Chapter 16
A Man of the People
The next day Barry felt good while he sat back and relaxed in his plush first-class seat. He looked at Karen, Corey and Aunt Ledley while they talked excitedly about going to Europe but he was just glad that they made it through security and onto the plane with no issues. Corey was already adjusted and into full chicken hawk mode and he kept looking the stewardesses up and down as they passed by him, he even winked at one of them which got him slapped in the back of the head by Aunt Ledley.
“Boy, we ain’t even off the ground yet, stop acting a fool,” Aunt Ledley said, as Corey rubbed the back of his head, or what Aunt Ledley called hitting the reset button.
While Corey rubbed the back of his head and looked at his hand to check for blood, a Mercedes Benz AMG was pulling up at a certain little diner. Marko and Deck got out and walked inside.
“You sure this is the right spot?” Deck asked Marko, looking at the little diner.
“Yeah, this is it. We might as well eat, as long as we’re here,” Marko said, and he sat down at a booth, Deck sliding in on the other side.
A few moments later, Sue came over to their table and asked what they would like to drink.
“So, what are you two gentlemen thirsty for?” Sue asked, looking at Marko and then Deck.
“I’ll take a Coke, and he’ll take a Sprite,” Marko said, pointing at Deck, and he smiled at Sue.
“Alright, I’ll be right back with those drinks and take your orders if you all are ready,” Sue said, and she smiled and walked away.
“She’s the one?” Deck asked Marko.
“Yes sir,” Marko said, and he shook his head in agreement.
“You got it?”
“Right here,” Marko said as he patted on his 40-caliber gun strapped to his shoulder.
“Alright, are you boys ready to order?” Sue said, and she put the drinks down and got out a couple of straws and order pad from her front pocket.
“I’ll take the number three with my eggs over easy with bacon and wheat toast,” Marko said, handing his menu back to Sue.
“I’ll have the same, but I want my eggs scrambled.”
“Oh, and butter my toast well, I hate dry ass toast.”
“I will make sure both of your toast is well-buttered, I hate dry ass toast too. I’ll be back in a few with your orders,” Sue said, smiling and she wrote everything down on her note pad and then walked toward the order window.
Sue was back faster than Marko or Deck expected with both orders and fresh drinks. Marko and Deck sat up to get ready to eat while Sue placed the plates in front of each of them.
“Anything else I can get you, two gentlemen?” Sue said.
“No, I’m good,” Marko said, and Deck shook his head no to let Sue know he was good as well.
Marko and Deck seemed to finish the food almost as fast as it had come and they were ready to leave and take care of the business they had with Sue, who appeared at their table just as they were taking the last few sips of their sodas.
“Well, it looks as if you boys were riding on empty,” Sue said and smiled.
“I guess so, although I didn’t think I was that hungry.”
“It helps when the food is good too,” Deck said, putting a small piece of the hash brown in his mouth, that was left on his otherwise clean plate.
“Well I guess so; can I get you two anything else?” Sue asked.
“I hear you have good pies here, so I’m going to gamble on two pieces of Pecan pie to go,” Marko said.
“That’s a safe bet, we do have great pies if I say so myself,” Sue said.
“Okay, then the two pieces of pie will do it for us.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Sue said as she walked toward the order window.
“Marko, do you think it’s cool to do it right here?”
“Yeah, I ain’t worried about nobody trippin’.”
“Ok, here she comes now.”
“Here you go, and I hope to see you, gentlemen, again,” Sue said, and she put the check on the table.
“Oh wait, can you just take care of it for us?” Marko said, grabbing her hand when she put the check down.
“Sure, no problem,” Sue said, and she stood at the end of the table looking at Marko and Deck.
“Oh yeah, I have something for you, from a friend,” Marko said, and he reached toward the gun strapped to his shoulder.
“For me?” Sue said, looking puzzled.
“Yes, for you,” Marko said as his hand reached the gun.
“Are you pulling my leg?” Sue said, blushing a little.
“No ma’am,” Marko said, and his hand touched the gun, and he moved it out of the way so he could get an envelope behind it. Marko did all this without Sue seeing the gun, and he put the envelope on the table along with a one-hundred-dollar bill.
“Okay, give me just a second to get your change, and this is for me?” Sue said, and she pointed to the envelope sitting on the table.
“Yes, that is for you, and you can keep the change, split it with the cook,” Marko said, and he got up and watched Deck slide out of the booth.
“You may want to open that somewhere private,” Deck said when he walked by Sue and handed her the envelope, which she put in her front pocket behind her order pad.
Sue could tell it was money. A lot of money and if it wasn’t money it sure felt like it. She stood there and watched the two customers leave and get into a very nice Mercedes Benz. She signaled the cook she would be back in a few minutes. The cook thought nothing of it, even though She was a bit older she could still be having her monthly he thought. So he figured he’d have someone cover her area while she was doing whatever it was she was doing. He turned his attention back to the hash browns he had cooking on the grill in front of him. Sue went into the employee’s bathroom and locked the door. She knew there was no one in the single-stall bathroom, but she still looked around before she opened the envelope. She opened the envelope and saw a sea of green one-hundred-dollar bills. She thought she was dreaming and pinched herself a lot harder than she intended to as the bruise forming on her arm would attest, and she let out a little scream. She covered her mouth and stood still, listening to hear if anyone had heard her and was coming to check on her. A few seconds of pure silence, other than the hustle and bustle of the diner and Sue realized she was not only clear from interference but very much awake as well. There was no note, just money, Sue started to count the money and got up to almost ten grand when someone knocked on the door and scared her so bad that she dropped the money on the floor.
