Brotherhood Beyond the Yard (The Simon Trilogy)

by Sally Fernandez

  The next two years were grueling for both Abner and La Fratellanza.

  Abner sailed through the accelerated JD program at the university, while still performing some duties at the Chestnut Foundation and cramming for the bar exam. Amazingly, nothing seemed to faze him. He moved ahead effortlessly as though he were in a race for his life, and perhaps he was. As the second year came to a close, Abner had graduated summa cum laude, passed the bar, and began working full-time for the Chestnut Foundation. After mastering all his assigned activities within the foundation, Abner then worked his magic defending Hank’s organization against legal challenges.

  Despite the pressures the members of La Fratellanza were under, everyone was resilient and responded well to the demands it placed on their lives. Initially, the members of the group, except for Simon, were reluctant participants in the game—though as it became more real—they became more obsessed with achieving their goal.

  Hank’s reservations were short-lived. He presumed from the start, before the “game” had become the “real deal,” that he would play a dominant role that would benefit him the most. He deluded himself to believe he simply was mentoring a superior human being who was destined for greatness. He did not consider any of the other aspects of the plot. He worked tirelessly by Abner’s side, directly reaping the rewards of his demanding efforts.

  Meanwhile, Paolo and Seymour had serious concerns, due mostly to Simon’s machinations. They feared if anyone discovered that Abner was a fraud, it would lead a trail back to them. Nevertheless, visions of their power in the White House reigned over their misgivings and eventually outweighed their fears. They both worked furiously to provide the educational material, while working together to plan a senatorial campaign.

  Chase, the worrywart of the group, had the most apprehension, and although he’d repaid his financial debt to Simon, his loyalty still ran deep. He met La Fratellanza demands, while simultaneously trying to balance his time between his responsibilities at the bank and his obligations to his family.

  Several years had elapsed, countless days had been stripped from their personal lives, and now, as they were about to turn the page on yet another year, they were all finally and totally committed.

  The commitment was irreversible.

  —

  It was that pivotal moment, in September 2001, that strengthened La Fratellanza’s resolve to see its plot play out in full.

  Six months after Abner entered law school; nineteen Muslim hijackers were responsible for crashing planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crashing of another plane heading for the nation’s capital. These events not only shattered the buildings but also shattered thousands of lives. It abruptly awakened a complacent American public that was now in a frenzy.

  It unnerved La Fratellanza as well, and was equally upsetting to their student, Abner Baari, but on a different level.

  As Hank watched the events unfold on television, he knew Abner would be doing the same. After prying his eyes away from the horrific event, Hank went to Abner’s apartment and found him in a state of panic.

  “How fortuitous it was of my supporters to have changed my name. Now there will surely be a heightened sensitivity to Muslims!” Abner fumed. As he continued his rant, it became more political, and reverting to form, he defended his birthright and those of other Muslims. “How do they know it is al-Qaeda? Why do they always blame the Muslims?”

  At which point Hank interrupted him. “Abner, remember that you are an American, a U.S. citizen with no religious ties. You know nothing about Muslims or about the Islamic culture,” Hank said, admonishing Abner. “All you know is what you’ve read and heard. The only information you have is that your Muslim father, a father you never met, was from Libya, and you discovered later in newspaper clippings that he had been killed in his home during a bombing attack.” Hank reprimanded him once more for bringing up the subject, and reminded him again, “Your name is Abner Baari. Hussein Tarishi no longer exists.”

  Abner never broached the subject again, at least not to Hank.

  Following September 11, La Fratellanza was even more resolute to achieve its ultimate goal. The members were convinced that their Chosen One would offer hope and bring about the needed change. Hank could sense the power he’d have within the White House. Paolo and Seymour were starting to feel a slight tug on their apolitical heartstrings. Even Chase was beginning to conjure up negative thoughts toward his own political party.

  Ever focused, Simon’s thoughts were only on the end game.

