Страница 75 из 96
So in the late May afternoon when Attorney General Klee came into his office, Henry Canoo greeted him warmly. They had done business together before, and early on in his administration the President had given Canoo instructions that the Attorney General could have anything he wanted from the secret fund. The first few times Canoo had checked it out with the President but not any longer. "Christian," he said jovially, "are you looking for information or cash?"
"Both," Christian said. "First the money. We are going to promise publicly to cut down on the Secret Service Division fifty percent and to cut the security budget. I have to go through the motions. It will be a paper transfer, nothing will change. But I don't want Congress to sniff out a financial trail. So your office of the military adviser will tap the Pentagon budget for the money. Then stamp it with your topsecurity classification."
"Jesus," Henry Canoo said. "That's a lot of money. I can do it, but not for too long."
"Just until the election in November," Christian said.
"Then we'll either be out on our ass or in too strong for Congress to make any difference. But right now we have to look good."
"OK," Canoo said.
"Now the information," Christian said. "Have any of the congressional committees been sniffing around lately?"
"Oh, sure," Canoo said. "More than usual. They keep trying to find out how many helicopters the President has, how many limos, how many big aircraft, shit like that. They try to find out what the executive branch is doing. If they knew how many we really have, they'd shit."
"What congressman in particular?" Christian asked.
"Jintz," Canoo said. "He has that admin assistant, Sal Troyca, a clever little bastard. He says he just wants to know how many copters we have, and I tell him three. He says 'I hear you have fifteen' and I say 'What the hell would the White House do with fifteen? But he was pretty close, we have sixteen."
Klee was surprised. "What the hell do we do with sixteen?"
"Copters always break down," Canoo said. "If the President asks for a chopper, am I going to tell him no because they're in the shop? And, besides, somebody on the staff is always asking for a chopper. You're not so bad, Christian, but Tappey at CIA and Wix sure put in a lot of chopper time. And Dazzy too, for what reason I don't know."
"And you don't want to know," Christian said. "I want reports from you on any Congress snooper who tries to find out what the logistics are in supporting the presidential mission. It has a bearing on security.
Reports to me and top classifications. "
"OK," Canoo said cheerfully. "And anytime you need some work done on your personal residence we can tap the fund for that too."
"Thanks," Christian said, "I have my own money."
In the late evening of that day, President Ke
Everything had gone exactly as he had pla
Klee had reacted in character, as if he read his President's mind. Canoo had checked with him. A
Francis Ke
CHAPTER
20
PRESIDENT KENNEDY wanted Christian Klee to come to breakfast in the White
House bedroom suite. It was rare that meetings were held in Ke
Jefferson, the President's private butler and Secret Service guard, served the large breakfast and then discreetly withdrew to the pantry room, to appear only when summoned by the buzzer.
Ke
Christian knew he had to tell the truth. "He is also the best agent in the Secret Service. I recruited him myself and especially for this job."
Ke
Christian said, "He has a very high rank in the Secret Service."
Ke
"I organized a very elaborate screening procedure for these jobs. Jefferson was the best man, and in fact he is the White House team leader."
"Still," Ke
"I promised him that before you left the White House I would get him an appointment in Health, Education and Welfare, a job with clout."
"Ah, that's clever," Ke
"His resume will read executive assistant to me," Christian said.
Ke
"A special school and a special indoctrination appealing to their professional pride," Christian said. "Not all."
Ke
"Especially the chefs," Christian said, smiling. "All chefs are crazy."
Like many men, Christian always used a gag line to give himself time to think. He knew Ke
They ate their breakfast, Ke
Ke
Christian said, "What's to be gained, Francis? It could be too painful for you to bear." There were lines in Ke
"Oh, I can bear it," Ke
"If the meeting leaks, there will be a lot of questions," Christian said.
"Then make sure it doesn't leak," Ke
"It will take a few days to make the necessary arrangements," Christian said. "And Jefferson has to know."
"Anybody else?" Ke
"Maybe six other men from my special division," Christian said. "They will have to know Yabril is in the White House but not necessarily that you're seeing him. They'll guess, but they won't know."
Ke
" Absolutely not," Christian said. "The White House is the best place. It should be in the early hours after midnight. I suggest 1:OO A.M."
Ke
Yes," Christian said. "You'll have to sign some papers, which will be vague, but will cover me if something goes haywire."
Ke
Don't worry. I want to be able to talk to him freely and for him to answer lucidly and of his own free will. I don't want him drugged or coerced in any way. I want to understand how his mind works and maybe I won't hate him so much. I want to find out how people like him truly feel." "I must be physically present at this meeting," Christian said awkwardly. "I'm responsible."