9:20 A.M.
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Adrian King’s tie was lowered and the top button of his shirt was unbuttoned. A line of empty water bottles crossed the front of his wide and long desk. The mood was tense. Everyone in the chief of staff’s office was stunned.
King looked at the assembled group of about a dozen. He nodded at Calibrisi and Arnold. They came over behind his desk.
“Well, Adrian?” said Arnold.
“You’re right. We need to act,” said King. “America needs to respond. It needs to happen right now.”
There was a long pause.
“Chief?” said King.
“I agree,” said Calibrisi. “We’re under attack. Suleiman is watching from his little office. They’re going after our president; I see no reason why we shouldn’t do the same.”
“So the question is, what do we do?” said King.
“Let me just reiterate,” said Arnold. “Either we’re nuking them or we’re dropping enough bombs to turn Tehran into a smoking pile of rubble!”
“We’re not dropping a nuke on Iran,” said Calibrisi. “Only the president has the authority to order a nuclear strike. Not to mention, the people of Iran didn’t do this, their leaders did.”
“They’re trying to kill our fucking president!” shouted Arnold.
“So let’s kill theirs,” said Calibrisi calmly. “Let’s light up Suleiman today, right now. I have no problem with that.”
“What about chain of command?” said King. “I’ve read through the laws. I was a federal prosecutor. All I can conclude is that there’s no chain of command right now.”
“That’s right,” said Calibrisi. “If the president is dead, it would be Healey, but we don’t know if he’s dead.”
“I’ll be damned if we’re not going to fight back,” said Arnold. “There’s no way that’s what the framers of our Constitution wanted.”
“No, it isn’t,” agreed King. “At the moment, we are the chain of command.”
“Even if we aren’t, I’m willing to go to jail for doing it,” said Arnold.
“Me, too,” said King.
Calibrisi looked at Arnold. “This counterstrike is on you. You need to handle it. Right now. I need to focus on Dellenbaugh. That’s my only priority.”
“I got it,” said Arnold.
“We know Suleiman’s patterns—we have for years. Suleiman will be in one of four locations,” said Calibrisi. “We just need to target all four with overwhelming force.”
“Can you make it happen, Dale?” said King to Arnold.
“I’ll assemble the Joint Chiefs,” said Arnold, standing. “We’ll make it happen.”