“The governor can do it, right?”
“What?”
“Governor Kent. He can override the general, is that correct?”
“Of course, but—”
Sarah put her hand out. “Give me your cellphone.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your phone, I’m going to call the governor right now.”
“Is something wrong with your phone?”
“No, but you’ll see why in a minute.”
“Ma’am, we—”
“We’re wasting time, Captain!” she barked. “Now give me your goddamn phone!”
That fire-spitting look settled onto Price’s face again. She reached around the back of her belt — slowly, as if she was being held at gunpoint and didn’t want to alarm her assailant — and removed the phone from its holster.
Sarah tapped in the number from memory and walked a good distance away from the others. It rang several times with no answer, and she was afraid she’d have to strong-arm Price into seeing things her way, which she intuitively felt might be outside the realm of the possible now. Then a click, and finally the governor’s voice, harsh and curt and so obviously intended to put people off balance—
“Curtis Kent.”
“Governor? It’s Sarah Redmond.”
“Hello, Missus Mayor. I understand the evacuations are progressing smoothly.”
“Yes, so far so good. I’m sorry, Governor, but I don’t have a lot of time and I know you’re busy as well, so I’ll get right to my point — I need a favor.”
“Oh?”
She went over the details quickly, leaving out the fact that she and Kate Soames had become good friends over the last few years. The more objective the better, she thought.
When she was finished, Kent said, “Well, doesn’t the Guard have evac vehicles in the vicinity of this field?”
“They’ve already done that part of town. To go back over there would take one unit away from wherever they are now. Also, the only road to the field is flooded and, apparently, there’s a submerged car in the way.”
“Then the general can call out another bird.”
Sarah blanched at the colloquialism. It was no secret that Kent never spent a day of his life in the military, and in fact there were unsubstantiated but persistent rumors that he had participated in a few anti-Vietnam demonstrations in the late sixties and early seventies. Yet since his ascension to the gubernatorial throne, he never passed up an opportunity to demonstrate his solidarity with the nation’s armed forces — and one of the laziest methods of doing so, Sarah had noticed, was casual usage of the lingo.
“Even if he decides to do that, Governor, it will take time for it to get here from the base, and these people have been out there for hours. There’s really no spare time left. We have a helicopter here and now, ready to go.”
“I’m sorry, Sarah, but I can’t sign off on this.”
“May I ask why?”
He paused, and in that hesitation she could hear the gears of his political brain turning—If I give her the go on this, she’ll look like a hero. MAYOR-FOR-A-DAY RISKS LIFE TO SAVE RESIDENTS. That was the kind of publicity that moved people up the political ladder at a healthy clip; career-changing publicity. And there wouldn’t be any room in the story for him, Sarah realized, and wished she had thought of a way to address that before making the call. Would he allow three voters to suffer even a minute longer than necessary just to avoid letting a rival score a few points?
Son of a bitch…
“It’s too risky for you,” he said finally.
“I’ll be in a sealed helicopter with an oxygen m—”
“And overriding the general sets a very bad precedent.”
“You’ve done it before,” she pointed out, “so the precedent has already been set.”
“Look—” He was angry now. Frustrated by my refusal to play along. “I’m sorry. The answer’s no.”
“Maybe this will change your mind…”
She had her own phone out and the voice-memo app open. She hit the file “MEMO3” and held the phones together. The earlier dialog between the two of them came out as clear as daylight—
“… I believe you know that I have been supportive of the nuclear-energy industry in this state from the beginning, correct?”
“Yes. I’m aware that that’s been your stance on the issue.”
“And a thing like this, like what’s happened today, can backfire on a person in my position very easily.”
“Sir, I’m sorry, but I really have to—”
“Just hold your horses. What I’m trying to say is that I would be grateful to you if you would make certain to let the media know how cooperative and effective I have been to you throughout this crisis.”
(pause)
“Sarah? Are you there?”
“Yes, yes. I’m here. And I understand what you’re saying. But… you wouldn’t not mobilize the Guard, would you? That’s pretty much standard procedure here, right? I mean, how would it look if—”
“No, not that. Of course I’m sending in the Guard. I’m just as concerned about the welfare of your citizenry as you are. No, I’m talking about the other things.”
“Other things?”
“You might just come out of this mess looking like the hero of the day. And if that’s the case, it would be to my great benefit to be touted by you as your vice-hero, particularly with election season looming on the horizon. You’re understanding me so far, right?”
“Yes, I get it.”
“And you need to remember that the media’s a funny kind of animal. One moment it’s rubbing up against you like a kitten, the next it’s turned into a fully grown lion that’s trying to rip your throat out. Doesn’t matter what side you’re on. Doesn’t matter what the truth happens to be.”
“I’ve experienced my share of—”
“Of course, many of those same media people are old friends of mine, so I do have something of an advantage over, say, someone who’s a bit lower down the ladder. And of course, it’s always nice to be able to call in a favor or two if I need to cover my ass… or go after someone else’s.”
Sarah hit “stop” and brought Price’s phone back to her ear.
“Governor?”
“Yes.” The voice had undergone a radical change. The charm was back in its box; its user had clearly decided it wasn’t going to be of any value now. Taking its place was an unabashed inhumanity that chilled Sarah to her core. This is how he did it, she thought. This is how he got to the top of his game. There’s a monster inside — and I just gave it a good kick. The flat, deadly tone in which he’d said that single word was all the proof she needed.
“I don’t know all of those old media friends of yours,” Sarah went on, “but I do know there are others who aren’t as friendly as you would like, and I’m sure most of them would find your remarks from earlier today fairly interesting. Now, do you understand me so far?”
“Yes.”
“Terrific — then listen carefully…”
The helicopter lifted out of the courtyard ten minutes later with Sarah in the passenger seat, then turned due south, toward Prince Field.
27
Text message from Sarah Redmond to Emilio Rodriguez, 6:14 P.M.
Hey honey, you’ve really got me worried… Could you let me know that you’re all right when you get a moment?