Chapter 14Chuck Pavel was delivering a research report to a Homeland Security meeting on the ground floor, in what had once been a bowling alley for President Truman. He went up one floor to where the President’s most senior staff had their offices – including the Oval Office itself. This took him past the Press Office, where he hoped to eavesdrop on the latest news about the VP. On a quiet day he would sometimes make his way down here to watch them sift through the data that would decide the angle for that evening’s press briefing. Today the phones were ringing off the hook. Through the glass partition of a corner office, Chuck could see Maria Stinson and four of her press aides in earnest conversation. He knew what the agenda would be.
This was the most senior area of the White House. T
