Election

by Brandt Legg

  “I’ve got about four minutes to decide.”

  The screen went matrix for twenty-some seconds, and then the Wizard’s typing came across.

  President Dawg! The stars have aligned!

  Schueller just told me you cracked Zackers’ encryption?

  I wish you knew how impossible it was.

  That’s why we call you the Wizard, because you do the impossible. But I don’t have time to bask in your glory at the moment.

  Right, the victory speech.

  Just tell me: Is Vonner good or bad?

  It’s not that simple.

  Dammit, Wizard, make it that simple. I’ve got four minutes.

  Vonner might be the best chance we have.

  For what?

  To beat the REMies. I mean, what do you do with all we’ve learned? It isn’t like we just take something like this to the media, or even the Attorney General. REMies run everything, and they don’t care how many people die.

  There’s a ton of data. Zackers traced a lot of it out. Amazing, he was. But we’re short on time. I can give you the details later. Suffice it to say, we might be able to work with Vonner.

  Yeah, but like you said, they kill people, they run everything, and I’m the one who has to risk it all to walk into that snake pit.

  You’re already in it, my friend.

  How can I govern, knowing what I know, after all that has happened? That I won a rigged election?

  It isn’t just the election, everything is rigged . . . everything!

  Hudson nodded slowly, and sat quietly staring out over the Cleveland’s skyline reflecting off the cold, still waters of Lake Erie. Finally, he typed four words into his laptop, pulled out the flash drive before the Wizard could respond, and left the room. Schueller followed, but did not dare say a word. They were immediately greeted by Melissa, Florence, Fitz, Senator-Vice President-Elect Brown, Hamilton, and a mob of handlers.

  A few minutes later, the Wizard’s TV screen filled with a triumphant Hudson Pound taking the stage, smiling like a bought-and-paid-for-politician, thanking his supporters and claiming victory. The speech was so convincing that if the Wizard didn’t know better, he might have feared Hudson was going to be just like all the others, but the four words his old friend Dawg had sent moments ago remained above a blinking curser on his computer monitor, and left him with no doubt.

  We are the change.

  END OF BOOK ONE

  CAPWAR EXPERIENCE (Book Two of the CapStone Conspiracy) is available now get it here.

  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

  This series took a little longer to write than my previous works. That’s because 2017 was by far the most challenging year of my life. It was a real life and death period of time. In addition to the people who helped get this book and series out into the world, I have others to thank. Dr. Michael Yeh, Dr. Karen Sibert, Dr. Martha Cavazos, your skills, caring, and passion for what you do is extraordinary. There were also author friends—Michelle, William, Judith, Eric, and others—who stepped beyond our professional affiliations to make sure I knew they were there, that they were friends. A list of old friends who managed to say the right thing at the right time—Tony, Jennifer, Craig, Cathy, Lance, Eliz, Amy, Geoff, Maureen, Kate, Don, Carolyn, Mike, Germaine, Marc and so many more. There were also the prayers, healing energy, positive vibes, love, and good thoughts sent my way by thousands of people, many of whom are strangers. It all mattered. Thank you.

  I dedicated this book to my brother, Blair Nelson Legg. He left this earthly plane on January 19, 2017. I was unable to attend his funeral, which was forty-eight hours after my first major surgery of the year. I’m sorry about that. I miss him. We talked a lot about this book, and he was looking forward to reading it—Blair was a big fan of my work. I mentioned in the Forward of this volume that I had two brothers who were Democrats, and two Republicans. Blair was one of the former, and was so liberal, in fact, that we joked that he died (after a long illness) on the eve of Donald Trump’s Inauguration because he didn’t want to live in a Trump world. Blair had a g
reat sense of humor, clever and ironic. He’s reading this series now somewhere by starlight, and I’m certain he already knows what I’m going to write next . . . and how it ends . . .

  Getting this book done required the assistance of many.

  My wife, Ro, lived this story and so much more. Her poetic mind and lyrical observations added dimensions to the characters that I might otherwise have missed. She also puts up with me writing everywhere we go—the beach, backpacking in the mountains, or driving down the interstate.

  My mother, Barbara Blair, as always, claimed this as her favorite series. Her suggestions helped color key sections and, I must admit, getting to hear her reactions is great fun. I also owe her for my Washington DC/Northern Virginia upbringing.

  My brother Baughan (the other liberal), who, in a sliver of time between San Francisco and Charlottesville, found enough hours to read and make some very useful political suggestions. Cathie Harrison, the chief beta reader of this series, discovered my first trilogy, The Inner Movement, in New Zealand, and wrote me her thoughts and appreciation. Since then, we’ve become friends. I’m glad for that. (Thanks Cathie, say hi to Buddha cat.) And the faithful final reader of all my books, Bonnie Brown Koeln, who continued fighting her own battles this year, and yet found time to root out the errors. I’m so happy you’re in our family.

  Speaking of family, thanks to Brae, Bryce, Baughan, Sally, Jim, Karen, Marty, Harriet, Mollie, Number Six, Julie, and all the other Leggs, Blairs, and Roemers, who helped. I’m also grateful to my copy editor, Jack Llartin, for the polish. And, finally, to Teakki, who patiently waited to play ninjas until I finished writing each day.

  In the end, it’s you, the readers, who make it possible for me to support my family by writing books. These stories are for you, and I owe you the biggest thanks of all. I appreciate you spending your time and money to go on these journeys with my characters and me. I look forward to going on many, many more with you.