4

George Solomon was livid, although no one except Nadya Murin, his longtime assistant, could tell.

“The senate majority leader is going to ruin everything I’ve been working for, Nadya. That fat bastard’s bill will never pass; and even if it did, the president would veto it. He’s just doing it to get re-elected and is wasting time that the country doesn’t have.”

“You need to calm down, George. This meeting today with Barbara Chang is crucial to passing the foreign cyber-attack bill you’ve been trying to get approved for the past eleven months.”

“You’d think the millions of dollars I’ve spent in getting politicians elected, including the president, would guarantee it. I need this legislation, Nadya, and so does the country. We need to punish those foreign bastards for hacking into American businesses.”

“I know, George, but the president is worried about the backlash from what the press is calling ‘draconian penalties’ in the senate version of the bill. It would have a major impact on the Chinese, who have had their lobbyists working overtime to kill it.”

“Yes, and if the senate version does pass, the Chinese could also respond by using their military to threaten our Far East allies. It’s the reason I’m meeting with Barbara Chang, as distasteful as that is for me. I need to derail the senate majority leader’s efforts to pass his bill.”

“His bill will never pass in the house, George. Even if it did, the president would never sign it.”

“I know that, Nadya, but its passage in the senate would delay passage of any bill until the next session of Congress, which works against my plans. I also hate kissing Barbara Chang’s ass and she knows it. She would prefer that no bill is passed. At least the president is on our side. He realizes that most American voters believe the Chinese are skinning us. That’s why he made the bill a campaign promise.”

“You need to be calm and polite when you talk with Barbara about the bill. The two of you clashed frequently when she was the CEO of that large technology conglomerate.”

“She’s an extremely smart businesswoman, but I won more of those battles than I lost, Nadya. It was that stupid business magazine that nicknamed her the ‘Dragon Lady.’ Her staff claimed I gave her that name and that it was racist. We both know it isn’t true.”

“I know, George. The name was created by a reporter she knew.”

“Probably at her request. Barbara fools a lot of adversaries, since she is petite, and that cute round face and smile make her look completely innocent and unassuming. I know better, as do many of her victims.”

“I worked with her once on a charity fundraiser. She’s a lot like you, George. Very innovative, with an ability to quickly analyze a situation and implement a winning strategy. Unfortunately, she also has a long memory and will never forgive you for trying to convince the president not to select her as his chief of staff.”

“Yes, that was a mistake. She kept me away from the president for almost a year after the election. I’ve always hated her holier-than-thou attitude because she ran successful businesses, while I merely bought and sold them. She thinks that puts her on a higher ethical plane.”

“You need to forget all that when you meet her. The problem isn’t her. It’s Senator Thompson and that onerous legislation he’s trying to push through the senate.”

“I never thought he’d get anywhere with his bill, but he’s surprised me, Nadya. His constituents love it, and so do many of the voters around the country. He’s just using it to curry favor for his upcoming election.”

“It could work, George. His bashing of the Chinese has erased the accusations against him of marital infidelity, drunkenness, and allegations of influence peddling. His arm-twisting in the senate seems to have gotten him the votes he needs.”

“I still have a few cards to play. It’s not over yet.”

George arrived at the White House and was ushered into Barbara Chang’s office. The office always amazed George because it always looked the same. Nothing ever seemed out of place. It was as if it was never really used.

“So good to see you again, Barbara. You look wonderful, as always.”

“Thank you, George. I assume you want to discuss the pending foreign cyber-attack legislation.”

“Yes, I want to make it clear to both you and the president that I don’t support the current senate bill. I believe if we work together, we might be able to get the legislation that we can all support.”

“The president agrees with the concept of the foreign cyber-attack legislation. I have my doubts that it could be implemented without initiating a trade war with China. However, it would be in the country’s best interests with respect to national defense if the final legislation looks like the house bill instead of the abomination in the senate.”

“I’m in total agreement, Barbara.”

“What do you propose, George?”

“I believe I have some influence with the senate majority leader, and I’d like to approach him about softening his position.”

