Detective Danny Cavanaugh 01 - The Brink

If it does, I guarantee that you will be tried and convicted of treason against the United States of America. I promise that you will be given the maximum allowable sentence for that crime, which is a life sentence in a maximum security federal prison.” The president stared into Danny’s eyes. “Considering the trouble you already face, Sergeant, a charge of treason would guarantee your spot on death row.” Then he switched his gaze onto Sydney. “Don’t think you get out easy because you are not a United States citizen, Ms. Dumas. Justice in this country is blind to many prerequisites, including citizenship.”
    “Okay,” Sydney said, “now that you’ve got us both shaking in our boots, Mr. President, why don’t you explain you problem.”
    Simon Shilling blurted, “Watch your tongue, Miss Dumas. Don’t forget you’re talking to the president of the—”
    Sydney’s eyes flashed at Simon. “He’s not my president. And even if he was, he’s just a man, not a god.”
    “Let’s all just calm down,” the president said. He let the room cool before continuing. “Several events have transpired over the past few days that you may or may not be aware of. We started off on Wednesday with a sarin gas attack in L’Enfant Plaza. While the terrorists had the wrong mixture of gas to produce any harm, the fact remains that it was a terrorist attack on American soil. Then there was the discovery of the two dirty nuclear bombs, one at the Washington Monument and the other under the Lincoln Monument. Then, the explosion of Prime Minister Fantroy’s plane over the Potomac. Stop me if you haven’t heard about any of this.” The president breathed in to begin another sentence. Before he did, he glanced over at his chief of staff, who offered another reassuring nod. “Most disturbing of all is that the nuclear material contained within the dirty bombs has been traced back to Great Britain. I was going to announce that nugget to the American public as soon as Tony got here.”
    “But someone didn’t want him talking to you about it,” Danny guessed.
    “There’s more, Sergeant,” the president replied. “Perhaps the biggest piece to this puzzle is the fact that three weeks ago, two men broke into Thomas Jefferson’s home in Monticello, Virginia, killing both security guards on duty. They had only one objective—a drawing table. It was ripped to pieces, and from what our experts told us, they found a small, secret compartment inside.”
    “What was inside the compartment?” Sydney asked.
    “While we can’t know for sure, our experts believe it was copies of the same documents that a man tried to steal from the Library of Congress on the same night.”
    “Oh yes, I heard about that,” Sydney said. “Half-baked theories flooded the Internet as to why the two events happened simultaneously. It was supposedly about some rare book, right? But the book had no connection to anything at Monticello; at least that’s what the conspiracy theorists believe.”
    “That story was a cover for what the suspect failed to steal.” President Butcher got up, stepped behind his desk, and faced his credenza. He unlocked the lower cabinet and retrieved a black portfolio. He carried it back to the conference area and set it down on the coffee table. A thick rubber band was stretched around it. The words “TOP SECRET” were stamped across the front in blood red ink.
    “The documents in question were hidden in one of William H. Seward’s journals, which was, unbeknownst to any of the librarians, housed in the Rare Book section. Seward was President Lincoln’s secretary of state. During that escape attempt, the assailant dropped the journal and the documents therein, which were recovered and turned over to this office.” The president pulled off the rubber band, opened the portfolio, and slid it in front of Danny.
    Danny stared at a folder inside the portfolio. It, too, was stamped “TOP SECRET.” It reminded him of the type of people he was dealing with. Powerful people. Powerful and very dangerous.
    Danny wiped his sweaty palms on his knees and scooted to the edge of the couch. He looked at Sydney. It felt like he was looking at her for the last time before his world would once again change forever. He opened the folder and that’s exactly what happened.

Chapter 76
    Article VIII.
    Should an overwhelming vacancy of government, including the absence of legislative, executive, or judicial powers therein, deride