Covenant - THE CONTROLLER 01 Read online

  Richard hung up the phone and let out a sigh. He reasoned that the Controller, if he was playing games, was doing so only with him.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “You haven’t been yourself lately, honey, is something bothering you?” Veronica had gotten used to Richard’s demeanor since he had taken office. The pressures and endless decisions that dominated his life were one thing, but lately he seemed even more remote. He wasn’t spending as much time with the children as he used to, and that just wasn’t like him.

  As Richard climbed into bed and pulled up the covers, he folded his arms behind his head, propping himself up slightly, and stared at the ceiling. “There have been some developments on a couple of fronts that have had me concerned. But I think I have things worked out, for now,” he sighed deeply.

  “I’ve been concerned about you. You were very short with Randall the other day. That isn’t like you. He understands that you have more demands placed upon you now, but still, you have to remember that he needs you just as much as the country does. In fact, the country has an entire government to take care of it, but Randall has only one father.”

  “I know, Ronnie, I promise that I’ll take more time out for the kids and you from now on. In fact, why don’t we plan on spending a couple of weeks at Camp David? We won’t be completely away from everything, but at least there won’t be all the commotion that we have around here. What do you think?”

  “A little break couldn’t hurt. Also it would give us more time with the children. I heard that there’s a great trout stream there and maybe you could teach Randall how to fly-fish.”

  “That’s a good idea, a little male bonding, and we might even catch a few fish. I haven’t been fly-fishing since freshman year in college.” Richard had a peaceful look for a moment. “I’ll see to the arrangements first thing in the morning.”

  * * *

  The Sinclair’s were fortunate that there were no engagements that would prevent them from going to Camp David. The only thing affected was the Annual Easter Egg Roll. Richard informed Stephen that he and his wife were going to be the hosts this year so that the first family could take advantage of the Easter break and get away with the kids. As it was, it took two weeks to put it all together and arrange for necessary meetings to be relocated to the camp. Some members of the Senate and Congress were displeased at having to go to Camp David at Easter for previously arranged meetings, but Richard informed Mrs. Williams that it was either there or reschedule. Richard liked playing hardball with some of them. He had the power to put them in their place and he did so whenever the opportunity arose. If there was one thing he didn’t like it was the level of comfort some of them had attained. They were continually reelected and had grown too set and inflexible in their ways. That needed to be changed, gradually, but changed nevertheless, if his programs were to stand any chance at all. He had to get them off balance at every opportunity, keeping them guessing what his next move would be, and not letting them become complacent. So when informed that their long sought after meetings would be rescheduled, they had no choice but to make the trip to Camp David, knowing full well that the reschedule might not come about.

  There was good reason why the opposition didn’t want to meet at Camp David; it was the president’s home turf, and when there, a president was relaxed and more prone to spend extra time coming up with arguments to their positions. If, however, you were a friend, you had the advantage of the president being more likely to give you extra time and consideration. Many a foreign dignitary, depending upon their country’s stance relative to the United States policy, either relished or hated visiting Camp David.

  A few blades of freshly mowed grass blew in the downdraft created by the presidential helicopter, Marine One, landing on the White House lawn. It arrived at precisely ten a.m., as ordered, powered down the rotors and awaited the arrival of the president and first family. Other staff members would travel to Camp David by car and join the first family later in the day.

  When the president and his family walked to the helicopter, there were the usual members of the press hoping for a candid photo, or to get an unrehearsed answer to an impromptu query. It had always been this way and there was no reason to expect it would be different in the future. It was as though an eleventh commandment existed that said the press had to devote itself to trying to catch the president off guard at every available opportunity. This time the questions were ignored, with everyone just waving and smiling as they boarded. Soon the helicopter departed on its thirty-minute trip to Camp David.

  * * *

  Camp David rests atop the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland, residing within Catoctin Mountain Park. The security fence outlines a one-hundred-twenty-five acre complex built on rocky terrain and surrounded by a lovely forest of oak, ash, poplar, locust, hickory, and maple trees. In fact, the cabins that comprise Camp David are named after trees, with the most notable being the Aspen and Laurel. Aspen is the four-bedroom president’s lodge, while Laurel contains one of the president’s offices and three conference rooms. Other cabins house the staff quarters, dining hall and recreation areas. Cabins, such as Birch, provided seclusion and privacy for visiting dignitaries. In the ‘90s, a chapel cabin, Evergreen, was added, complete with a pipe organ.

  It wasn’t always called Camp David, but was initially named Shangri-La by its first presidential tenant, Franklin Roosevelt. Dwight Eisenhower didn’t care for the name, thinking it too exotic, and renamed it for his grandson, David. Succeeding presidents had retained the name, if not necessarily the configuration. Changes that had taken place at the behest of various presidents include the addition of a two lane bowling alley, a swimming pool, stable and bridle path, skeet range, library, two clay tennis courts, and a golf course.

