lovely Georgetown residence of Al Augustus at 6:30 on the dot Friday morning. His body was beginning to ache from fatigue. eThe door was opened by a German woman in her sixties who had been with the Augustus family for decades. She ushered Wong into the elegant dining room with its eighteenth-century furnishings and sparkling crystal chandelier.

Al rose from the table and greeted him, then nodded to the German woman to withdraw. “Welcome, James,” he said warmly. “Help yourself.”

James was too keyed up even to consider a large breakfast. He went over to the sideboard, selected a large blueberry muffin, poured a cup of coffee, then sat where his host motioned for him to sit. “Al, what’s all the mystery about?”

Al leaned across the table and said, “James, you are one of the few people in Washington I trust implicitly. As you know, the offices and cars in this town get bugged a lot. I sweep my home regularly for bugs and wiretaps. We can speak freely here.”

“Fine, Al. That’s just fine,” James Wong replied and took a sip of his coffee. “But what are we to speak freely about?”

“It’s a coup d’état,” Al said.

“A what?” James shot back.