by Frank Perry
arrival level and drove to Hunter’s apartment. They had both been there before. Two’s job was just to monitor and report, nothing violent for now.
Hunter sat in the passenger seat as Laura pulled out of the ground-floor entrance into the circular drive around the airport before exiting on to the George Washington Parkway. He put his head back, but couldn’t close his eyes. They talked quietly driving toward Old Town Alexandria. She didn’t want to exhaust him, but he didn’t feel that tired. When they arrived, the street had numerous parking spaces, so she parked directly behind his car. Two and three were out of sight, about a hundred feet up on the opposite side. Two said, “I wonder if the fool has moved his auxiliary key?”
Hunter didn’t indicate anything about it. He pulled his key ring from his pocket, letting Laura in ahead of him. There was no hidden key outside any longer.
Inside, she said, “Get comfortable, I’ll make you some breakfast.”
He put his arms on her shoulders. “Do I have time to shower and brush my teeth?”
“Yeah. Brush your teeth and use some mouthwash.”
He smiled and went to the bathroom to run the shower. Fifteen minutes later, he appeared in clean clothes, looking refreshed. “Okay. Where’s breakfast?”
She pulled a chair from the table. “Sit.”
He did as he was told, and she brought him fresh coffee. “All you have is toast and some eggs.”
She was standing next to him, and he put his arm around her waist, resting his head on her hip. “You know I love you so much. You’re all I could think about in California.”
She smiled. “So, you gonna tell me what you did out there?”
“No. I just visited my sister and my cousin.”
She didn’t believe him. “You made a mad dash on Friday and took a redeye back on Sunday. That’s not a visit. That’s an agenda.”
He bit into his toast and smiled up at her. “I had some family business to take care of.”
“Oh, when do I get to be part of this family?”
“When it’s safe.”
She sat down with her own cup of coffee. He asked, “What about work for you today?”
“I left a message for my boss that I would be late.”
“You’re something else. Are you going to meet me at the airport after we’re married?”
“Probably not.” She giggled.
His phone rang. “Hello.”
“Hunter.” It was Leigh Bryant. “We need to start playing damage control.”
“What do you mean, Leigh?”
Well, after you disappeared on Friday, I called Amy Letourneau, you know I told you I’ve known her forever. She’s Senator Blithe’s Office Director.”
This didn’t sound good. He said, “I remember.”
“Hunter. Blithe is backing off the Senate bandwagon. She’s scared after Romanoff was attached. He said in his press conference that it was the reason he was almost killed.”
“Should I call Ben Willis?”
“Won’t do any good. Amy said it’s off the table. She’s looking for something less dangerous to support.”
Hunter was running his hands through his cropped hair again. Alright, I’m going to call Brian Collie and make sure the language is still attached. Then we’ll need to come up with plan B.”
“Hunter, we’re running out of time. If this goes out of committee in the Senate, they’ll vote in full session by Friday.”
He responded. “That’s why I need to check with the committee staff. If it’s already out of the bill, then we lose. If it’s still in there, we can try something.
She had more. “It gets worse, Hunter. Romanoff hasn’t done anything on the House side to get the language added. I think he’s got cold feet.”
“Oh, great. So all the fancy influencing we’ve done came unraveled?”
She answered, “Seems like it, Hunter. You need to check with his staff to find out what’s happening.”
The call was ending. “Okay, Leigh. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll get to work on this right away.”
“Good Luck, Hunter.”
He would need more than good luck. Romanoff had turned from hero to coward. It didn’t seem like him.
The Bribe
A week earlier, Number Two was in Cleveland delivering a briefcase filled with five hundred thousand dollars to Mr. Carl Keesler. It was a private settlement that had been offered by an interested party, according to Number Two, for Mr. Keesler’s daughter to drop all charges against Congressman Aaron Romanoff. It was explained in the press that it had all been a misunderstanding that had been blown out of proportion by the media. Keesler’s daughter had misinterpreted one of Romanoff’s kind gestures incorrectly and was now recanting. In fact, she was willing to re-join the campaign staff if the Congressman would have her. In a press release from Romanoff’s Cleveland office, he stated that he was grateful that it was cleared up and wished the Keeslers well. In the future, however, he would no long accept any member of his campaign who was under eighteen.