  While the subject of Muslim hijackers may have been off-limits for Abner, La Fratellanza discussed the events relentlessly. It had shaken up Washington and politics was not as usual. Soon after the attacks, the president sent troops to Afghanistan to dispose of the Taliban, who had harbored the al-Qaeda terrorists, and proudly claimed victory for the attacks. In January 2003, the same president was in the process of gathering support from Congress and the United Nations to invade Iraq, also considered to have aided and abetted al-Qaeda. National security would now become the battle cry on the campaign trail. Seymour and Paolo were franticly revamping their materials as the sea change they feared actually occurred.

  Abner, at his peak, was standing by, waiting to take on whatever his supporters had in store for him. His growing ambition for power was becoming stratospheric and totally focused.

  Hank watched Abner closely.

  —

  Hank joined Abner in his apartment, not for the usual lesson or game of chess, but for something more critical. This time it was to inform Abner that his supporters had been keeping up to date on his progress. “They are extremely impressed with how quickly you have morphed into an American, and all you have achieved in an amazingly short time. Now they want to offer you an unheard-of opportunity, one that will change your life dramatically.”

  Easing slowly into the conversation, Hank reminded Abner how extraordinary he was and how effective he could be in helping those less fortunate. “This group of wealthy executives has the power and resources to help you run for the U.S. Senate, representing the state of Illinois.”

  Hank sat back, studying Abner’s face.

  Abner was speechless, but when he finally recovered, all he could muster to say was, “It wasn’t just a dream after all.”

  Hank set off his pager, and La Fratellanza gathered to plan the next steps. The time had come to move to the next crucial phase.

  —

  As was the norm, Simon opened the meeting, but at this meeting, the primary topic of discussion seemed rather odd to the brothers. “It is necessary for Abner to marry. It isn’t essential in the pursuit of a senatorial seat, but most definitely will be for the presidency.”

  The other four, perhaps carelessly, had never considered that Abner would marry, and they certainly had not considered involving anyone else in their plot. They were quite shocked and voiced their concerns.

  As usual, Simon sat back to let them state their opinions.

  “You’re correct. That is why everything that happens going forward has to give the appearance of reality,” Simon asserted.

  “Okay, where are we going to find a wife?” Hank quickly injected. As soon as the words passed his lips, he knew it was a mistake.

  Of course, Simon had planned that as well.

  “I have crafted the perfect profile for a first lady.”

  The others rightly suspected it had been in place for years.

  “She has to be intelligent,” he explained, “but not as intelligent as Abner, and she has to be tall, but not as tall as Abner.” He also felt that being a lawyer would be a tremendous plus, but not a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, so there’d be no risk of them sharing experiences from the same campus.

  Again, the four brothers voiced their concerns, this time about Abner and his proposed wife being in the same profession.

  “You’re forgetting Abner graduated first in his class, aced his bar exam, and along with his li
cense to practice law in the state of Illinois, he can play with the best of them.”

  Simon continued his monologue and said she had to be from the Chicago area because a long-distance relationship was hard enough to manage; to manipulate one would have been impossible. He proudly laid out the details of how he searched the databases for the graduating class of 2002 at the other top four law schools in the Chicago area. He pared the list down to three candidates and was able to obtain information about each of them from their college records. “In addition, I was able to get a more recent photo, along with height, weight, and current address from the Division of Motor Vehicles. Extremely vital statistics,” he noted with a wink.

  After taking a bow for his technological wizardry, Simon, with a half-smile, half-smirk, declared, “I have found the perfect First Lady. She is attractive, slightly shorter than Abner, slightly less intelligent, having finished third in her class, but equally passionate for social justice. After graduating from the DePaul University College of Law, she joined the law firm of Spence, Darrow, and King, where she is a practicing civil rights attorney. Her name is Marianne Townsend,” Simon announced proudly.

  “I know a little about dating, but how are you going to make this happen?” Paolo asked.

