“So in conclusion,” Mike Wilson said, still confident that his bombshell was still resonating, “I think that it is very important that we are careful about what type of government we establish and, more importantly, who we put in as our leaders. I have offered myself for interviews. I have been open and honest about my past, about who I am and what I want to do. I know that there is a lot of enthusiasm for Mr. Asher here but let’s be cautious about jumping the gun and electing him.
“But more than that, I don’t want this to be a vote against Mr. Asher, I want you people to vote for me. Thank you and I hope that you will consider your decision very carefully. Good night.”
Between the allegations Mike Wilson made during the debate and his appearance on TV the next morning, there was a giant change in the feeling surrounding the Asher campaign, which was now in total damage control mode.
“Is he out of Blue Creek?” Charlie asked Anna, referring to Travis.
“Yes,” she said, swallowing hard. “We got him out last night.”
Charlie nodded. That was the first step. The next best thing the two of them could do was to lie low and get Asher’s face out in front of this mess.
“When is David going on TV?” he asked, much more calmly than he was feeling at the moment.
She took a long swig of water then answered, “Tonight. Six o’clock.”
Charlie nodded again. “Good time. People are usually watching TV then.” He made as if he was going to stand up but stopped. “Oh, and make sure we get access to the video of what he says so we can put it on the intranet later.”
“I will. We’ve been working on what he should say. I’ll email it to you when we have it done.”
“Okay,” he said, standing and walking to the door. As he opened it he said, “Just let him know that the whole thing could fall apart if he doesn’t say the right thing tonight.”
“He knows,” she said, trying to assure him. “Charlie, we’ve come way too far to let it all fall apart right now. Trust me, he’ll have them eating out the palm of his hand.”
And she was right, Charlie knew. That was part of the reason he hated Asher so much. Worse, however, was the fact that Charlie needed Asher to get his hands on the reins of power.
“So what do you make of these allegations, the videos and the photographs?” the attractive female blond reporter asked David Asher.
A picture from the night before flashed in his memory. He smiled, thinking how much more attractive this reporter was naked than dressed.
“Well Ashley, I think that Mr. Wilson knows that this campaign has gotten away from him and that he is desperate to bring it back to a point that he can possibly win it. And more than that, I think it’s reprehensible that these people would follow other people around like that. Recording and taking clandestine pictures of these people…” he said. He shook his head, unable to finish his thought.
The reporter agreed with him but she had to at least appear to be playing devil’s advocate.
“But Mr. Wilson says that since there are no laws on the books right now, so how can these acts be illegal?”
Asher took a deep breath, glad she tossed him a softball question.
“Well, technically he’s right, of course. But this guy is all about the Constitution right? That’s all he seems to talk about. We haven’t officially adopted the Constitution yet, yet he seems to hold us to that standard. And then he has the nerve to throw these pictures and videos around like they mean something.”
She gave him a quizzical look and asked, “They don’t?”
Asher chuckled, smiling his most charming smile.
“It’s a ridiculous charge. Okay, they have pictures of me sitting next to a guy in a bar. Big deal. To the left of this ‘Travis’ person is yet another person. Is Wilson looking into that guy too?”
“That’s a fair point,” she said, knowing that if she said it, her audience would think it. She was relaxed now, as was he. She was lofting the softballs up and he was crushing them.
“What about this Charles Henry person?” she asked him.
Asher grimaced and shook his head. “It’s another farce. Look, if this Travis is in league with this Charles Henry person, what does that have to do with me?”
The reporter had no answer so she went to Wilson’s talking points.
“Mr. Wilson says that it’s dangerous to elect a person they don’t know… someone who might be tied to a Sixties radical. How do you answer to that?”
Asher leaned back and looked at her. A camera picked up the move and made it appear as if he was talking directly to the audience.
“I won’t answer to it because it’s a desperate political ploy. Look, it’s clear from polls that you and others have run that this race hasn’t been very close for a while now. I think this is all about getting Mr. Wilson back into the race. I don’t see how anyone could think it’s anything more than that.”
Without taking his eyes off of the TV Charlie dialed Anna’s number. She picked up after one ring.
“He did it,” he said without emotion.
She was giddy and it took her a second to compose herself.
“Yes! He did! It’s over. We did it Charlie!”
“Tell him good job from me,” Charlie said then hung up. He knew what the two would be doing tonight to celebrate and he didn’t want to think about it. Charlie knew that the election was basically over and he had to credit Asher for getting the ball across the goal line. Now, he had a new set of plans to work on.
Patton had come to the same conclusion as Charlie Henry. They had David Asher on the ropes but he wriggled free with his slick answers in his TV interview. The final round of elections were held a week later, but to Patton and Mike, it was a foregone conclusion—David Asher was going to be elected Blue Creek’s first governor.
And it happened just that way. The silver lining, however, was that it was much closer than either of them could have foreseen. Like with the first round, David Asher got off onto a huge lead, but then the business owners got out to vote and closed the gap. By the time that ninety percent of the vote had been counted, Wilson had closed the gap to five percentage points. After that, however, the count leveled off and Asher won by a convincing eight percent.
Jennifer’s house, which was serving as Wilson’s campaign headquarters, was empty by eleven o’clock. The balloons and confetti they had bought to celebrate a Wilson victory would stay in a cupboard for now. Sitting on the couch and commiserating over beers, Patton, Frank and Mike vowed to remain vigilant and keep a wary eye on David Asher and what he had planned for Blue Creek.
PART THREE
THE DEVIL YOU DON’T KNOW
CHAPTER 16
Bao was headed into work yet again. Since the creation of the government in Blue Creek, work had become a nightmare. Bi-monthly meetings had turned into weekly meetings. Weekly meetings turned into bi-weekly meetings. Now it was a meeting nearly every day. Bao was so busy, he was finding it nearly impossible to maintain his cover as a vending service owner. Not only were his two lives blending into one another, he was utterly exhausted.
Bao’s Subaru WRX zipped across the landscape. He guzzled an energy drink and cranked the volume on his music. Without caffeine and loud music he wouldn’t be able to function in either job. In fact, he was so exhausted it was becoming more difficult to keep his two lives separate.