«No. I’m sure you are.»
«You realize, of course, that the worst you portend for us are accusations, vehemently denied. Months, years, perhaps a decade in the courts?»
«That’s entirely possible.»
«Then why should we even consider you a threat? Are you prepared for our counterattack? Are you willing to spend years of your life defending yourself in the libel courts?»
«No, I’m not.»
«Then we are at an impasse. We might as well accommodate each other. After all, our objectives are identical. The good of the United States.»
«Our definitions differ.»
«That’s impossible,» said Green.
«That’s why we differ. You conceive of no other absolutes but your own.»
Hamilton shrugged elegantly and raised both his hands in a gesture of compromise. «We are prepared to discuss these definitions—»
«I’m not,» replied Andrew standing. «I’m weary of your definitions, your ersatz elitist logic; those tiring conclusions that give you the right to implement only your own objectives. You don’t have that right; you’re stealing it. And I’m crying ‘thieves!’—loud and repeatedly.»
«Who will listen?» shouted Green. «Who will listen to a man propelled by a vengeance twenty years old?»
«What did you say?»
«Twenty years ago Genessee Industries turned you down!» Green shook his finger at Andrew. «For twenty years you’re whining! We have proof—»
«You disgust me!» roared Trevayne. «You’re no better than the man you claim is no part of you. But you’re kidding yourselves; you and the De Spadantes of this world are cut from the same cloth. ‘We have proof!’ Good God, do you extort protection money from blind newsdealers, too?»
«The analogy is unfair, Trevayne,» said Hamilton, taking a disapproving eye off Green. «Aaron is prone to get upset easily.»
«It’s not unfair,» answered Trevayne quietly, his hands gripping the back of his chair. «You’re scheming, out-of-date old men playing an insane game of Monopoly. Buying up this, buying up that—using a hundred different subsidiaries—promising, bribing, blackmailing. Compiling thousands of individual dossiers and poring over them like demented gnomes. One stating that his ideas are greater monuments—what was it?—temples, cathedrals! My God, what pomposity… The other. Oh, yes. There shouldn’t be any blanket franchises. Only those entitled to vote should have a voice. That’s not only out of date, it’s out of sight!»
«I deny! I deny I ever said that!» Hamilton leaped to his feet, suddenly, profoundly frightened.
«Deny all you like. But you’d better know this. On Saturday, I was in Hartford; I signed the papers, Hamilton. I had reasons—out of focus but clear enough—to use another attorney. Mr. Vicarson here has assured me everything is in order. On January fifteenth an irrevocable announcement is made by the Governor of Connecticut. I am right now, for all intents and purposes, a United States senator.»
«What?» Aaron Green looked as though he’d been slapped harshly.
«That’s right, Mr. Green. And I intend to use the immunity of that seat and the stature of that office to hammer away at you. I’m going to let the country know—over and over and over again. Every day, every quorum, every session; I won’t stop. If need be—and I’ve considered it deeply—I’ll have my own personal marathon, my own filibuster. I’ll start at the beginning and read that entire report. Every word. All six hundred pages. You won’t survive that. Genessee Industries won’t survive.»
Aaron Green was breathing heavily, his eyes leveled at Trevayne, his voice deep with personal hatred. «From Auschwitz to Babi-Yar. Pigs like you make trouble when there is trouble enough.»
«And the solutions are not your solutions. Your solutions lead right back to the camps. To the executions. Can’t you see that?»
«I see only strength! Strength is the deterrent!»
«For God’s sake, Green, make it a collective strength. A responsible strength. One that’s shared, open. Not furtively manipulated by a select few. That doesn’t belong here.»
«You are a schoolboy again! What is this ‘shared,’ this ‘open’? They’re words, sterile words. They lead to chaos, to weakness. Look at the record.»
«I’ve looked at it. Hard and long. It’s flawed, imperfect, frustrating. But, goddamn it, it’s a better alternative than the one you’re suggesting. Look at that track record!… And if we’re walking into a time when the system doesn’t work, we’d better know that, too. Then we’ll change it. But openly. By choice. Not by edict; and certainly not by your edict.»
«Very well, Mr. Trevayne,» said Ian Hamilton, suddenly walking away from the others, his back to them. «You’ve built a strong case. What are you suggesting we do?»
«Cut bait. Get out. I don’t care where; Switzerland, the Mediterranean, the Scottish Highlands, or the British Lowlands. It doesn’t make any difference. Just get out of this country. And stay out.»
«We have financial responsibilities,» protested Hamilton quietly.
«Delegate them. But sever all connections with Genessee Industries.»
«Impossible! Preposterous!» Aaron Green looked at Hamilton now.
«Easy, old friend… If we do as you suggest, what is our guarantee?»
Trevayne crossed to the room-service table and pointed at the red leather notebook. «This is the report as it stands—»
«You’ve made us aware of that,» interrupted Hamilton.
«We have also prepared an alternate report. One that considerably reduces the attention now given to Genessee Industries—»
«So?»
Aaron Green’s sudden interruption was stated emphatically, distastefully. «The schoolboy’s not so pure. He wasn’t going to change a word. A single word.»
Trevayne paused before replying. «I still mightn’t. If I do, you have an Army major named Bonner to thank for it. And your own willingness to comply, of course… Major Bonner made an observation once that stuck with me. Perhaps it dovetailed with other opinions, but, nevertheless, he gave the idea focus. He said I was destructive; that I was tearing down, not offering any alternatives. Just a total wipeout, the good and the bad down the drain together… All right, let’s try to salvage some of the good.»
«We want specifics,» said Hamilton.
«All right… You get out and you stay out, and I turn over the alternate report, and the quiet process of cleaning up Genessee Industries begins. No cries of conspiracy—which it is; no demands for your necks—which should be demanded; no total wipeout. I’m sure a task force can be mounted to go after the existing financial fiefdoms. We won’t bother with the root causes, because they’ll be eliminated. You’ll be eliminated.»
«That’s excessively harsh.»
«You came here to make a deal, Hamilton. There it is. You’re a political realist; I’m a political reality—your judgment, I believe. Take it. You won’t get a better offer.»
«You’re no match for us, schoolboy,» said Aaron Green, his emotion denying the confidence of his statement.
«Not by myself; of course not. I’m only an instrument. But through me two hundred million people will learn what you are. As opposed to you, I honestly believe they’re capable of making decisions.»
The pavane was over. The music finished. The stately ancients took their leave of the newly established court with as much dignity as was possible.
«Would it have worked?» asked Sam Vicarson.
«I don’t know,» answered Trevayne. «But they couldn’t take the chance.»