At the last moment, Tom McNamara and the Speaker of the House had briefed both the Director of the United States Secret Service and the Director of the CIA. Two Secret Service agents normally charged with protection stood outside the Speaker of the House’s office, ready to assist the Senate’s Sergeant at Arms, the only man empowered under the Constitution to arrest the President. The Director of the CIA had been apoplectic at not being told but McNamara had looked him squarely in the eye. ‘I’ve seen a lot of Directors in my time, but you’re arguably the worst and if you want proof, just look up the file on Bill Crawford. He was decapitated because you refused to give young agents enough training to equip them to operate in some of the godforsaken places we send them. By the time we get to the bottom of this cesspool, you’re the one who’s going to need re-training because your mates in the White House aren’t going to save you.’
The Sergeant at Arms need not have worried about having backup. The last of the evidence on the tape was not as damning as the plans for Beijing, but it would be enough to put the President behind bars for a very long time. ‘The fewer people that know about this, the better, Chuck. Genetic engineering’s come a long way and provided they’re at the top of their field, two scientists will be enough. You think you can sell it in Washington?’ ‘I sold the idea of a new $500 million bio-level four complex for you, and I’ll be working on the contract for the production of smallpox vaccines as well, which comes in at half a billion; and the last time I looked, your contracts in Iraq this year topped $300 million.’ ‘You will find there will be $10 million of that in your Bahamas account by the end of the week.’
The President of the United States of America slumped in his chair.
‘I intend to see to it that you face the full force of the law, Mr President,’ demanded Davis Burton. ‘For the moment that will be restricted to the bribes you’ve taken over the years. The members of the Senate and the House have only been given enough detail to ensure their cooperation and silence on this extraordinary conspiracy in Beijing. You’ve been a party to one of the most sinister plots in the history of mankind. My colleagues and I agree that it is in neither America’s nor the world’s interest to make this public, but that will depend on whether or not we can recover the vials.’
President Bolton’s eyes widened in horror.
‘No, Mr President, they have not, as you previously authorised, been delivered through the American Embassy’s diplomatic bag to Halliwell’s paid thugs. Two weeks ago they were stolen from Halliwell’s laboratories by Dolinsky, the man you insisted we give assistance to defect. Dr Eduard Dolinsky works for al-Qaeda. Curtis O’Connor is going to attempt to recover these vials. If he doesn’t, I can’t think what the outcome might be, except for one certainty. You will die in the electric chair. Either way, may the Lord have mercy on you for your betrayal of the high office to which you were entrusted.’
The President nodded in a daze.
The Sergeant at Arms, accompanied by the two Secret Service agents escorted the President to a side door where a car was waiting. Davis Burton had insisted that the images of a President under arrest not be beamed around the world by the mass of media waiting for the President to re-emerge after his speech on the Hill. With a grim determination, Burton walked towards the chamber to deliver a history-making speech of his own.
‘It is with a deep sense of sadness that I announce to my fellow Americans, and to the world that the President of the United States has been arrested.’
Gasps of disbelief could be heard in the visitors’ gallery.
‘As Vice President, and as our chief executive, President Bolton has been involved in serious criminal activities, including the acceptance of millions of dollars in bribes.’ The carefully worded statement allowed for further elaboration on those activities should the Beijing conspiracy ever become public.
‘I expect many in the wider community will want to know why impeachment proceedings have not been brought. In this case, the crimes are so serious and the evidence so compelling that when confronted with that evidence a short while ago in the Office of the Speaker, the President had no defence.’ Davis Burton waited while the murmurs of shock and amazement died down in the gallery.
‘In the absence of a Vice President, the office of President falls to me as Speaker of the House and the next most senior person in line. Although I have sought this office in the past, I would never have wanted to assume the position under these circumstances; but just as the democratic process that is the backbone of this great country determined the results of the elections I fought and lost, under a little known section of our Constitution, it allows for the arrest of a wayward President by the Senate Sergeant at Arms. Now is not the time for electioneering, now is the time for healing, but, if my colleagues so wish it, I will once again put my name forward for this great office. In the meantime, I do not intend to introduce any substantial items of domestic policy in the months remaining until the next election. In the area of foreign policy, I will do everything I can to restore the good name we once had among those with whom we share this planet. I am reminded of what the great President Harry S. Truman once said from this very spot. In his 1951 State of the Union address, when he was referring to the threat from Communism, he said, and I quote: “The United Nations, the world’s greatest hope for peace, has come through a year of trial stronger and more useful than ever. The free nations have stood together in blocking Communist attempts to tear up the charter.”
I am sad to say that, in recent months, it has been the United States of America that has been trying to rip up the charter. I read a report the other day from the Peres Centre for Peace where 70 per cent of Palestinians and Israelis favour reaching a peace agreement and a surprising number of those are in favour of a Palestinian state. That report suggests to me that one of the greatest obstacles to peace in the Middle East has been self-serving politicians and minority groups on both sides. The Peres Centre is one organisation that is bringing Palestinians and Israelis to work together, sharing ideas in fields like agriculture and business, but more importantly, enabling Israelis and Palestinians alike to get to know, understand and respect each other’s different cultures. You will not find it reported in the mainstream media but young people are bonding amidst the camaraderie on the sports field. Mixed teams of Palestinians and Israelis are being pitted against other teams of Palestinians and Israelis. Like an effective United Nations, if that sort of good will can be harnessed on a greater scale, and if I can move towards spending a billion dollars a week on health and education instead of bombing the populations of Iraq and Lebanon, then whether my fellow Americans decide I should stay put or leave the White House, I will be a very happy man.’ Burton paused again as the Democrats and many on his own side of politics applauded. The shock of the arrest of the President had certainly not subsided, but Davis Burton was widely respected as a man of vision by both sides and already he seemed to be providing hope for a far more peaceful future, not only for the United States, but for the world at large.
‘I don’t agree with Dr Kadeer’s methods but he is right in insisting that Palestinian families have the same aspirations as anyone else. We take for granted in this country that we are able to enrol in a school or a university. Many Palestinian children would give their right arm to have the same opportunity. There’s been far too much bloodshed, and we need to find common ground with other cultures. Just as we would not tolerate an Islamic army camped on the shores of the Potomac, perhaps withdrawal of our armies from around the Islamic holy sites might be feasible. I intend to try and find a way to do that through intermediaries in the United Nations.’