"It didn't sound as if you tried very hard," he complained.
"He's a good man, Mr. President. Stubborn, but good."
"There's got to be a way."
"If there is, I'm not familiar with it."
"There must be. This is an emergency." There was a pause on the line as the President considered. He was obviously thinking. That was a bad sign. General Leiber hated dealing with people who thought. He would much rather have a salute and instant obedience.
Finally the President spoke up.
"I am the Commander in Chief," he said.
"Yes, you are," General Leiber admitted after some hesitation.
"And I have designated you as my surrogate."
"Yes, sir." He didn't like where this was going. It smacked of initiative.
"Therefore, I am ordering you to order me to the Oval Office to assure the nation that I am in command."
"I...er . . . but"
"Do it!"
"Yes sir. As your surrogate, I am ordering you to the Oval Office immediately."
"Don't tell me. Tell the Secret Service." General Leiber heard the phone change hands.
"I have just ordered the President to the Oval Office."
"I don't have the authority to override you, General," the Secret Service agent admitted.
"I wish you hadn't said that," General Leiber said in a dull voice.
Like a man about to walk the last mile, General Martin S. Leiber hung up the phone and got to his feet. Woodenly he placed his service cap on his head and straightened his tie.
There was no avoiding the moment of truth now.
The first thing the President of the United States did upon reaching the first-floor level of the White House was to head for his bedroom. His wife, clutching her negligee, trailed after him. Three Secret Service agents brought up the rear.
Upon reaching the bedroom, the President slammed the door in their faces.
"But I'm not dressed," his wife complained.
There came rummaging sounds, and the door opened a crack.
"Here," the President said, handing out a bundle of clothes.
The First Lady picked the bundle apart with her eyes. "But none of these match!" she yelled.
The President did not respond. He was too busy. He picked up the direct line to CURE. It was the first time he had had to do so. The previous President had explained all about CURE. Its mandate, its operational parameters. How, as President, he could not order CURE into action. He could only suggest missions. Well, he sure was going to suggest a mission this time.
"Mr. President." It was the voice of Dr. Harold W. Smith. The President did not know that for a fact. He assumed it. Only Dr. Smith was sanctioned to use the dedicated CURE line.
"Smith?"
"Of course," Smith said calmly. "Are you well?"
"I think I'm catching a cold from standing around in my pajamas and bare feet. You know, they didn't even have any of my clothes down there."
"Where is 'there,' sir? And please try to speak more slowly. I'm having trouble following you."
"Down in the White House fallout shelter-or whatever they call it."
"I see. What is the situation?"
"No one seems to know. General Leiber is on his way to brief me."
"Leiber? Oh, yes," said Smith, remembering the name from his intercepts.
"Smith, your job is national security, isn't it?"
"In the broadest sense of the phrase, yes."
"Then where were you?"
"Sir?"
"Washington took a first strike from a KKV and we didn't see it coming."
"I understand NORAD relayed warning of a ... What did you call it, sir?"
"KKV. Don't tell me you don't know what a KKV is. Well, you couldn't. Apparently they're new. It stands for Kinetic Kill Vehicle."
"Kinetic," Smith said slowly.
"Yes, one landed in Lafayette Park. Fortunately it didn't detonate. But that might have been a fluke."
"I see," Smith said, recalling the fire in Lafayette Park. It was starting to come together. But what was a Kinetic Kill Vehicle? As Smith listened to the President, he called up his Jane's Aircraft data base. No doubt it was listed there.
"Smith, your mandate is to monitor potential security situations and nip them in the bud."
"Well, yes. But normally our monitoring capabilities are domestic in nature. My computers aren't terribly effective on a global scale."
"And why not, might I ask?"