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Ke
Betty's office was small, like most of the rooms in the West Wing with the exception of the Oval Office and Cabinet Room. Betty looked up at Ke
Ke
"Good evening, Betty."
"Irene, what have you been up to?" Betty asked in a friendly but accusatory tone.
"Very little."
"That's not what I've heard, honey. You've got some very angry people in there. They've been burning up the phones all day."
Ke
"Different."
"How do you mean, different?"
"I don't know…he just hasn't been himself lately. It has nothing to do with your little trip to Switzerland. He's actually been pretty calm about that. It's the other ones who've been raising a stink. They all called individually to complain and then they came over here together at lunch to do it all over again." Betty took her glasses off and let them hang from the chain around her neck. In a hushed voice she asked, "I hope you got what you were looking for, because they want to burn you at the stake."
Ke
"Good." Betty looked at her watch. "Get in there and give them hell. And be quick about it. I have di
Ke
Ross was the first to speak. He was wearing another one of his perfectly tailored Brooks Brothers suits. It was dark blue, almost black, and made out of a light wool. He had on a white shirt with some type of special weave, the kind that costs more than some people's monthly rent. His silver tie complemented his silver and black hair. Just two weeks ago Ke
Ross shifted his position on the couch and straightened up a bit. He looked at Ke
Ke
"Well, let me tell you how my day went," Ross said in an irritated tone. "Shortly before lunch I got a call from Secretary of State Berg. She wanted to know if I knew you were in Switzerland." Ross glanced at the president and then back at Ke
"You're a busy man, Mark. I didn't want to bother you."
"Not a good move."
Ke
Ross was visibly irritated by her casual attitude. "Do you have any idea the problems you've caused today? The Swiss foreign minister called Beatrice this morning," Ross pointed to the Secretary of State, "and raised holy hell over your una
"What did he want?"
"He wanted to know what in the hell you were doing in his country meeting privately with five of his top bankers."
Attorney General Stokes leaned forward. "I have a major case pending in front of the Swiss courts right now. We have been working on it for years. So help me God, if you've screwed it up, you and I are going to have some big problems."
Stokes was clearly upset. Ke
"Do you know what happened in Riyadh today?" Ross asked.
"Yes."
"Do you know anything about it?"
"That's a pretty open-ended question."
"Do you know who was responsible?"
"Maybe."
"Would you care to share?"
"No."
"Dammit, Irene," Ross snapped, "do you think this is some game?" Ross flipped open a folder he had on the coffee table. There was a black and white, eight-by-ten surveillance photo inside. "This was sent to me by Prince Muhammad."
Ross spun the photo around so Ke
"Any idea who that is?"
Ke
Ross angrily tossed another photo her way. This one showed two men about to embrace. "The man on the left is Waheed Ahmed Abdullah. I assume you know who he is, at least?"
Ke
"Why did we tell the Saudi government that he was dead six months ago?"
"Is this the same Waheed Ahmed Abdullah who was a top lieutenant for al-Qaeda?" Ke
"You didn't answer my question."
"And you didn't answer mine. Have you read the file on Waheed?"
"I don't need to. I want to know why we're lying to one of our staunchest allies."
"If you think Saudi Arabia is one of our staunchest allies, I humbly suggest that you offer your resignation to the president immediately."
Ross's face flushed with anger. "And I suggest you watch your step, Dr. Ke
"I don't know."
"You're lying," barked Ross as he stabbed his finger at the first surveillance photo. "That's him right there. What did we tell you? There was a right way to handle this and a wrong way. Having a vigilante on the loose setting off bombs in Saudi Arabia is most definitely the wrong way."
Ke
"That is Saeed Ahmed Abdullah," Ross answered angrily. "Waheed's father and one of Prince Muhammad bin Rashid's closest friends."