  Oddly enough, Richard wanted to take advantage of a natural and original furnishing of the camp, Hunting Creek. The creek runs through the park and provides a source for fly fishermen to hook and release trout. Richard was looking forward to trying his hand with a fly rod again, hoping it was like riding a bicycle—never forgotten. He was especially looking forward to teaching Randall the fine art of placing a fly with precision. “The fishing should be good,” he had told Randall, who was looking forward to his lessons. “The temperature is usually five to ten degrees cooler there than in D.C., and trout like cool spring weather.”

  Veronica was anxious to do some riding and was hoping to make it something that the family did on a regular basis while at the camp. Jennifer had been taking biweekly riding lessons after school and was bugging her mother to commit to a time every day when they could ride. Veronica had only a couple of days that required official duties to be performed, so it wasn’t difficult for her to acquiesce. She was looking forward to devoting the days to the children and family and the evenings to Richard, as she could feel the family growing apart little by little. She had vowed at the very beginning of Richard’s run for the presidency that she wouldn’t let anything come between them. Maybe this first visit to Camp David would bring some unity back into the family. She was hoping that everyone liked the camp and wanted to return on a regular basis, since it was probably the only way she would get Richard to take time away from the Oval Office. He might not be too resistant to the get a ways knowing that D.C. was so close and he could always do some business at the camp. This way, she could steal him away for a few hours at a time, which was more than what she was getting out of him now. They were still as intimate as in the past, when alone. It was just finding time to be alone that was difficult.

  * * *

  Randall was looking out the helicopter window as they approached the camp and told Richard, who was sitting next to him, that he saw the creek where they were going fishing.

  As the helicopter touched down on the helipad, near the skeet range, the family started chattering away in anticipation of what awaited them. Soon the door was opened, letting in the cool crisp air, giving them relief from the smell of the helicopter. It, too, had that slightly musty smel
l that only military equipment seems to have. It was similar to what your nose would pick up when entering an old-fashioned war surplus store—a combination of canvas, oil, rubber and fresh paint.

  The first family disembarked and was greeted by staff and military personnel, and of course, the usual entourage of Secret Service, apart from those who had accompanied the first family in the helicopter. It was almost a chaotic scene what with the children and Veronica chatting away while the staff was being introduced and selected photographers were getting shots of the family on their first visit. The children were too anxious to wait, and while everyone else casually walked toward the main cabin, they took off running. The chief of the camp staff was explaining to Richard and Veronica the basic layout of the camp and pointing in the general direction of each significant area of interest. He showed them to their quarters in the Aspen cabin so that they could chose the rooms that they wanted the children to occupy. After the family had gotten comfortable and perhaps taken a short walk around the immediate complex, he would have lunch served, if that was acceptable to them. Veronica told him that was excellent, and inquired about the readiness of the horses. She received assurance that everything had been taken care of and that the stable hands had been notified that the horses were to be available at all times. She beamed back a wide smile with a cheery “thank you.”

  After familiarizing themselves with the interior of Aspen, Richard and Veronica went outside, hand in hand, with the children running ahead of them. They discovered the pond on the west side of Aspen, with its cascading waters rushing over the rocks and into the pond. They walked around Aspen on flagstone pathways and discovered the swimming pool that Richard Nixon had built during his tenure. Everyone commented as to how that was going to be handy during summertime visits. Jennifer stuck her hand in the forty-two degree water, whereupon she proclaimed loudly that she didn’t feel like swimming on this trip.

  They continued their explorations until the children complained of hunger, whereupon they turned back toward Aspen and playfully raced each other to the upper patio. Of course Richard and Veronica let the children win, with Randall coming in first, much to the dismay of Jennifer, who muttered under her breath about his always winning.

  Lunch had been prepared and awaited them on the patio. It was just warm enough to make sitting outside in the sun a pleasant dining experience. Veronica insisted on eating outdoors to take in the marvelous view that the complex afforded. As an added bonus, about halfway through lunch a deer wandered onto the lawn below the elevated patio to munch on some of the finer greenery that edged the grounds. Before Richard could stop them, the children rushed toward the deer, which didn’t seem bothered by the intruders until they got to within about ten yards, whereupon it gracefully bounded off into the forest. While the children were stalking the deer, Richard commented to Veronica how nice it was to see Randall giving in to his inner child instead of trying to be the pseudo adult he normally was. Richard knew that childhood was too fleeting and most teenagers were willing to give it up far too soon.

  After they finished their ice cream dessert, the topic of discussion turned to how the rest of the afternoon would be spent. After convincing Randall that the trout wouldn’t be biting again until early morning, all agreed, much to Jennifer’s delight, to take a horseback ride.

  Veronica could tell from watching Richard during lunch that he was still in need of some serious downtime. Even though he appeared to be tuning in to the program, there was still a tense look to his face that crept in every so often. She thought to herself that it might take some time before he is able to fully appreciate this little vacation. She grabbed his hand as they were getting up from the table, pulled him close to her and said in her most alluring voice, “Hey big boy, wanna go for a ride?”

  * * *

  The family enjoyed their ride around the compound, and after retuning to Aspen, each went his or her separate way. Randall wanted to scout out the trout stream, so one of the resident Marines took him to his favorite spot, making a great issue of its being very secret, when in actuality, everyone knew about it being the place where trout were regularly stocked. Jennifer hung around the stables, watching the stable hands tend to the horses. Veronica had promised her secretary that she would read through some correspondence from various charitable organizations, and Richard went to his office in the Laurel cabin to prepare for a staff meeting he had scheduled to commence in fifteen minutes. He had asked his staff to gather in the main conference room.

