by Greg Sandora
“Jack, now may as good a time as any—when you have time, I’ve made a list that I wanted to go over with you.”
“What list?”
“People that need to be surgically removed to defend this nation.”
“Foreign or domestic?”
“The targets are mostly foreign but there are a few here in the states.”
“What about Tommy’s people?”
“I don’t think Tommy’s guys are a threat. I told him if anyone knew he was with me, the deal was off and that you couldn’t use him. That it had to stay between the three of us. His vanity got the best of him, I guess.”
“Can we wait on the list a few weeks, Tip?”
“Sure.”
“Good, you’ll have the next eight years to clean house around the world. Right now, I want you to concentrate on the Chief Justice. Alright?”
“Dead or Alive?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dead you get to pick his replacement, somebody a lot more sympathetic to the people.”
“Alive…just put him out of commission, we’ve got enough blood on our hands.”
“Okay, but don’t forget Jack.” Tip said as he was heading out of the Oval.
“What?”
“You owe me a rifle.”
“That’s right, how much was the one you used.”
“Not that one, you already bought that, I’m talking about the one that shot Hobbs. That one was mine.”
“You buried it, not me.”
“I couldn’t very well display it over my mantle.”
“Too bad. Those guns would be collectors’ items, just like those torture racks Gene had.”
“Wouldn’t that have looked nice on his wall with an onyx plaque? That sick bastard.”
I was sitting across from Tip on the couches with my head leaning back. We were like two guys just talking about a game.
“Tip, you know it’s still gonna be four-to-four. I’d really love to reconstruct the court.”
“Dead, then. I’ll string the hair from the top of the stairs.”
“No, can’t you just hurt him enough to retire, I mean the hooker story?”
“Sure, who would you get to replace him?”
“You know who I’m thinking… Hillary.”
“She’s gotta be in her seventies, Jack.”
“No she’s not. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. She’s iconic, probably the finest democrat of her age, and philosophically—at least she’ll provide help from the bench.”
“Chief Justice, do you think she’d get confirmed never having been a judge?”
“Of course, she’s so smart, Tip. The way Lisa was. She was leading on healthcare when you were still in the jungle. I’m not married to the idea, but I think with her high profile and the nostalgia of the good times, we could get her confirmed. We’re in the majority.”
“I guess I’m not really into smart women.”
“Figures your impeccable record with women runs from Bangkok to Tijuana. I’m not asking you to date her.”
“Jack, a lot of agents have failed relationships with women.”
“You loved Lisa?”
“Of course. She was like my kid sister.”
“Well think of Hillary as your sister then.”
“Whatever, I leave the politics to you. What time frame on the Chief Justice?”
“Yesterday…I want to distribute that food to the kids. Kathy wants to spend time in Appalachia and bring some help.”
Tip opened the door to leave. Turning back, he said, “Don’t worry Jack. I’ll take care of everything.
‘Jackie, come on now, Honey. We gotta go.’ I stood there frozen in time watching Rico—worried my friend may never eat again. The bus started–I got a whiff of the exhaust. I heard the rattling of the diesel, as I stood too heartbroken to move. Dad scooped me up and carried me onto the bus. Mom hugged my back. Looking out the dirty window--dust kicking up the rear, salty tears in my mouth—Rico disappeared.
I heard a knock and Sandy opened the door.
“Do you need anything, Jack?”
“Oh ya, Sandy. Will you call Bill and tell him I’m ordering a couple of Tens brought up to Andrews. A little play time for us boys.”
“You mean the jet fighters? Really Jack, can you do that?”
“I’m the Commander in Chief. I could have them dumped in the White House pool if I wanted.”
“I’d try to keep that to yourself.”
“You’re right, Honey, it sounds arrogant.”
“Somebody’s gotta keep you grounded; I guess it’s gonna be me.”
“I’m counting on you, just don’t get starry eyed and forget”.
“I will do my very best, your majesty! Mr. President.”
“Bill’s gonna love flying jets again.”
* * *
[AMR1]Lining up the faithful party. Or, lining up the party faithfully. It’s not clear what you mean here.
[AMR2]Depending on what you mean by the previous statement, I would still make this a separate sentence.
[AMR3]Reword. Perhaps – she said, slightly exaggerated, out of breath.
[AMR4]What is the home still?
[LM5]Is this supposed to be in italics? Is someone telling a story here?
[AMR6]This sentence is a bit odd. Consider rewording.
[AMR7]Should this be hole?
[LM8]When you can replace the words “it is” with it’s, it is proper to use the apostrophe. “Its” is a possessive pronoun, as in—something belonging to “it”. Example: The dog showed its teeth as a sign of warning.
[LM9]See how this first section ends with a comma after the word abilities? The line below needs to be moved up after the comma. Should not end a paragraph with a comma. And then there is no ending quotation. In this case, t he ending quotation should be after the word “marketplace!” a couple paragraphs down. My personal thought is that this should be all one paragraph
[AMR10]Less than what?
[AMR11]What does this word mean in context?
[AMR12]This is worded a bit strangely.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
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