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McFarland said. “I thought you were smarter than this.”
    “Washington State is an ‘at-will’ state. Your employment with Anderson is being terminated,” Vicki said. “You will be met by a security officer. Follow him to your office and clean out your personal effects.”

16
    D r. Janet Duncan, the new Director of Health and Human Services, HHS, was seated on the couch in the White House Blue Room. Her lanky frame made it necessary for Duncan to turn her hips and knees to avoid hitting the coffee table with her shins. She was wearing a navy pin-striped suit. Duncan was board certified in internal medicine and had practiced full time for twenty-two years at Nicolette Care Partners, an integrated delivery system in Minneapolis. President Cannon sat across from her in a high-back leather chair.
    “How are you settling into the position?” President Cannon asked before he took a sip of hot tea and returned the cup to the saucer on the table separating him from Duncan.
    “I’m a long way from a routine, but I don’t feel maladjusted. It’s hard to believe the Senate confirmation hearings were five weeks ago. Thankfully, the confirmation was uneventful.”
    “We didn’t find any holes in your curriculum vitae,” Cannon said with a reassuring smile. “We were confident you’d be confirmed. You’re accomplished in your field—we think you’ll be terrific.”
    “Thank you, Mr. President. It’s an honor to serve. Should we begin?”
    “Please.”
    “Do you intend to veto the legislation pertaining to the super committee?” Duncan asked. “If there are no amendments, the legislation will be enrolled for approval in two to three weeks.”
    “We’re still evaluating the language.”
    “The committee’s activities are suspect,” Duncan said. “The word on the street is they’re soliciting industry representatives—sleazy. Haines believes the legislation is a fait accompli. Names of committee members are being bandied. It’s appears to be forming along party lines. Bennett is the puppeteer. Haines chair. I don’t think Haines and I have much in common. Too bad, I’d like to take him ice fishing…somewhere remote.”
    “Duncan, I think we’re going to work well together.”
    “My recommendation is to make Arnie Donovan, my chief of staff, in charge of the website and blog,” Duncan continued. “He’s knowledgeable, results-orientated, and trustworthy. I’m a bit of a control freak, so I’ll be following its development. There won’t be any hiccups. I’ve been in contact with Mr. Donald. He claims they’ve received over two hundred contestant applications already, mostly academic think tanks and industry representatives. They’re being cataloged. He’s asked us to tap the resources of your administration to help him recruit one more team for the competition. A team who’s willing to break the mold…‘original thinking’ is how he phrased it. A team he can point to and say the deck wasn’t stacked…that the contestants represent a true cross section of America…the boiling pot of cultures from around the world. He wondered if you had any ideas.”
    C
lever. It would lend credibility to the competition,
President Cannon thought.
    “I might,” Cannon said. “The CIA has been experimenting with advanced search and analytics to enhance its capability for monitoring digital sources—websites, web portals, chat rooms, blogs, and online databases. ‘Open Source Intelligence’
…
something like that. With electronic boarders increasingly manifold, adapting intelligence capability to respond to new global threats is ongoing. Give the deputy director a call. Ask him if the software can be adapted to help us select a team for Donald’s Contest.”

17
    M ick Schilling, the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, stepped to the front of the room to introduce himself. He was out of breath. He apologized for being late to the briefing. He removed a handkerchief from the inside