Barbara knew what that meant. George either had some dirt he could sling, or he’d make Senator Thompson an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“You realize that the president and his administration will not be involved in any dealings with the majority leader.”

“Actually, that’s exactly what I’m requesting, Barbara. I want to make sure that after I have my meeting with Senator Thompson tonight, the president doesn’t provide him any help with the predicament he may find himself in.”

Barbara knew immediately that George was going to use the stick and not the carrot. She didn’t mind, since Senator Thompson was a buffoon and an embarrassment to the president, the senate, and their political party. Everyone would be happy when he was gone, or at least removed as the majority leader.

“That’s a deal, George. I’ll inform the president when I meet with him later today. I have to go, as I have a meeting with the Chinese ambassador.”

“Give the ambassador my regards.”

Barbara smiled, knowing that George was not and had never been a friend of the Chinese government, and the Chinese were quite aware of that fact.

George arranged for a meeting in a private conference room at a hotel in northern Virginia. He knew that the hotel he selected was where the senator often had his sexual rendezvous with his aide and would know why George selected it. It would send a message that should make Senator Thompson uncomfortable. George had used that tactic before during difficult negotiations.

He scheduled the meeting for seven in one of the hotel’s banquet rooms. The senator was known to be a man who lived his life in excess with respect to eating, drinking, and extramarital sex. George decided to let him indulge at least two of his vices by having a high-quality buffet and an open bar set up in the room.

The majority leader was already in the banquet room when George arrived. He had apparently already tried some of the food and poured himself a drink, as well as another for a very attractive blonde who he introduced to George as his aide, Carla Allen. Senator Thompson turned and gave her a big kiss. “I’ll see you later, dear. I need to take care of some business. Drive carefully.”

George realized the senator wasn’t intimidated by his reputation, which would make the negotiations much tougher.

“Good evening, Senator Thompson, I can see you’ve already started without me.” George poured himself a vodka and tonic and sat down across from him. “How’s your wife and family, Senator?”

“They’re fine, George, and how’s your fiancée? Have you set a date yet?”

“No, not yet, but there’s no hurry.”

“Will she be your third or fourth?”

George smiled and ignored the question. He decided it was best to just get down to business.

“Senator, I’m concerned that the proposed foreign cyber-attack legislation in the senate will trigger a trade war between the US and China that would have disastrous consequences for our economy and theirs.”

Senator Thompson smiled. “Are you here on behalf of the president, or yourself, George?”

“I’m here on behalf of the American people, including your constituents, Senator.”

“That would be a first for you, wouldn’t it? After all, the only thing you ever cared about was your own self-interest.”

“I’m not here to point fingers. I just want to do what’s best for everyone and avoid an ugly confrontation with the Chinese that could get entirely out of hand. Wars have been started over trade and commerce issues like the one we’d be precipitating with your bill. I also don’t believe it’ll help you in your bid for re-election next fall.”

Senator Thompson laughed at the last comment.

“Are you kidding, George? Have you seen the political ads I’ve been running in my state? Those Chinese devils have killed my state’s industrial base and have undercut our manufacturing so that it’s less than a third of what it was ten years ago. The actual unemployment rate in my state is over twelve percent and rising. My constituents hate what’s happening to them, and I’m telling them why, every day, twenty-four seven. By the time I’m done, they’ll think the Chinese chairman is Satan himself, and I’m their savior. Look at the polls in my state; they’ve already turned in my favor. Give me one reason why I should stop.”

“Senator, I can see from your actions earlier with your very attractive aide that you believe you’re shielded from any scandal.”

The senator smiled with his big, toothy campaign grin.

“My wife knows about Carla and other past indiscretions. She hasn’t cared about me or what I do for the past ten years, as long as I get re-elected and provide her with a good life, which I have. The people in my state don’t care about sex scandals or political favors as long as I’m working hard for them to improve their lives. The days where those things mattered ended with Bill Clinton. They have little impact as long as the wife and family is supportive and the scandal isn’t too public, and isn’t with the same sex. So I guess you could say I’m somewhat shielded right now.”

