“Chief, do you suspect foul play?” a reporter asks.
“At this time, we cannot rule anything out. But let me stress that I’m not saying yes or no. I don’t want anyone to jump to any conclusions. That would be dangerous and irresponsible. This is an ongoing investigation and we are taking absolutely nothing for granted. But it’s also highly politically charged—and suspicious—as you can well imagine. So, we are not going to speculate about anything—and I mean anything. We’re just after the facts. And of course, we hope there’s a simple explanation for all this and we find Cary Hinton safe and sound right away.”
“A follow-up, Chief, please. Why did you wait so long to go nationwide with the news of the disappearance?”
“By standard operating procedures, we did not wait long at all. Usually, we don’t issue an allpoints bulletin about a missing adult within twenty-four hours. For obvious reasons, this case is different, however. We first had to notify all the parties Mr. Griffin mentioned. Then, we had to map out our search-and-response plan with the District of Columbia police. They’ve got their jurisdiction. We’ve got ours. Since 7 a.m., officers on the ground have been retracing the likeliest routes Ms. Hinton might have driven back to the hotel to see if she had been involved in an accident, especially in light of the snow storm. So far, there’s no indication of that. Also, a special detachment has been interviewing people along all likely routes to see if anybody saw anything suspicious or unusual.”
“For the record, Mr. Griffin,” says a second reporter, “where were you staying at?
“The Alexandria Inn,” says Griffin. “It’s just down the street from our offices, which is why we always stay there.”
“Chief, you mentioned that you’ve notified the White House. What’s been the response?”
“So far, we haven’t heard anything from President Moreland or anyone in his administration.”
“Mr. Griffin,” a woman in the back row shouts, “were any special security measures in place? Did she have Secret Service protection? And if not, why not?”
“No, I’m sorry to say. There were no special security measures in place to protect Cary Hinton. For decades, the federal government has reduced or eliminated all security services. It has specifically refused to supply any kind of protection for candidates, even those for president—and even those who may have received death threats. And yes, to save you asking, yes, we’ve received death threats. Cary was also adamant about not having any bodyguards with her. She thought it sent the wrong message—that she was scared or that there was any reason for others to be concerned. I don’t mean to cut this short. But we’re inundated. As you can imagine, this is a troubling time for all of us. Thank you all for coming. Of course, we will update you as soon as we know anything.”
After the press conference, pandemonium engulfs the media. Virtually all TV and radio programming has been preempted. Mad-dashing reporters swarm to stake out the scene at Hinton Campaign Headquarters, the Alexandria Inn, and the Washington D.C. Convention Center. The White House press room is practically empty, however. The press corps has been alerted to a possible briefing, but no time has been given. A written statement from the press secretary has been handed out. It expresses the administration’s concern and urges everyone to remain calm and not jump to any conclusions— and to pray.
No matter, the general consensus and working hypothesis among members of the press is a doomsday scenario. On air, some commentators are speculating that Cary Hinton has been abducted and is probably already dead. It’s already being called “The Cary Kidnapping” and “The Hinton Hijacking.” This is just too coincidental, most pundits have already concluded. And the beat from the pundits goes on: Her stellar performance in the debate with Moreland made her a marked woman. She suddenly turned into a real threat to her political adversaries and she had to be disposed of. These guys play for keeps. They’ve invested too much for too long to see it all disappear because of some upstart woman who thinks she can change the world.
In the words of veteran, foreign Washington-watcher and D.C. bureau chief for Die Anschaung, Gregory von Belden, “An incident like this could rock the nation to its foundation with sweeping international implications. If foul play is responsible for the disappearance of Cary Hinton, this government will not be able to survive—and I fear for the country. It will have lost the confidence of the people and the world. There is no telling what the consequences will be, but they will be catastrophic in the long term and the short term. I don’t know what the schemers behind this plot could have been thinking. But they have overplayed their hand and it will boomerang on them. I doubt that Cary Hinton will ever be found—dead or alive. Of course, at this time, this is just my personal, gut feeling. But I have to go with it—and say what I have to say.”
1 P.M.: THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS ROOM. The room is packed, not a seat to be had. Members of the media stand lined up along the walls. The aisles are impassible; the murmur is deafening. Conversations boil over. Fingers point. Hands wave. But the room immediately falls silent as Press Secretary Fred Blastic steps up to the podium. “On behalf of the Moreland Administration,” he begins matter-of-factly, “I want to make this official statement about the circumstances and wild allegations surrounding the whereabouts of Cary Hinton.
“First of all, the Moreland Administration categorically denies any involvement in the alleged disappearance of Cary Hinton. No one, I repeat absolutely no one, in this administration has had anything to do with it or knows anything more about it than has been generally reported thus far. Like everyone else, all we know is that Cary Hinton did not return to her hotel room last night and has apparently disappeared.
“Second, we consider it unscrupulous and unethical for the media and others to suggest that we have hatched a plot to destroy a political rival. The ceaseless chatter, branding us as a bunch of lowlife thugs who would resort to such an obvious and unsophisticated tactic, must immediately be stopped. And we ask that, in the national interest, there be a voluntary halt to such idle, destructive, and politically motivated speculation. We do not wish to have to invoke the blackout provisions of the Free Speech Act.
