Term Limits by Vince Flynn

to join the others in front of the fireplace. He sat in a chair with its back to the fireplace, and Garret sat by himself on the couch to Stevens’s left, while Nance and Hopkinson sat on the other couch to the right.
    â€œGentlemen, what have you decided?” asked the president.
    â€œWell, we’ve picked a time. We’re going to have you address the nation at eight this evening. That way we’ll get maximum exposure.” Garret paused for a moment and looked at Nance and Hopkinson. “Andit will give us some time to try and catch our breath and figure out what in the hell is going on. Right now, my gut reaction is that we come out hard and denounce these assassinations as a direct threat to the national security of the United States of America and label whoever sent the letter as terrorists.
    â€œWe have to start spinning this thing and get control of it. The media is all over the board right now.” Garret looked down at his yellow notepad. “Ted has had people watching the broadcasts all morning, and the media is referring to the people that sent this letter as everything from assassins to terrorists to revolutionaries to murderers to perpetrators. We have to figure out if there’s a way we can use this to our advantage and then lead the media on the story. We have to grab ahold of this thing and squash any public support there may be for this list of demands. We can’t have these guys being seen as revolutionaries.”
    Garret paused for a moment and shook his head in frustration. “The nut-bags on talk radio are calling in and saying it’s about time someone got serious about running this country and got rid of scumbags like Fitzgerald. I think we’ve got to nail this thing down while we still can, and your speech to the nation will be our first chance.” Garret leaned forward. “Jim, if you can come out looking good and strong tonight, it would be a big bonus in light of the setbacks we’re going to suffer over the loss of Koslowski. Every single person in this country will be watching you tonight, looking for guidance.”
    Garret leaned back. “Now, Mike and Ted differ with me a little. Ted, as usual, wants to wait until we get some polls back to decide exactly how firmwe should be on this, and Mike also wants to move cautiously.”
    The president turned away from Garret and looked at Nance. Cautious was a word that was very appealing to him right now. “What did you have in mind, Mike?”
    â€œWell, sir, I think it would be prudent to wait until we receive a little more information from our intelligence assets before we take a hard line. At this point, we have three dead politicians who seem to have been killed by a group that wants to pressure you and Congress into making some radical reforms. This whole thing could be that simple, or it could be a hundred times more complicated. We don’t know if this letter is for real. The people behind it may want it to look like a simple revolution, but in reality they may have different motives.”
    Nance leaned forward in his chair and closer to the president. “Don’t you think the timing on this is a little strange? Today was supposed to be the day your budget was to pass through the House. Everyone knew if you succeeded, your chances for reelection would be greatly improved. What if someone didn’t want you reelected, or someone wanted to be president and decided the first thing they had to do was scuttle your chances for reelection?”
    Nance was trying to accomplish two things by intentionally confusing the president. First, he honestly did not like rushing into a complicated situation and taking a hard line without knowing all the facts. Too many times in his career he had had to clean up a mess after people had taken an uninformed stance on an issue, only to find out laterthey had chosen the wrong side. The other reason Nance wanted to keep Stevens unsure was