Empire
Page 32
“Why Reed? You could have taught anywhere. Harvard, Princeton . . . ”
“Too big, too old world, too everything,” the president said. “I just want to make a difference, and my granddaughter will be born there.”
“Florence?”
Hudson nodded, beaming.
“And it’s about as far away as you could get from Melissa, right?” Fonda asked.
“No,” Hudson said, looking sad. “It was you, Fonda, who taught me it’s always easier to face the truth than to run from it.” He grimaced.
“Just remember, wherever you go, there you are.” She smiled genuinely, obviously from experience.
He let out a painful laugh.
“Make a difference . . . that’s all you’ve ever done, Mr. President,” she said, winking. “Fair and Free is working, billions around the world are leaving poverty, pollution is on track to be all but eliminated within a decade, so many improvements . . . ” She leaned toward him, lowering her voice to a whisper. “You done good, Hudson.” Then, speaking in a normal tone again, added, “The world is a better place.” She took both his hands, gave them a squeeze, a quick shake, then tossed them loose. “Turns out we really are the change.”
END OF BOOK THREE
The adventure continues!
There are currently thirteen Booker thrillers divided into four related series.
It doesn’t matter which series is read first.
The Cosega Sequence
The Justar Journal (The Last Librarian series)
The CapStone Conspiracy
The Inner Movement
I’d love to hear which Booker series is your favorite.
Brandt@BrandtLegg.com
A Note From the Author
Thanks for sharing the adventure!
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About the Author
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Brandt Legg uses his unusual real life experiences to create page-turning novels. He’s traveled with CIA agents, dined with senators and congressmen, mingled with astronauts, chatted with governors and presidential candidates, had a private conversation with a Secretary of Defense he still doesn’t like to talk about, hung out with Oscar and Grammy winners, had drinks at the State Department, been pursued by tabloid reporters, and spent a birthday at the White House by invitation from the President of the United States.
At age eight, Legg's father died suddenly, plunging his family into poverty. Two years later, while suffering from crippling migraines, he started in business, and turned a hobby into a multi-million-dollar empire. National media dubbed him the “Teen Tycoon,” and by the mid-eighties, Legg was one of the top young entrepreneurs in America, appearing as high as number twenty-four on the list (when Steve Jobs was #1, Bill Gates #4, and Michael Dell #6). Legg still jokes that he should have gone into computers.
By his twenties, after years of buying and selling businesses, leveraging, and risk-taking, the high-flying Legg became ensnarled in the financial whirlwind of the junk bond eighties. The stock market crashed and a firestorm of trouble came down. The Teen Tycoon racked up more than a million dollars in legal fees, was betrayed by those closest to him, lost his entire fortune, and ended up serving time for financial improprieties.
After a year, Legg emerged from federal prison, chastened and wiser, and began anew. More than twenty-five years later, he’s now using all that hard-earned firsthand knowledge of conspiracies, corruption and high finance to weave his tales. Legg’s books pulse with authenticity.
His series have excited nearly a million readers around the world. Although he refused an offer to make a television movie about his life as a teenage millionaire, his autobiography is in the works. There has also been interest from Hollywood to turn his thrillers into films. With any luck, one day you’ll see your favorite characters on screen.
He lives in the Pacific Northwest, with his wife and son, writing full time, in several genres, containing the common themes of adventure, conspiracy, and thrillers. Of all his pursuits, being an author and crafting plots for novels is his favorite.
For more information, please visit his website, or to contact Brandt directly, email him: Brandt@BrandtLegg.com, he loves to hear from readers and always responds!
BrandtLegg.com
Books by Brandt Legg
CapWar ELECTION (CapStone Conspiracy #1)
CapWar EXPERIENCE (CapStone Conspiracy #2)
CapWar EMPIRE (CapStone Conspiracy #3)
The CapStone Conspiracy (books 1-3)
Cosega Search (Cosega Sequence #1)
Cosega Storm (Cosega Sequence #2)
Cosega Shift (Cosega Sequence #3)
Cosega Sphere (Cosega Sequence #4)
The Cosega Sequence (books 1-3)
The Last Librarian (Justar Journal #1)
The Lost TreeRunner (Justar Journal #2)
The List Keepers (Justar Journal #3)
The complete Justar Journal
Outview (Inner Movement #1)
Outin (Inner Movement #2)
Outmove (Inner Movement #3)
The complete Inner Movement trilogy
Dedication
As always, this book is dedicated to Teakki and Ro
And to Blair Legg 1957-2017
Acknowledgments
It took a long time to finish this series. Many things happened along the way. I began the first book before the 2016 presidential election, and all the surprises that came with it, but there were personal matters that conspired to make this more of an odyssey, and I think the story is better for it. A special thanks to Marc, Germaine, and Bez, who were there in the mountains, on the coast, and other places where some of this series was written, and especially for being there in Los Angeles; your presence meant the world to me. Again, to Ro, for more than thanks and more than everything. Gratitude to my mother for all the hours of reading, and for trying not to worry. Cathie Harrison must be thanked again for reading faster than anyone ever. To Bonnie Brown Koeln, who still reads the old-fashioned way—on paper. You’re always up for a challenge, and you always inspire. My appreciation to Jack Llartin, for keeping me out of comma-trouble, etc. And, finally, to Teakki, who patiently waited to play cards until I finished writing each day.