Gregg was sweating with the effort, but he won. He closed his eyes and leaned back as the elevator lurched to a halt at the ground floor. Puppetman lapsed into brooding silence inside; Amy watched him with concern.

The doors opened, and the coolness and noise of the lobby hit them. Some of the crowd in the lobby, most of them sporting Hartmann buttons and hats, had spotted him-there were screams and a rush toward him. Waiting Secret Service men stepped smoothly between them, cutting off the supporters; Gregg waved and smiled. They began to chant: "Hartmann! Hartmann!" The lobby echoed with it.

Amy shook her head. "What a circus, huh?"

Ray ushered Gregg toward the private room where he was to meet Hiram and Braun, and then took his station just outside. Gregg went in. The air-conditioning here was more oppressive than the lobby's. He shivered and rubbed his arms. Only Jack-Golden Boy-was present, a handsome, tall man who looked as if he hadn't aged a day in the four decades since the heyday of the Four Aces, still the image of the movie star he'd once been. He rose to greet Gregg. Braun seemed subdued, which didn't surprise Gregg. He hadn't figured Jack would much care for the attempt at reconciliation. Frankly, he didn't give a shit whether Jack was happy with it or notGregg was going to make the two of them bury this particular hatchet; publicly, at least.

"Senator, Amy," Braun said. His eyes lingered a bit too long on Amy. Which also hardly surprised Gregg; he knew they were having an affair. Puppetman knew lots of hidden things. "Good morning. How's Ellen?"

"Getting bigger each day," Gregg replied. "And tired a lot. Like all of us."

"I know what you mean. Ready to begin the good fight?"

"I thought we'd already begun, Jack," Gregg commented. His voice sounded glum and irritable against Braun's heartiness. He made himself smile.

Braun glanced at Gregg strangely, but he laughed. "I suppose so. You know Californians: it's bad enough everyone was a little jet-lagged. I was up most of the night with your uncommitted superdelegates. I think we have things worked out. Listen, I thought you said Worchester was going to be here."