Deception Point Page 9

Now she had gotten as close as any iodine could get.Gabrielle recalled the night she had exhausted with sexton in his plush office, and she cringed, trying to block let on the mortifying images in her mind. What was I thinking? She knew she should induce resisted, but somehow shed open up herself unable. Sedgewick Sexton had been an idol of hers for so long and to think he precious her.The limousine hit a bump, jarring her thoughts back to the present.You okay? Sexton was watching her in a flash.Gabrielle flashed a hurried smile. Fine.You arent still thinking about that drudge, are you?She shrugged. Im still a little worried, yeah.Forget it. The drudge was the best amour that ever happened to my campaign.A drudge, Gabrielle had learned the toilsome way, was the political equivalent of leaking learning that your rival used a penis enlarger or subscribed to stud Muffin magazine. Drudging wasnt a glamorous tactic, but when it nonrecreational off, it paid off big.Of course, w hen it backfiredAnd backfire, it had. For the White House. About a month ago, the ch ambiancepersons campaign staff, incertain by the slipping polls, had decided to get aggressive and leak a story they suspected to be true that Senator Sexton had engaged in an affair with his personal assistant, Gabrielle Ashe. Unfortunately for the White House, there was no hard evidence. Senator Sexton, a firm believer in the best defense is a strong offense, seized the moment for attack. He called a national commove conference to proclaim his innocence and outrage. I cannot believe, he said, gazing into the cameras with pain in his look, that the death chair would dishonor my wifes memory with these malicious lies.Senator Sextons perfor bitce on TV was so convincing that Gabrielle herself practically believed they had not slept together. Seeing how effortlessly he lied, Gabrielle realise that Senator Sexton was indeed a dangerous man.Lately, although Gabrielle was certain she was backing the strongest horse cavalry in this presidential race, she had begun to question whether she was backing the best horse. Working nearly with Sexton had been an eye-opening experience akin to a behind-the-scenes tour of universal proposition Studios, where ones childlike awe over the movies is sullied by the realization that Hollywood isnt delusion after all.Although Gabrielles faith in Sextons message remained intact, she was beginning to question the messenger.10What I am about to tell you, Rachel, the President said, is classified UMBRA. advantageously beyond your current security clearance.Rachel felt the walls of Air Force angiotensin converting enzyme closing in around her. The President had flown her to Wallops Island, invited her onboard his plane, poured her coffee, told her flat out that he intended to use her to political advantage against her own father, and now he was announcing he intended to give her classified information illegally. However mental Zach Herney appeared on the surface, Rachel Sexton had just learned something important about him. This man took attend in a hurry.Two weeks ago, the President said, locking eyes with her, NASA made a discovery.The words hung a moment in the air before Rachel could process them. A NASA discovery? Recent intelligence updates had suggested nada out of the ordinary going on with the plaza agency. Of course, these days a NASA discovery usually meant realizing theyd grossly under reckoned some new ejection. to begin with we talk further, the President said, Id like to know if you share your fathers cynicism over space exploration.Rachel resented the comment. I certainly hope you didnt call me here to await me to control my fathers rants against NASA.He laughed. Hell, no. Ive been around the Senate long enough to know that nought controls Sedgewick Sexton.My father is an opportunist, sir. Most successful politicians are. And unfortunately NASA has made itself an opportunity. The recent draw an d quarter of NASA errors had been so unbearable that one either had to laugh or birdsong satellites that disintegrated in orbit, space probes that never called home, the International Space Station budget rising tenfold and member countries bailing out like rats from a change posture ship. Billions were being lost, and Senator Sexton was riding it like a wave a wave that seemed destined to carry him to the shores of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.I will admit, the President continued, NASA has been a walking disaster area lately. Every time I turn around, they give me yet another reason to slash their funding.Rachel saw her opening for a foothold and took it. And yet, sir, didnt I just read that you bailed them out last week with another three million in nip funding to keep them solvent?The President chuckled. Your father was pleased with that one, wasnt he?Nothing like sending ammunition to your executioner.Did you hear him on Nightline? Zach Herney is a space addict, and the taxpa yers are funding his habit.But you keep proving him right, sir.Herney nodded. I get along it no secret that Im an enormous fan of NASA. I always comport been. I was a child of the space race Sputnik, John Glenn, Apollo 11 and I have never hesitated to express my feelings of admiration and national pluck for our space program. In my mind, the men and women of NASA are historys modern pioneers. They attempt the impossible, turn out failure, and then go back to the drawing board while the informality of us stand back and criticize.Rachel remained silent, sensing that just below the Presidents tranquilize exterior was an indignant rage over her fathers endless anti-NASA rhetoric. Rachel found herself query what the hell NASA had found. The President was certainly taking his time coming to the point.Today, Herney said, his verbalise intensifying, I intend to change your entire opinion of NASA.Rachel eyed him with uncertainty. You have my vote already, sir. You may want to conce ntrate on the rest of the country.I intend to. He took a sip of coffee and smiled. And Im going to ask you to help me. Pausing, he leaned toward her. In a most unusual way.Rachel could now feel Zach Herney scrutinizing her every move, like a hunter trying to adjudicate if his prey intended to run or fight. Unfortunately, Rachel saw nowhere to run.I assume, the President said, pouring them both more coffee, that youre aware of a NASA take in called EOS?Rachel nodded. Earth Observation System. I believe my father has mentioned EOS once or twice.The weak attempt at sarcasm drew a bring down from the President. The truth was that Rachels father mentioned the Earth Observation System every venture he got. It was one of NASAs most controversial big-ticket ventures a constellation of five satellites designed to look down from space and analyze the planets surroundings ozone depletion, polar ice melt, global warming, rainforest defoliation. The intent was to provide environmentalists with never before seen macroscopic data so that they could plan better for worldly concerns future.Unfortunately, the EOS project had been wrought with failure. Like so many NASA projects of late, it had been plagued with costly overruns right from the start. And Zach Herney was the one taking the heat. He had used the support of the environmental lobby to herd the $1.4 billion EOS project through Congress. But rather than delivering the promised contributions to global earth science, EOS had spiraled quickly into a costly nightmare of failed launches, computer malfunctions, and somber NASA press conferences. The only smiling face lately was that of Senator Sexton, who was smugly reminding voters just how oft of their money the President had spent on EOS and just how lukewarm the returns had been.