Washington, D. C., Saturday…

Pierce put down the phone, trying to control his anger. He counted to ten slowly, breathing deeply, all the time staring at the woman on the computer screen. Although he was a firm believer in a free press, tabloid reporters could be very obnoxious.

The woman is devilishly pretty. At least the public will think I have good taste. The scandal had taken on a life of its own. Headlines were now everywhere on the internet. "National Security Advisor Hamilton Is Only Human" was one of the better ones. "Hamilton Humps Hussy" was one of the worst. Photos of Pierce entering the Georgetown bungalow of Daniela Romano, photos of him with her at Starbucks and Peets, at the Georgetown Mall, at the Air and Space Museum, and so forth, were all over the news.

He had already offered his resignation to Fulton. The President had simply told him to not wimp out, to fight it.

"Pierce, you're effectively in charge of every intelligence organization in this country. Surely you can find out who this woman really is and prove these stories false. I'll give you a week. I don't want to hear anymore about it now. I've got a speech to work on."

Pierce thought about that statement for a moment. He had known Fulton for too many years. The man now fully believed the stories were false and really wanted him to get beyond this. Still, Pierce was somewhat saddened by the fact that Fulton didn't think he was capable of having a relationship. There were stories in the tabloids that Pierce was gay, that he had done choir boys as a priest, that he had caused Fulton's divorce years ago, and on and on. Pierce chuckled. Yes, maybe Fulton thought Pierce was still abiding by his priestly oath of celibacy, even though the Vatican had changed the policy on married priests over ten years ago. Pierce thought that that was the best thing that had ever happened to increase applications to the seminaries.