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Kingfish

Page 32

by Frank Perry

certain ones similar to the way tobacco and alcohol are regulated. The current policy has been failing for decades costing hundreds of thousands deaths and a trillion dollars, with no significant results. It’s time for a different approach.

  “I’m not going into details here. There will be weeks of media coverage of this issue to come. The purpose of this meeting is simply to clear up the fact that this was an attack by vicious criminals who will lose their grip on unfortunate Americans. These murderous gangsters were trying to eliminate me, or at the very least scare me off their turf. They exist only because of current policies.

  “Well, I’m here tonight to tell the American people that the drug dealers in this country are not going to win, and they’re not scaring me off. I intend to fight for reforms that will put them out of business, that will ruin their businesses and end the horrible scourge in our cities caused by the back-alley drug dealers.”

  Romanoff paused for a moment to let it all sink in. “Let there be no mistake about what I’m saying. You illicit drug dealers, distributors and manufacturers that prey on Americans – you’re all going down! If you think you can end this with me, you’re wrong.”

  The speech was followed by several questions about how he escaped the gunman. Romanoff just answered, “I ran like hell and hoped he was a bad shot.” The man was a master at crowd-pleasing rhetoric. He came across as powerful and steadfast. He had been right in their meeting earlier in the day. This attack helped his future in American politics and also helped assure popular support of the policy reforms. Peña’s own actions (or someone like Peña) were helping lose their own battle.

  His phone displayed “Laurie.”

  “Hello.”

  Her voice was firm, “Did you see the Congressman’s speech?”

  “Yeah. I thought he did pretty good.”

  “Did you talk to him about it today?”

  “He mentioned it when I was in his office.”

  “Hunter, I think he just moved your success probability up a lot.”

  “Yeah, I guess it just takes a few well-placed gunshots.”

  “Very funny.”

  He could sense that she wanted to talk longer, but he was afraid where it would take them, and he was conflicted enough. He wanted another day to think. “Look. I’m kinda busy tomorrow, but I’d like to pick you up at five on Saturday.”

  “Oh, so early?

  “I’m thinking about going to Annapolis, something along the harbor.”

  “Um. Sounds romantic.”

  “Somehow, I picture you there.” He wasn’t sure, but she sounded very excited.

  “Okay, see you at five!”

  He was contemplating the signals he just sent her when the phone rang again. This time it said “Leigh.”

  “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself. Did you see the speech?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Looks like you got it under control in the House.”

  “I don’t know, Leigh. After two years, it all seems to be falling into place too easy.”

  “It’s simple, Hunter. This is an election year. All the House members want to be reelected. The big bills always happen on the even years so Congressmen can get all the points back home when it matters. Off years are boring.”

  Hunter and Laura

  Saturday evening, he knocked on Laura’s door and waited half a minute for her to open it. She said, “Hi” and gave him a kiss before turning to finish getting ready. “Come on it, I’m almost ready.” As she turned away, he noticed that her dress wasn’t zipped all the way. “Get comfortable on the couch, I just need to finish my hair and put on my shoes.” For some reason, this took several minutes. When she emerged from the bedroom, she looked fantastic in a light blue summer dress with a floral scarf. She wore a three tier necklace that emphasized her long slender neck.

  He was speechless, “Wow, you look gorgeous.” It occurred to him that he’d never seen her in heels, and she seemed to be almost as tall as him.

  She turned. “Zip me up please.”

  He did as instructed, fumbling with the hook at the top. Her skin felt incredibly supple and smooth, more than usual. The whole effect was mesmerizing.

  She turned back to face him and picked up a small white purse on the end table near the door. “So, where are we going?”

  He smiled, “Annapolis.”

  “Where in Annapolis?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  A week earlier, Hunter made reservations for the upper deck at the Hell Point Seafood restaurant on Dock Street, overlooking the Annapolis Harbor. It was one of the most romantic locations in the quiet seaport village, surrounded by quaint shops, near the Naval Academy and the State Capitol building. He wanted the atmosphere more than anything else. The restaurant got poor reviews but generally not for the food per se, which was judged somewhere between fair and good, not excellent. The criticism usually cited the price and slow service. For this evening, the price wasn’t a major consideration and slow service meant more quiet time together.

