Meant to Be (16 page)

When Powers entered the restaurant,
there was a flurry of activity as both the general manager and
hostess rushed forward to greet him. The Senator, who had just
turned fifty-eight, was a handsome man and in relatively good shape
considering how much he liked to eat, drink, and socialize. Deemed
to be quite an athlete in his college years, he now kept his
slightly-pudgy abdominal area well-disguised under expensive,
tailor-made suits.

Powers leaned down to kiss the hostess
on the cheek before taking the hand of the general
manager.

“
Senator Powers,” the man
said, “how good it is to see you again. Your table is
ready.”

“
Wonderful. Wonderful.”
Powers strode through the restaurant like a king, stopping to pat
men on the back or shake hands as he made his way toward the quiet,
secluded table in the back. People were drawn to him. He possessed
the type of magnetism that captivates and enthralls no matter how
much you wanted to dislike him. With little actual effort, he
attracted lobbyists, other politicians, constituents—and the
opposite sex—drawing them in with his charming, amiable
manner.

The Senator was almost to his table
when a woman wearing high-heeled shoes, a black pencil skirt, and a
blue silk shirt came walking toward him from the bar area with a
large smile on her face. She held a glass of wine in one hand and
an expensive leather purse in the other. Her blonde hair was pulled
back in a bun, but a few strands had come loose, framing her face
in a way that added to her allure.

A hush fell over the
restaurant as every man in the place stopped what he was doing and
watched the woman move across the room. Her looks alone were enough
to cause the pause, but the fact that she was a well-known reporter
on CNN
and
the wife
of Senator Gerald Powers, helped create the image of a superstar.
She seemed to know she was in the spotlight, and it didn’t take a
psychic to see she enjoyed every minute of it.

Senator Powers extended his hands and
gave her a quick peck on the cheek she offered him before he turned
to make sure she knew everyone at the table where he had paused.
Then he reflexively put his hand on her back and guided her to
their table.

Pulling out the chair for her, he
noticed her half empty glass of wine. “Am I late?”

“
No. I had a hard day and
started early.”

He pulled out his own chair and sat
down. “You do that a lot lately, don’t you?”

Before she could answer, a waiter
showed up at the table with the senator’s usual glass of expensive
scotch. He thanked the man graciously and then raised his glass
while his wife followed suit. “To you and your continued
success.”

“
And to a successful
campaign,” she said as she clinked her glass against
his.

Powers rolled his eyes and took a big
gulp at the mention of the upcoming election. One third of the
senate was up for vote, including himself. It wasn’t something he
was all that worried about, but finding donors and constantly
trying to keep up with the Republican money machine did create
added pressure to his already busy schedule.

After the waiter had taken their order
and the two of them were alone, Senator Powers leaned in toward his
wife. “Let’s get business out of the way. Why did you want to have
dinner with me tonight?”

Angela Powers fluttered her eyelashes
provocatively. “Do I have to have a reason to have dinner with a
handsome, wealthy and powerful man… who, by the way, happens to be
my dear husband?”

The senator gave a grunt as
he took another sip of his drink. He knew his wife—perhaps a little
too well. She was good at acting, or more to the point, pretending
to be something she wasn’t. After less than three years of
marriage, it was clear one of the things she pretended to be was in
love with him. Sure, she loved his money and his power. And of
course, she loved the lifestyle he provided. But no, she most
definitely did not love
him
.

Angela responded by giving
him a sad, pouty look that meant she was trying to get her way. “I
don’t know what
that
was supposed to mean,” she said, referring to his grunt.
“We’ve both been working long hours, and I never get to see
you.”

“
Then you didn’t want to
see me just to find out what happened at the Intelligence Committee
meeting today?”

Angela was in the middle of taking a
sip of wine. She raised her eyebrows. “Oh? The committee met
today?”

Powers sat back and
laughed. He knew it bothered her to no end that she was married to
the chairman of the Intelligence Committee and could never get him
to reveal anything. But he didn’t become a wealthy and powerful man
by not being able to keep secrets. It came easy to him. Besides,
how hard would it be to track down a leak when the chairman of the
committee was married to a news anchor? He had set those rules
before they wed, and she had agreed to them—even though she spared
no effort to let him know she didn’t
like
them. Powers knew, deep down
inside, she had never thought for an instant he’d follow through
once they were husband and wife.

“
Good one, Mrs. Powers.”
He leaned forward at her stony silence. “Did your boss at CNN send
you, or did you hear something and want to find out on your own
accord?”

Her eyes grew stormy, and she set her
drink down hard enough that wine almost splashed over the edge. “I
don’t know what you are talking about.”

Powers leaned back in his chair,
completely composed as he watched his wife pretend to be offended.
“Be careful Angie. You don’t want anyone looking over here and
speculating that we don’t have the fairytale marriage they think we
do.”

She forced a smile then and took
another large sip of wine, obviously trying to look and act casual
and in control. Her public image and the lie of their marriage
obviously meant everything to her. “I don’t understand why you have
to be so mean.”

Looking at her pouting face, Powers
wondered why he had ever fallen for this charade. On second
thought, he did. He had been blown away the first time he’d met her
at a party in Georgetown and asked her to marry him six months
later. He could hardly be blamed. She’d gone home with him after
their first date, never bothering to inform him she was engaged to
someone else at the time.

“
Let’s stop the game,
Angie. You married me for my money, my power, and the information I
can provide.” He picked up his glass and studied the amber liquid
for a moment. “Though I haven’t figured out in what order
yet.”

