Balance of Power

    Coletti finished reading, then looked slowly up at Hampton. "Not pretty," he said in grudging tones. "But it doesn't say they knew the P-2 was being sold by white supremacists."

    At the corner of his vision, Hampton noticed Jack Slezak observing them. "Or by Adolf Hitler," Hampton answered tersely. "You told the President you needed cover. Obstruction of justice should be cover enough. Do you really want to reward that with immunity?"

    Coletti mustered a flinty smile which tightened the corner of his eyes. "The President doesn't mean to lose, does he."

    "Surprise," Hampton said with a laugh as soft as it was brief. Then he put one hand on Coletti's shoulder. "The President would appreciate your help, Vic. So would I."

    To both sides, senators kept stepping forward toward the clerk. With a curt nod, Coletti folded the paper and tucked it into the inside pocket of his suit coat. "Does Slezak know?" he asked.

    Hampton smiled. "He will."

* * *

    With four minutes left, Cassie saw Vic Coletti approach the clerk of the Senate with all the animation of a death row prisoner taking his final walk.

    "Congratulations," Cassie said to Chad. "Looks like Hampton's buying."

    Chad shrugged. "Just another scene from

Profiles in Courage. I think I'll wander down there for you, find out how Vic voted."

    This was another kindness, sparing Cassie the discomfort of looking. "Please don't wander," she said. "Sprint."

* * *

But Fasano found her before Chad returned. "Coletti?" she asked.

"Kilcannon flipped him. Time to choose, Cassie."

    Senator Rollins inhaled. "It will be—in about three minutes. Where's Slezak?"

    Fasano's eyes bored into her. "No clue. Whoever he's promised his vote to, it isn't me." His voice reverted to its cool, clipped tenor. "Slezak's not on my team. You are. Don't embarrass me any further."

    Around them the edgy buzz of conversation rose, both the senators and the gallery anticipating the end game. "Then don't embarrass me," she said softly. "There are people watching."

    "No need," Fasano answered. "I've said all I should ever need to say." Abruptly turning, he walked away.

* * *

    On the screen the count stood at forty-eight to forty-eight, with one certain vote for each side yet to come. The clock read 2:14.

    "Come on, Cassie," the President murmured. Something kept him from speaking Slezak's name.

* * *

"That looked chummy," Chad said on his return. His voice was conversational, as if reporting something of mild interest. "You and Slezak still have a couple of minutes. Care to know what turned Coletti?"

    Contemplating yet again the potential consequences of defying the Majority Leader, Cassie remained shaken. "Sure."

    With a smile, Chad told her.

    After a moment, Cassie shook her head. "You know, I really despise these people."

    "Lexington?"

    "The SSA."

    Chad gave a querying look. "And so?"

    Somewhat belatedly, it struck Cassie that, all kindnesses aside, Chad would not mind at all if Fasano lost. "Tell me something," she replied. "What inspired you to sign on as Frank's point man?"

    Chad glanced about them. "We cut a deal," he told her in an undertone. "This thing for a straight up-and-down vote on campaign finance reform."

    After a moment, Cassie nodded. "I thought it must be something better than what Frank offered me—an end to my career. Or the President."

    "What did Kerry offer you?"

    "A chance to do the right thing. I just hate it when that happens."

    Chad, she saw, was looking over her shoulder. "Slezak isn't moving," he reported. "You've got about a minute."

    Cassie glanced at her watch. "Fuck it, Chad. This is becoming way too undignified."

    With that, she walked briskly toward the clerk.

* * *

"There goes Cassie," Clayton said.

    At the corner of the screen, the countdown showed 1:14. As Cassie spoke to the clerk, Kerry heard the door to the Oval Office ease open, and turned to see Lara slipping through. Softly, she told her husband, "I couldn't stand watching up there alone."

    Kerry's whole being felt taut. "You're in time for the final curtain. Cassie's about to vote."

* * *

Aware of the drama of the moment, the clerk peered at the junior senator from Maine through glasses so thick that they magnified his eyes—which, at the moment, resembled those of a startled bug. Smiling, she said, "Doing a brisk business, I see. Where does the vote stand?"

"Fifty 'no,' " he answered. "Forty-eight 'yes.' "

"Close. What do you think I should do?"

    Mute, he looked up at her, unwilling to venture a response. Cassie felt her colleagues crowding in behind her, straining to hear whether her vote would be "yes" with the President and Hampton, or "no" with the Majority Leader and her party. "Oh, well," she told the clerk. "Record my vote as 'yes.' "

    Behind her she heard a stir. Glancing up at the Vice President, Cassie gave Ellen Penn a smile. After all, there were so few times a Vice President got to seize the limelight, and one of those was voting to break a tie.

* * *

"It's all on Slezak," Kerry told his wife.