«You talk as if you know all about … them.»
«A great deal, yes. Hardly ‘all.’ I’m sure there are areas you’ve covered that we’re not aware of. We’d appreciate a full briefing. Classified, of course.»
«Classified? This material can’t be classified, Mr. President. It’s got to be made public.»
«You didn’t think so twenty-four hours ago.»
«The conditions weren’t the same.»
«I’ve read the report; it’s entirely satisfactory.»
«It’s not satisfactory. I spent five hours last night with a man named Goddard—»
«Genessee. President, San Francisco Division,» said William Hill quietly, in response to the glance from the man behind the desk.
«He walked out of San Francisco with four briefcases filled with Genessee commitments—extending for years. A good percentage of which have never been heard of before.»
«I’m sure you’ll cover that in your briefing. The report stands as submitted.»
«No. It can’t! I won’t accept that!»
«You will accept it!» The President’s voice suddenly matched Trevayne’s. «You’ll accept it because it is the decision of this office.»
«You can’t enforce that decision! You have no control over me!»
«Don’t be so sure of that. You submitted—officially submitted—your report to this office. The document is over your signature. Incidentally, we have in our possession four copies with the seals unbroken. To speculate that this single report is not authentic; that it must be recalled because it’s been tampered with, shaped by the political ambitions of the subcommittee’s chairman, would raise the gravest issues. To allow you to recall it—for whatever the stated reasons—would also make my administration suspect. Our adversaries would claim we demanded changes. I can’t permit that. This office deals daily with both domestic and foreign complexities; you will not compromise our effectiveness in these areas because your ambitions have been thwarted. In this instance, we must remain above suspicion.»
Trevayne’s voice conveyed his astonishment. He could hardly be heard. «That’s what they would have said.»
«I have no compunctions stealing someone’s strategy if it has merit.»
«And if I stand up and say it’s not authentic, not complete?»
«Outside of the personal anguish—and ridicule—to which you subject yourself and your family,» said William Hill quietly, staring at Trevayne, «who would believe you?… You sold your credibility when you sent out that report yesterday morning. Now you wish to substitute a second? Perhaps there’ll be a third—if a group of politicians recommend you for the governorship. Even a fourth—there are other offices, other appointments. Where does the flexible chairman stop? Just how many reports are there?»
«I don’t care about other people’s opinions. I’ve said it from the beginning—over and over again. I’ve nothing to gain or lose.»
«Except your effectiveness as a functioning, contributive individual,» said the President. «You couldn’t live without that, Mr. Trevayne. No one with your abilities could. And it would be taken from you; you’d be isolated from the community of your peers. You’d never be trusted again. I don’t think you could live that existence. We all need something; none of us is totally self-sufficient.»
Andrew, his eyes locked with the President’s, understood the essential truth of the man’s words. «You’d do that? You’d have it come out that way?»
«I most certainly would.»
«Why?»
«Because I must deal in priorities. Quite simply, I need Genessee Industries.»
«No!… No. You can’t mean that. You know what it is!»
«I know it serves a function; I know it can be controlled. That’s all I have to know.»
«Today. Perhaps tomorrow. Not in a few years. It’s out to destroy.»
«It won’t succeed.»
«You can’t guarantee that.»
The President suddenly slapped his hand on the arm of his chair and stood up. «No one can guarantee anything. There are risks every time I walk into this room; dangers every time I walk out… You listen to me, Trevayne. I believe deeply in the capacity of this country to serve the decent instincts of her own people—and of mankind. But I’m practical enough to realize that in the service of this decency there must often be indecent manipulations… Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t. For surely you know not all the weapons will be turned into plowshares; Cain will murder Abel; the locusts will plague the land; and the oppressed will get goddamn sick and tired of looking forward to inheriting the creature comforts of an afterlife! They want something down here! And whether you like it or not—whether I like it or not—Genessee Industries is doing something about these things!… It’s my considered judgment that it is not a threat. It can and will be contained. Used, Mr. Trevayne. Used.»
«With every turn,» said Hill with compassion, seeing the look of shock on Trevayne’s face, «there’s the constant seeking of solutions. Do you remember my telling you that? That search is the solution. It is continuously applied to such entities as Genessee Industries. The President is right.»
«He’s not right,» replied Andrew quietly, painfully, looking at the man who stood behind the desk. «It’s no solution; it’s a surrender.»
«An employable strategy.» The President sat down. «Eminently suited to our system.»
«Then the system’s wrong.»
«Perhaps,» said the President, reaching for some papers. «I haven’t the time to indulge in such speculations.»
«Don’t you think you should?»
«No,» answered the man, looking up from a page, dismissing Trevayne’s plea. «I have to run the country.»
«Oh, my God …»
«Take your moral outrage somewhere else, Mr. Trevayne. Time. Time is what I must deal with. Your report stands.»
As if it were an afterthought, the President shifted the paper and extended his right hand over the desk as Andrew stood up.
Trevayne looked at the hand, held steady, as the man’s eyes were steady.
He did not accept it.
52
Paul Bonner looked around the courtroom for Trevayne. It was difficult to find him, for the crowds were milling, the voices pitched high, reporters demanding statements, and the incessant silent pops of flashbulbs were coming from all directions. Andrew had been there for the morning summations, and Paul thought it strange that he didn’t remain—at least for a while—to see if the jury would return an early verdict.
It did.
In one hour and five minutes.
Acquittal.
Bonner hadn’t worried. As the trial progressed he’d been confident that his own Army counsel could have handled the job without Trevayne’s elegant, hard-as-nails attorneys from New York. But there was no denying the value of their collective image. They were the essence of respectability; whenever they referred to the De Spadantes or their associates, there was implied revulsion. So successful were they that several members of the jury nodded affirmatively when the comparison was made between the professional soldier who, for years, had risked his life in the murderous jungles defending the nation’s institutions, and the brother-brokers who sought to bleed these same institutions of money and honor.
Trevayne was nowhere to be found.
Paul Bonner made his way through the crowd toward the courtroom door. He tried to maintain a grateful smile as he was jostled and yelled at. He promised to have a «statement later,» and mouthed the appropriate clichés about his abiding faith in the judicial system.