Chapter 39
The Seizure of Capitol Hill
The cab dropped Aerial off in front of her hotel. She’d half expected to be stopped and interrogated about Rubio’s death, but Agent Hamilton adroitly escorted her through the melee that followed the untimely demise of the President. When she got to her room she turned on the television to see what the media was saying about the death. A pretty young woman was in the network studio giving the report.
“Evelyn Walters here with continuing news on the situation in Washington . . . We’re following a breaking story from the White House where President Rubio, who had just recently been sworn in as president, apparently has choked to death on a piece of steak, according to the President’s press secretary. The President was reportedly under heavy guard in the bunker below the White House and was enjoying a leisurely meal with a female companion when the mishap occurred. The companion has yet to be identified.
“This creates a serious Constitutional crisis for the United States as both the House and Senate were in recess when the assassinations of the President, vice president, and Speaker took place, and neither a new Speaker of the House nor a new president pro tempore of the Senate has been elected. To complicate matters further, when President Rubio took office the entire cabinet resigned and their resignations were accepted. Since those resignations there has been but one cabinet appointment, the controversial appointment of Ziegfield Kulchz as Secretary of Defense. Secretary Kulchz would be the next in the line of succession except for the fact that his appointment has not yet been approved by the Senate.
“Rubio’s appointment just days ago triggered much controversy, as Kulchz was relatively unknown to anyone in Washington and many felt his credentials were highly suspect. Nevertheless, Rubio stood by the appointment and said he expected the Senate to approve it. For more on this new Constitutional crisis let’s go to the White House where Joe Shore has more breaking news.”
The screen changed to a shot of Joe Shore inside the West Wing. “Thank you, Evelyn. We’ve just learned from President Rubio’s press secretary that Ziegfield Kulchz is claiming he should be president. Apparently Kulchz’ position is that the country cannot be without a president, and, although his appointment hasn’t been approved by the Senate, he’s the closest thing to a legitimate successor there is at this time.”
“Joe, what’s the reaction to that reasoning by those around you at the White House?” Walters asked. “It seems pretty shaky at best.”
“It does, and the reaction has been pretty strongly negative. One senator told me he was on his way to meet with a member of the Supreme Court to try to put a stop to Kulchz’ acting as if he were president.”
“What about the Secret Service and the FBI? How are they reacting to all of this?”
“There is a lot of confusion in their ranks right now. Nobody knows quite what to do, but Kulchz seems to have the support of the military. In fact, the White House is full of troops who are obeying his commands.”
“Really? Why do you think that is?”
“I’m not sure, but Kulchz has worked closely with several generals at the Pentagon for the last fifteen years. He’s definitely got connections over there.”
“Thank you, Joe,” Walters said. “Let’s go now to Bill Lang on Capitol Hill to get the reactions of some of the members of Congress.”
The screen changed to the Capitol Rotunda in front of the statue of George Washington. “Yes, thank you, Evelyn,” Lang said. “I’m here with Congressman Schultz of Indiana. Congressman, what’s your reaction to Ziegfield Kulchz’ position that he is the rightful successor to the presidency?”
“It’s ridiculous,” the congressman replied. “He’s not the Secretary of Defense since his appointment was not and will never be confirmed by the Senate, so his attempt to proclaim himself president won’t work. We’ve got our attorneys right now seeking out a federal judge to get an injunction against him asserting any presidential authority. We expect it to be issued momentarily.”
“Well, if he isn’t the lawful successor to the President, who is? The nation cannot be without a president, can it?”
“Unfortunately, it may have to be until the House elects a new speaker.”
Lang frowned as he listened intently to what someone was saying in his earpiece. “Congressman. I’ve just been told that troops supporting President Kulchz are being deployed around Capitol Hill and other locations throughout the capital. What do you make of that?”
“I–I’m flabbergasted,” Schultz sputtered. “This is an outrage! Ziegfield Kulchz is trying to forcibly seize control of the government. We can’t allow it! Excuse me. I’ve got to go confer with my colleagues,” he said and walked off hurriedly.
“Well, Evelyn, it appears Kulchz’ plan may be to prevent the House or Senate from meeting so they can’t elect a new Speaker of the House or a president pro tempore of the Senate.”
“Yes,” Walters agreed. “It would seem so. Thank you, Bill.”
There was a knock at the door. Aerial froze, wondering if they’d come to arrest her. She turned off the TV, went to the door, and looked through the peephole. She saw Hamilton standing there with two other men, so she opened the door. They all rushed in and locked the door behind them. Hamilton introduced Mo and Special Agent Marvin Snead to her.
“Did you hear Kulchz has taken control of the government?” Aerial asked. “From what I’ve been hearing, what he’s doing is not legal but since there’s no presidential successor right now, he’s taking advantage of the situation.”
“Yes,” Mo said. “The first thing President Rubio did when he took office, other than appointing Kulchz as Secretary of Defense, was shake up the Pentagon.”
“God knows how many Tarizonians are in key positions there now,” Hamilton said.
“He’s sent troops to Capitol Hill to prevent Congress from meeting,” Aerial added.
“Right. With the military behind him and the Fleet out there ready to eliminate anybody who challenges him, it’s going to be tough to depose him.”
“But we’ve got to try,” Aerial said.
“Yes, somebody does,” Mo replied. “Someone with an army like . . . Peter.”
“We need to get word to him.”
“I called him right after we eliminated Rubio, but I haven’t told him about Kulchz. I’ll do that right now.”
Mo pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.
Peter picked up. “Yes.”
“Did you hear Kulchz has seized power?”
“No, but that’s not surprising.”
“He’s sent troops to the Capitol to keep Congress from meeting, too.”
“All right,” Peter said. “I’ll get some troops from ES 52 over there to run them off so Congress can do its job. Can you get word to the congressional leaders to be ready to convene both chambers just as soon as we clear out Kulchz’ troops?”
“Yes,” Mo said. “We’ll get word to them.”
“All right, then. We’re on our way.”
Mo hung up the phone and looked at Hamilton. “We need to contact the Senate whip and the majority leader of the House and let them know what’s going on. If Peter is successful at securing Capitol Hill, the House and Senate need to be ready to meet immediately.”
“Oscar Monroe is the Senate whip. I’ll give him a call,” Hamilton said. “I know him pretty well.”
“Okay, I’ll call the majority leader of the House; that’s Robert Tomlinson, isn’t it?” Mo asked.
“Right.”
Mo and Hamilton got out their cell phones and made the calls. Neither of the men was available right then, and it took many phone calls to finally make contact. Once it was made, Mo and Hamilton met with considerable skepticism. Robert Tomlinson was particularly uncooperative.
“Can you guarantee the safety of the House members if they convene?” he asked.
“Not me personally,” Mo said, “but the special forces unit that is on its way to the Capitol Building will. They??
?re very capable.”
“What unit is it? Who’s in command?”
“Ah, I’m not sure. All I know is they have assured me they can secure the facility for several hours. That should be enough time to meet and elect a new speaker who then can be sworn in as president.”
“Right, or the entire Congress will get massacred,” Tomlinson said.
“Well, it’s a gamble, I’ll admit, but it may be our only opportunity to stop Kulchz. The longer the government is without a legitimate president the more powerful he will become.”
“Okay. Okay. You’re probably right. I’ll call the clerk and get the ball rolling.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll call you when the Capitol Building is secure.”