The Eleventh Commandment (1998) Read online

  It must be eleven o’clock, thought Lawrence. He hadn’t needed a watch since he had appointed Lloyd as his Chief of Staff.

  ‘Later, Larry,’ said the President. ‘I’m about to give a press conference on the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Conventional Arms Reduction Bill, and I can’t imagine many journalists will be interested in the death of a presidential candidate in a country that, let’s face it, most Americans couldn’t even place on a map.’

  Harrington said nothing. He didn’t feel it was his responsibility to point out to the President that most Americans still couldn’t place Vietnam on a map either. But once Andy Lloyd had entered the room, Harrington knew that only the declaration of a world war would have given him priority. He gave Lloyd a curt nod and left the Oval Office.

  ‘Why did I ever appoint that man in the first place?’ Lawrence asked, his eyes fixed on the closed door.

  ‘Larry was able to deliver Texas, Mr President, at a moment when our internal polls showed that the majority of southerners considered you a northern wimp who would quite happily appoint a homosexual as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.’

  ‘I probably would,’ said Lawrence, ‘if I thought he was the right man for the job.’

  One of the reasons Tom Lawrence had offered his old college friend the post of White House Chief of Staff was that after thirty years, they had no secrets from each other. Andy told it as he saw it, without any suggestion of guile or malice. This endearing quality ensured that he could never hope to be elected to anything himself, and would therefore never be a rival.

  The President flicked open the blue file marked ‘IMMEDIATE’ that Andy had left for him earlier that morning. He suspected that his Chief of Staff had been up most of the night preparing it. He began to go over the questions Andy considered were the most likely to be asked at the midday press conference:

  How much taxpayers’ money do you anticipate saving by this measure?

  ‘I suppose Barbara Evans will be asking the first question, as usual,’ said Lawrence, looking up. ‘Do we have any idea what it might be?’

  ‘No, sir,’ Lloyd replied. ‘But as she’s been pressing for an Arms Reduction Bill ever since the day you beat Gore in New Hampshire, she’s hardly in a position to complain now that you’re ready to deliver it.’

  ‘True. But that won’t necessarily stop her asking an unhelpful question.’

  Andy nodded his agreement as the President glanced at the next question.

  How many Americans will lose their jobs as a result of this?

  Lawrence looked up. ‘Is there anyone in particular you want me to avoid?’

  ‘The rest of the bastards,’ said Lloyd with a grin. ‘But when you wrap it up, go to Phil Ansanch.’

  ‘Why Ansanch?’

  ‘He backed the Bill at every stage, and he’s among your dinner guests tonight.’

  The President smiled and nodded as he continued to run his finger down the list of anticipated questions. He stopped at number seven.

  Isn’t this another example of America losing its way?

  He looked up at his Chief of Staff. ‘Sometimes I think we’re still living in the Wild West, the way certain members of Congress have reacted to this Bill.’

  ‘I agree, sir. But as you know, 40 per cent of Americans still consider the Russians our greatest threat, and nearly 30 per cent expect us to go to war with Russia in their lifetime.’

  Lawrence cursed, and ran a hand through his thick, prematurely grey hair before returning to the list of questions, stopping again when he reached nineteen.

  ‘How much longer am I going to be asked questions about burning my draft card?’

  ‘As long as you’re the Commander-in-Chief, would be my guess,’ replied Andy.

  The President mumbled something under his breath and moved on to the next question. He looked up again. ‘Surely there’s no chance of Victor Zerimski becoming the next President of Russia?’

  ‘Probably not,’ said Andy, ‘but he’s moved up to third place in the latest opinion poll, and although he’s still well behind Prime Minister Chernopov and General Borodin, his stand against organised crime is beginning to make a dent in their leads. Probably because most Russians believe Chernopov is financed by the Russian Mafya.’

  ‘What about the General?’

  ‘He’s been losing ground, since most of the Russian army haven’t been paid for months. The press have been reporting that soldiers are selling their uniforms to tourists on the streets.’

  ‘Thank God the election’s still a couple of years away. If it looked as if that fascist Zerimski had the slightest chance of becoming the next President of Russia, an Arms Reduction Bill wouldn’t get past first base in either House.’

  Lloyd nodded as Lawrence turned the page. His finger continued to run down the questions. He stopped at twenty-nine.

  ‘How many members of Congress have weapons manufacturing and base facilities in their districts?’ he asked, looking back up at Lloyd.

  ‘Seventy-two Senators and 211 House members,’ said Lloyd, without having to refer to his unopened file. ‘You’ll need to convince at least 60 per cent of them to support you to guarantee a majority in both Houses. And that’s assuming we can count on Senator Bedell’s vote.’

  ‘Frank Bedell was demanding a comprehensive Arms Reduction Bill when I was still in high school in Wisconsin,’ said the President. ‘He has no choice but to support us.’

  ‘He may still be in favour of the Bill, but he feels you haven’t gone far enough. He’s just demanded that you reduce our defence expenditure by over 50 per cent.’

  ‘And how does he expect me to pull that off ?’

  ‘By withdrawing from NATO and allowing the Europeans to be responsible for their own defence.’

  ‘But that’s totally unrealistic,’ said Lawrence. ‘Even the Americans for Democratic Action would come out against that.’

  ‘You know that, I know that, and I suspect that even the good Senator knows that. But it doesn’t stop him appearing on every television station from Boston to Los Angeles, claiming that a 50 per cent reduction in defence expenditure would solve America’s health-care and pension problems overnight.’

  ‘I wish Bedell spent as much time worrying about the defence of our people as he does about their health care,’ said Lawrence. ‘How do I respond?’

  ‘Lavish praise on him for his tireless and distinguished record of defending the interests of the elderly. But then go on to point out that, as long as you are Commander-in-Chief, the United States will never lower its defences. Your first priority will always be to ensure that America remains the most powerful nation on earth, et cetera, et cetera. That way we should keep Bedell’s vote, and perhaps even sway one or two of the hawks as well.’

  The President glanced at his watch before turning to the third page. He gave out a deep sigh when he came to question thirty-one.

  How can you hope to get this Bill enacted, when the Democrats don’t have a majority in either House?

  ‘OK, Andy. What’s the answer to that one?’

  ‘You explain that concerned Americans are making it clear to their elected representatives right across the country that this Bill is long overdue, and no more than common sense.’

  ‘I used that line last time, Andy. For the Drugs Enforcement Bill, remember?’

  ‘Yes, I do remember, Mr President. And the American people backed you all the way.’

  Lawrence let out another deep sigh before saying, ‘Oh, to govern a nation that doesn’t have elections every two years and isn’t hounded by a press corps convinced it could do a better job than the democratically elected government.’

  ‘Even the Russians are having to come to terms with the phenomenon of the press corps,’ said Lloyd.

  ‘Who would have believed we’d live to see that?’ said Lawrence, as he scanned the final question. ‘My hunch is that if Chernopov promised the Russian voters that he intended to be the first President to spend more on