I have the keys to J.F.'s place. Meet me at your parking space
at six.

A.

PS: Your car looks great.

Alison.

Gabe flushed the toilet for effect and washed his hands. He was drying them when he returned to McCall.

"Nick, tell me something," he asked, sensing the answer before he had even voiced the question. "What nurse was assisting you during the MI?"

"It was the new one, Alison. She rushed over from the clinic in the Eisenhower Building. She's really excellent. Like having another M.D. Have you met her?"

"Yeah," Gabe replied, the tension gathering in his chest. "I've met her."

CHAPTER 17

Gabe left the White House at five and headed to the Watergate by cab. Following the realization that the bloods he had drawn on the president were missing and that Alison had been in the clinic assisting in the cardiac resuscitation, he had visited with the First Family and checked his patient over. Drew Stoddard was cheerful, alert, and energetic. He had some significant amnesia surrounding the events of the previous night, but his long-term memory was sharp, and his mental status testing showed no real holes.

"Admiral Ramrod thinks he runs this place," Drew said. "And to some extent he does. But sometimes I have to find a way to remind him that despite all the authority he has, I am still numero uno. Bringing you to Washington instead of taking Wright's suggestion that I go for a military doc was one way of keeping him in his place. You know, I don't think I mentioned it back in Tyler, but the initial idea to bring you on board was my father's. He really thinks a great deal of you."

"And I do of him."

"You think you can handle the admiral okay?"

"With your support, I can handle him as much as I need to."

"So I get another day as the Big Kahuna?"

The question was asked with some lightness, but there was no mistaking the seriousness behind it.

"You get another day," Gabe said.

"How long a leash?"

"For the time being, short—very short."

For a moment, the president seemed ready for debate.

"Maybe after tomorrow, I can start doing a little campaigning?" he ventured, finally. "You know, to keep my job?"

"Let's do this a day at a time, Drew. I've lined up a consultant who should be here sometime tomorrow. I need to share some of the burden you've heaped onto these stooped shoulders. He's the one I've chosen."