“Well, not all by himself. There’s no mechanism for it, see. The best that could happen is that the Secretary of the Air Force would knuckle under to Congress’s prodding, but that isn’t too likely, no matter how much Forrester hammers them. However, if there were another appeal by LSR moving forward at the same time as this—if we appeal the decision to a higher court, and all this other stuff is breaking in Congress, then a new judge will almost certainly overturn Tobiason’s decision, and you’ll be back in business.”

“You think so?”

“I’m sure of it. So we’re sending a letter to you and to Argo/Blessman advising you to authorize us to initiate an appeal, but I wanted to tell you about it since you’re the liaison, so you can do what needs to be done at your end.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll get right on it. So—so, you think we have a chance with this?”

“It’s better than that, Dennis. Senator Forrester is one of the most powerful people in Washington, and he’s a good man, as straight as they come. He doesn’t like what he’s heard about this, and he’s not one to forget. I think it’s our turn at last.”

“Great.”

McPherson writes a memo to Lemon immediately after the phone call, outlining what he has learned and suggesting immediate approval of the appeal.

As he writes down the facts, his hopes come flooding back. It seems to him, all of the sudden, that the system might really work after all. The network of checks and balances is almost suffocating in its intricacy—it is perhaps too intricate; but what that means in the end is that power is spread out everywhere, and no one part of the network can cheat another, without the balance of the whole being upset. When that happens the other parts of the network will step in, because their own power is threatened if any other part gains too much; they’ll fly in with a check like a hockey defenseman’s, and the balance will be restored. The Air Force tried to assert that it was above the system, outside the network; now the rest of the network is going to drag them back into it. It’s the American way, stumbling forward in its usual clumsy, inefficient style—maddening to watch, but ultimately fair.