| For the second time in twenty-four hours, the world was assembled to hear a special presidential broadcast. |
Второй раз за сутки весь мир готовился услышать срочное сообщение президента. |
| "What are you going to tell them?" Gabrielle asked. |
- Что вы собираетесь сказать им? - разволновалась Гэбриэл. |
| Herney sighed, his expression remarkably calm. |
Харни вздохнул, однако лицо его выражало полное спокойствие. |
| "Over the years, I've learned one thing over and over..." |
- Вот уже много лет я постигаю снова и снова одну и ту же истину... |
| He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. |
- Он положил руку на плечо спутницы и улыбнулся. |
| "There's just no substitute for the truth." |
- Правду нельзя заменить ничем. |
| Gabrielle was filled with an unexpected pride as she watched him stride toward the stage. |
Гэбриэл смотрела, как президент идет к трибуне. |
| Zach Herney was on his way to admit the biggest mistake of his life, and oddly, he had never looked more presidential. |
Зак Харни собирался перед всем миром признать самую крупную в своей жизни ошибку, и тем не менее еще никогда он не выглядел так по-президентски. |
| 133 |
ГЛАВА 133 |
| When Rachel awoke, the room was dark. |
Рейчел проснулась и увидела, что в комнате совсем темно. |
| A clock glowed 10:14 p.m. The bed was not her own. |
Часы высвечивали время: 22.14. Она лежала не в своей постели. |
| For several moments, she lay motionless, wondering where she was. |
Несколько секунд, не шевелясь, пыталась вспомнить, где находится и что творится вокруг. |
| Slowly, it all started coming back... the megaplume... this morning at the Washington Monument... the President's invitation to stay at the White House. I'm at the White House, Rachel realized. I slept here all day. The Coast Guard chopper, at the President's command, had transported an exhausted Michael Tolland, Corky Marlinson, and Rachel Sexton from the Washington Monument to the White House, where they had been fed a sumptuous breakfast, been seen to by doctors, and been offered any of the building's fourteen bedrooms in which to recuperate. All of them had accepted. Rachel could not believe she had slept this long. Turning on the television, she was stunned to see that President Herney had already completed his press conference. Rachel and the others had offered to stand beside him when he announced the meteorite disappointment to the world. We all made the mistake together. But Herney had insisted on shouldering the burden alone. "Sadly," one political analyst on TV was saying, "it seems NASA has discovered no signs of life from space after all. This marks the second time this decade that NASA has incorrectly classified a meteorite as showing signs of extraterrestrial life. This time, however, a number of highly respected civilians were also among those fooled." "Normally," a second analyst chimed in, "I would have to say that a deception of the magnitude the President described this evening would be devastating for his career... and yet, considering the developments this morning at the Washington Monument, I would have to say Zach Herney's chances of taking the presidency look better than ever." The first analyst nodded. "So, no life in space, but no life in Senator Sexton's campaign either. And now, as new information surfaces suggesting deep financial troubles plaguing the senator-" |
Мысли начали медленно разворачивать последовательность событий... |
| A knock on the door drew Rachel's attention. Michael, she hoped, quickly turning off the television. |
Раздался стук в дверь, и Рейчел быстро выключила телевизор. |
| She hadn't seen him since breakfast. |
Она не видела Майкла с самого завтрака. |
| On their arrival at the White House, Rachel had wanted nothing more than to fall asleep in his arms. |
Войдя в Белый дом, Рейчел мечтала лишь об одном: уснуть в его объятиях. |
| Although she could tell Michael felt the same, Corky had intervened, parking himself on Tolland's bed and exuberantly telling and retelling his story about urinating on himself and saving the day. |
Наверняка и Майкл думал о том же. Однако ничего не получилось - в спальню Толланда заявился знаменитый астрофизик, беспрерывно и с безмерной гордостью повествуя о том, как ему удалось спастись от акул, перебив запах крови запахом собственной мочи. |
| Finally, utterly exhausted, Rachel and Tolland had given up, heading for separate bedrooms to sleep. |
Наконец измученные Майкл и Рейчел сдались, и она ушла в свою комнату. |
| Now, walking toward the door, Rachel checked herself in the mirror, amused to see how ridiculously she was dressed. |
Подходя к двери, Рейчел взглянула на себя в зеркало и увидела, как смешно одета. |
| All she had found to wear to bed was an old Penn State football jersey in the dresser. It draped down to her knees like a nightshirt. |
В комоде спальни нашлась лишь старая футболка, однако она доставала ей до колен и вполне годилась в качестве ночной рубашки. |
| The knocking continued. |
Стук повторился. |
| Rachel opened the door, disappointed to see a female U.S. Secret Service agent. |
Открыв дверь, Рейчел едва не выдала своего разочарования: перед ней стоял вовсе не Майкл, а служащая Белого дома. |
| She was fit and cute, wearing a blue blazer. |
Дама в синем жакете выглядела весьма деловой и энергичной. |
| "Ms. Sexton, the gentleman in the Lincoln Bedroom heard your television. |
- Мисс Секстон, - заговорила она, - джентльмен в спальне Линкольна услышал звук вашего телевизора. |
| He asked me to tell you that as long as you're already awake..." |
Он просил передать, что поскольку вы уже проснулись, то...
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