  Simon, ignoring his question, turned to Hank and asked him to hire her as co-counsel to work with Abner, to help lighten his workload before he left to hit the campaign trail.

  With a genuine smile this time, Simon said, “We’ll let Abner take it from there.”

  —

  La Fratellanza swung into high gear.

  Its members had perfected their craft beyond reach. Now, working as a team, they truly believed Abner had an excellent chance of eventually becoming unbeatable.

  Hank would manage the campaign with the help of the others. Seymour would devise a campaign message and a slogan. He would then design the ad campaign with sound bites using his inventive 527 organizations and create a 501(c)(4) to start bringing in the donations. Of course, there were additional donations that would pour in from Uncle Rob, under a torrent of different names, which Simon would manage. Chase would manage the campaign finances, including the implementation of the fund-raising techniques designed to raise “legitimate” donations. Paolo, who had already written several campaign speeches, would revise them to deal with current issues.

  “It would be helpful if we could slam the ‘Chicago Political Machine’ and talk about changing the way of doing business,” Paolo offered. The Chicago—or rather, “Daley Machine”—was often challenged for questionable politics, even though they concluded those tactics might prove useful in the days to come.

  “I agree,” Seymour added. “It would help my negative campaigns ads and increase their effectiveness.”

  Paolo and Seymour would work together on managing the media and the message.

  It would be Hank’s job to convince both the Illinois governor and the mayor of Chicago to take the heat temporarily for political advantage. Both understood they would be rewarded in the future. These two cronies were certainly not merely cogs in the wheel. They were more the crank that kept the wheels moving. Fortunately, they wholeheartedly supported Hank and his foundation, which forged a symbiotic relationship that lasted for years. His get-out-the-vote effort for them was a positive and prominent election factor.

  “We all have our work cut out for us, and while a lot of our efforts will take place behind the scene, everything out front must give the appearance of reality,” Simon declared.

  —

  Up to that point, everything felt more surreal than real and they began to feel more like a gang of four. But then the full impact of their endeavor was about to hit home.

  Hank’s Chestnut Foundation had been running effectively in the capable hands of his second in command. Hank simply continued to devote 100 percent to Abner’s U.S. Senate campaign, putting his personal life on hold.

  Naturally, Abner accepted Hank as his campaign manager.

  Abner knew nothing about Paolo and Seymour. Therefore, Hank arranged for them to meet and discuss their potential roles in the campaign. After their meeting, Abner felt comfortable hiring them as speechwriter and communications director, respectively.

  Paolo, in the midst of wrapping up a project for a local official in Washington, had already made provisions to enlist Abner as his next candidate.

  Seymour, similar to Paolo and Hank, had delegated his responsibilities to an associate to manage his company. However, Seymour had the luxury of traveling to his studio in L.A. to utilize his production equipment for producing the print ads and film clips they would use during the campaign.

  Chase became finance director, understandably, based on Hank’s recommendation. He was in charge of fund-raising and completing the mountains of paperwork. Chase was less than thrilled at the prospect of taking a leave of absence, but he had committed for the long haul and didn’t have much choice. There was no way he could manage both as treasurer for a political campaign and CFO for a major bank. Managing his family would be another issue with which he had to come to grips.

  Everyone knew that Simon was able to pursue the plan vigorously since he was the instigator and leader. Chances were that this was all part of his master strategy. Simon’s formal role was to serve as the focal point, to collect voter registration lists, set up Web sites and blogs, and take full advantage of the modern technologies the Internet had to offer. And Simon was the logical choice to be the one to find or create the chinks in the armor of the opponent. He would also pay the group’s expenses.

  In the meantime, they were to return to their respective homes, arrange their schedules and personal lives, and prepare to spend several months working on the campaign.

  They agreed to reconvene one month from the day.

  14

  THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

  During the last four weeks, Hank had been involved in a flurry of activity.

