"bullshit."
"Are you trying to tell me, Marjorie, that the President's announcement tonight was entirely accurate?"
There was a long silence on the line.
Pickering knew he had her. "Listen, we both know this is a time bomb waiting to explode. But it's not too late. There are compromises we can make."
Tench said nothing for several seconds. Finally she sighed. "We should meet."
Touchdown, Pickering thought.
"I have something to show you," Tench said. "And I believe it will shed some light on this matter."
"I'll come to your office."
"No," she said hurriedly. "It's late. Your presence here would raise concerns. I'd prefer to keep this matter between us."
Pickering read between the lines. The President knows nothing about this. "You're welcome to come here," he said.
Tench sounded distrusting. "Let's meet somewhere discreet."
Pickering had expected as much.
"The FDR Memorial is convenient to the White House," Tench said. "It will be empty at this time of night."
Pickering considered it. The FDR Memorial sat midway between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, in an extremely safe part of town. After a long beat, Pickering agreed.
"One hour," Tench said, signing off. "And come alone."
Immediately upon hanging up, Marjorie Tench phoned NASA administrator Ekstrom. Her voice was tight as she relayed the bad news.
"Pickering could be a problem."
Chapter 81-83
81
Gabrielle Ashe was brimming with new hope as she stood at Yolanda Cole's desk in the ABC production room and dialed directory assistance.
The allegations Sexton had just conveyed to her, if confirmed, had shocking potential. NASA lied about PODS? Gabrielle had seen the press conference in question and recalled thinking it was odd, and yet she'd forgotten all about it; PODS was not a critical issue a few weeks ago. Tonight, however, PODS had become the issue.
Now Sexton needed inside information, and he needed it fast. He was relying on Gabrielle's "informant" to get the information. Gabrielle had assured the senator she would do her best. The problem, of course, was that her informant was Marjorie Tench, who would be no help at all. So Gabrielle would have to get the information another way.
"Directory assistance," the voice on the phone said.
Gabrielle told them what she needed. The operator came back with three listings for a Chris Harper in Washington. Gabrielle tried them all.
The first number was a law firm. The second had no answer. The third was now ringing.
A woman answered on the first ring. "Harper residence."
"Mrs. Harper?" Gabrielle said as politely as possible. "I hope I haven't woken you?"
"Heavens no! I don't think anyone's asleep tonight." She sounded excited. Gabrielle could hear the television in the background. Meteorite coverage. "You're calling for Chris, I assume?"
Gabrielle's pulse quickened. "Yes, ma'am."
"I'm afraid Chris isn't here. He raced off to work as soon as the President's address was over." The woman chuckled to herself. "Of course, I doubt there's any work going on. Most likely a party. The announcement came as quite a surprise to him, you know. To everyone. Our phone's been ringing all night. I bet the whole NASA crew's over there by now."
"E Street complex?" Gabrielle asked, assuming the woman meant NASA headquarters.
"Righto. Take a party hat."
"Thanks. I'll track him down over there."
Gabrielle hung up. She hurried out onto the production room floor and found Yolanda, who was just finishing prepping a group of space experts who were about to give enthusiastic commentary on the meteorite.
Yolanda smiled when she saw Gabrielle coming. "You look better," she said. "Starting to see the silver lining here?"
"I just talked to the senator. His meeting tonight wasn't what I thought."
"I told you Tench was playing you. How's the senator taking the meteorite news?"
"Better than expected."
Yolanda looked surprised. "I figured he'd jumped in front of a bus by now."
"He thinks there may be a snag in the NASA data."
Yolanda let out a dubious snort. "Did he see the same press conference I just saw? How much more confirmation and reconfirmation can anyone need?"
"I'm going over to NASA to check on something."
Yolanda's penciled eyebrows raised in cautionary arches. "Senator Sexton's right-hand aide is going to march into NASA headquarters? Tonight? Can you say 'public stoning'?"
Gabrielle told Yolanda about Sexton's suspicion that the PODS section manager Chris Harper had lied about fixing the anomaly software.
Yolanda clearly wasn't buying it. "We covered that press conference, Gabs, and I'll admit, Harper was not himself that night, but NASA said he was sick as a dog."
"Senator Sexton is convinced he lied. Others are convinced too. Powerful people."
"If the PODS anomaly-detection software wasn't fixed, how did PODS spot the meteorite?"
Sexton's point exactly, Gabrielle