Stone watched Diamond and Fox depart, then ordered Meredith to report to his office immediately. He was going to see Ronnie Wood, and she could come in handy.
As the last person to see Rathburn alive, Meredith could be valuable to him, Stone figured. First, he didn’t know what, if anything, she knew about the Rolling Stones. Second, she would deflect attention from him. He had been concerned lately about being too obvious. And, if nothing else, she was beautiful, and that would cheer him up.
They made the quick trip to the Old Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House. It was an overly ornate structure, almost a medieval eyesore amidst the modern office buildings.
There they met Vice President Hellerman, who deemed it necessary to give the briefing personally to President Davis. He ordered the National Command Authority to convene in the White House Situation Room, a small room with a cherry conference table and a white phone where the president sits.
Eventually, the service chiefs of staff, the CJCS, SecDef, vice president, Central Intelligence Agency director, and Meredith all huddled around the table. The secretary of state was already on his way to Japan to discuss regional security issues and possible economic sanctions against the Philippines.
Meredith was dumbstruck. In her inexpensive dress, not a women’s power suit, with a stack of papers and books tucked in her arms, she looked like a schoolgirl. She felt like the country bumpkin that she was. She was clearly much younger than every other person in the room.
They all stood when the president entered, then sat quickly when he waved his hand at the group. The chief executive sat at the head of the table with the vice president on his right and the national security advisor on his left. Stone was next to the vice president and across from Sewell, the CJCS, and Frank Lantini, the CIA director. The chiefs of staff filled the other seats, with Meredith awkwardly positioned at the other end of the table, providing a weak counterbalance to the president, who was opposite her.
“I know almost everybody,” President Davis said in his smooth Southern drawl, looking at Hellerman, who smiled and stood.
“This is Ms. Meredith Morris. She’s an analyst, is it, with Bart Rathburn’s group?”
Meredith stood, bashfully.
“No, sir. I’m his special assistant. I handle a broad range of issues for Mr. Rathburn.”
“I bet,” the Air Force chief of staff whispered loud enough for most to hear, prompting a scowl from the president.
“Everybody’s got to start somewhere, Ace.” The president smiled.
“Okay. Let’s proceed. The situation, as my national security advisor has advised me, is this: The Abu Sayyaf has taken control of the Philippines, President Cordero is in jail, Secretary Rathburn and two others are hostages.” The president went down the checklist as if he were grocery shopping.
Meredith winced when she heard Matt’s name fall into the “others” category.
“We have a Special Forces team on Mindanao and an infantry company on Luzon. We lost fifteen women, some military and some civilian, on an airplane at the Manila International Airport. The Japanese have arranged for us to use Subic Bay Naval Base for the next two days as an airport of debarkation only. No ships, is that correct?”
“Yes, sir,” Sewell responded. “That’s a good summary. It’s also important to let you know that we have developed a joint task force under the command of Admiral Dave Jennings; he’s with Pacific Com-mand. Right now he’s got the majority of a light infantry brigade and division headquarters in Guam, a Marine expeditionary force moving south from Okinawa through the East China Sea, and a naval carrier group steaming from the Indian Ocean. They should be in the South China Sea in two days. We’ve got the fighter and bomber wings at Guam on alert. And, of course, portions of the Ranger regiment are waiting on the airstrip in Guam.”
“Okay, but we plan on a simple extraction of our personnel, correct? I mean, we just start flying airplanes in and taking them out. Right?” the president said. “I can see no reason for becoming militarily involved in the Philippines unless we can’t get all of our people out. I still want to focus on Iraq and Afghanistan as the main front in the Global War on Terror. I don’t want anything to divert our attention there.”
Meredith was convinced that he passionately believed what he was saying.
“We want democracy and market systems in the world, but not at the expense of American lives. While we prefer democracy, but communism is no longer our enemy, and last time I checked, these rebels were really communists just trying to hook on to the Muslim thing. So, it’s like Cuba suddenly saying, ‘Hey, me too.’ So, if these communists cum Islamists want to have it, then let’s find a way to contain it and get after the real threat.”
The president looked around the room and continued, “The point is that we will be able to use other forms of power to influence whatever regime is in control of the Philippines. We should let the Philippines go through the growing pains of revolution, assisting them in ensuring human rights and economic prosperity if possible.”
Communism? Meredith was certain everyone in the room was having the same thought. Where is he getting that from? Sure, they were communists twenty years ago, but Islamic fundamentalism has always been an issue in the Philippines. Meredith leaned back in her chair as if blown away in slow motion. And what about the Japan angle? Hasn’t anyone mentioned that to the president? If not, I wouldn’t want that ass-chewing afterward.
Sewell looked at Stone, motioning for him to take charge. There was something in the exchange that piqued Meredith’s curiosity. What was it? A knowing look? A familiarity? After all, they were counterparts. Davis also saw the interchange and asked the secretary of defense to respond.
“Sir, there has been a development that warrants our discussion in this forum. It significantly muddies the waters if our intelligence turns out to be true,” Stone explained, looking at Lantini.
“Go ahead,” President Davis said, kicking back in his chair with his hands behind his head and briefly resting against the nearby wall that made the room so cramped.
“We just received an intelligence report from the Special Forces team in Mindanao that they captured a Japanese auto executive jogging.”
The group chuckled, unaware.
“This executive, it appears, had been in Mindanao for six months”—Stone paused, looking at the rest of the group—“operating a massive assembly line making tanks, armored personnel carriers, helicopters, small arms, and ammunition. The whole operation’s been going on nearly two years.” Stone stopped, then added the stipulation: “According to the report.”
“What!” McNulty, the Air Force chief of staff responded. “That’s bullshit!” He had served as the commander of the Thirty-fifth Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base in Japan.
“All we know is that we got the spot report through about ten different parties,” Stone said, “but I brought Meredith here to discuss some of the background and even some of the implications.”
“Really, Bob, a secretary? I’ve heard of sleeping your way to the top, but this is ridiculous,” McNulty retorted.
“I resent that,” Meredith said, angrily. She stood amidst the all-male gathering, tucked her hair behind her ears, and glared at the general, who turned red. She did not need his harassment, and she was certainly not there for the prestige or to get a job. She wanted to help. She had the answer and she knew it. President Davis was about to speak, but Meredith began by slapping her notes onto the table.
“Pardon me, Mr. President,” she said, the president motioning for her to continue, smiling at her brashness. “But that little spot report confirms what our intelligence has been missing for the past two years.” Lantini glared at her as she picked up a stack of papers stapled together and passed them around. “I mean, it’s bad enough we get our jockstraps handed to us on Nine-eleven, but it’s about to happen again.