Abdul-Hakim bit the bullet and made the call. “I heard from our contact on the West Coast. There was a leak. It’s been plugged.”
Calvin Hancock’s voice was cold. “That is not what I want to hear.”
“No, it’s good news. That idiot Gigante cracked and gave up my contact. Before it could come back to bite us, my contact stepped in and shut him up.”
“Gigante?”
“Yes.”
“We lost our source on the coast?”
“We have several. We lost one. It shouldn’t matter at this point.”
“We also lost our source in the White House.”
“He was no use to us. We’d already pulled the plug.”
“That’s not the point. The point is we’re being outplayed. As long as that’s the case, we’re not in charge. I like to be in charge.”
“I know.”
“What was that?” Calvin said sharply.
“I agree. It’s bad. What do you want to do?”
“The Speaker hasn’t budged since you hung up on him. He hasn’t been back to the White House. He hasn’t been on TV.”
“Do you want me to nudge him again?”
“It will do no good. Someone sold him on demanding proof of life. We can’t get into a game of calling each other’s bluff. I need the Speaker in my pocket. People are going to start pushing him, hard. I need him standing firm, or this whole thing collapses.”
“I understand,” Abdul-Hakim said. “What do you want me to do?”