Place: A private hunting lodge near Pierre, South Dakota.
Time: Election Day.

Vice President Dick Cheney, his daughter, Mary Cheney, and his political director, Mel Raines, walk a well-trod path toward the woods.

They are shadowed by a dozen armed Secret Service agents. A cardiac specialist and a trauma surgeon sit discreetly in the back of a black SUV parked outside the hunting lodge. Three ambulances are positioned along the hunting route. The airspace for 100 miles is restricted. Only a medical helicopter parked near the entrance of the lodge is cleared for takeoffs and landings.

Two miles away, federal agents supervise the release of three bucks and a one-eyed moose. The animals are heavily drugged to give the vice president a sporting chance should their paths cross in the woods.

Dick Cheney and his daughter walk into the woods, guns pointed toward the ground. Mel Raines hangs back to take a call. Updates about several key races are pouring in at once. He waves to his boss, indicating he's too busy to get away.

"I'll bring you updates in a half hour," Raines shouts while cupping the cell phone to his ear. The vice president grunts. Mary Cheney glances at her father out of the corner of her eyes. She's worried about him.

Cheney: "Thanks for taking a walk in the woods with your old man. I could use the company."

Mary: "Thanks for asking, Dad. I love spending time with you -- you know that."

Father and daughter walk together in silence. Leaves crackle under their boots. The occasional squawk of Secret Service walkie-talkies cuts through the afternoon quiet like crickets chirping static. A chilly wind blows through the South Dakota woods, but they don't acknowledge it. It's not the Cheney way to admit discomfort.

Cheney: "That Ted Haggard thing over the weekend was really something, huh? You never know about some folks. I thought he was straight just looking at him."

Mary: "Haggard? Yeah, well, I dunno. I guess."

Cheney: "You guess? Don't you, um, gay people have something like 'gaydar' that helps you detect your fellow, you know ..."

Mary Cheney smirks and shakes her head.

Mary: "Gaydar? That's a myth, Dad. Haggard is a liar. He hid his sexual identity from his family, his church and himself. I'm shocked that he thought a man he paid for sex was going to look the other way when he lobbied against gay marriage."

Cheney: "Well, at least Haggard isn't a hypocrite."

Mary Cheney gives her father a puzzled look.

Mary: "That's an outrageous statement even for you, Dad. What do you mean Haggard isn't a hypocrite?"

Cheney: "Well, as far as we know, Mare, the good reverend never actually asked that gay prostitute to marry him."

Father and daughter break into a low guttural laugh. They have echoed each other for years. Dick Cheney lifts his gun and fixes his attention on a batch of trees. A dazed and bewildered deer wanders into Cheney's line of fire.

Cheney: "Come to Papa, Bambi."

Dick Cheney shoots the deer, hitting it in the face. Secret Service agents emerge from the woods. They circle the deer thrashing in pain. One agent instinctively pulls his gun. The vice president waves them away.

Cheney: "Back off. I'm not done with the s.o.b."

The Secret Service backs off. Someone yells "clear." Dick Cheney shoots the deer at close range. Mary Cheney looks away.

Cheney: "Nothing gets the blood coursing through the veins quite like killing something, Mare. In the context of our time on Earth, we're not that far removed from our cave-dwelling ancestors. I've always suspected I was born in the wrong era."

Mary: "You'd better not let your Intelligent Design buddies hear you talking like that, Dad."

Dick Cheney squints at his daughter and smiles. She smiles back, her crooked grin mirrors his crooked grin. He gestures to her to lean in closer. He whispers to her.

Cheney: "I'm thinking about stepping down early next year before the new Congress is sworn in. What do you think? I feel all right now, but no one would blame me for checking out two years early with my heart ..."

Mary: "What? -- This is kinda' abrupt, Dad. What does Mom say?"

Cheney: "Hell, your mom is the one who suggested it. She wants us to get out of Washington while we're still mobile enough to enjoy a half-decent quality of life."