George could see that the stick wasn’t going to work, so he decided to use the carrot with this jackass.

“What if I could improve your state’s economic condition by moving some of my businesses into your state? That would help your constituents in a more substantive and immediate manner.”

“That would always be appreciated, George. But my daddy always told me never to change horses when you’re ahead, and I’m definitely ahead.”

George could see there was nothing he could offer, so he resorted to one final ploy.

“Senator, if you don’t remove your bill, I’ll have no choice but to use my resources to work against your re-election. I’ll make your life miserable and see how bulletproof you really are.”

The senator smiled. “I knew it might come down to that, and I’m prepared to respond to your threat with one of my own. If you go after me or my family in any way, I’ll let the world know about your gay illegitimate son and how his mother died in a highly suspicious manner, to say the least.”

George was rarely flustered or at a loss for words, especially during a negotiation, but he was totally stunned by the senator’s threat. “How—who told you about that? It’s not true! You’ll regret it if any word of this leaves this room or becomes public!”

The senator leaned toward George and said quietly, “Please, George, calm down. This will go no further as long as neither you nor the president take any action against my interests.”

George composed himself and said, “It’s clear that you have your goals and I have mine, so goodbye, Senator,” George said, as he headed for the door.

“Good luck to you as well, George. Give my regards to your son when you see him.”

George was furious. As he left the hotel he made a quick phone call.

“I need to meet with you in my office as soon as possible.”

Barbara Chang had just finished briefing the president in the Oval Office on her meetings earlier that day with George Solomon and the Chinese ambassador. She had tried to determine what the president was thinking, but she knew from experience that trying to read his reaction was a fool’s errand. He was well known for being able to hide his feelings.

President Joseph Meredith was forty-six years old, tall and athletic, and had movie-star looks with blond curly hair, blue eyes, a square chin, and a wonderful smile. He’d been a very successful attorney and Maryland state senator before running for the senate on a business growth and tax reduction platform. While in the senate, he sponsored cybersecurity insurance legislation for American businesses. When he ran for the presidency, Joseph Meredith included protection against foreign cybersecurity attacks on American businesses as part of his platform. After getting elected, he made foreign cyber-attack legislation one of his highest priorities.

The president asked one question after Barbara had finished her briefing. “Does George understand that my administration cannot take any part in his efforts to persuade the majority leader?”

“Yes, Joe, I made that very clear. He agreed that he was on his own, and he wanted it that way.”

“Yes, that’s pretty typical of George. He loves the role of the lone gunfighter. Okay, let me know if he was successful. Now let’s discuss your meeting with the Chinese ambassador.”

Barbara frowned. “It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Ambassador Yang was very upset about the legislation in the senate. He believes that it’ll lead to a trade war and possibly worse. The ambassador made a strong claim that the Chinese government has eliminated cyber attacks by their military and intelligence organizations against US government agencies.”

“That’s not entirely true, Barbara. We still see them probing our government information systems to find weaknesses for future attacks. They only stopped their attacks after we identified and indicted a number of their military hackers for attacks on our key industries. They weren’t aware that we could do that, so they backed off.”

“Those were their military hackers, Joe. Ambassador Yang made it very clear that the Chinese government doesn’t have control over civilian hackers and that Chinese companies do it against each other. He also stated that it’s on such a large scale that they don’t have the resources to control it, just as we can’t control our civilian hackers.”

“Well, there’s an element of truth in that, since the Chinese don’t even try to curtail civilian hackers. We try, but, unfortunately, aren’t very successful. In addition, their businesses get direct support from the government in implementing defenses against foreign hackers, while our laws don’t permit us to do the same.”

“It’s also clear that our businesses are less cybersecurity conscious than theirs, Joe. Some would rather rely on cyber insurance to correct for their laziness, carelessness, and outright malfeasance.”

