“Let’s get that over with,” Nick said with a sigh, knowing that once he made it official, the speculation about the full story would be brutal.
He followed Terry to the briefing room. When Christina announced that the president would be making a statement, the room went silent, and the reporters sat up straighter in their chairs.
“I’ve requested and received the resignation of Vice President Gretchen Henderson.” A gasp went through the room. “We’ll soon begin the process of vetting a new vice president. I understand that you have questions about what led to her resignation, and more information about that will be released in the coming days. For now, I’ll have nothing further to say about this matter. On another note, I’ve made the full resources of the federal government available to the Metropolitan Police Department as we investigate the explosion there today. We’ll keep you informed of developments in that investigation as they become available. Thank you for your attention.”
He turned to leave the room as they shouted questions at him about Gretchen and Sam and the bombing that he ignored. Gretchen could clean up her own mess.
“Get her out of here and out of the Naval Observatory immediately,” Nick said to Terry as they walked back to the Oval Office.
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
“Holy crap,” Freddie said as he scrolled on his phone. “Nick fired the vice president.”
Sam was glad to hear the deed had been done, and Gretchen Henderson was officially out of their lives.
“Did you know that was coming?” he asked.
“I’d heard rumblings.”
“What’d she do?”
“It’s related to Ivanov.”
“What?”
“She knew him from Oxford, and apparently, he’d been visiting her at the Naval Observatory.”
“Holy shit. Nick must be…”
“He’s outraged. While he fully supports Ivanov’s work, there’s no way he could say so publicly without starting something with Petrov. The last thing in the world he needed was his vice president shacking up with Petrov’s most-effective critic.”
“They were shacking up?”
“Apparently, he spent several nights at the observatory.”
“Wow. What did she say when Nick demanded she resign?”
“I guess she was very upset, but what the hell did she expect? She claims they’re old friends and it was nothing official, but because of who she is, of course it was, you know?”
“Absolutely. Extremely poor judgment on her part.”
“That’s the thing that’s bugging me. I didn’t get a good feeling from her, but I never thought she was stupid enough to do something like this and expect to get away with it.”
“Wouldn’t the intelligence community know he was in the country and be keeping an eye on him?”
“I’m the last person to ask about how that works.”
“They should’ve known.”
“Which will be another thing he has to deal with,” Sam said with a sigh. “What a mess.”
“The AP is reporting that the Russian ambassador was seen at the White House and left looking furious,” Freddie said.
Sam’s BlackBerry vibrated in her pocket. She retrieved it to find a message from Nick. Two packages will be returned to you shortly.
Sam called him.