Mary Cheney stares at her father. He points the gun toward the ground and walks a few feet ahead.

Mary: "Have you mentioned this to the president?"

Cheney: "I don't have to mention anything. It's in the air -- always has been. I'm sure Karl [Rove] has thought about it. I appreciated the president's vote of confidence last week, but I don't know if I necessarily want to be on board until 2008."

Mary: "Especially if being on board means being yoked with Rummy and an unpopular president in the public mind."

Cheney: "They're both good men, you know that. All I'm saying is that I may have different priorities soon. This is a hard job. Iraq is taking a toll. There's no obvious way out of this mess. Even the neocons are turning on each other."

Mary: "So, what are you thinking, Dad? I've never known you to not have a Plan B. What's the best-case scenario if you step down from the vice presidency?"

Cheney looks around. The Secret Service keeps a discreet distance. He gestures to Mary to come closer.

Cheney: "I know you're no fan of Rick Santorum, but ..."

Mary: "No, Dad, no ..."

Cheney: "Hear me out, Mare. Now, Rick's going down in Pennsylvania today. He's going down hard ..."

Mary Cheney protests vigorously, shaking her head. She knows where her father is headed with his argument.

Mary: "Of all people, Dad ..."

Cheney: "I'm thinking strategically here. Listen to me. We have to think about protecting the conservative legacy. We have to make sure that what we've worked so hard for doesn't go away if we lose one or both houses of Congress today."

Mary: "Vice President Rick Santorum?"

Cheney: "It's logical, honey. He's in lockstep with the president on everything from tax cuts to social issues. He's young, combative, articulate. He can do the job. He'd be in place for 2008. He'd make mincemeat of Hillary or Obama or any other Democrat they throw our way."

Mary: "Dad, what are you saying? If Santorum can't win a Senate race in Pennsylvania, how is he going to win the presidency in two years?"

Cheney: "Mark my words, I know what I'm talking about. Santorum could rally the right-wing base. Even the moderate do-gooders of the world appreciate the work he's done to alleviate Third World debt and to help the poor. He's pals with Bono, you know."

Mary: "So, you step down and Rick Santorum is appointed in your place?"

Cheney: "He'll be confirmed. Easily. Even people who don't like him respect his commitment to the conservative cause. He's a warrior."

Mary: "Bush and Santorum for the last two years of the president's run?"

Cheney: "What else is Santorum going to do -- sell his soul to K Street? Washington needs another lobbyist like it needs a hole in the head."

Mary: "What's the other angle here, Dad? You always think on multiple levels at once."

Dick Cheney smiles.

Cheney: "If the Defeat-o-crats take the House today, they're not likely to push for George Bush's impeachment with Rick Santorum a door knock from the Oval Office."

Mary: "Rick Santorum as impeachment insurance for George Bush? That's positively diabolical."

Cheney: "Yeah, I'm surprised Karl Rove didn't think of it himself. Then again, I wouldn't go along with something like this unless it was my idea."

While standing near a clearing, Dick Cheney and his daughter see bushes stirring. They raise their guns together and fire. A drugged buck jumps out of the brush and staggers to the ground, dead.

Cheney: "Great shot, Mare."

Mary: "You're not so bad yourself."

Secret Service agents emerge from the woods to examine the deer carcass to make sure it isn't al-Qaida. Mel Raines arrives looking glum.

Raines: "A lot of races are tightening, but there are going to be some losses, Boss."

Cheney: "Hmmm. So much for Karl's secret polls. But before you give me the blow-by-blow, is there any hope for Santorum in Pennsylvania?"

Raines: "Anything's possible, but I wouldn't bet the farm on it, Boss. It's kinda late in the day for miracles. Going by the exit polls in Philly and Pittsburgh, it looks like he's cooked."

Cheney gives his daughter a sly look. She shakes her head.

Cheney: "Mel. Do me a favor and get the president on the phone. I want to talk to him about a bright young man I want to bring into the administration."