“Sue, are you in there? Are you ok?” Sylvia said from the other side of the door.
“Yes, I’m fine. Give me a few more minutes Sylvia,” Sue said as she bent down, trying to pick up the money quietly.
“Okay, I was just checking on you,” Sylvia said, sounding relieved that Sue was fine.
“Thank you, hun, I’ll be out in a few,” Sue said, and she heard Sylvia walk away.
She finally picked up all the money she dropped and counted it; she had twenty-five thousand dollars. She knew it had to be Barry; there was no note, just the money. She couldn’t believe how lucky she had been, Barry had paid her car off and now this, she was truly blessed to know him, his wife and his crazy friend and to have them look out for her. She became overwhelmed and broke down into tears.
While Sue came to grips with her situation, Barry got a text message on his phone from Marko letting him know that the letter had been delivered. He was enjoying the view from above the clouds, and he was happy that Sue would have a little peace in her life, he watched everyone he cared about having a blast, and this made him feel like some good came out of all the madness that they had been involved in. He made a mental note to remember this moment the next time they got hit with a wave of madness because he knew the tide would recede and it would come crashing to shore again, but he decided to enjoy the moment and let the chips fall where they may, another day. Today was a good day.
The Senator was not going to let the chips fall where they may, as long, as he could influence the outcome in any way possible, which is why he was happy to see the text message from Mr. Donaldson telling him to meet him later today. The Senator knew that even though Mr. Donaldson said he was behind the Senator for the Presidency that things could change until they were a little further down the road, then they would be locked in with no backing out or secondary plans to change things, the literal point of no return. The Senator was all in and wanted to be sure that the kingmaker was still with him, the Senator would have his reservations until they were past the point of no return. The day seemed to fly by, and before the Senator knew it, the time had come for him to be at another speaking engagement. The Senator was used to the sea of cameras and flashing bulbs now, but what shocked him was the appearance of Ron Donaldson in the crowd. The Senator was truly baffled at seeing him and almost came to a dead stop, but his security detail kept him moving into the building. The Senator didn’t have time to think about why the kingmaker would show up to such an event before Dale came over to him and told him that he had a message and handed him a cell phone. The Senator took the cell phone and looked at it, then looked at Dale.
“There is a text message for you to read sir,” Dale said and looked at the phone in the Senator’s hand.
“Okay,” the Senator said as he flipped the phone over so he could retrieve the message.
Dale went and stood by the door to give the Senator some space while he read the message on the phone.
“Cancel the event, I will speak to you soon,” was the message on the phone. The Senator immediately told Dale to let his assistant know the speaking engagement is canceled. The Senator watched Dale walk over to Mike and whisper in his ear; then he watched Mike leave the room, and Dale started to walk back toward the Senator. As Dale approached the Senator, Mike entered the room and nodded his head at Dale.
“Senator, we are ready to go,” Dale said, and he waited for the Senator to get up and start walking toward the door.
The Senator stood up and started walking toward the door, while his mind was racing trying to figure out what Mr. Donaldson was doing here. The Senator’s thoughts were interrupted as he had to cross the sea of cameras once again and flashing lights. So many people were asking him questions at one time the language didn’t sound like English anymore, just a bunch of gibberish with the occasional word or two he could make out. He still smiled and waved as he was led to his waiting S.U.V. The Senator figured once he got inside the S.U.V., he could begin to put his thoughts together. There was no way to do that with the constant onslaught of questions and lights flashing at him, but when he got inside the S.U.V., he was startled once again because there sat Mr. Donaldson A.K.A. the kingmaker. The Senator was surprised again, and he knew it showed in his expression, and Mr. Donaldson confirmed it as he spoke.
“Well, that’s twice I got you today. I suppose it will be a long time before I can be so lucky again,” Mr. Donaldson said, as he smiled, and laughed a little.
“Well, if you throw me a surprise party, I can honestly say I’ll probably be surprised,” The Senator said, and he composed himself and smiled.
“I would certainly hope so, I do know a thing or two about planning events,” Mr. Donaldson said, his laughter subsiding and getting back into his normal business mode.
“Yes, I can say you do know a thing or two without a doubt.”
“Like today, for instance, I planned to be here.”
“Really? I had no idea.”
“Yes, I have attended a few of your events, I like to see the crowd’s reaction up close and hear the real comments they make, not the directed bullshit you see on television.”
“I hope I did well and my reviews were good.”
“The consensus is very good where you are concerned, but there are a few things we can do to push you a little higher, make you a man of the people.”
“A man of the people?”
