Brad Meltzer - The Inner Circle

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright 2011 by Forty-four Steps, Inc.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Song lyric from God Bless the Child, by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog, Jr., 1941 by Edward B. Marks Music Company.

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First eBook Edition: January 2011

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ISBN: 978-0-446-58263-6

The Tenth Justice

Dead Even

The First Counsel

The Millionaires

The Zero Game

The Book of Fate

The Book of Lies

Heroes for My Son

For Theo,
my son,
who came into my life
when I needed him most

I know whos in my inner circle. Many of them are listed belowincluding you, treasured reader, who give me the support that still lets me do this. So thank you to the following: My first love and first lady, Cori, who pushes me, challenges me, fights me, but most important, believes in me. Since junior high. Jonas, Lila, and Theo are my greatest and most beautiful treasures, and they astonish me every single day. There is no greater love than the love I have for them. Jill Kneerim, the patron saint of agents, who remains my steadfast champion and dear friend; Hope Denekamp, Caroline Zimmerman, Ike Williams, and all our friends at the Kneerim & Williams Agency.

This is a book about history and friendshipand the profound power when you combine the two. But its also about what well do for our families, so let me thank mine, beginning with my dad, who taught me how to fight, especially when it came to those I love most, and my sister Bari, who continues to teach me even more of the same. Also to Will, Bobby, Ami, Adam, and Gilda, for everything a family can be.

Heres a secret: As a writer, you can only be as good as the readers you share your first drafts with. So let me start with the reader whom I couldnt do this without: Noah Kuttler. For every page I write, Noah hears it first. He is ruthless, insightfuland never takes his eyes off the craft. Hes the one I count on to make sure Im being intellectually honestand also to make sure Im not being the middle-aged clich that my body so wants to be. Ethan Kline has read and improved every early draft since I started writing; and Dale Flam, Matt Kuttler, Chris Weiss, and Judd Winick have saved me in more ways than theyll ever realize.

In a novel so steeped in our nations history, I owe the following people tremendous thanks for sharing that history: First, President George H. W. Bush, who inspired so much of this during a cherished conversation I will never forget. And while were on the subject, let me thank the man himselfGeorge Washingtonfor being such a wild genius (youll see what I mean inside). At the National Archives, which everyone should go visit, Susan Cooper, Matt Fulgham, Miriam Kleiman, and Trevor Plante were my masterminds and guides. They answered every insane question I threw at them and the best part of this process has been the friendship that weve shared. Special thanks to Paul Brachfeld and his amazing team, including Kelly Maltagliati, Ross Weiland, and Mitchell Yockelson, who I admire so much; Lisa Monaco, Ben Powell, Brian White, and all my friends at the Department of Homeland Securitys Red Cell program for helping push this idea even further; White House doctor Connie Mariano and my pals at the Secret Service took me back inside my favorite white building; Debby Baptiste toured me through the underground storage caves; Steve Baron for the St. Elizabethss details; my confidants Dean Alban, Arturo de Hoyos, Brent Morris, Tom Savini, and Mark Tabbert for their great historical insight; and the rest of my own inner circle, whom I bother for every book: Jo Ayn Glanzer, Mark Dimunation, Dr. Lee Benjamin, Dr. David Sandberg, Dr. Ronald K. Wright, Edna Farley, Jason Sherry, Marie Grunbeck, Brad Desnoyer, and Kim from L.A. More Archives research came from Juliette Arai, Judy Barnes, Greg Bradsher, Cynthia Fox, Brenda Kepley, John Laster, Sue McDonough, Connie Potter, Gary Stern, Eric VanSlander, Mike Waesche, Dave Wallace, Morgan Zinsmeister, and in memory of John E. Taylor; thanks to A. J. Jacobs and Michael Scheck for their idiosyncrasies. The books George Washington, Spymaster by Thomas B. Allen and Washingtons Spies by Alexander Rose were vital to this process. Finally, Roberta Stevens, Anne Twomey, Kevin Wolkenfeld, Alison Coleman, Pat Finati, Phyllis Jones, Linda Perlstein, and the great people at Mount Vernon lent their expertise to so many different details; Ananda Breslof, Kim Echols, Steve Ferguson, and Pansy Narendorf lent themselves; and these friends on Facebook and Twitter lent even more personal character traits: Steven Bates, Beth Bryans, Denise Duncan, Scott Fogg, Abraham Medina, Hector Miray, Matthew Mizner, Lisa Shearman, and Jason Spencer; Rob Weisbach for the initial faith; and of course, my family and friends, whose names, as usual, inhabit these pages.

I also want to thank everyone at Grand Central Publishing: David Young, Emi Battaglia, Jennifer Romanello, Evan Boorstyn, Chris Barba, Martha Otis, Karen Torres, Lizzy Kornblit, the nicest and hardest-working sales force in show business, Mari Okuda, Thomas Whatley, and all the kind friends there who have spent so much time and energy building what weve always built. Ive said it before, and it never changes: Theyre the real reason this book is in your hands. Special love to Mitch Hoffman, who never stopped editing and is a true part of the family. Finally, let me thank Jamie Raab. Over the past two years, weve shared overwhelming losses and watched our lives change together. Through that time, Ive realized she doesnt just edit me. She lends me her strength. For that, I owe her forever. Thank you, Jamie, for bringing me home, and most important, for your faith.

In 1989, during his final minutes in the White House, outgoing President Ronald Reagan scribbled a secret noteand, it was reported, a picture of a turkey. The note said, Dont let the turkeys get you down. He then slipped the note into the Oval Office desk and left it for his successor, President George H. W. Bush.

In 1993, President Bush left a private note in the desk for Bill Clinton, who left a note for George W. Bush, who left one for Barack Obama.

But there were two things no one knew.

The tradition didnt start with Ronald Reagan. It started with George Washington.

And the picture Reagan drew? It most definitely was not a turkey.

H e knew the room was designed to hold secrets.

Big secrets.

The briefcase from Watergate was opened in a room like this. Same with the first reports from 9/11.

He knew that this roomsometimes called the Tank or the Vaultheld presidential secrets, national secrets, and