Chapter 44
The following Friday at 08:00, Margaret meets with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Situation Room, located in the White House’s West Wing basement. Designed for intelligence management, Presidents and their advisors use the room to handle complex crises in the United States and abroad. It has a secure communications system, which Margaret needs.
The invited members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, an Army Chief of Staff, the Naval Operations Chief of Staff, the Air Force Chief of Staff, and the Marine Corps Commandant—have arrived and await Margaret. When she walks in, she asks them to be seated.
“Gentlemen, I’m honored and humbled to stand before you as your President. Undoubtedly, you wonder why I’ve invited you here. Perhaps, why I’ve limited t
