Free Memorial Day by Vince Flynn Page B

come around sooner or later, and until then, she offered great insights into how Washington worked and what was going on at the Justice Department.
    "So back to my question. What's on your mind?"
    She frowned and shook her head. "That damn Patriot Act."
    "What about it?" asked Holmes.
    "I know you like to joke that the only reason you became a Democrat is that they have more fun, but you need to be more aware of the issues that affect the base."
    "And you think the Patriot Act is one of them?"
    "Yes," Stealey answered forcefully.
    Holmes, unconvinced, rolled his eyes.
    "Pat, I'm serious. This entire war on terror has been blown out of proportion. A gang of ragtag militants got lucky, and now we've picked a fight with half the damn world to prove that we're not going to take it, and in the process we're crapping all over our Bill of Rights. It doesn't matter if its the Republicans who dreamed this thing up, we're the ones who are defending it."
    He took a sip of Belvedere. "I'd say you're simplifying it just a bit."
    "Am I?" she asked sarcastically. "You're way up here, Pat." Stealey put her hand above her head. "I'm down in the trenches. I hear what the foot soldiers at the Justice Department are saying. I see the briefs that are filed on a daily basis challenging the constitutionality of that deeply flawed piece of legislation. I see the fear in the eyes of the people who are going to have to go before the Supreme Court and defend it."
    "And how," asked Holmes a bit underwhelmed, "is this going to affect the election?"
    "You don't want any bad press the last four months before the election, and that is exactly when these challenges are going to go before the court."
    "Peggy, I know you're passionate about this, but the majority of the voting public could give a rat's ass if some suspected terrorist doesn't get read his Miranda rights and is denied a lawyer."
    "But the base does."
    Holmes had learned the hard way that the base of his party meant the 10 percent who were so far to the left they were completely out of touch with the values of the vast majority of middle America. If they had it their way, they would lead the party right over the edge of a cliff and into the great abyss of fanatical liberalism.
    "What are they going to do...go vote for whoever the Republicans put up?"
    "No, they just won't vote, and you know what happens if the base doesn't turn out."
    He had to reluctantly admit that she was right. It was an unnerving reality of his job. Holmes was a pro-business Democrat, and if he had it his way he'd jettison the crazy lefties and send them packing to the Green Party, but that was an untenable solution.
    He shook his head. "You're ruining a perfectly good evening and we're only five minutes into it."
    Stealey remained intense. "I'm telling you right now the activists who are steering these challenges over the constitutionality of that stupid piece of legislation are going to time this so they get maximum exposure. They're going to beat this drum all the way up to the election. And you and I both know who's going to take the hit."
    "Hayes?"
    "No," Stealey frowned. "He may eventually, but it's going to start with my boss AG Stokes...and I'm not going to sit back and let it happen." As a not so subtle threat she added, "and neither will he."
    Holmes was slowly beginning to see that he might have a problem on his hands. Attorney General Martin Stokes was a rising star in the Democratic Party. There was even talk of having the president dump his worthless vice president and replace him on the ticket with Stokes. The man came from big money, and like Holmes he was pro-business and pro-defense. He was the type of man who could neutralize the Republicans.
    "Peggy, I'm not going to say I agree with you on this, but you've at least piqued my interest." He looked down into his glass and snagged an olive. Holmes popped it in his mouth and said, "Knowing you as well as I do, I assume you have a plan of action."
    "I do," said