“Third, in light of new intelligence information that we have just received, we regret to report that, at this time, we have every reason to believe that Cary Hinton has not disappeared against her will, but that her so-called disappearance has actually been engineered by her campaign. It is a cheap trick and part of a carefully orchestrated plot to discredit the Moreland Administration, right before the election. Preliminary information we’ve received would indicate that Cary Hinton has gone into hiding of her own free will—and she will reappear when she and her campaign operatives think the timing is to her advantage. This is raw politics at its worst. We strenuously condemn it. Within the hour, we expect to receive further information confirming the details of the plot, so we will update you shortly. That’s all for now.”
All at once, practically everyone in the room shouts, “What? What? What did he say?” At least half the reporters jump up, waving their hands to be recognized. But Blastic quickly withdraws from the podium, shakes his head, says, “No, no, no questions at this time,” and escapes through the side door.
The agitation in the room is palpable—heads bobbing in every direction. “What the fuck? Do these guys actually believe they’re gonna be able to get away with walking away from such an irresponsible accusation?” Gregory von Belden says out loud, shaking his head in disbelief, while trying to make his way through the exiting crowd.
3P.M.: HINTON CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS, ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. Hinton campaign manager Randall Griffin makes his way through the overflow crowd to the podium in the front of the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming. I’m genuinely sorry to bring you out in this terrible weather. To those of you camped outside in your vans, I wish we could accommodate all of you in here, but we simply don’t have room, as you can see. As far as the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Cary Hinton,
I have nothing new to report. Mother Nature just doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with us. This bizarre snowstorm that doesn’t seem to want to go away is making it extremely difficult to trace the route Cary drove and to track down the flood of leads we’ve been getting. But of course, the search is under way and has been expanded nationwide from the D.C. metropolitan area. As soon as we have any news to report, we will immediately notify you.
“In the meantime, in no uncertain terms, the Hinton campaign must denounce the outrageous accusations made a couple of hours ago by White House Press Secretary Fred Blastic on behalf of the Moreland Administration. Frankly, we are shocked and dismayed by the slanderous statements, suggesting that we orchestrated Cary Hinton’s disappearance as part of some crazy strategy to win the presidency—and that we’re hiding her somewhere until it’s strategically to our advantage to bring her back. We all know how low the Cooper Administration went to carry out its schemes—and where it got them in the end.
“We had hoped Moreland would raise the bar higher. But it appears to be déjà vu all over again. This is not a time for politics, but I guess some people are so desperate to hang on to power, that they have lost all sense of honesty and decency—especially since their candidate was trounced in yesterday’s debate. Moreland pledged that things would be different after Cooper was forced out of office—and they are. They are now worse than they were and than we ever imagined they could be. To suggest in public, in the White House, before national and international journalists, a scenario so outrageous, and frankly so stupid, tells you everything you need to know about how Moreland and his people think. Cary Hinton debated Moreland brilliantly. In a single appearance, she tapped into the heart and soul of this nation. She said things people have been longing to hear, but never thought they’d hear again. Moreland mumbled, bumbled, and stumbled—and repeated the same-old same-old we’ve been hearing for decades.
“All of you know that, across the country and around the world, newspaper headlines are declaring Cary the hands-down winner of the debate. Political pundits are singing her praises. People in the street are holding spontaneous rallies and vigils for her. Social media sites are jammed with positive messages of support. That’s not the kind of response anyone in her right mind hides from. She had absolutely no reason intentionally to disappear. That would be a ludicrous strategy. As she proved last night, the more she gets ‘out there’ before the public, the better it is for her. We would have been nuts to pull a stunt like the White House is suggesting. Cary Hinton will win at the ballot box— and win big. She will be found. We will get to the bottom of her disappearance. And she will be your next president. Apparently, after two months in office our accidental president is now giddy with power and will say anything to win in November. We hope he and Mrs. Moreland didn’t unpack too many things in the White House and choose new carpet and drapes, because they won’t be there too much longer. I’ll be happy to answer a few questions.”
Reporter 1: “The Moreland campaign has just launched a new, grizzly, negative ad against Cary Hinton. It shows a menacing, baldheaded, black buzzard, with a wing span of at least six feet, soaring overhead in a lazy circle, swooping down on a dead cow’s carcass. And as soon as it lands, its head morphs into Hinton’s face and the carcass turns into a map of the CSA. At the beginning, there’s menacing, birdlike screeching, then a voice says, ‘She’ll eat you dead or alive. Cary Hinton, a menace to the CSA—and you.’ Would you care to comment?”
