Blowback

“Of course she smells blood in the water. We’re hemorrhaging. Islamic fundamentalists are going to use that al-Jazeera footage as a perpetual recruiting tool, and it’s going to work. Thousands of Muslim youth who might not otherwise have signed up are going to be asking themselves, What if that was someone I loved or cared about being beaten by an American soldier? We handed them this one on a silver platter. It’s going to take us decades to recover. But that still doesn’t explain what possible interest the Intelligence Committee could have in holding hearings on this.”

“You might change your mind about the committee’s interest once you know who the American in the al-Jazeera footage is,” said Anderson.

The president leaned forward in his chair. “Who’s got him? The Army? Do they know who he is?”

“The Army doesn’t have him, and they don’t know who he is.”

Rutledge waited for the other shoe to drop, but when Anderson didn’t say anything, his mind started turning. “I don’t suppose this guy is a private contractor we can plausibly disavow?”

“We’re not going to be that lucky on this one. If it was a contractor, this entire thing would be over already.”

“He’s an operator then, isn’t he?” said the president.

Anderson nodded his head. “Part of one of the direct action teams authorized by the DOD and this office.”

“Is he CIA?”

“I don’t think you should know any more at this point. There’s a good chance Carmichael is going to be issuing subpoenas, and I don’t doubt there’ll be one with your name on it.”

“My name? What the hell for?”

“We’ve got him on a C130 en route to Andrews Air Force Base right now. He won’t be on the ground until much later tonight. In the morning, there’ll be a thorough debriefing, and afterwards I’ll come to you and we can talk. In the meantime, I’d rather you stay outside the loop on this.”

Rutledge had known his chief of staff long enough to trust his judgment. Shielding the president from political fallout was part of Anderson ’s job. “Until the morning, but that’s it,” said Rutledge. “Now, what about Carmichael? Does she know we’ve got him?”

“I don’t think so. Not yet,” replied Anderson.

“Does she know who he is?”

“She’s got her teeth into something, and she’s working around the clock turning over every rock in town.”

“Well, if we’ve got him, then we have to get out in front of this story and control how it unfolds. I don’t care about the elections. They don’t supersede the sanctity of this office. We’re going to do the right thing on this, and if it means this operative has to take one for the team, then he’s going to have to take one for the team,” said the president.

Anderson shook his head and reached for the BlackBerry device vibrating on his hip. “You might not feel that way once you know who we’re talking about.”

“Are you saying I’m familiar with this person?” asked the president.

Anderson didn’t respond. He was too busy reading the message he had just been sent.

“Chuck, I’m asking you a question,” repeated the president. “Is this person someone I know?”

The chief of staff looked up and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. President. We’ll have to take this up later. You’re needed in the situation room immediately.”

EIGHT

WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM

Within twenty minutes, the situation room was packed with bodies and the air was thick with tension. Based on an emerging terrorist threat, the White House had gone into full crash mode.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” called the president. “It appears we’ve got a lot to cover, and I’d like to get started, so if you’d all take your seats please.”

The attendees did as they were instructed, and as a subdued hush fell over the room, the president nodded at the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Hank Currutt.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” replied Currutt, who stood to address the room. “Two days ago, soldiers from the U.S. Army’s Third Arrowhead Brigade, Second Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Lewis, Washington-now based in Mosul, Iraq-responded to a call that three Christian aid workers had failed to check in with their organization and had gone missing. Traveling to the remote village near the Syrian border where the workers had been based, the soldiers uncovered something the likes of which we have never seen before.