Paramour (45 page)

"A little weak, Mr. President."

He looked at Susan. "You have a good nurse."

"Yes, sir."

"What happened tonight has been classified Top Secret," the President said. "I'd like you to stay at Camp David until everything is sorted out. You can take as long as you like to recuperate. And Susan, I'd appreciate it if you'd accompany Jack. There will be a lot of necessary debriefings, and Camp David is a good place to conduct them. You two will be staying in my quarters."

"Yes, sir," Powers said.

"Yes, Mr. President," Susan said.

The President strode out of the room.

****

THIRTY

Camp David was a beehive of activity for the next two weeks. Powers and Susan, at the insistence of the President, remained as guests while being debriefed by CIA Agent Green. Powers and Susan took most of their meals in Cabin 18, which had a beautiful view of the grounds. The evenings were spent in front of the fireplace chatting quietly and making love, even though his wound still caused Powers some pain.

During the debriefing sessions Powers learned that the CIA, by monitoring Syrian secret communications, had learned it was Syrian agents who'd killed Landry and had followed Powers in San Francisco. The Syrian mission had been to preserve Sullivan's unique access to the White House at all costs. In the opinion of CIA analysts, Sullivan had been the most valuable agent ever directed against the United States.

A lengthy investigation of Peter Sullivan conducted by the FBI determined Marilyn Kasindorf had unwittingly been used by Sullivan and killed at her apartment by him, probably on August 12, when she discovered he was a spy and confronted him. After disposing of her body, Sullivan realized he had to cover her absence from the White House and hurried there to submit an annual leave request in her name. He discovered Stryker in her office and had to kill him too. Leaving his weapon to be discovered, he then switched the serial numbers of his gun and Stryker's in official Secret Service records and planted Marilyn's pocketbook in Stryker's nightstand.

In going over evidence, Powers discovered that on August 12 Sullivan had signed the Camp David Secret Service's daily log for the listed purpose of examining the security features of the conference facility currently under construction. On that day, there was only a skeleton security crew manning Camp David. Sullivan, because of his rank, would not have been stopped from cruising into the compound and parking his car in the partially covered first level. And what would be a better place to dispose of a body than in a remote, highly secure area? Acting on a hunch, Powers directed a team of hand-picked navy Seabees to examine the portion of the building under construction on the twelfth with an X-ray machine.

They found the outline of a body embedded in the cement lining the basement and spent more than four hours extricating it. As Marilyn Kasindorf was ready to be lifted from her resting place by a navy crane, Powers notified the President.

The President summoned the off-duty shift of Secret Service agents, Press Secretary Eggleston, David Morgan, CIA Director Patterson, and other trusted members of the White House staff whom the President had allowed to be at the camp when the sensitive work was being undertaken, as well as Clint Howard, the Secret Service chaplain, whom the President had ordered to stand by.

As a navy crane lifted the body out of the excavation pit, Howard recited a brief prayer. Susan cried openly, and the President and Powers and a number of others present found themselves wiping their eyes. The body was placed in a navy ambulance and CIA Agent Green, driving a Mitsubishi sedan, followed it out the front gate.

Though the President and the other members of the White House Staff returned to the White House that evening, Powers and Susan remained at Camp David. That evening, lounging around the cabin, they watched the television as the President's press conference was broadcast live from the White House briefing room. In it, he announced his decision, without qualification, to support an isolated Israel against her enemies in the Middle East. In a news conference post mortem, CBS anchorman Dan Rather characterized the President's decision as courageous. During the next five days, they were debriefed by representatives of the State Department Office of Research and Intelligence, the National Security Agency, and the staffs of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the National Security Council-all asking the same questions as Green.

After two weeks, with Powers nearly recovered from his wound, the President summoned Powers and Susan to the White House. Harrington, posted outside the Oval Office, winked at Powers as if he knew a secret and opened the door. The President was at his desk with David Morgan. Morgan stood up as Powers and Susan entered. He was smiling.

"How are you feeling, Jack?" the President said.

"Just fine, sir."

"I'll get right to the point. Would you like to return to duty in the Secret Service?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

"I wouldn't ask you to reenter the lists without offering you an incentive-"

"That's not necessary-"

"So I'm promoting you to be Agent-in-Charge of the White House Detail," the President went on. "Assuming you'd accept, I've notified Director Fogarty. And just between those of us in this room, he's not far away from retirement. I'm going to wait just long enough that the press won't put Sullivan's death and Fogarty's resignation together, and then you'll be offered the Directorship."

"I don't know what to say."

"David, administer the oath to Agent-in-Charge Powers."

Morgan pulled a piece of paper from his inside jacket pocket and raised his right hand. Powers did the same, and Morgan administered the same oath Powers had taken upon graduation from Secret Service School. The last sentence was: "And, bearing in mind my personal honor and the glorious tradition of the United States Secret Service, I swear I will, without hesitation, forfeit my life to protect the person of the President of the United States."

Powers shook hands with both Morgan and the President. Susan kissed Powers on the cheek.

Leaving the White House, Powers was congratulated by the members of the Secret Service working shift, including Tomsic, Harrington, and Capizzi-whom he planned to transfer to Training Division his first day on the job. In keeping with Secret Service tradition, Powers invited everyone for drinks at Blackie's.

Powers and Susan walked out the front door of the White House and under the hanging lantern on the portico. The manicured grounds were green and lush, and the sky had been cleared by a warm breeze. Walking along the path under the tall elm trees arching over the wide lawn, Powers suggested renting an apartment at the Georgetown Arms while looking for an affordable condominium to purchase. Susan agreed.

At the East Gate, Powers stopped for a moment and looked back at the White House. His mind finally emptied of anger and frustration, he thought sadly of Stryker and of his pal Ken Landry. Then he nodded at the uniformed guard and the gate opened to a bustling Pennsylvania Avenue.

Powers took Susan's arm in his and they strolled along the wide sidewalk past the spiked fence at the foot of the White House lawn.

****

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

GERALD PETIEVICH is a former U.S. Secret Service Agent. Mr. Petievich numbers among his novels
To Live and Die in L.A., Boiling Point
(published as
Money Men
) and
The Sentinel
, all of which were made into major motion pictures. His other novels include
Earth Angels, Shakedown, To Die in Beverly Hills, One-Shot Deal, Paramour
and
The Quality of the Informant
.