In exchange for the payment, Romanoff agreed to participate in a charade, a drama act in public. He agreed to meet with Number Three in his townhome to work out the details. Fortunately for the Congressman, Number Three proved to be a man of his word and an excellent shot. He promised to miss the Congressman during his run for life. Three was true to his word, and the whole scene was fully believable. The escape from death elevated Romanoff in the polls once again. Then his brave statements on drug reform gained more favor with the electorate, and he was back in the high seventies for percentage of party voters. He went from marginal to unstoppable with the aid of Luca Peña without ever knowing who his benefactor was. Of course, Senator Jenson had outlined the whole strategy, even if it did mean a seat for the opposite party in Congress. Although it was never discussed, the opposite scenario could have occurred if Number Three had actually aimed at the Congressman. Peña was more accustomed to the latter approach to problem solving and reluctantly gave up half a million in cash. He was learning diplomacy, Washington style.
Hunter called Brian Collie on the Senate Appropriations Committee Staff. “Hey Brian, it’s Hunter Kohl.
Brian didn’t sound enthused to hear from Hunter. “Oh high, Hunter. What’s going on?”
“Brian. I wanted to check on our language in the Bill.”
“Ah. I can’t be specific, Hunter.”
“Brian, what do you mean? You’ve been helpful throughout this, but now you won’t talk?”
“Look, Hunter. Something is going on. The Ranking Member (Jenson) asked to review the language. He was the author for Christ’s sake. Something changed his mind. Months ago, he wanted it to go to vote in the Senate. Now I’m not sure.”
“When’s it going to be voted out of Committee, Brian?”
“It could be this week, Hunter.”
“I’ll call you back.”
Laura saw the pained expression on his face. She asked, “What’s wrong, Hunter. What did he say?”
Hunter stood and walked into the living room then sat on the couch, looking at her. “Laurie, I don’t know. Last week, we had it all under control. Now, it’s all gone to shit. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m calling Leigh back.” He had his mobile phone in his hand.
She answered on the first ring. “Leigh, It’s bad. Everyone has bailed on this. I don’t know what to think?” He hadn’t told either Leigh or Laura about Peña’s visit. He was supposed to kill the bill, but it was already dead.”
Leigh thought for a minute. “Hunter. If I remember the strategy from José, the state gave up the initiative when the Fed took over. The state wanted to see if the Fed would do this nationwide, but if it got killed at the federal level, then it would clear the way for state’s rights. Wasn’t that the strategy?”
Hunter agreed. “I think it was Leigh, but that assumed that the Fed would actually discuss the issue. Right now, it won’t e
ven get out of committee. Not only that, if it gets out that Blithe, Romanoff and Jenson now oppose it, or at least don’t support it, it’ll be hard to get any senator to act defiantly.”
“Hunter. You don’t have time to change things this year. If they vote this week, it’s another year before anyone will take it up, and it’s an off-election year for Congress. You probably lose two years.”
“Leigh, I can’t handle two more years.” He was looking at Laura, wishing he’d never said it. He knew Washington was fickle, but something else was going on.
They concluded the call, and Hunter sat staring at Laura, holding his phone. She broke the silence. “So, is the language dead?”
He shook his head. “Yeah.”
“What does that mean, Hunter? Are you leaving now, or will you stay through and try again?”
“I don’t know Laurie. I need to talk to Claire and see what the state wants to do. Actually, I kind of see this as my failure. If they had the right kind of person, someone like Leigh Bryant working on this full time, instead of a rookie like me, maybe we’d have a more solid plan.”
“Hunter. Don’t be down on yourself. I think there’re things bigger than any of us at work here. Think about all the threats. That guy, Peña, must’ve thought you were trouble for him. Look what he did to your cousin.”
He wasn’t looking at her, but was thinking about his cousin. “Yeah, Sue Ann. I need to tell you the rest of the story.” For the next thirty minutes, he told her about Sue Ann’s confession, and they discussed what a madman like Peña was capable of.
She was