GABE REESE WAS pacing with his arms folded tightly, just inside the West Wing lobby doors. He wasn’t used to this kind of uncertainty, the total lack of information, the fucking mystery of it all. He had plenty of resources at his disposal—he just couldn’t use most of them on this. Not until he was sure what they were dealing with.
He was waiting for the vice president, and the subject was Zeus, of course, and what had been found out so far, and what kind of unprecedented scandal this could turn out to be. Tillman was scheduled to address the National Association of Small Business Owners from 12:30 to 1:00 at the Convention Center. It was less than a mile and a half away, which meant maybe five minutes in the car. Reese was going to need every second.
At exactly 12:20, the vice president strode into the lobby with the Secret Service’s Dan Cormorant on one side and a deputy director of communications on the other.
Two scheduling assistants and another Secret Service agent trailed behind. The usual kind of entourage, trappings of power and arrogance.
Tillman looked surprised to see Reese standing there, holding his trademark fedora in one hand.
“Gabe, you’re coming to this thing?”
“Yes, sir. Wouldn’t miss it. Not a word. Not an arching eyebrow.”
“Okay. Okay. Let’s go, then.”
They continued outside, where the vice president’s Cadillac limo, two black Suburbans, and three motorcycle police waited with engines running. As the vice president stepped into his car, Reese put a hand on Cormorant’s shoulder.
“We need some privacy, Dan.”
The senior agent squinted in annoyance, then turned to his number two. “Bender, take the staff car. I’ve got this covered.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You know that has to go into the log,” Cormorant said as soon as the other agent was out of earshot.
“No, it doesn’t,” Reese told him. There was more than enough precedent for this kind of request, even from Reese himself. Once Reese and the vice president were in the car, Cormorant got in. Then he radioed the go-ahead, and the motorcade pulled out toward Fifteenth Street.