faith is manning the team? You know as well as I do
that leaks are caused by those who are willing to set aside their integrity for
a pocketful of change. It‘s a fact, Jim. And I’ll bet you anything that you
have somebody up there right now who’s willing to sell their mother upriver for
a can of beer.”
“We have a failsafe in place
against leaks.”
“Jim, a failsafe is not foolproof.
You know that.”
“What do you want me to do? Take
the best person I have off the job because of her religious background?”
“In this case, yes! You know what
the Soldiers of Islam will do to the pope if they find out Cohen is tracking
them. Not because of what she does , but because of who she is.”
“If I remove every qualified
person from their positions because of their religious affiliations—or any of
the rights granted them by the Constitution—then the terrorists already won the
battle by forcing me to make decisions based on insurgent beliefs.” The
president closed his eyes, the pain beginning to erode his patience. “You need
to have faith in our work force, Jonas. Shari Cohen is an unbelievable power.
And when all this is over with, they’ll be kneeling at her feet. Believe me.”
“And you need to be realistic. You
know we won’t be able to meet their demands, whatever they may be. And deep
down you know they have every intention of killing him.”
“Jonas, if they were going to kill
him, then they would have done so when they stormed the Governor’s Mansion; they‘re
keeping him alive for a reason.”
Bohlmer left the podium, his hands
gesticulating wildly to press his point. “Jim, the Soldiers of Islam are making
a powerful statement to the world that they’re in control and gathering steam
for recruitment by doing what they’re doing. It’s all about giving hope to
insurgents by instilling in them the belief that a battle can be fought and won
on American soil.” Bohlmer took in a long breath, then sighed. “They’re going
to kill him, Jim. You know that. Let’s not give the media a rope to hang us
with by keeping Cohen in the game. This will doom the entire administration.”
“Look, nobody understands better
than I do that saving the face of this administration is paramount. But if I
remove Cohen as head of the team, the probability of finding the pope decreases
immensely. With Cohen at the helm, there is a chance that he will be found. If
the pope is alive, I must make every effort to save his life using whatever
resources are available to me. And Cohen is a valuable asset.”
“Cohen is going to get him
killed!” The vice president was becoming heated. “Think about it! The moment a
leak is established, his life will be over. There will be no more opportunities
to track down this cell and the Soldiers of Islam will disappear.”
The president weighed the
possibility that Bohlmer’s judgment was correct. With a topic of this
magnitude, a leak could most certainly occur, despite the failsafe put into
place. In all likelihood the media had already attempted to contact White House
moles for information that hadn’t been made public. If Cohen’s name should hit
the airwaves, the odds of the pope being executed would rise exponentially. And
then the accusing finger would point at his administration. The newspapers would
go on a feeding frenzy, attacking Burroughs for allowing Cohen to manage the
team, even though the dangers were acknowledged beforehand by his staff.
“She’s the best we have,” he
finally stated.
“She’s a guaranteed death sentence
for the pope if the Soldiers of Islam find out that a woman of Jewish faith is
behind the investigation. I can’t stress that enough.”
“She stays, Jonas. I’m not
particularly afraid if I hurt the feelings of the Soldiers of Islam. As long as
the pope’s alive, she’s the most qualified to find him.”
“You may not be afraid of the
Soldiers of Islam, but you are afraid of how the world community will
perceive you
that leaks are caused by those who are willing to set aside their integrity for
a pocketful of change. It‘s a fact, Jim. And I’ll bet you anything that you
have somebody up there right now who’s willing to sell their mother upriver for
a can of beer.”
“We have a failsafe in place
against leaks.”
“Jim, a failsafe is not foolproof.
You know that.”
“What do you want me to do? Take
the best person I have off the job because of her religious background?”
“In this case, yes! You know what
the Soldiers of Islam will do to the pope if they find out Cohen is tracking
them. Not because of what she does , but because of who she is.”
“If I remove every qualified
person from their positions because of their religious affiliations—or any of
the rights granted them by the Constitution—then the terrorists already won the
battle by forcing me to make decisions based on insurgent beliefs.” The
president closed his eyes, the pain beginning to erode his patience. “You need
to have faith in our work force, Jonas. Shari Cohen is an unbelievable power.
And when all this is over with, they’ll be kneeling at her feet. Believe me.”
“And you need to be realistic. You
know we won’t be able to meet their demands, whatever they may be. And deep
down you know they have every intention of killing him.”
“Jonas, if they were going to kill
him, then they would have done so when they stormed the Governor’s Mansion; they‘re
keeping him alive for a reason.”
Bohlmer left the podium, his hands
gesticulating wildly to press his point. “Jim, the Soldiers of Islam are making
a powerful statement to the world that they’re in control and gathering steam
for recruitment by doing what they’re doing. It’s all about giving hope to
insurgents by instilling in them the belief that a battle can be fought and won
on American soil.” Bohlmer took in a long breath, then sighed. “They’re going
to kill him, Jim. You know that. Let’s not give the media a rope to hang us
with by keeping Cohen in the game. This will doom the entire administration.”
“Look, nobody understands better
than I do that saving the face of this administration is paramount. But if I
remove Cohen as head of the team, the probability of finding the pope decreases
immensely. With Cohen at the helm, there is a chance that he will be found. If
the pope is alive, I must make every effort to save his life using whatever
resources are available to me. And Cohen is a valuable asset.”
“Cohen is going to get him
killed!” The vice president was becoming heated. “Think about it! The moment a
leak is established, his life will be over. There will be no more opportunities
to track down this cell and the Soldiers of Islam will disappear.”
The president weighed the
possibility that Bohlmer’s judgment was correct. With a topic of this
magnitude, a leak could most certainly occur, despite the failsafe put into
place. In all likelihood the media had already attempted to contact White House
moles for information that hadn’t been made public. If Cohen’s name should hit
the airwaves, the odds of the pope being executed would rise exponentially. And
then the accusing finger would point at his administration. The newspapers would
go on a feeding frenzy, attacking Burroughs for allowing Cohen to manage the
team, even though the dangers were acknowledged beforehand by his staff.
“She’s the best we have,” he
finally stated.
“She’s a guaranteed death sentence
for the pope if the Soldiers of Islam find out that a woman of Jewish faith is
behind the investigation. I can’t stress that enough.”
“She stays, Jonas. I’m not
particularly afraid if I hurt the feelings of the Soldiers of Islam. As long as
the pope’s alive, she’s the most qualified to find him.”
“You may not be afraid of the
Soldiers of Islam, but you are afraid of how the world community will
perceive you
Similar Books