“I know that, Barbara. That’s why I worked hard when I was in the senate to implement a cyber insurance program that encouraged lower insurance rates for companies that implemented better cybersecurity practices. So based on your analysis, what do you think the Chinese will do after the proposed foreign cyber-attack legislation becomes law?”

“It depends on how severe the penalties will be on Chinese companies. If the legislation looks more like the senate bill than the house bill, we could have some real trouble with the Chinese leadership. They or their North Korean surrogate could start flexing their military muscle against Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, which could lead to severe consequences. If the legislation looks more like the house bill, it’ll be painful, but not catastrophic. They could retaliate with some trade measures of their own; but since the trade deficit is so heavily weighted for them and against us, they’d suffer much more than we would. My hope—excuse me, our hope—is that it could trigger some needed attitude changes by the Chinese. It might even encourage more cooperation that would bring in some new and younger leaders who are more willing to provide fairer trade practices. That would be good for the US and the world. But there’s no guarantee that will happen, so we must be prepared for something worse.”

President Meredith was so glad that Barbara was his closest advisor. She had no problem telling him what others were afraid to.

“I understand, Barbara. But I believe we have to do something. This legislation is necessary to change an untenable situation with the Chinese that’s been going on far too long. I promised the American public I’d do what my predecessors were afraid to do. Our embargo against North Korea slowed China down a bit, but North Korea has not gone away. China has been increasingly helping North Korea to become a very competent cyber threat, even if it has derailed their nuclear program. I have no doubt that North Korea will be their cyber-attack surrogate, just as they were their nuclear weapons surrogate.”

“I know, Joe, and I agree that something has to change. I just hope we get a bill with the right balance so the Chinese leadership doesn’t overreact. We have the upcoming combined naval-training exercise with the Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Koreans at the Senkaku Islands that could provide them that opportunity. The Chinese ambassador has been very vocal about their leadership’s objection to the exercise. I’m certain they’ll have their ships monitoring our ships, and I’m worried that something bad might happen. With that many ships in one area, anything is possible.”

“We can’t cancel the exercise, Barbara. The Chinese would see it as an act of weakness, and the Japanese would look at it as a violation of our Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. Both countries have had recent confrontations over those islands. If we pulled out, our allies in that region could start militarizing. With Japan’s technology base they could have a nuclear weapons program very quickly, followed by South Korea and Taiwan. That could destabilize the whole region.”

“I agree, Mr. President. I just hope the Chinese also understand the danger. I’m sorry, Mr. President, but I have to leave to meet my fiancé for dinner. I’m already late.”

The president knew that Barbara never called him Mr. President unless the First Lady was nearby, which was the case. He knew that Barbara believed such informality in front of the president’s wife wasn’t proper. The First Lady walked in just as Barbara was leaving. “Goodnight, Barbara,” Sarah Meredith said.

“Goodnight, Mrs. Meredith. Please make sure he gets some rest. We have a big week ahead of us,” she said as she left.

“What’d she mean by that, Joe?”

“Oh, she’s just worried that we could soon be in a war with the Chinese.”

“Are you serious?”

“I don’t think it’ll get that serious, but she’s very worried, Sarah.”

“It’s that bill in the senate, isn’t it?”

The president closed his eyes and nodded. “You know, honey, the president of the United States is supposed to have more power than anyone in the world. I’ve discovered that isn’t the case at all. I’m often in the middle of situations I have no control over. I actually feel powerless more often than powerful. I can’t even control some corrupt politician in my own party who can’t keep his fly zipped and may trigger a war just to get re-elected.”

“You can’t control evil, Joe. You can only try to keep it at bay.”

“I’m so glad you married me. You could’ve probably done a lot better, had the career you deserved, and a normal life with someone who worked a forty-hour week and was home for dinner every night.”

“I wouldn’t change a thing. I have two wonderful children and a husband that the columnist from the Washington Post says any woman would kill for.”

The president laughed. “Let’s take Barbara’s advice and go to bed.”

“Great idea. I have that new negligee you bought me in France,” she said, as she smiled coyly. “We can have some fun before the world ends.”