Deception Point Page 18

My God, she whispered. What is this place?20The CNN production facility come forwardside of Washington, D.C., is one(a) of 212 studios worldwide that link via sitellite to the globular headquarters of Turner Broadcasting arranging in Atlanta.It was 145 P.M. when Senator Sedgewick Sextons limousine pulled into the parking lot. Sexton was feeling smug as he got out and strode toward the entrance. He and Gabrielle were greeted inside by a pot- tam-tamied CNN worldufacturer who wore an effusive smile.Senator Sexton, the producer said. Welcome. Great intelligence operation. We undecomposed found out who the White stomach sent as a outfit partner for you. The producer gave a premonition grin. I hope you brought your game baptistery. He motioned through the production render out into the studio.Sexton looked through the glass and virtu all(prenominal)y fell everywhere. Staring back at him, through the smoky haze of her cigarette, was the ugliest pointt in politics.Marjori e Tench? Gabrielle blurted. What the hell is she doing hither?Sexton had no idea, further whatsoever the reason, her presence hither was fantastic news-a cleared sign that the professorship was in despair mode. Why else would he send his ripened adviser to the front lines? chairperson Zach Herney was curlicue out the big guns, and Sexton welcomed the opportunity.The larger the foe, the life-threateninger they fall.The senator had no doubt that Tench would be a sly opponent, besides gazing straight at the wo while, Sexton could not second but tailork that the chairwoman had do a serious error in judgment. Marjorie Tench was hideous looking. At the moment, she sat slouched in her chair, smoking a cigarette, her set arm moving in languorous rhythm back and forth to her thin lips wish a giant praying mantid feeding.Jesus, Sexton thought, if there was ever a daring that should stick to radio.The few quantify Sedgewick Sexton had contriven the White House cured advis ers jaund methamphetamine hydrochlorided mug in a magazine, he could not believe he was looking at one of the closely powerful faces in Washington.I dont a kindred this, Gabrielle whispered.Sexton barely heard her. The much than he considered the opportunity, the more he want it. Even more fortuitous than Tenchs media-unfriendly face was Tenchs reputation on one describe issue Marjorie Tench was extremely point-blank that the Statess leadership role in the upcoming could only be secured through scientific superiority. She was an avid supporter of high-tech giving medication R D programs, and, roughly important-NASA. galore(postnominal) believed it was Tenchs behind-the-scenes pressure that kept the President positioned so staunchly behind the impuissance space agency.Sexton wondered if perhaps the President was now punishing Tench for all the bad adv frappe about supporting NASA. Is he throwing his senior adviser to the wolves?Gabrielle Ashe gazed through the glass at Ma rjorie Tench and felt a growing uneasiness. This woman was smart as hell and she was an unexpected twist. Those two facts had her instincts tingling. Considering the womans side on NASA, the President sending her to face-off against Senator Sexton seemed ill-advised. But the President was certainly no fool. Something told Gabrielle this interview was bad news.Gabrielle already perceived the senator salivating over his odds, which did little to capture her concern. Sexton had a habit of waiver overboard when he got cocky. The NASA issue had been a welcome boost in the polls, but Sexton had been pushing very hard lately, she thought. Plenty of campaigns had been lost by candidates who went for the cup of tea when all they needed was to finish the round.The producer looked eager for the impending blood match. Lets place you set up, senator.As Sexton headed for the studio, Gabrielle caught his sleeve. I know what youre thinking, she whispered. But just be smart. Dont go overboard. Overboard? Me? Sexton grinned. call back this woman is very good at what she does.Sexton gave her a suggestive smirk. So am I.21The cavernous master(prenominal) chamber of NASAs habisphere would have been a extraneous sight anywhere on earth, but the fact that it existed on an Arctic ice shelf made it that much more difficult for Rachel Sexton to assimilate.Staring upward into a futuristic dome crafted of gabardine interlocking triangular pads, Rachel felt like she had entered a colossal sanatorium. The walls sloped downwards to a floor of solid ice, where an forces of halogen lamps stood like sentinels around the perimeter, casting unembellished light skyward and giving the exclusively chamber an ephemeral luminosity.Snaking across the ice floor, black foam carpetrunners wound like boardwalks through a maze of take-away scientific work stations. Amid the electronics, thirty or forty white-clad NASA personnel were hard at work, conferring happily and talking in unrestraine d tones. Rachel immediately recognized the electricity in the room.It was the thrill of new discovery.As Rachel and the executive circled the outer edge of the dome, she noted the move looks of displeasure from those who recognized her. Their whispers carried clearly in the reverberant space.Isnt that Senator Sextons daughter?What the hell is SHE doing here?I cant believe the decision set aboutr is even speaking to herRachel half expected to see voodoo dolls of her father dangling everywhere. The anger around her, though, was not the only emotion in the air Rachel also sensed a distinct smugness-as if NASA clearly knew who would be having the last laugh.The administrator led Rachel toward a series of tables where a lone man sat at a ready reckoner work station. He was dressed in a black turtleneck, wide-wale corduroys, and heavy boat shoes, rather than the matching NASA weather lurch everyone else seemed to be wearing. He had his back to them.The administrator asked Rachel to wait as he went over and spoke to the stranger. After a moment, the man in the turtleneck gave him a grateful nod and started shutting down his computer. The administrator returned.Mr. Tolland will take it from here, he said. Hes another(prenominal) one of the Presidents recruits, so you two should compensate along fine. Ill join you later.Thank you.I assume youve heard of Michael Tolland?Rachel shrugged, her brain distillery taking in the incredible surroundings. summons doesnt ring a bell.The man in the turtleneck arrived, grinning. Doesnt ring a bell? His voice was resonant and friendly. Best news Ive heard all day. Seems I never get a chance to make a first impression anymore.When Rachel glanced up at the newcomer, her feet froze in place. She knew the mans handsome face in an instant. Everyone in America did.Oh, she said, blush as the man shook her hand. Youre that Michael Tolland.When the President had told Rachel he had recruited top-notch civilian scientists to authen ticate NASAs discovery, Rachel had imagined a group of wizened nerds with monogrammed calculators. Michael Tolland was the antithesis. One of the opera hat known science celebrities in America today, Tolland hosted a weekly documentary called tremendous Seas, during which he brought viewers face-to-face with hypnotic oceanic phenomena-underwater volcanoes, ten-foot sea worms, killer tidal waves. The media hailed Tolland as a cross in the midst of Jacques Cousteau and Carl Sagan, crediting his knowledge, unpretentious enthusiasm, and lust for adventure as the formula that had rocketed Amazing Seas to the top of the ratings. Of course, most critics admitted, Tollands rugged good looks and self-effacing personal magnetism probably didnt hurt his popularity with the female audience.Mr. Tolland, Rachel said, inapt the words a bit. Im Rachel Sexton.Tolland smiled a pleasant, crooked smile. Hi, Rachel. Call me Mike.