Griffin: “Comment? The adjective that comes to my mind for that sickening display of bad taste is disgust. When I first saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. In all my years in politics, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s beyond me to think that any credible candidate, let alone the sitting president of any nation, could possibly approve such a lowlife message in his name. We considered it tasteless when it began running last week, but we wrote it off to Moreland’s desperation, even before last night’s debate. But since it continues to run, in light of Cary’s disappearance, early this morning, our campaign immediately lodged a formal complaint with the Moreland campaign. As of now, we’ve heard nothing, however. We are asking everyone to call the White House and Moreland Campaign Headquarters to express their outrage and demand that all advertising be suspended until Cary Hinton is found. We fully understand that, after Cary ate Moreland during the debate, he and his people don’t know what’s hit them. All they can think about is that when Cary wins, they see the Galtian Restoration going down the drain, after sixtyseven years—and they don’t want to be the ones to have to take the blame for it.”
Reporter 2: “This morning Chief Porter said that nothing is being ruled out in Ms. Hinton’s disappearance, even that it may be the work of international terrorists. Do you have anything more to add to that at this time?”
Griffin: “No. Believe me when I tell you that the last thing I want to find out is that anyone at home or abroad has conspired to do something unspeakable to Cary. People running for office always have to fear for their safety—and their lives. It’s just common sense. But I shudder to think what the effect on the country would be if terrorists are to blame. I’m absolutely sure there’s a simple explanation for her disappearance and she’s safe and unharmed. And I’m not about to cast suspicion on anyone. I remind you that Chief Porter has emphasized that nothing is being ruled out, but that no one should jump to any conclusions. I just wish the Moreland Administration and campaign acted with sensitivity and restraint. I have time for one more question.”
Reporter 3: “Would you please comment on the rumor that is circulating that Cary Hinton has a history of clinical depression and, on two prior occasions within the past five years, she actually dropped out of sight for several days.”
Griffin: “It is total and utter nonsense. There isn’t a shred of truth to it. It’s just another example of the desperation of the Moreland Administration to smear Cary Hinton. On that note, again thanks for being here. I’ll share any news and updates as soon as we get them.”
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 10 A.M.: WASHINGTON, D.C. At about 7 p.m. last night, the snow finally stopped. Overnight, plows went to work clearing streets, the job complicated because of the abandoned cars that had to be towed, downed power lines, and splintered trees. The sky is crystal clear. The sun is bright. The temperature is already a balmy sixty degrees. Shovelers are delighted they can finally clear driveways and sidewalks, but grouse at the backbreaking challenge of heaving the heavy slush of melting snow. Putting his professional imprimatur on the obvious, “Bart the Weatherman” has declared this “the damnedest weather” he’s ever seen. “One day it’s winter; the next it’s almost summer. What is this world coming to?” he asks, crossing the line from meteorology into cosmology.
The quirky Washington weather aside, there is still no news other than Cary Hinton’s disappearance, and still no new news about that. But precisely because there are no fresh facts, speculation is rampant— and partisan. From TV and radio pundits to water-cooler gossips, there seems to be general agreement that “they,” whoever they may be, are withholding information—and that’s a bad sign. If you are anywhere in public in the Corporate States of America, or around the world for the matter, you are in danger of using up at least some of your fifteen minutes of fame by giving your reaction to Hinton’s disappearance to one of scores of roving reporters. Increasingly, the general consensus is that people are bracing for the worst. No surprise, on the website www.wherescary.com, imaginations and accusations runs wild. Comments range from “Who cares about Cary?” to “I cud uv told ya this was gonna happen” and “It’s all because of them damn imargrunts.”
In the meantime, President Moreland is getting hammered in the polls. According to the just-released Paul Poll, sixty-five percent of respondents believe Moreland definitely had something to do with Hinton’s disappearance, twenty-five percent say he may have had something to do with it, and ten percent aren’t sure. The results are even more devastating for the president in
the daily Mackyasack FasTrack of likely voters: seventy-five percent say her disappearance was definitely politically motivated, twenty percent say Moreland may have had something to do with it, and a mere five percent aren’t sure. Privately, Moreland’s advisors say he’s cooked.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1 P.M.: WASHINGTON, D.C. Because of ice and frozen snow on the ground, like tightrope walkers, three men steady themselves as they approach a blue, fourdoor Ford sedan in a ditch on a forty-five degree angle behind a clump of trees on Patriot Lane, an unpaved, side road in a new residential development of Arlington, Virginia. At 11 a.m., a dedicated signal from the StarWords global communications system of the Prometheus Project was finally restored after suddenly going dead Monday night at about 11 p.m. Once the location of the vehicle was established, they rushed to the scene.
Peering in from the driver’s side window, they see the body of Cary Hinton. Her eyes are closed; she is lying back in the bucket seat like an astronaut heading into space, but isn’t moving. The air bag is inflated in front of her, as well as on the passenger’s side. They can’t tell if she’s breathing. The doors are locked. Armed with a tool kit, they try to pry the driver’s side door open with a long, flat, notched metal strip. The noise they make awakens Hinton. She opens her eyes with a start and lurches forward. “Oh, my God!” she says. “Oh, my God, you’re alive!” they shout. “She’s alive!” They ask her to unlock the door, but she appears either not to understand them or to be unable to move her left arm.
In about a minute, they pop the lock and open the door. “Are you okay?” the young, redheaded man leading the group asks.
Atlas Drugged Page 22