“
I resent that, Gerry,”
she said, trying to smile while talking through gritted
teeth.

He leaned forward. “You may resent it,
Mrs. Powers, but it’s the truth. I was a fool to think a beautiful
thirty-year-old had fallen in love with a man who was
fifty-something.” He paused a moment. “Especially considering the
man you were engaged to at the time.”

“
That’s not fair,” she
hissed. Then, without missing a beat, she leaned back and smiled
when the waiter arrived at the table with their food. “Thank you,
dear,” she said, in a smooth, even tone as she lifted her empty
wine glass. “Could I get another one of these when you get a
chance?”

The waiter bowed. “Certainly, Mrs.
Powers. And another for you, sir?”

Powers just nodded, keeping his eyes
on his wife. “Keep them coming, Casey.”

As soon as he departed, Angela started
up the conversation again, but now that her act had been uncovered,
she apparently decided honesty was the best policy. “I suppose I
did know the committee met today.” She toyed with her napkin with
long manicured nails, choosing her words carefully. “But only
because I could tell something was afoot in the Senate.” She tilted
her head and batted her long lashes. “Something big.”

Their drinks arrived, but neither
spoke, except to mechanically accept them with a nod of the
head.

“
Even if ‘something big’
was afoot, I wouldn’t be able to talk about it, as you well know
and understand.”

“
But I’m your
wife.”

“
You’re a
reporter.”

“
I’m still your
wife.”

“
And I’m still a Senator
sworn to secrecy,” he said, leaning forward. “I took an oath to
defend the Constitution of the United States—”

“
The
Constitution?” She didn’t let him finish. “Seriously?
And
that’s
more important than my career and reputation?”

Powers sat back in his chair and
picked up his glass, studying it for a moment, as if it would
somehow help him out of the mess he had gotten himself
into.

“
I may do a lot of things
that aren’t above board,” he said, “but I’m not going to forsake
the security of the United States by revealing foreign
policy.”

“
Then
something
is
going down.”

“
I didn’t say any such
thing.”

“
But why are you being so
secretive?”

The Senator took a big gulp of his
drink, set it down, and then rubbed his temples. “You can say
whatever you want about how I conduct my business affairs, but I do
love my country.”

“
Yeah.” Her voice dripped
with disdain. “More than you love me.”

He shrugged without answering. A year
ago he would have tried to deny the obvious, but now it seemed
useless. Besides, honor and duty to country weren’t principles she
would ever understand.

Angela picked up her wine, took a few
sips and looked away. “Duty to country,” she said under her breath
as if she’d read his mind. “I never thought you’d end up being just
like my ex.”

“
It’s an honor to be
compared,” Power quipped. “Now eat your food before it gets
cold.”

The two ate their meals in silence,
with no bantering, no teasing or flirting like before. But the
peaceful interlude was apparently just the quiet before the storm.
After only a few minutes, Angela put down her fork and patted her
lips delicately with her napkin. “I know about the special
operations team training for a deployment that involves a High
Value Target.”

Powers washed down some food with a
leisurely drink of water. “Good, then you already have an informant
and don’t need any classified information from me.”

Angela’s face turned red with
suppressed rage. “That is hardly enough information to do a story,
Gerry. I need information on who the HVT is, where the team is
going, and why.”

“
Ask your source.” Powers
felt something like jealousy overtake him. How would she know about
an upcoming action of that importance unless she talked to someone
in special operations—like her ex-fiancée for instance?

“
My source told me
everything she knows.” Angela wore her pouty, woe-is-me look again,
and Powers relaxed.

Of course her informant wasn’t Michael
Radcliff. It was probably some low-level aide over on the Hill who
had heard bits and pieces of what was going on. He laughed to
himself. He doubted Radcliff would give Angela the time of day, let
alone be a source of highly-sensitive information.

“
Are you going to finish?”
Powers nodded toward her plate. “I have an appointment in half an
hour.”

Angela pushed her plate away and
crossed her arms on the table. “For some reason, I’ve lost my
appetite.”

He leaned over the table and gently
pinched her cheek. “Sorry about that, baby. But you know the
rules.”

“
I seem
to remember someone telling me once that rules were meant to be
broken.” Angela cocked her head. “Oh, yes, I remember now. That
someone was
you
.”

“
That had to do with
business—not national security,” Powers said sternly. “There’s a
big difference.”

“
National
security is
my
business. It’s my beat. It’s what I do.”

“
Let’s be honest,
darling.” He swiped his napkin across his lips and stood. “What you
do is tell half-truths to the American public in such a way that it
makes them a whole lie.” He walked over and kissed her on the cheek
as she pursed her lips and looked away. “I’ll take care of the bill
on my way out. Don’t bother waiting up for me.”

Chapter 14

Lauren stood on the dirt
road and stared out at the vista before her. What she saw was a
stark and barren land that made her feel like she had taken a step
back in time. Situated in Pakistan, but lying along the Afghanistan
border, it was a desolate place—an ancient landscape made up of
harsh terrain and inhospitable inhabitants who had witnessed
nothing but bloodshed and violence for centuries.

The region was inhabited and known for
its well-armed warriors—descendants and veterans of countless
conflicts, who continued to carry on the same ancient customs and
traditions as their ancestors. Having endured war and famine for
generations, they survived with few resources in a daily struggle
for their very existence.