  It was a mild late-summer evening, which meant parking along Dock Street would be impossible on Saturday night. Locally, the street was called “Ego Canal” because yachtsmen around the Chesapeake liked to dock there for a few hours, showing off. Fortunately, the restaurant offered valet service, which was another benefit.

  He kept the top up on his Infinity “G” for the hour-long drive even though it was ideal top-down weather. She would not appreciate the wind-in-hair look. Most of the drive was quiet. He still didn’t know exactly what he would say tonight, and she was full of anticipation.

  Near six o’clock, he exited Rt. 301 before crossing the Severn River, taking West Street toward the harbor, directly past the State House, turning downhill on Main Street to the harbor. At the bottom of the street near the water, he jogged left then immediately right onto Dock Street. Driving along the dock was very slow with tourists using the road surface to meander in the tranquility. The final few hundred yards took a few minutes.

  The restaurant is the final two-story building at the end of the dock, with second-floor glass walls offering an unobstructed view of the harbor with the giant bay beyond. Hunter stopped at the entrance and a valet opened Laura’s door before he was out of the driver’s side.

  Inside, they were escorted immediately by the hostess to the second floor, to a corner table at the front, over the water, away from the dying sun glaring in along the opposite side. It was a perfect romantic setting.

  From the reviews, Hunter knew that the synchronization between wine service and dinner orders was a problem for most patrons. When the waiter arrived, he asked for the wine menu, and they would defer ordering dinner. To his surprise, the wine arrived in less than five minutes and the wait staff gave them privacy. They let the Pinot Noir breath for several minutes.

  She spoke first. “Hunter, this is beautiful.”

  He lifted his glass, which she mirrored. “You’re the most beautiful part of this evening.”

  She smiled and looked out the window, offering her hand across to him. He continued. “Laurie, I want this to be a special evening.” She squeezed his hand gently and smiled but didn’t say anything, she knew he was struggling. “Laurie, you know that I love you, and I want to spend my life with you – forever.”

  He paused, waiting for her to respond. “Hunter, is this a proposal?”

  He smiled and looked away momentarily. “I’ve thought about this a lot Laurie, and I don’t know what I have to offer you.”

  “Hunter, I’ve thought about too, a lot recently.”

  He interrupted. “Laurie, I’m asking you to marry me, but I’m not sure what would be next.”

  At that point, the waiter returned and took their order. Hunter suggested the crab cakes to her, which she ordered. They had good reviews. He ordered the prime rib, medium-rare, which also had good reviews. Surprisingly, most of the seafood was rated poorly, and there we
re a lot of poor reviews on line.

  After the waiter left, Hunter continued. “I want to spend my life with you more than anything else, but I don’t want to be unfair about it.”

  She tightened her lips together. “Hunter, I don’t know where you’re going with this. Isn’t it enough just to love each other? I do love you and am saying YES with all my heart.”

  He looked into her eye’s. “Laurie, I can’t stay in Washington. The legislative schedule is winding down and I’ve got maybe two more months here, at most. The state won’t support my job here after that, and I don’t want to stay anyway.”

  “So, what will you do?”

  He looked down. “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I can get a job with the state with my connections. Maybe in law enforcement.”

  “Look Hunter, I like working for the Federal Government here in Washington, and I like being close to my parents, but I can find something in California, too. There are lots of Government jobs in California. We could live almost anywhere.”

  He took her hand again and smiled, looking into her eyes. “I thought you’d never leave here?”

  “I’ve thought about this a lot, too, Hunter. I’ve even talked to my mother about it. Being with the man I love is more important than where I work. I think I just needed to be sitting here with you tonight to be able to finally say it.”

  She paused then continued. “Now, are you asking me or not?”

  He wanted to shout out loud with joy. He leaned forward as far as the table allowed. “Laurie Malone, will you marry me?”

  She

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