The Mark of the Assassin

Throw the switch, and a spring-loaded
    dummy pops up. If you're being followed, it looks like two people are in
    the car."
    "Neato torpedo!" she said sarcastically. "It also comes in handy for the
    HOV lanes."
    "You're joking."
    "No, Carter keeps one in his car all the time. When he's running a
    little late he just throws the switch, and presto !--instant carpool."
    "God, I love being married to a spy."
    "I'm not a spy, Elizabeth. I'm a--"
    "I know, I know, you're a case officer. Keep it under ninety, will you,
    Michael? What happens if we get pulled over?"
    "They taught us a few things about that, too."
    "Such as?"
    Michael smiled and said, "I could shoot him with a tranquilizer dart
    from my pen." An incredulous look appeared on Elizabeth's face. "You
    think I'm joking?"
    "You're such an asshole sometimes, Michael."
    "I've been told that a time or two."
    At ten o'clock he switched on the radio to catch the network hourly on
    WCBS. "President James Beckwith has picked his man to head the State
    Department during his second term. He's longtime friend and political
    supporter Samuel Braxton, a prominent Washington attorney and power
    broker. Braxton says he's honored and surprised by the nomination."
    Elizabeth groaned as Sam Braxton's tape-recorded voice came on the
    radio. Michael had been consumed by the case during the last days of the
    campaign, but like most of Washington he watched James Beckwith's
    remarkable victory carefully. The race changed the moment Flight 002
    went down. Andrew Sterling was virtually frozen out. Nothing he said or
    did captured the attention of the media, which had grown bored with the
    interminable campaign and was thrilled to jump ship to a more exciting
    story. The Oval Office address sealed Sterling's fate. Beckwith had
    swiftly punished the Sword of Gaza for the attack, and he had done it
    with decisiveness and flair. The missile defense initiative buried
    Sterling in California. The morning after the speech, the major
    California newspapers all published articles describing the positive
    impact the program would have on the state's economy. Sterling's lead in
    California evaporated almost overnight. On election night James Beckwith
    carried his home state by seven percentage points. Michael switched off
    the radio. Elizabeth said, "He's dancing on air."
    "Who?"
    "Braxton."
    "He should be. His man won, and now he gets to be secretary of state."
    "The firm threw a party for him this afternoon when he got back from the
    press conference at the White House. He blathered on and on about how it

was the most difficult decision of his life. He said he turned the
    President down the first time because he didn't want to abandon the
    firm. But the President asked a second time and he couldn't say no
    twice. God, it was such a bunch of bullshit! Everyone in town knows he's
    been campaigning for the job for weeks. Maybe he should have been a
    litigator instead of a deal-maker."
    "He'll be a good secretary of state."
    "I remember a president who said, "My dog Millie knows more about
    foreign policy than my opponent." I think that applies to Sam Braxton as
    well."
    "He's smart, he's a quick study, and he's damned good on television. The
    professionals at Foggy Bottom can deal with the nuts and bolts of
    policy. Braxton just needs to make tough decisions and sell them to the
    American people and the rest of the world. If he does that, he'll
    succeed."
    Elizabeth told him about her conversation with Susanna Dayton. "She
    asked me for help. I told her I couldn't do it. It was unethical and I
    could be disbarred. She dropped it."
    "You're a wise woman. Why didn't she go with the story?"
    "She didn't have the goods."
    "That's never stopped Susanna before."
    "Michael!"
    "Elizabeth, the press looks a little different when viewed from my
    seat."
    "She thought she had the goods, but her editors didn't agree. They
    spiked the piece and told her to keep digging. She was furious. If the
    story had come out before Election Day, it would have been big news."
    "Is she still working on it?"
    "She says she is. In fact, she says she's making serious progress."
    Elizabeth laughed. "You know, the two biggest winners in this whole
    affair are Sam Braxton and his client, Mitchell Elliott. Braxton gets to
    be secretary of state; Elliott gets to make ten billion dollars building
    kinetic kill vehicles for the missile defense program."
    "You think there's some connection?"
    "I don't know what to think. You should have