U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
SATURDAY, 7:12 A.M. EST
Landon Parker walked straight into the private dining room on the State Department’s seventh floor. Inside, the Secretary of State sat alone at an antique Victorian table having her usual early-morning poached egg and half a grapefruit with freshly roasted Ethiopian coffee.
“Good morning, Landon,” she said with a smile. “Breakfast?”
“No, ma’am. I’m just here to brief you—”
“Nothing at all?” she interrupted. “At least have coffee. I so hate to eat alone.”
“Thank you, ma’am. I won’t be here very long. Packed agenda today.”
“When isn’t it packed, Landon?”
“Yes, ma’am. I want to go over your talking points for your calls today with the Brazilian foreign minister, the President of Latvia, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. The World Bank president is paying a courtesy call at nine and then you have a drop-in from Senator McCall at nine-fifteen.”
“What does Bryce McCall want this time?”
“I will find out before he gets here. Then we’ve got back-to-backs with D, P, and G. The new head of the DEA is here at eleven, and then you’ve agreed to make remarks at the opening of the new panda habitat at the National Zoo.”
“Pandas.” She smiled. “Make sure Public Affairs alerts the New York Times.”
“Of course, ma’am,” he said. “I want your sign-off for a new high-level oil security initiative I’m launching. It’s called the Three Gulfs Oil Security Partnership.”
“Okay,” she said. “What is it?”
“As you know, ma’am, China is expanding its control of energy resources, grabbing petroleum blocks in every corner of the globe. I want to build a coalition of allies who will work together to ensure that oil continues to flow no matter what the Chinese do.”
“This is your South China Sea obsession, isn’t it, Landon?”
“No, ma’am. This is the opposite. We need to prepare for every contingency in the South China Sea. But I want an insurance policy if we fail. I want us to lock down other crucial oil-producing regions: the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of Guinea.”
“The Three Gulfs.”
“That’s it, ma’am. I’ve recruited Qatar to represent the Persian Gulf and the Mexicans are on board. The final piece is the Gulf of Guinea. I’ve been working quietly with the Nigerians on this, with their envoy here. I’ve been meeting regularly with Ambassador Katsina for weeks and she’s now ready to take it to her President. Once we get their official support, you can announce the Three Gulfs. Maybe ahead of the next NATO summit. This could be one of your biggest legacies.”
“Fine,” the Secretary said as she sipped her coffee.
“Ma’am, I want your approval for the Three Gulfs before I share any details with the regional bureaus.”
“You haven’t told any of the regionals?”
“No, ma’am.”
“I wouldn’t worry about Western Hemisphere or Near Eastern Affairs. They’ll go along. Africa might be trickier. You really haven’t brought Bill Rogerson into the loop?”
Parker raised his eyebrows at the Secretary of State, a sign he often used with his boss when she already knew the answer.
“Rogerson’s touchy. He’s is going to bitch and moan that you came to me with another end run,” she said. “I can see his face already.”
Parker nodded. “So I have your endorsement for the Three Gulfs, Madam Secretary?”
“Do it.” She scooped her grapefruit. “But what’s the plan for China?”
“Have you had your morning intel briefing yet?”
“The DNI was here already. You just missed him.”
“So you’re aware of the latest Chinese naval movements in the South China Sea?” Parker asked.
“Yes, that was in the briefing. And these new islands they’re building.”
“We’re going to add sea-lane security and sovereignty issues to the next round of the Pacific trade talks. It’ll be the first item on the agenda for your bilateral meeting with the Japanese foreign minister when he’s here on Monday. We’re also dispatching Tony on a Pacific tour to Manila, Canberra, and Bangkok to make sure we’re all on the same page.”
“Are we on the same page here in Washington?” The Secretary frowned at Parker.
“South China Sea is priority one at the NSC this morning. I’ve got Wendy camped outside the Situation Room to make sure your equities are defended. If they take any new strategy to POTUS, I’ll be sure you’re in the Oval when it happens. We won’t let the Pentagon jam us again. I’ve arranged for you to have an early dinner tonight with the SecDef. It’ll help smooth things over.”
“What about the Joint Chiefs?”
“Not yet, ma’am. When you go to Jakarta next week, we’ll add a stopover in Hawaii so you can get the full dog and pony show at PACOM.”
“But what’s our plan, Landon? We can’t have the Pentagon driving events in the Pacific without strategic guidance from State. The South China Sea is not just a military problem. Beyond your Three Gulfs idea, what’s our diplomatic plan?”
“East Asian and Pacific Affairs is assembling road map options for us to consider before we go to the interagency.”
“So, where are they?”
“EAP’s ideas are all fine, but you haven’t seen them yet because they’re not quite ready for prime time.”
“What’s the problem, Landon?”
“They’re too conventional, ma’am. We need more creative thinking. If it comes to blows between us and China, we’re going to need new ideas.”
“So, who’s working on that?”
“Judd Ryker.”
“Okay, so, where is he? Get him in here right now. Let’s see what he’s got. Let’s see what S/CRU can do.”
“Ryker’s finishing up another project.”
“Well, this is a priority, Landon. You just said so yourself. Whatever he’s doing now can wait.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Parker said.
“What exactly has Judd Ryker been doing?”
“Do you remember Tunde Babatunde? You hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for his hospital last Tuesday.”
“Of course I remember Tunde. What a lovely man. So tall.”
“Well, soon after he arrived in Nigeria, Babatunde was kidnapped—”
“What?” the Secretary interrupted, her face flush with horror. “Why wasn’t I briefed?”
“—and Judd Ryker has been helping me to get him back.”
“And?”
“Success,” Parker said, his face deadpan.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she said, her face overcome with relief. “That’s huge, Landon. Just huge. The State Department rescued an NBA player who was home opening a children’s hospital. A superstar and a humanitarian. We couldn’t write better copy. Get Public Affairs on this right away. We should bring Tunde back here to the Department for a hero’s welcome.”
“I don’t advise that, ma’am. I think we should be cautious promoting any State Department role in his recovery. At least until I get the full debrief from Ryker.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Landon?”
“Babatunde is back safely, but it was”—he shrugged—“complicated, ma’am. I assume you’ve been reading about Shepard Truman?”
“Of course. It’s all over the press. It’s A1 in the Washington Post this morning. What was that lunatic thinking? Taking campaign contributions from the Russian mafia. I mean, really, Shepard.”
“Well, one of Truman’s constituents is the owner of the Brooklyn Nets, which is Babatunde’s team. I’m not going to say any more. You don’t know any more, Madam Secretary.”
“That’s correct, I don’t,” she insisted.
“I’m going to keep it that way, ma’am. You should have full confidence that we didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve made sure of that. There’s also no email or memo trail between Truman’s office and State on this issue. The phone logs will show I’ve spoken with the Congressman on numerous occasions in recent weeks, but this is nothing out of the ordinary. The records reflect just the usual legislative affairs with a member of Congress.”
“You’re sure, Landon?”
“Yes, ma’am. But that’s why we’re better playing it low-key on the Babatunde incident.”
“Fine. Good.”
“And Ryker knows to keep quiet, too,” Parker said.
The Secretary of State narrowed her eyes. “Where is Judd Ryker?”
“I’m tracking him down now.”