Teddy Fay, Holly Barker, and Millie Martindale watched Kate’s speech in Holly’s office. Kevin left the connecting door open and watched it, too. Not that he couldn’t have streamed it on his computer, but he liked being part of the group.
Kate didn’t dwell on any of the inconsistencies of the bombing. She just presented a simple, direct picture. The United States had been the victim of a terrorist attack. The President had declared a state of emergency. All agencies were on high alert. These were the normal, sensible precautions taken at such times to protect the American people.
At the end of the President’s speech all the reporters began shouting at once, even though the President was not taking questions. As she turned to walk away, one voice could be heard above the rest. “Does this mean you’re shutting down Congress?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Millie said. “If the vote never comes to the floor, what happens to the Speaker’s daughter?”
“Does the President know about her?” Kevin blurted.
They all looked at him.
“See, this is what is meant by a need-to-know basis,” Teddy said.
Kevin put up his hands. “Oh, no, no, no. I didn’t ask a thing. I was just wondering aloud. I’ll stop wondering.”
“Can you hear the phone from in here?” Holly said.
“Yes, I can. And even if I couldn’t, it’s being recorded.”
“But you wouldn’t know it had been.”
“Are you kidding me? When a call comes in, a giant picture of Alexander Graham Bell’s phone fills the screen. It stays there until I click it away. Trust me, I’m not missing any calls.”
The phone rang.
Kevin sprinted for the computer. The others followed him in.
Alexander Graham Bell’s phone was indeed displayed on the screen. Kevin clicked it away, revealing the decibel bars of the sound program.
The Speaker’s voice came over the phone. It quavered, as if he’d gotten up off his deathbed to answer. “Hello?”
Abdul-Hakim’s voice was ominous. “Don’t let them postpone the vote.”
There was a moment’s shocked silence while the words sunk in. “How can I do that?” Blaine wailed. “I have no control over that. I can make sure the bill passes when the vote is taken. I have the votes. You have nothing to fear.
“But when it’s voted on? How can I control that? They could postpone the vote, or decide to recess. The President could suspend Congress. It was hard before. Now another congressman has been killed. What do you expect to happen? I can control my party, but I can’t control what Congress does in the midst of a national emergency.”
“I don’t think you understand,” Abdul-Hakim said evenly. There was a pause before he spoke again, and when he did it was not into the phone. “Say hello.”
The tentative, fearful, hoarse voice of Karen Blaine came over the wire. “Daddy?”
“Karen! Karen!”
Karen suddenly screamed and dropped the phone. She could be heard sobbing in the background as it was picked up from the cabin floor.
“If the vote is postponed, she dies,” Abdul-Hakim said, and hung up.