The Trust Of The People

by Christopher Read

  * * *

  Jensen sat in his office staring thoughtfully into space, his phone still hot from the many calls he had made that morning. To have been the first in the Cabinet to test the waters as to the President’s competence definitely seemed disloyal, but Jensen was simply doing his job, trying to work out whether there were others who shared Thorn’s views. And in any case, everyone in the Cabinet must have struggled with their conscience at some time over the past few days.

  Without a Vice-President, the Cabinet was powerless to act even if a majority considered Cavanagh incapable of discharging his duties. Of its present fourteen members, four were willing to voice their concerns and Jensen sensed the vote would have been tight but not necessarily conclusive either way. The next full Cabinet meeting was set for the Wednesday, when the tensions between them all were likely to be exposed; more so with the Midterm results promising to be an absolute disaster. The Republicans might well get to crow at their victory but in reality no-one would have actually won.

  All of the signs were that Cavanagh’s Administration was close to collapse, the Cabinet divided on what it wanted to do. For some, self-preservation was becoming more relevant than loyalty, with two of the fourteen indicating that they were close to resigning; it wasn’t as if any of the Cabinet truly believed the President was weak, more that recent circumstances had evolved to show him in that light – Cavanagh’s actions in the South China Sea might well be sensible and judicious, but the public mood was rapidly turning against him, friends and allies in turn risking their own political careers.

  Dick Thorn was the one person who could have held the Cabinet together, but now he acted more as Cavanagh’s nemesis, determined to bring the President down. Cavanagh might still have two years left in office but many political observers believed he would struggle to complete them, let alone run for a second term. Thorn had borrowed from Louisa Marcelo and had urged people out onto the streets of D.C. in a mass protest against Cavanagh, his message reinforced by a host of influential figures; several had even gone so far as to advocate a boycott of the Midterms, with Election Day instead becoming an opportunity to show America’s politicians what the public really thought of them all.

  It was too early to know whether the capture of Terrill would be a turning point and the conspiracy against Cavanagh had clearly been hurt, but not perhaps mortally so. Although McDowell’s base and several of his associates had been captured, McDowell and two others were still on the run, their hijacked car found abandoned west of Fredericksburg. The trail back from Hanson had similarly stalled, circumstantial evidence indicating it reached all the way up to the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence; the DDNI’s friends were powerful enough to make life difficult should Jensen act too soon and for the moment the man was merely under surveillance, Jensen waiting to see whether other high-ranking military personnel might also be involved, wanting something more conclusive.

  In public, the momentum for change continued to grow, each hour seeing a new voice adding their support to Thorn’s day of protest. Businessmen, journalists, academics, even senior – albeit retired – military figures: Thorn’s message was being shouted out loud and clear, social media the ideal mechanism to help boost support. It was even being used to organise transport to Washington, together with suitable accommodation.

  Despite the President’s enforced absence, the Government was functioning as normal, the Secretary of Defence working with Admiral Adams to work out their response in the South China Sea. A deep-water ROV would be in place by daybreak, the search for the submarine and the investigation into its origin expected to take days if not weeks. Well before then the Philippines and Vietnam would have to decide whether to back down or go ahead with their exclusion zone.

  The confrontation between China and Russia also showed no signs of abating, both countries moving reinforcements to the border. North Korea’s military remained at a heightened alert, South Korea finally forced to respond in kind, all leave cancelled. Taiwan had pointedly offered its support to South Korea, high-level talks on economic and military co-operation brought forward.

  President Cavanagh’s truncated speech at the United Nations had met with a mixed reception, his collapse effectively negating his prime message. America’s allies had tried to react positively, many keen to see the U.N. become more effective and reforms introduced, although Britain and France would be unlikely to voluntarily give up their veto. That said, no-one believed Cavanagh had actually come up with a genuine solution to the present impasse.

  The President himself was still at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, suffering blurred vision, dizziness and bouts of confusion; tests were ongoing, the concern that he had been poisoned seemingly confirmed when Amy Pittman had also fainted. The means and identity of the poison had yet to be determined but both the President and his National Security Advisor were expected to make a full recovery; a minimum of two days.

  To Jensen it was just one more element in the conspiracy against Cavanagh, events heading quickly to their climax. Jensen and the Secretary of Defence had put certain safeguards in place, but there were far too many unknowns to know if they would be enough. Jensen had mulled over whether to recommend going public with their fears, and even publicising that Cavanagh had been poisoned. A week ago, such an approach might just have succeeded; now it could easily be taken as a form of desperation, Thorn and his allies doubtless ready with a suitable counter.

  If Russia’s coup d’état was to be the model, then the conspirators would include politicians and the military, most well-respected, with one taking on the mantle of people’s favourite. Thorn could certainly fit into that latter category, although Jensen had no firm view as to the identities of his accomplices; Thorn might even be out to grab total power for himself, unlikely though that seemed.

  Jensen was convinced that the decisive act would be played out tomorrow, and the White House Situation Room was already fully manned, the Old Guard on alert. For now, all he could do was wait.