Bernsie gasped.
“It’s not without precedent,” she continued. “This was the law from 1886 to 1947.”
“Then we sell it in that way,” Bernsie said, relieved that they could rely on some history.
“Well, there’s more.” Here goes. “I also recommend that the order not fall to the Cabinet secretaries.”
“Then who on God’s earth becomes president after the vice president?” he stammered.
“The president or president-elect — directly following a national election — will nominate a well-respected, above-reproach candidate outside the fundamental operation of the government and even outside of Washington, D.C., as next in line after the vice president. This could be a former president or vice president, a governor, a former key cabinet member or someone equally experienced and worthy. The nominee would be subject to Senate confirmation and once confirmed, receive regular intelligence reports and Secret Service protection.”
“But, your recommendation would put someone in line who hasn’t been elected. At least the speaker and the president pro tem are elected officials,” the Office of Strategic Affairs chief complained.
“Not nationally, Mr. Safron. They become national figures only through their elevated positions in Congress,” Eve Goldman noted. “In that sense, they’re nominated peers and confirmed through majority vote, just like the secretaries of state, defense, right through the cabinet.”
“Thank you, Attorney General,” Katie said appreciatively. “I should add that the creation of a president-designate post would be subject to the same Congressional scrutiny, perhaps more.”
Bernsie decided to listen. No further interruptions.
“Preferably, he or she would represent the party of the elected president,” Katie contended. “This is crucial. Every four years, the direction of the federal government is determined by the public’s decision in the voting booth. I’m sorry, Mr. President, but if the nation votes Democratic, they should have a president from that party.”
“Apology accepted,” Taylor said lightly. “And vice versa.”
“Yes, sir. By having a qualified, informed, and pre-confirmed president-designate in the wings, we are assured that America can survive even the most cruel and deadly attack imaginable.”
Katie needed a sip of water.
“Ms. Kessler,” the president said.
“Yes?”
“You have some backup you want us to read?” He pointed to Katie’s lap. She’d forgotten to hand out the paperwork.
“Oh, yes.” She passed copies to everyone.
“What do you say you give us a few minutes to review this?”
Katie obliged. She poured herself a glass of water, then waited while everyone absorbed her written arguments. After nearly five minutes, Morgan Taylor broke the silence. “Questions? Comments?”
Eve Goldman went first. “You seem to have covered the issue quite thoroughly. But I see you also have other designees. Can you talk about them?”
“Certainly. Just as my proposed changes to the Succession Act establishes a president-designate, I think we should consider one for a vice president. The VP-designate would also be subject to Senate confirmation and live outside the metropolitan D.C. area.”
“So you would completely eliminate the secretary of state, the attorney general, the homeland security secretary, and other cabinet members from the line?”
“I would. Currently, they have to resign their offices in order to be sworn in. Consider what the law is now. Assume that the president dies. Those next in line — the vice president, the speaker, and the Senate pro tem are also killed. The secretary of state becomes acting president. But the House of Representatives could immediately vote in a new speaker of the house. Maybe that person is from a different political party than the president, maybe not. But the new speaker, according to the 1947 Act, can bump the acting president out. The former secretary of state is now out of a job. In a nutshell, that’s the issue of ‘bumping.’ My approach avoids that possibility.”
Brad Rutberg nodded his overall acceptance of the plan, but still asked, “How do you convince Congress?”
“I don’t. I help frame the arguments. I think the president carries it to the nation directly. We’ve seen the fragility of the office and the strength of the institution; the best of what works and the inherent flaws in what doesn’t.” She carefully avoided mentioning Duke Patrick by name. “The president tells the American people that the need to protect the Office far outweighs any individual’s job in Congress or the cabinet. The future is too precarious to rely on an antiquated practice, at least in my estimation.”
Katie was finished. She’d made her case. Successfully?
“Ms. Kessler…” Taylor slowly started.
“Yes, Mr. President?”
“Have you run this by Chief Justice Browning?” He raised his eyebrow. This would be the real test.
Katie smiled confidently. “As a matter of fact, I have.” The room fell completely silent. “He wishes I’d come to work for him instead of you.”
Epilogue
General Jonas Jackson Johnson and Jack Evans monitored the attacks from the Integrated Battle Command Center at MacDill Air Force Base. The strikes were executed from the deck of the USS Kitty Hawk and Australian Royal Air Force bases at Tindaland Amberley. The Liberian tanker was the first target. Wisely, the captain stopped shy of Sydney. He acquiesced to the SASR team, rather than face scuttling. The Australian special forces quickly found what they sought.
All told, sixteen other targets were being pounded by F/A 18s and F-llls flown by the two nations under SAPATA authority. Satellite imagery, in large part provided by the KH-12s, showed massive explosions at seven locations in Indonesia, two in the Solomons, five more in the Malaysian islands, and two in Pakistan.
The satellites, dubbed Improved Crystal, are assets of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), located near Washington Dulles Airport and the National Security Agency. They capture new images every five seconds. The shots are relayed through Milstar satellites to the National Photo Interpretation Center, then — within five minutes — onto National Command Authority at MacDill.
J3 and Jack Evans monitored the images on hi-def television screens deep within the concrete-reinforced, blast-secure facility. Live audio transmission from the fighters accompanied the pictures.
Down-looking before photos were on a separate bank of monitors. They showed amazing detail even through clouds: direct evidence of heat sources created by thermal plumes. These and other analytical markers gave J3 the data on which he based the SAPATA attack order.
Unlike in the movies, the images were black and white and somewhat grainy. In time, computer enhancement would clean them up. But the pictures were sharp enough to tell the story. The terrorist camps, storage centers, and training areas were disappearing from the face of the earth in a hail of allied firepower.
“From now on we go to the terrorists, no matter where they are — Afghanistan or the Arizona desert. We remove them with extreme prejudice,” the general observed.
J3 wasn’t so far off. Although he didn’t know it yet, Evans had satellite reconnaissance photos pinpointing another target — an al-Qaeda training camp in Mexico, and another in Peru. He was certain Taylor would pull the trigger on those targets as well.
“Why didn’t we do this years ago?” J3 asked. He watched as the latest images downloaded. Each one had a human toll that would be calculated in the thousands once the clean-up teams were on ground.