“Without Charlie’s experience, my skill, and your talents, none of this will work,” she said confidently. “But if we’re divided in this they’ll chew us up.”
David nodded slightly. What she said made sense, but he still felt like she was trying to play him somehow. He stood slowly and looked down at her.
“I’ll go along with this, but if you guys try to screw with me I’ll hurt you both.”
Before Anna could respond, David walked out and slammed the door behind him.
Mike Wilson felt hesitant about his decision to run for governor, but the deadline to file was fast approaching. He knew that he would need Patton’s help—at least some money, and probably some help with his actual campaign. Running was the right thing for him to do, but he was afraid that Patton would laugh in his face. Instead, he was shocked to find out that Patton had reached the same conclusion at almost the same time.
Patton had the passion and knowhow, but he didn’t feel comfortable as the face of a campaign. Instead, he would help Mike in his run. He didn’t think it would take much money. With his outgoing personality, his charm, and his ability to succeed, Mike had a good chance of winning.
Mike was one of seven people to submit paperwork to run for the town’s executive office—five men and two women. Once the deadline to enter the race passed, a meeting was held for all of the candidates. The meeting gave Mike a chance to size up all of his opponents. The rules of the election were laid out at the meeting.
First, the candidates would be given a couple of months to campaign. On the first Election Day, there would be an initial round of voting. If any candidate were to win an all-out majority, they would be declared the winner. If that didn’t happen, the two highest vote getters would move on to the second round. All of the candidates were given the opportunity to introduce themselves. This would be their first opportunity to campaign since the local press was going to be present.
David Asher was the only candidate that impressed Mike. He was young, probably in his late twenties or early thirties. He was above average in height, very fit, and had movie-star looks. When he stood and introduced himself, he didn’t stammer, or struggle with what he wanted to say, to the point that he seemed rehearsed. After everyone introduced themselves, Mike felt that Asher was the only person that could beat him.
Mike had read all about Asher on his campaign website. He knew what he wanted to do. Meeting the man in person was a different story, however. David Asher was very charismatic. He dominated the room with his presence. Mike had a larger-than-life personality, but he decided to speak only when necessary. Asher, on the other hand, was switched on at all times. He kept up a healthy chatter, even while others were speaking. It was distracting to everyone, but they seemed to give him a pass because of his looks and persona.
Mike returned and reported to Patton, who had a long list of questions. Patton would need to develop a special strategy, he knew. David Asher was going to be the favorite. It was going to take some creativity to overcome his natural advantages.
Feeling overwhelmed with finalizing his wedding plans, however, Patton sought for help in organizing Mike’s campaign. They advertised on the Blue Creek intranet site and on social media sites, finally settling on a young woman who had experience in some Republican Party campaigns in the Midwest. She would help Mike put things together while Patton was on his honeymoon. They would have over two months to mount a campaign so they all thought they would have a good chance to win.
“What did you think of them?” Anna said, running her finger along his bare shoulder blade. David’s body was turned away from her, covered from the waist down with a cotton sheet.
He chuckled lightly and said, “Nothing. Those people are a joke. You should have seen it. I felt like I was a Wal-Mart after midnight.”
She laughed out loud, her bare chest rubbing against his back. “None of them can beat you?” she asked, still giggling.
“Not really. They have no idea what they’re up against,” he said confidently.
She sighed, continuing to rub his back.
“Not surprised.” Anna pulled her hand away to cover a yawn.
She loved these times, lying here naked with him. Tonight he’d been especially good. He was always better in bed after a confidence boosting experience. They didn’t talk for another moment and she drifted off to sleep.
When David felt her breathing slow he rose quietly out of the bed. He quickly got dressed, knelt down and kissed her forehead. He exited her apartment, quietly closing the door behind him..
Charlie Henry seethed behind his stone-silent face. In the passenger seat of his Cadillac was a .38 snub-nose revolver he had procured from Travis Snedley. When he saw David Asher walk out of Anna’s house, his impulse was to jump out and confront him. However, Charlie reconsidered. David Asher, though a mental pigmy compared to himself, was much younger and stronger and he would most likely put him in the hospital. Charlie decided that it would be better to slink up behind him in the dark and shoot him in the back of the head. Then, Charlie could stand over him and watch while the life drained from his eyes.
Charlie’s personal jealousy had begun to tangle with his goals and that was something he’d never allowed himself to do. That pretty boy was his ticket to ultimate political power. The desire to lead this people, even indirectly, won out and it saved David Asher’s life… for now. Once they were firmly entrenched in the seat of power, they could get rid of Asher—maybe make him a martyr, the way Lyndon Johnson had done with John Kennedy.
A plan was starting to percolate, but the question was whether he would have the guts to pull it off when the right time presented itself.
The weather changed as mid October approached. Indian Summer lasted almost all the way through September, but the October days began to cool. However, a rain storm seemed to bring in the cool Autumn weather for good. For Bao An Hahn, who’d spent nearly his whole life in the Bay area, the new weather felt like winter. He’d prepared for the inevitable change in weather months before, buying top-of-the-line winter clothing, but he hadn’t been prepared mentally.
The biggest problem with the colder weather, however, was the fact that he had to be outside so much more than he was used to. As a computer programmer by day, and hacker by night, Bao had rarely ventured outside in any kind of weather. Now, as the owner of a vending company, he had to work his route—either rain, snow, or shine. If he didn’t, he might lose his cover as an Insight Resource spy within the experiment. He grumbled about it every day with his bosses, but he always got out and filled his machines.
The one thing that motivated him every day was knowing how much his fellow spies envied him. He was easily the closest to Mike Wilson, the only person who could possibly beat David Asher in the upcoming election. Bao and Mike had developed a friendship. This helped Bao create the most interesting and in-depth reports about the political goings on in Blue Creek. He was also privy to the private lives of those who worked with Mike, including the notorious Patton Larsen. Bao had even succeeded in finagling an invitation to Patton’s wedding through Mike.
A serious problem was developing, however. Bao found it increasingly more difficult to maintain his cover as an Insight spy. He’d already leaked information to Patton about the committee that organized the government. Fortunately for him, he claimed he’d gotten the information via his job as a vending machine owner. For his part, Bao found it difficult not to continue to leak information about the Asher campaign to Mike—information he received from another spy who’d gotten a paid job with the campaign.