The main page featured a few different pictures of David Asher and some stock photos of people, supposedly Blue Creek residents. There was the obligatory photo of Asher shaking someone’s hand, his sleeves rolled up, his tie loosened and askew. Veins stood out from his tan, muscular forearms. Patton clicked on a hyperlink that said “What I Believe” and waited for the page to load.
The title and some text loaded immediately, but Patton could tell that a picture was also loading. Once the picture appeared, it all became clear.
“The guy from the train!” Patton shouted. His secretary flew into his office, her face pale, obviously alarmed by Patton’s outburst.
“What?” she nearly shouted herself.
Patton gestured for her to calm down and that everything was okay.
“Sorry. It’s just… I saw someone and I finally figured out where I know him from.”
She looked at him blankly.
“The guy from the billboard out by my farm. The guy running for governor. You know, the one that’s all over the intranet.”
Recognition dawned on his secretary’s face.
“You mean the really hot guy?”
Patton blushed and then smiled. He realized how frantic he had been. He chuckled lightly and patted her on the shoulder.
“Yeah. The hot guy. Sorry I startled you. I met him on the train coming from California. He was all full of himself back then. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s running for governor.”
His secretary nodded again, relieved. She turned and exited Patton’s office, trying to reduce her heart rate. Patton returned to his computer screen and began to read Asher’s website, page by page. What he believed in. Why he was running. What his plans were for Blue Creek. Why he was the best person for the job. The typical BS that politicians claim.
It was while reading that Patton remembered something the man—this David Asher—had said. Someone needed to “shake things up.” It had struck Patton at the time, and it bothered him now. The context of the comment returned to Patton’s mind. This Asher was saying that it was up to individuals to make things happen politically—to purposely push the town in a certain direction. This seemed to be a violation of the purpose of the experiment. Things were supposed to naturally come about by people’s actions and reactions.
Then Patton realized that the problem with tyrannical governments was the leaders’ desire to manipulate and control events. This was done first to gain power. Once power was achieved, these people could then control the people. If you can control the people you can control their resources. If you can control resources you can add to your power through money and political influence. Patton realized that this Asher campaign was what this was all about. Something was going on and he didn’t like it.
Mike Wilson had similar misgivings about the impending government, but he wasn’t as politically savvy as Patton. He wanted to get involved somehow but had no idea what to do. Mike drove the highway the circled the valley. It was his way of decompressing after a hard day. Mike rounded a bend and saw the billboard that had set Patton off. Instead of just driving by it, he pulled his truck to the side of the road and stepped out onto the shoulder of the highway.
The billboard was well lit, even at that time of night. Mike wondered if they kept the lights on all night, but he wasn’t about to camp under the sign to find out. He looked up at the grinning face and felt a sudden disdain for this man, even though he didn’t know who he was. Yes, there was something he could do and once he figured out what that was he was going to put his entire soul behind it.
Patton was paranoid about many things, but he was different about this thing. Maybe Patton was acting strangely because the situation was so close to home. If Patton was right about this guy, his ideas would most definitely affect their business and their livelihoods. Instead of getting worked up as he usually did, Patton was quiet, almost sullen. He had a determined look about him that Mike hadn’t really seen before. Mike wasn’t a weak man, but he had to admit that Patton intimidated him. They were friends, but there was something about the man that Mike couldn’t explain.
Mike shook himself from his daze, realizing during his drive home that he’d stood under the sign for over a half hour. He finally climbed into his bed around midnight. Before he fell asleep, he understood what he had to do. He was going to run for governor and try to stop what Patton claimed was going to be a runaway train. Mike clicked off his reading lamp. As he fell asleep, he prayed that he could make some difference here. Here in his new home.
Anna was accustomed to her lover’s moods, but this was the worst she’d ever seen. She’d almost had to beg him to come to her apartment in the first place and when he made love to her it was angry and passionless. Almost as soon as they were finished, he was up, out of bed, and getting dressed. She grabbed at his arm as he was trying to pull up his pants and he looked back her angrily.
“What!”
She knew better than ask him what was wrong. Instead she sat back on her bed and watched him finish getting dressed. If he wanted to talk about what was bothering him he could bring it up. Without a word, however, David Asher grabbed his keys, his wallet, and his phone and made his way towards the front door. Not wanting him to leave angry, Anna followed him with only a sheet wrapped around her naked body.
“David!”
He stopped and turned but didn’t say anything. Anna had gotten him to stop from leaving but now she didn’t know what to say. Her questions seemed to be in her eyes so he finally let her know what was bothering him.
“I met your friend Travis,” he said, letting the implications of his statement sink in.
It took a few moments but the meaning finally did sink in. In all of her attempts to keep David separate from the rest of her life, apparently, something had leaked.
“And?” she said, not wanting to admit to anything she didn’t have to.
“And… he told me about yours and Charlie’s plans,” he said, pausing again to let this sink in.
Anna said nothing but stood there, turmoil on her face. The cat was out of the bag, so it did no good to try to lie to him. However, she didn’t want to cause any more trouble than was necessary.
“Plans?” she asked innocently.
“To make me your poster boy while you and Charlie tell me what to do and what to say.”
She chewed on this for a moment, trying to think of a way to spin it. She suddenly wished that Charlie was there with his quick tongue.
“I don’t know why Travis would have given you that impression. We want you to be a candidate, yes,” she said, proud that she’d pushed back a little bit and not shied away from his anger. It suddenly dawned on her that Charlie and David were more alike than she’d previously realized.
“I don’t think he gave me an impression. I think he told me what was said to him in confidence.”
Anna wanted to roll her eyes. Instead, she moved towards him, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him towards her couch. He finally relented and the both sat down.
“I don’t know why he would have told you that. If you want our support, you’re going to have to listen to our ideas, but we are going to have to listen to your ideas,” she said, trying to avoid a motherly tone. While she only partially agreed with what she’d just said, she’d made it sound good.
With no immediate response, David just sat there thinking, seeming to be assuaged. Anna went in for the kill.