  Richard rotated the dials on the briefcase combination lock, then pushed the sliding release button, which opened the lock. As soon as he lifted the top he saw the cell phone and its battery charger. At first he was surprised, as he had left the phone in the middle drawer of his oval office desk. He had left it there purposely; the last person he wanted to talk to while at the camp was the Controller. His surprise turned to anger at this reminder that there was a spy in his most inner circle, watching his every move and reporting back to the Controller. He guessed that the Controller trusted him, but only up to a certain point. Richard reviewed his notes and then proceeded to the conference room, along the way jotting down “C”—a note to himself to call the Controller.

  * * *

  Richard had a difficult time concentrating during the staff meeting. His mind kept wandering back to the mystery of how the cell phone got into his briefcase. Someone had to have checked his briefcase to see that the phone was missing, then looked through his desk to find it, and then placed it in the case. He could ask Mrs. Williams if she had seen anyone enter his office, but it wouldn’t matter in any case as his directive had been that anyone on his staff with documents requiring his perusal could place them on his desk after first checking with her. Richard felt this open door policy gave his staff the feeling that the Oval Office considered them worthy of special attention and consideration. Obviously someone was using that to the Controller’s advantage. Identifying who on his staff was in collusion with the Controller wouldn’t be easy. I’m going to have to devise a plan to find out who it is that I can’t trust, Richard thought to himself as he looked around the conference room. He made eye contact with everyone as if to look into each person’s soul. Unfortunately, the eyes revealed no secrets.

  Richard refocused his attention to the discussion of budget items. He had inherited a significant deficit, and during his campaign, promised that the effort to reduce it would be a top priority. Richard admonished his staff to sharpen the red pencil and use it. He wanted every budget item to be carefully scrutinized.

  “If a budget entry cannot stand on its merit, it should be eliminated. We aren’t going to be popular no matter what we do, so we may as well cut deep.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Richard put off contacting the Controller as long as he could. After his staff meeting he went for a walk to check out the fishing spot that Randall “discovered.” It was a beautiful afternoon, cool in the shade of the trees that lined the stream and warm in the sunny glades. He paused at times to listen to the quiet that was occasionally interrupted by the rustling leaves and chirping birds. One spot he found had a cluster of rocks that created a gurgling sound as the stream found its way. He couldn’t resist sitting down and leaning with his back up against a tree, and even found himself starting to nod off. Yes, he thought to himself, we are going to make many trips to Camp David.

  Richard continued his walk, the whole time thinking about the approach he would take when he next talked to the Controller. He wanted to confront the Controller about the mole that was spying and reporting back to him all of his moves. Richard didn’t believe that the Controller would actually tell him who the mole was but maybe he could be convinced to put an end to the spying. He decided to make his appeal on the grounds that if they were to have a viable relationship, there would have to be a modicum of trust on both their parts. Richard had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize how much time had elapsed. Glancing at his Rolex, he saw that he w
ould have to walk back with some haste if he was going to be on time for dinner with the family.

  Over dinner the children convinced Richard and Veronica to watch a movie on the big screen that came down from the ceiling in the sun porch. It was Veronica’s duty to pick out an appropriate film, while Richard said he wanted to make a short phone call and would join them before the movie started.

  In his office, Richard picked up the cell phone, selected the entry for “Controller,” and waited for an answer. He didn’t have to wait long, as the Controller let it ring only twice.

  “Hello, Richard.” There was that distant voice again, seemingly uncaring and removed from emotion. “To what do I deserve the pleasure of your communication?”

  “I wanted to clear the air on something that has been bothering me from day one. I don’t like the idea of your having someone on my staff, someone in my inner circle, spying on everything I do. I resent it in fact.”

  “Now, now, Richard. Surely you can understand that I have to protect the investment that I’ve made in you. Besides, up until now you haven’t exactly been the poster boy of cooperation. Look at it from the positive side.”

  “What positive side?” There was a tinge of anger in his tone. “I see nothing positive to having someone in the White House whose main job is watching my every move and reporting back to you.”

  “Suppose that someone wanted to have you harmed. Wouldn’t it make sense to have as many people as possible on your side, looking out for your welfare? You see, by being so close to you, I can keep an eye out for your safety.”

  “I have an army of Secret Service agents tending to that task, in case you haven’t heard.”

  “Ah, but do they have access to all the resources that I have at my disposal? The answer is no. They can merely react to a threat when it poses a danger, whereas I, on the other hand, can see to it that the threat doesn’t exist. I am in a position to know who your enemies are long before anyone else. Let me give you an example. You will recall, I’m sure, the explosion that took place at the terrorist camp in Indonesia. That camp was unknown to anyone in Washington. They had no idea it existed, let alone that a plan was being finalized to assassinate the then candidate Sinclair. Everyone thought it was an accidental explosion caused by mishandled explosives, and if not for the blast, the camp would still be an unknown threat.”