Balance of Power

    Filled with foreboding, Dane mentally replayed the phone call from Harrison Fancher, the sleepless night which followed—spent alone because Dane could confess his involvement to no one—spinning calculations about how to keep the lid on Callister. The best plan he could construct was to make sure Fasano shut down the lawsuit in the Senate, do everything possible to keep the files under seal and, should they surface nonetheless, to claim that Callister was lying—or, at least, had badly misconstrued their conversation.

    "What's she saying?" Dane asked Fell.

    "We don't know yet."

    On the screen, Sarah Dash appeared composed. One of the principal claims in Ms. Costello's lawsuit is that the SSA controls the American gun industry. Yesterday, we learned how true that was. But we learned far more than that.

    Turning, Sarah walked to the television, and punched a button on the VCR. In close-up, George Callister's image filled the screen.

    How did Dane react? Sarah's voice inquired.

    He said that the SSA would commit whatever resources were needed to pass tort reform in both houses of Congress. Then he told me something that I didn't understand: that Kilcannon could be handled if he got in the way.

    Heavily, Dane sat down. At the corner of his vision, he saw that Carla Fell was watching him. Her eyes seemed to ask the question Sarah's voice was putting into words.

    Did Mr. Dane tell you what he meant by that?

THIRTEEN

On returning to her office, Sarah was assaulted by phone calls from the print media; interview requests from CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and the evening news and early-morning shows for the three major networks; angry messages from supporters of the SSA; calls of encouragement from friends, including several she had not heard from in years; and—unbelievable to Sarah—a film producer who had rescripted her defiance of Judge Bond as a vehicle for Sandra Bullock. " 'Sarah Brockovich'?" Sarah mused aloud, and told her assistant to keep stemming the deluge. Sarah had done all the talking to the media she intended to or, clearly, needed to. The cable news stations were awash in images of Sarah and Callister; speculation regarding the impact of Callister's revelations on the gun debate, the SSA, the Congress and both political parties; instant polls asking whether the videotape had affected the Kilcannons' standing with the public. Sarah felt tired, worried, and altogether overwhelmed. To have generated such a firestorm by defying the legal system, rather than working within it, deepened her anxiety. She could only guess at how George Callister must feel.

    At two-thirty, Sarah left the office, having taken only two calls.

    The first was from Lara Kilcannon. With a depth of emotion Sarah had not heard before, Lara told her how grateful she was, even more for the President than herself. "Is there anything we can do for you?" she asked.

    "One thing," Sarah answered simply. "When anyone asks, make it clear I did this on my own. Or the whole situation will be that much worse for me."

    The second call was from Gardner Bond. "I'm issuing an order," the judge said with a coldness more daunting than angry. "But court orders don't seem to impress you very much, so I thought I'd deliver this one in person.

    "Tomorrow afternoon, at four o'clock, I'm holding a contempt hearing regarding your activities this morning. You may wish to consider attending."

    Without awaiting Sarah's answer, Bond hung up.

* * *

    Paul Harshman was the first of the Republican leadership to reach Fasano's office. As he entered, Fasano was watching a liberal columnist eviscerate the SSA on MSNBC.

    "This all could be a smear," Harshman cautioned. "Orchestrated by Kilcannon."

    Fasano turned to him. Evenly, he inquired, "Do you really think that?"

    Harshman's expression took on an obstinate cast. "What do we really know about this man Callister . . . ?"

    "Give it a rest, Paul. Let's focus on saving this bill." Fasano's tone brooked no argument. "I'm not taking calls from Charles Dane. I don't want you to take any. As soon as we're through here, I'm going to distance us from Dane as quickly as I can, and you'll be right there with me. Just like Sarah Dash and Mary Costello."

* * *

    Gathered in the Oval Office, Kerry, Kit and Clayton watched Fasano on CNN.