  First on the agenda was to explain to Abner, in considerable detail, that the time had come to enter the 2004 race for the U.S. Senate. Over the past three years, Abner had studied hard, worked earnestly, and crammed multiple years of knowledge and experience into this short period.

  As anticipated, Abner was more than ready to leave the starting gate and accept the challenge.

  Hank then proceeded with the plan, to hire Marianne Townsend as co-counsel, which Abner accepted with delight, given his heavy workload.

  —

  Abner and Marianne worked tirelessly for several weeks reviewing his caseload, specifically focusing on one crucial case that was plaguing the organization. The federal government had charged the Chestnut Foundation with violating IRS tax laws as they pertained to electoral advocacy.

  Marianne, paraphrasing the Internal Revenue Code under Section 501(c)(3), stated, “The law specifically prohibits organizations from directly or indirectly participating in any political campaign on behalf of a candidate.”

  Admittedly, Abner explained how members of Hank’s foundation trained—or more specifically, indoctrinated—thousands of volunteers, which Hank referred to as his “foot soldiers.” They worked vigorously in various aspects of lobbying specific legislation, or in electoral activities. Get-out-the-Vote drives were one of their principal assignments.

  Abner clarified. “The training staff at the Chestnut Foundation provides specific training sessions to prepare the volunteers to convey a consistent effective message during their door-to-door campaigns.”

  He continued to explain that the foot soldiers learned to encourage the first-time voters to register by citing their civic duty as citizens. They explained the emotional term underrepresentation and the effect it had on them as individuals, and the importance of getting involved in the election process. Then the volunteers would explain the voting process. If necessary, the volunteers frequently took it upon themselves to ad-lib.

  “The goal was to take the necessary steps to convince potential voters to participate,” he stressed. �
�The volunteers would continue to steer the dialogue until the voter-to-be would finally ask the volunteers for whom they should vote at the polls. It was all part of a structured script to achieve an outcome. With the proper training they received, they would say in a rote fashion, ‘We are not allowed to endorse any specific candidate.’”

  “Thus far, I believe we are in good standing and can defend our position,” Marianne offered confidently.

  “Let me finish, there are some gray areas that may surface in the trial that we’ll need to address.” Abner continued, “For instance the volunteer, in a guarded and somewhat hushed voice, would confide, ‘It is possible the Chestnut Foundation will be endorsing a candidate…’ We use this standard technique in training sessions. You can guess the rest.”

  Marianne listened to Abner astutely while formulating a case strategy in her mind.

  Abner reminded her, “The neighborhoods they canvas are minority and relatively undereducated.” He agreed with Hank’s premise that the voters would not likely admit their lack of knowledge, but would vote for the same candidate endorsed by a powerful foundation known for fighting for social justice. “Hank felt safe in crossing the line, and as a result, increased voter turnout in record numbers for his candidate,” he assured her.

  “I agree at times that the ends justified the means and acknowledge it is unlikely these new voters will admit their ignorance,” Marianne noted. “Given that, I believe the best strategy is to subpoena twenty or so select witnesses, to testify as to how they came to register to vote.”

  “As you are aware, the Chestnut Foundation is continuously under attack, and has already been on the government’s radar for challenging the tax code,” Abner reminded.

  “The prosecution’s case is weak at best, based on flimsy evidence with a lot of innuendos and assumptions,” she countered in her usual self-assured manner.

  Abner, extremely pleased, reported to Hank. “Marianne is more than capable to handle this case on her own.”

  Hank agreed.

  They had appropriately placed their confidence in Marianne. All the witnesses she called testified that they had registered, believing it was their civic duty. All confirmed the volunteer never mentioned a specific candidate’s name. The witnesses admitted they felt compelled to speak with others in their neighborhoods to learn more about which candidate would best represent them. The prosecution did not succeed in its efforts to get the witnesses to declare that they voted for the Chestnut Foundation’s recommendation.