Castillo nodded again.
“There was another meeting, yesterday, in the Situation Room that”—she glanced at Montvale—“with the Vice President’s permission, I’d like to tell you about. All right, Charles?”
Montvale hesitated a moment and then nodded.
The secretary picked up on the hesitation, and said, “Would you prefer to tell him about it?”
“You tell him,” Montvale said. “I don’t think he trusts me.”
“True,” Castillo said.
“Well, you’d better learn to trust him, Charley,” Cohen said. “If we don’t stick together, the President is going to take us down one by one. He’s already gotten rid of John David Parker. And what is Parker doing here?”
“As of a few minutes ago, he’s director of public relations of the LCBF Corporation,” Castillo said.
“What the hell is that all about?” Montvale asked.
“Keeping our names out of the newspapers and our faces off Wolf News. You were about to tell me about the meeting, Madam Secretary.”
“Tell me if I leave anything out, would you, please, Charles?”
She then began to deliver a report of who had said what to whom, which ultimately lasted ten minutes.
About a minute into it, Castillo realized it was almost a verbatim report of the meeting, and moments after that, “Almost”?
Hell, it’s not only verbatim, but with footnotes!
She’s got a photographic memory!
No, that’s not right. What she has is total recall. If I asked her, she could probably tell me what kind of a tie Clendennen was wearing.
Finally, she finished and looked at Montvale.
“Did I leave anything out?” she asked.
“What kind of a tie was the President wearing?” Castillo asked.
Secretary Cohen hesitated just a moment, looked confused, and then replied, “Dark blue, with what looked like crests on it. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“I’m awed, ma’am, with your powers of total recall,” Castillo said.
“Don’t be, Charley. I was born this way.” She paused. “It’s the same sort of thing you have with languages. An aberration. You speak what—fourteen?—languages. And I can recall things in great detail. It’s a gift, so it’s nothing to be proud of. But it does give us a leg up in our professions, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am, I’ve found that.”
“Do you un
derstand now why I think it would be unwise for you to go to Arlington? He’d see you. He hates you—he thinks you’re involved in this coup d’état fantasy of his, among other things, such as you wanting my job—and seeing you there would likely set him off. The one thing none of us should do now is do anything to make him lose control.”
“I want to be secretary of State?” Castillo said.
Secretary of State Cohen made a face, then nodded gently.
“Unbelievable. But what’s not unbelievable is that I’m going to Mr. Salazar’s interment. Everybody out there is going to it. I’m sorry if that causes any problems, ma’am.”
“For Christ’s sake, Castillo, didn’t you hear what she said?” Vice President Montvale snapped.
“I’m sure you have your reasons,” Secretary Cohen said.