“Mister President, it is our understanding that all three crew members ejected safely and are currently somewhere in the Sinai desert. The good news is that they are certainly quite close to the coast and we have one of our best SEAL teams on the scene. Standard practice is, they’ll go in, find the crew and bring them out. The crew have emergency beacons they can use. The SEALs are very, very good at this sort of work.”
“Mister President. As Attorney General it is my ruling that any such rescue effort will contravene the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation and, as such, will be an offense against international law. I have issued orders that forbid any such rescue attempt.”
Admiral Theodore crashed his fist down on the table. “I will not be a party to issuing any such order. The Navy will not let the Air Force down.”
“Chief of Naval Operations.” LBJs voice cracked out. “Three things. Firstly, I am the only person in this office who is allowed to crash his fist on the table.”
“Yes Mister President. My apologies Sir.”
“Accepted. Secondly,” LBJ crashed his fist on the table. “I will not be a party to any member of my government issuing such an order. The Navy will not let the Air Force down.” His tone and cadence matched Admiral Theodore’s perfectly. “Thirdly, if any such orders have been issued, get them countermanded immediately. I want a rescue effort mounted as early as possible and with whatever forces it takes to do the job is that clear?”
“Sir, Yes Sir.”
“Then Admiral, you are excused the rest of this meeting. Get that rescue authorized and organized. Ramsey, you and I have discussed your habit of exceeding your authority. I had thought I had made your position quite clear. Obviously I have failed. Your remit does not extend to giving orders to me or to the other members of my Government. What part of that do you fail to understand?”
“Mister President, it is my duty as the senior legal authority in the United States to interpret international law and to see that the United States complies with those interpretations. That is why I formulated rules of engagement and required the department of defense to comply with them.”
“What the hell are ‘Rules of Engagement?” LBJ glared around the room. The Seer shot a “what the hell are they?” glance at Lillith who returned a “beats me” gesture. McNorman was fumbling in a briefcase. He produced a paper.
“Perhaps I can explain Mister President. Last night, the Attorney General saw me and gave me these so-called “Rules of Engagement”. He told me that they were compulsory for all US forces operating abroad. I assumed, Sir, that he had your authority for these orders and, reluctantly, issued them.”
He passed the paper to LBJ who started to read it, stared sharply at Chalk, then read the rest. When he spoke his voice was quiet and measured.
“Mister Attorney General. In fifty years of public service I have never seen a document that was more crowded with infamous falsehoods and distortions. Falsehoods and distortions on a scale so vast in their implications that I can imagine no responsible gentleman on the face of this earth issuing them. Your resignation as Attorney-General and as a member of this government is accepted. Leave.”
“Mister President, I...”
LBJ put his forehead in his hand. “Go. Just Go.” Ramsey Chalk hesitated for a moment, causing Naamah to bump into him and push him slightly towards the door. He left, Naamah following closely behind him.
“Mister President.” LBJ looked up at McNorman wearily. “Although I cannot condone the Ramsey’s actions, I must say that they have demonstrated the truth of what I have been saying for many months now. The destruction of this RB-58 shows our force of manned bombers is obsolete and vulnerable. We should immediately initiate a major program for its replacement with land-based ballistic missiles.”
“Robert, it should be obvious to you that this disaster has only happened because the aircraft in question was forced to fly at speeds and altitudes that allowed the enemy to fire upon it. Had it been operating normally, we would not be having this meeting. What this demonstrates to me is that the need for our new fleet of very fast, very high-flying bombers is more urgent than we realized. Henry, please get Treasury to prepare a budget supplemental to accelerate production of both the B-70 and B-71 as much as is practical. Now Robert.”
“Yes Mister President?”
“I believe that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is urgently in need of your talents. You will take over as its head with immediate effect. Of course, if you prefer that we should stage an investigation into the extent of your involvement in this “Rules of Engagement” affair...”
McNorman shook his head and left. LBJ sighed and looked around the conference room. “Dean, Defense needs a capable and effective Secretary. One who can make the system work for our armed forces, not against them. I would like you to leave State and take over Defense. I realize I am asking a lot of you but the country needs your services there.”
Dean Rusk thought for a moment. “Mister President I would be honored. May I ask if I can take Inanna with me?”
“That’s a matter for the Contractors, she is employed by them not us.” The Seer nodded approval.
“Very well then. Dean, your first job is to get this mess straightened out.”
Dean Rusk and Inanna started leaving. As Inanna passed the Security Advisor he stopped her ‘Inanna, honey, State to Defense is a promotion, see me later about the appropriate salary increase.”
Office of the Attorney General Washington D.C.
Ramsey Chalk was throwing papers into his briefcase. Around him, Naamah was carefully packing his personal possessions in boxes for transport. “It’s an outrage, just who does he think he is?”
“I know Sir, it’s terrible what he has done. He had no right to dismiss you like that.” Naamah’s voice was oozing sympathy and affection.
“It is about time the people of this country understand they are answerable to the international community. The way America has trampled over the rights of the rest of the world is unconscionable.”
“That’s so true Sir, we only have to look at the nuclear bombing of Germany to see that.”
“Exactly. We deliberately slaughtered tens of millions of ordinary German civilians. That is a war crime of unimaginable proportions. Oh, I know they have always claimed that they were bombing military and industrial targets but I know they really were trying to kill as many Germans as possible. There’s no proof of that though, if there was I could create enough of a scandal to make this country see how criminal its behavior has been.”
“But there is proof, Sir, didn’t you know?” “What do you mean Naamah?”
“In the basement of the National Security Building are all the documents concerning the planning of The Big One. They show quite clearly that the real target of the bombing was the German civilian population. It’s all documented, how they planned the attack to kill as many Germans as possible. I worked on the papers when I was a research assistant. If you come with me Sir, I’ll take you to them.”
“Why would you want to help me?”
“Because I am your Executive Assistant and because I know what truly lies in your heart.” Naamah smiled gently “You might say it’s a talent of mine. Wait a moment Sir.”
She disappeared into a back room of the office complex for a few minutes and came back with a large thermos flask. “We’ll be working down there all night Sir, So I fixed coffee to keep us going. Now, shall we go?”
Ramsey Chalk and Naamah took the brief drive to the National Security Building and she let them in. Chalk felt the chill as he entered, partly from a deliberate temperature setting, partly from the huge statue of death that dominated the entry lobby. Chalk felt the statue staring at him as he entered, then got a weird feeling that it had made a respectful nod to Naamah as she passed. Pure imagination of course, just stress, anger and the effects of the strange architecture of the deserted lobby. Chalk looked at Naamah affectionately, the woman was risking a lot to help him, obviously she was a fellow spirit, somebody who shared his beliefs and aims.