‘On one condition.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘I will require proof that the operation has been sanctioned by the President.’
There was a long silence before Dexter said, ‘I’ll inform the President of your request.’
‘So how does it work?’ asked the Director. She couldn’t remember when sh
e had last visited the OTS lab at Langley.
‘It’s quite simple really,’ said Professor Ziegler, the CIA’s Director of Technical Services. He turned to a bank of computers and pressed some keys. Tom Lawrence’s face appeared on the screen.
After Dexter and Nick Gutenburg had listened to the words of the President for a few moments, she said, ‘What’s so remarkable about that? We’ve all heard Lawrence making a speech before.’
‘Maybe, but you’ve never heard him make that particular speech,’ said Ziegler.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Gutenburg.
An almost childlike smile of satisfaction spread across the professor’s face. ‘I have stored in my computer - codename “Tommy” - over a thousand speeches, television and radio interviews and telephone conversations the President has given or taken part in during the past two years. Every word or phrase he has used in that time is stored in this memory bank. That means I can make him deliver a speech on any subject you choose. I can even decide what his position is on any given issue.’
Dexter began to consider the possibilities. ‘If Tommy were to be asked a question, could he give a convincing reply?’ she asked.
‘Not spontaneously,’ admitted Ziegler. ‘But if you had some idea of the questions he might be expected to answer, I believe I could fool Lawrence’s own mother.’
‘So all we have to do,’ said Gutenburg, ‘is anticipate what the other party is likely to say.’
‘Which may not be as difficult as you might think,’ said Ziegler. ‘After all, if you were to receive a call from the President, you’d be unlikely to ask him about the strength of the dollar, or what he had for breakfast, would you? In most cases you’d know the reason he was calling. I have no idea why you might need Tommy, but if you were to prepare opening and closing remarks, as well as - say - the fifty questions or statements he was most likely to have to respond to, I could almost guarantee he could conduct a plausible conversation.’
‘I’m sure we can do that,’ said Gutenburg.
The Director nodded her agreement, then asked Ziegler: ‘Why did we develop this piece of equipment in the first place?’
‘It was set up in case the President died while America was at war, and we needed the enemy to believe he was still alive. But Tommy has many other uses, Director. For example …’
‘I’m sure he does,’ interrupted Dexter.
Ziegler looked disappointed, aware that the Director was coming to the end of her attention span.
‘How long would it take you to prepare a specific programme?’ Gutenburg asked.
‘How long will it take you to work out what the President needs to say?’ replied Ziegler, the childlike smile returning to his face.
She kept her finger on the buzzer until Connor finally picked up the phone on his desk.
‘What’s the problem, Joan? I’m not going deaf.’
‘I’ve got Ruth Preston, the President’s personal secretary, on the line.’
The next voice Connor heard was a woman’s. ‘Is that Connor Fitzgerald?’
‘Speaking,’ Connor replied. He could feel the sweat in the palm of the hand holding the phone. That never happened when he was waiting to pull the trigger.
‘I have the President on the line for you.’
He heard a click. ‘Good afternoon,’ a familiar voice said.
‘Good afternoon, Mr President.’