“Yes, that is the market we’re in. Politics can be like Real Estate. In a seller’s market, you can ask for above the listing price and get it, in a buyer’s market, the house better be priced below market value, and you have to be ready to pay some closing costs.”
“Very true.”
“So, this is a man of the people market, same house, same neighborhood, schools, and stores, so the focus isn’t so much on the house, but the price. You are selling the man of the people aspect, so we will gather their votes by making them focus on what we want.”
“Very crafty.”
“It’s all perspective; we won’t make them vote; we will make them want to vote. We will go over a few small glitches in your speech, to make you a bit more endearing to the masses.”
“I do sometimes go over flaws in a speech with my assistant so I can correct and polish myself as much as possible.”
“You have done a great job, believe me when I tell you that I have had far more challenging issues to deal with than the few you bring to the table,” Mr. Donaldson said, laughing a little.
“That is good to hear; I will have my assistant keep an extra eye out for things I can improve on.”
“Speaking of your assistant, I took the liberty of instructing your assistant on what to say to the media about the cancelation; I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all, I know you are working with both of our best interests in mind, and all you do is to make our ultimate goal a reality.”
“Absolutely, which brings me to why I am here. I know there is a certain Police Captain that you are scheduled to meet with and I am sure that is why you reached out to me, am I correct so far?” Mr. Donaldson said, looking at the Senator over the top of his glasses.
“By all means continue,” the Senator said, waving his hand to show Mr. Donaldson he could continue.
“I know the good Captain has your boy Barry at the top of his list of suspects, and his Detectives have done fine work, but in this case, we must put a nail in the coffin of the C.C.K. Killer. So, meet with the good Captain and thank him for his help. Then let him know that his information is valued and that your investigation led you in that same direction at one point. However, other things came to light that revealed the true killer, and even though you would like to reveal these facts, you cannot. I would let the good Captain know that the investigation should be wrapped up inside the next thirty to sixty days,” Mr. Donaldson said and pushed his glasses back onto his face.
“I take it that I am to implement my plan to get rid of Ed Daniels a little sooner than expected?” The Senator said, looking Mr. Donaldson squarely in the face.
“Yes, and I have a few details to go over with you about that matter, I already have certain things in place to maximize that event so things will fall in your favor, but we will discuss that at a later date,” Mr. Donaldson said and he sat back in his seat, seeming to be more relaxed.
“I could settle the matter now, but my good friend is out of town, overseas to be exact.”
“Ah yes, Europe I believe, that is not a problem. It works in our favor, just let me know when you need him back here, and I can arrange travel in and out of the country, undetected of course.”
“Well that is good to know, I will get on this task expeditiously.”
“Good, it is time to move some pieces on the board to help solidify our position, there are still treacherous obstacles ahead, and every election has an unforeseen chapter of drama just waiting to unfold.”
“I will start the ball rolling so we can continue to move forward.”
“I know I can count on you, that is why you will be our next President,” Mr. Donaldson said, and he seemed to pull a water bottle out of thin air and start to drink from it.
The Senator and Mr. Donaldson both sat back and rode in silence for a few minutes. Only the crinkling noise of the water bottle could be heard. The water bottle that Mr. Donaldson had seemed to pull from nowhere interrupted the silence occasionally until the S.U.V. pulled into
a parking lot. The S.U.V pulled next to a black sedan that was sitting in the parking lot with two men sitting in the front seats. Mr. Donaldson started to get out of the S.U.V. when he stopped and looked back at the Senator.
“You have the phone with the text message?”
“Yes,” the Senator replied, reaching into his pocket and showing the phone to Mr. Donaldson.
“Good, keep that phone, there is a number programmed into it, call that number if you need to talk to me and thanks for the ride,” Mr. Donaldson said, got out and walked past Dale, who had opened the door to the S.U.V. and over to the black sedan, where a large man was holding the door open for him.
“Anytime,” the Senator said, and he watched Mr. Donaldson get into the black sedan and drive away, along with the sedan that had been following the S.U.V.
The Senator was trying to figure out how to put everything in place because he didn’t want to run into any problems with so few moves left to make before he could start to concentrate on the Presidency and being a man of the people.
Chapter 17
Europe
While the Senator was thinking about what moves he needed to make, Barry was starting to think of making a few moves of his own as he watched Karen’s ass sway back and forth in the dress she was wearing. He was almost in a hypnotic state from watching Karen’s ass move side to side while she walked, so it was no surprise to him that he didn’t hear her talking to him.
“Barry, can we hurry up and get our key to the room, I have to pee.”
“Oh, I’m sorry babe, I must have a bit of jet lag,” he said, but Karen talking about having to pee only made him think of the happy place between her legs.
“Barry, Barry, are you okay?” Karen said, this time looking at him closer.
“I’m fine, I guess I’m a little tired,” he said, and he started to focus on what was being said and not just thinking about getting between Karen’s legs.
“Good, wake up, I need to go pee, really bad,” Karen said, and she was moving back and forth a little.
“I will try to hurry things along as fast as possible,” Barry said, and he focused on the guy at the reservations counter.
Death of the C C K Killer Page 15