Page 161 of Enemy Within
“The office of the president, and the immense duties and responsibilities therein, do not personally belong to you, President Spiers-Reichenbach. You are merely holding the office. The presidency belongs to the people of the United States. And, Mr. President, the people of the United States deserve the truth from their leaders.
“Our leadersmustbe accessible. Theymustbe trustworthy. If our leadership is not accessible, honest, and accountable, we run the risk of our nation sliding into a degradation of democracy and a despairing illusion of freedom. Mr. President, you havenotbeen accessible. You havenotbeen honest. And you are now being heldaccountable.” Allen fell silent, staring at Jack. “What do you have to say for yourself?”
The chambers fell into an absolute silence. Even the press of cellphone keys, the tap of manic fingers on screens, ceased. A thousand eyeballs, again, fixed on him, and through the television, a hundred million more as well. Jack’s heart hammered, pounding against his ribs. Expectancy hung in the air, alongside the hum of microphones and whirl of cameras.
Jack stared down at his hands, at the twinkle of his wedding ring. The world seemed to tilt, tip over sideways. His stomach wrenched, a gut-punch to the center of his soul. He’d been a lifelong public servant, had built a career out of wanting to do the right thing. Wanting to make the world better. But everything he’d done was dissolving, every choice he’d made washed in bitter recriminations. His actions were being picked apart by people who hadn’t been there, who hadn’t seen what he’d seen, or felt what he’d felt. Who hadn’t had to weigh the world against the love of his life and make a choice with a gun to his heart. Who didn’t have to live with choices that could break a man in two. Grief, aching, swelling grief roared through him. The recitation of his sins, the public indictment of his character, was like a claw gouging his soul, hollowing him out with every word.
He breathed out carefully. “Senator, this world is complex. Tumultuous and challenging in ways that defy logic and defy emotion. Situations are quick to evolve, and quick to turn disastrous. Threats lie in every shadow. Friends can be hard to find. It’s a painful world, when you get right down to it. But, to my bones, Senator, I believe in this world. And I believe in this country, in these United States. I have always dreamed of serving this nation. I have always wanted to give everything that I could give to make her stronger, more beautiful, more inclusive, more equal, more prosperous. In short, everything that I could to make her a more perfect union. I have devoted the entirety of my adult life to this nation, and I have done so with joy.
“In the past eighteen months, America has faced a threat from Madigan that it has never faced before. A former general, a man so intimately acquainted with our intelligence and terrorist-fighting capabilities that he was able to remain one step ahead of our considerable forces at all times. A man who had sown a network of like-minded anarchists and conspirators across the world. A man who planned not just the destruction of our nation, but our world. Our way of life. A man who wanted to rip America from her pedestal and replace our shining light with a despot’s vision of a totalitarian utopia.
“I chose to take extreme actions to stop this madman. In turn, he chose to take extreme actions against me. Cloning my deceased wife. Attacking the heart of our nation’s intelligence and government. In his quest to destroy me, others paid the ultimate price.”
Jack swallowed, pressing his lips together as his voice trembled. He took another breath, his hands flat on the table again. His wedding ring gleamed, sparkling as if it were a beacon signaling to his heart.Ethan… You are my everything.He wanted, more than anything, to turn around and catch Ethan’s gaze. See him smile. Borrow his strength.
“I have no misgivings about the choices I made. I have no doubts that extreme measures were required to root out this cancer of a man. In order to preserve the American way of life, the beacon of liberty in our great world, sacrifices must sometimes be made.Iwas willing to pay that price.Iwas willing to be that sacrifice and lay down my life for this nation and this world. Every choice I made was for the American people. I would gladly have died for everyone in this room, and everyone watching. More than once, I was certain that my next moments were my last. In some way, it’s a terrible blessing that I am here now. I lived to face this hearing.”
A few dark chuckles rose in the gallery. The dais was deathly, gravely silent.
Jack leaned back and stared at Senator Allen. He’d done what he’d done. Made his choices. Chosen to love Ethan, and follow that love wherever it took him. Chosen to fight back, to not take what Madigan had thrust upon him and Ethan. Chosen to stand up and work together with Sergey to right their crazy, tilted world.
But most of all, he’d chosen Ethan, time and again. And he’d never regret that.
Senator Allen stared back and said nothing.
“President Spiers-Reichenbach.” The chairwoman took over, leaning close to her microphone. “What are your intentions? Do you plan to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment and reclaim the presidency?”
Jack’s eyes unfocused, the chambers before him going blurry. This was it. The end of the line. Grief roared through him again, a silent scream. “No, Madam Chairwoman,” he choked out. “I do not. My intention is to return to private life and let the presidency remain in the extremely competent hands in which I left it. President Elizabeth Wall has my full support as president of these United States.”
Silence. Profound, eternal silence, broken only by the whirr and click and flash of cameras capturing his gasp, the way he looked down and tried to hide his face. The tear he couldn’t quite blink away sliding down his cheek.
“If there are no further questions,” the chairwoman said, looking to Senator Allen.
Allen shook his head.
“We are adjourned.” Her gavel slammed twice, and the chambers erupted in a roar, shouts and questions beating down on Jack from every direction.
ETHAN, SCOTT, AND LEVI worked their way to Jack’s side, shoving through the crowd. Secret Service agents from California had been brought in to cover Jack, agents who had no relationship with him, the White House, or the ongoing investigations into President Wall, Levi, or Welby. They stood stone-faced by Jack’s side, twin statues that never said a word.
Ethan pulled Jack close, wrapping one arm around him as Jack tucked his face against Ethan’s neck and breathed deeply. Ethan’s scent—soap, cotton, and their love—flooded him, brought him back from the edge. He was careful when he wrapped his arms around Ethan in return. Ethan’s ribs were bandaged, and one arm was in a sling. His throat was still a mess of vivid bruises and hideous scabs. He could still see the mark of each chain link where it had wrapped around his neck. Pictures of his injuries were on the front page of every newspaper, alongside Jack’s bruises and his battered face, his split and swollen lip and black eye.
Cameras kept flashing, and the shouted questions grew louder. Questions about them. Questions about Madigan. Accusations. Tirades. Blistering critiques.
“Let’s get out of here.” Ethan guided Jack behind Scott, heading for the secured exit away from the mob.
A staffer from the dais slipped through the crowd, heading their way. Ethan jerked Jack behind him, turned toward the staffer, and made himself large, spreading his shoulders and glowering.
The staffer, a rail-thin man with large, thick glasses, rolled his eyes. He waved to Levi and whispered in his ear.
Levi frowned. He turned to Jack as the staffer ducked away.
They escaped the chambers, into a private hallway tucked in the bowels of the Capitol. “What was that about?” Scott asked, his hands on his hips.
“Senator Allen asked to speak to the president.” Levi still couldn’t use Jack’s first name, no matter how much he asked. “In private. Away from everybody.” He nodded down the hall. “If you want to meet, he’s down there.”
Jack squeezed Ethan’s hand. “Maybe he wants to gloat. Maybe he wants to describe in detail what my life in prison for espionage will be like.”
“You don’t need to listen to that shit,” Ethan growled. “Let’s just go—”
