Chapter 27—Allison contemplates
8:14 p.m., Tuesday, December 20
“James. Where are you right now? … Just leaving? … Same place. I suppose I should have cleared that with Jerry. I’m sure he won’t mind. Let the others know. … I’ll give Jerry a call to confirm. Unless you hear otherwise, assume the same place.” And she disconnected.
Allison stared intently into the New York night the rest of the way home. She had forgotten about the car in her mirror.
When she arrived at the parking garage she gave her keys to the parking attendant, along with her customary $20. But this time she could not even fake a smile. As far as she was concerned, the decision to eliminate the President had been taken. All that remained were logistics. She had known, even before the first meeting, that there was only one viable solution to the problem; but she wanted her friends to verbalize it. It would be, after all, they who planned it out, made it happen, and engineered the proper outcomes.
As soon as Allison had successfully closed and locked the door to Bernadette’s apartment behind her, she walked over to the bar and poured herself a double shot of Scotch. Then she slipped in an ice cube. She was going to nurse this drink, so she did not mind if it was a bit watered down.
She took one sip from her glass, and set it down beside her favorite chair. She then proceeded to stash the thumb drive from the last meeting in her safe.
Sitting down in the recliner, she immediately took her cell phone out of her purse, and called James again.
“James, we need to talk. … No, not the whole group, just you and me. I need to see you yet tonight. … Where are you right now?”
James explained to her that he was on the Parkway, headed toward the city. He said that he could stop by the apartment and pick her up in half an hour. He would call her when he was ten minutes out. “That’s perfect,” she said. Allison then carefully put Bernadette’s clothes in their proper places, and officially became totally herself again. She then returned to Allison’s apartment, and put on a different outfit, and removed Bernadette’s make-up.
As promised, James called her about twenty minutes later. Allison told him to give her another call when he was outside the building. She really did not want to spend any unnecessary time making small talk with aides or agents. She did, however, notify her security detail that she would be leaving with James.
Just a short time later, James called again. And Allison went down to meet him. This time, as Allison, she greeted the doorman, and gave him a twenty as he opened James’ door. Everyone knew that James held a special place in the lives of Bob and Allison, so nothing suspicious was ever thought when James picked her up.
“I am sorry to inconvenience you like this. But these are very heavy times—very grave times,” Allison said.
“I understand.”
“Just drive until we find a good place to talk. I don’t want to say anything right now. We need to do another security check.”
“Sounds right.”
Under normal conditions, James and Allison always had something to say to one another. But not this time—not until they had a chance to wand themselves and the vehicle one more time. They both knew that anything was possible. Someone could have slipped a magnetic transmitter under the car at a red light, or in front of her apartment. Even the different clothes she had put on could contain a bug of some sort.
They drove around for several minutes, until Allison spotted an appropriate place to park. “Pull in here,” she commanded.
James pulled his SUV into the parking lot, and quickly wanded the car, himself and Allison. She had forgotten to take the battery out of her cell, so he had to check her out a second time.
“Okay, Al, we’re good.”
“Here’s the deal. I know I told the group that there would be no meetings aside from meetings of the whole group. I’m changing that rule for tonight. I have to know from you, directly from your mouth, if what Jerry was suggesting is exactly what you were suggesting. Clarify it for me, please.”
James sat in his seat for a moment, saying nothing. Finally Allison asked him again, “James, I need you to clarify for me, right now, what you were suggesting at the meeting tonight. I need you to be honest, and I need you to verbalize it right now. I need to know where we are going with this. I need to know if what I think you are saying is actually what you are saying.”
“Al, I see no way out of this as long as Butler remains President. He has to go.”
“And what exactly does that mean? What are you suggesting be done?”
“Well, I don’t think he will leave of his own free will. Do you?”
“So what do you propose?”
“I need some time to think about this…”
“The hell you do. Don’t you sit there and mess with me. You can’t convince me that you have not already spent time contemplating scenarios, various plans of action. Now you tell me where are you going with this.”
“You want me come out and say it. And I am not comfortable verbalizing this. And neither should you be.”
“Jesus Christ, James, of course I’m not comfortable. I might not be able to sleep for a week. I am deeply troubled. I have to tell you that you are not alone in this. I have agonized for over a month. And that was the only answer I could come up with. I see no other way to get to where we need to be.”
“I know what you mean. What we are discussing is the most indelicate of political solutions. But we must devise a very delicate plan to carry it out.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“Of course I do. You know me—my mind is working all the time.”
“Where are you at with this right now?”
“Okay, this is how I see it. Impeachment won’t work. Not even worth a minute’s thought. He must be forcibly eliminated. Of course, there can be nothing delicate about that. An accident is possible. There are any number of ways that it could be carried out. But an accident would solve only half the problem.”
“Explain.”
“Well, accidental death would put John in the Oval Office. But it would not solve any of the problems. What we need to see happen is for the President to go away at the hands of the opposition. That would work.”
“That might happen anyway. This guy has a lot of enemies who would love to see him dead.”
“A lot of stupid and incompetent enemies. It could happen, but we cannot wait around for this. If we’re going to orchestrate it, we have to control all of the details. Nothing can be left to chance. In fact, the worst thing that could happen would be for some idiot opportunist to get successful without our being prepared to take the lead.”
“Okay, I can see that I did not misinterpret what you were suggesting at the meeting. Quite obviously, Jerry got the same impression. In your eyes, how do we proceed?”
“Details, logistics. It will all come down to details and logistics, and timing. It always does. The wildcard here is Reg. He has all the right contacts, and the expertise. Plus, he is cold and calculating. He did not have much to say at the meeting. But he did not object. And he seemed as though he was headed in the same direction as Jerry and me. We will need to feel him out at the next meeting.”
“I don’t think we can wait. The three of us, you, Reg and I, must meet soon. We have to know where Reg is at. I agree that he would be instrumental. He’s the only member of our group who could make it happen. But I don’t know if he’s ready to make that jump.”
“He’s loyal, Al. I think he would be in.”
“Tomorrow. The three of us have to talk. Tomorrow. I’ll set it up.”
It had taken only seven minutes for the two friends to set in motion one of the most nefarious plans ever conceived in the history of the United States.
Allison immediately tried to dial Reginald’s number, but discovered the battery was not in her phone. Replacing it, she continued on her mission. “Reg. You, James and I need to talk tomorrow.” Encountering mild protest, Allison blurted out, “I don’t give a rip about your plans. James will stop by tomorrow morning. Cancel whatever you think you have to do, and be ready for him at 9 a.m. The regular place.” Allison gave Reginald no time to protest—she pulled her cell away from her ear and disconnected.
No other words were spoken on the entire trip back to Allison’s apartment. All that needed to be said, had just been said. As she got out of the car, Allison said, “Pick me up before you stop for Reg. I’ll look for you at 8:30.”
Allison jumped out of the car before the doorman could open it for her. She shoved a twenty in his face as he scurried toward the car. She did not say a word to him, nor did she even make eye contact.
She spent a few minutes with her aides, and with the Secret Service, and then she retired to her bedroom. Once there, she immediately entered the secret passageway up to Bernadette’s apartment, sat down in Bernadette’s favorite chair, and proceeded to summarize into the recorder her meeting with James. She then retired to her apartment, not expecting to get much sleep, but seeking at least some rest.
Surprisingly, she quickly fell asleep, not awaking until 5 a.m.
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