Aidan glanced at the senator out of the corner of his eye. He had to look down slightly, as Levy was at least a full head shorter than he was. He idly wondered if the senator harbored any lingering in-securities over his stature. On the other hand, one of the most powerful men in Washington need not concern himself with such trivialities.

After all, Aidan reminded himself, That’s what I’m here for.

“Sir, the best bet right now is to stick to the party line. Maybe you can try to distance yourself from this later, but you’re currently seen as Brenneman’s biggest supporter. We’re already running polls—if public support starts to swing the other way, we’ll see about revising our stance.”

Levy raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused at this statement.

Although he highly valued his advisor’s input, the senator always considered Aidan’s youth and inexperience when weighing his opinion. Having just appeared on national television throwing the full weight of his office behind the president, he could hardly reverse himself at any point in the near future without looking like a traitor to his party. Besides, he strongly believed that he was doing the right thing, and while he didn’t mind complaining in private, he knew that he would endure as much political fallout as was necessary to prevent Iran from taking its place on the nuclear stage.

These thoughts faded from his mind as they passed through the elaborate marble rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building. Levy never ceased to be amazed by the beauty of the architecture and the exquisite craftsmanship that was obviously put into the structure; it continually reminded him of the importance of his job and how fortunate he was to be in his position. He was snapped from his reverie by the sound of a Secret Service agent speaking quietly into his sleeve. The man looked up at Levy.