Desperate Times Three - Revolution (13 page)

Julie tugged at Jimmy’s arm, and they continued their way through the crowded lobby. They suddenly found themselves staring at Ken as he slowly walked in through the glass doors. His face was grim, and he shook his head. Jimmy held Julie close as the reporters flocked to Ken, surrounding him. Jimmy’s eyes fell, and that was when he saw that one of the men in the group was rushing towards Ken, holding a snub-nosed revolver. Jimmy sprang forward, feeling as if he were running in wet cement. “Gun!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. “That man has a gun!”

He hadn’t known what to expect, but he certainly hadn’t expected nearly everyone to hit the floor at the same time. There were some moans and whimpers, but the large lobby was suddenly still and nearly quiet. Jimmy groaned and found himself staring into the dark eyes of the man with the gun. He was roughly Ken’s age, if not older, dressed in a black overcoat and wearing a ball cap. He raised the gun at Jimmy and smiled, sadly. Jimmy knew he was about to die.

A booming shot rang out, and suddenly the ball cap was blown off the man’s head. Blood sprayed from the wound as if a spigot had been opened at the back of his bald head. The man wore a shocked expression as he fell backwards, the revolver falling to the marble floor. Julie was suddenly at Jimmy’s side, pushing him toward Ken and the lobby doors. “Come on!” she shrieked, “We’ve got to get out of here!”

“Follow me!” shouted a strange man, holding a large semiautomatic pistol up next to his ear. “We have to move, now!”

Bill, eyes wide and pale white, limped over to join them, and Ken waved his arm in an exaggerated motion. His ears still ringing from the gunshot, Jimmy blindly followed along as the man who saved his life covered the room with his gun. Moving was easier with most of the reporters lying down on the lobby floor, but most of the cameramen were still following them with their lenses. The moment was captured live and would be replayed thousands of times in the coming days.

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." ~ Albert Einstein

A black Suburban roared up to the entrance, scattering people as it screeched to a halt. “Get in the truck!” ordered the man with the gun. “Move it! Move it!”

Without ceremony, the four of them managed to squeeze into the back seat as the man who had saved Jimmy’s life urged them on. The man behind the wheel turned to face them. He was bald with bushy eyebrows and a crumpled nose and reminded Jimmy of an old-time television wrestler. He smiled at them as the shooter climbed inside and slammed the door. A moment later they were flying east down Interstate 494.

“Will somebody please tell me what the hell just happened?” Ken asked.

“Wasn’t that obvious?” asked the man in the passenger seat. He was somewhere in his late thirties with a chiseled face and lots of black hair, which Jimmy only now realized was pulled back and tied into a ponytail. “Somebody just tried to kill you. Why didn’t you people stay up in your rooms?”

“Nobody said a damn word to me about staying in my room,” retorted Ken. “Why the hell would someone want to kill me?”

The two men in the front seat exchanged a look and chuckled. The driver looked at Ken in the rearview mirror. “Mr. Dahlgren, you can’t be serious,” he said in a deep voice. “You’re taking on the President of the United States and he has a lot of friends—friends who will do anything to see he’s reelected. Do you catch my drift?”

“Luckily, you’ve also got some friends,” said the other man.

“Yeah,” said Bill. “Like me.”

“Aren’t I the lucky one,” quipped Ken. “Where the hell are we going? I don’t have time for this. I’ve got to find my wife.”

“Mr. Dahlgren,” began the driver.

“Ken,” replied Ken. “My dad was Mr. Dahlgren.”

“Ken,” the man continued. “My name is Alex Jacobs and this is Roger Dunn.”

“Pleased to meet you, sir,” Dunn said, turning in his seat and giving Ken a nod.

“We’ve been hired to keep you people alive. I’m sorry; we’re not going to be able to look for your wife, at least not until things cool off. We’re heading to a safe house, and we’ll see which way the wind is blowing. I can’t be sure, but I think the attempt on your life is going to really help your campaign.”

“That man tried to kill Jimmy,” said Julie. “You saved his life.”

“And Jimmy saved Ken’s life,” replied Roger Dunn. “If he hadn’t cried
gun
, I never would have been able to take him out. That was brave; crazy, but brave.”

“You got him?” asked Jacobs, not bothering to take his eyes off the road.

Dunn nodded. “There must’ve been a dozen cameras in there. I’m going to have to look for a new line of work, or a good plastic surgeon.”

Jimmy stared out the window as the Suburban continued to roll down the road. He was suddenly angry that Ken had been goaded into a presidential campaign and that he’d allowed himself to be part of it. He looked at Julie and could see the fear etched into her face. Once again, they were heading into the unknown with only the clothes on their backs. He thought about Patty and Cindy and wondered how they were, trying his best to think of them as being alive and well. Jimmy could see life returning to the suburbs; houses in various states of repair, moving vans, reunited families. Things were slowly returning to normal, and Jimmy desperately wanted to be a part of that. He wanted a roof of his own and a few windows and a door with a deadbolt lock. He shook his head, thinking to himself that he might as well be wishing for the moon.

They drove for an hour, mostly in silence, heading north on Interstate 35 before exiting at the small town of Hinckley. They headed east and slowly drove past Grand Casino, which looked as if it were already back in business. Jimmy scratched his head as he stared at the cars in the parking lot. Dunn took a series of lefts and rights, and half an hour later they drove up to an ordinary looking ranch-style home, over a mile from its nearest neighbor. Dunn turned in his seat. “It ain’t much,” he said, “but its home.”

Jimmy opened his door, and he and Julie spilled out into the early May sunshine. Ken and Bill joined them at the back of the big Chevy. Ken surprised Jimmy with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. “I have to believe she’s in good hands,” Ken said, slapping Jimmy on the back. “I have to trust that God is looking after her.”

“That’s the spirit,” agreed Julie, nodding her head.

Jimmy smiled and turned to face Ken. “We’ll find her,” he said. “You know we will.”

“And Cindy, too,” interjected Bill, looking at each of them in turn.

“That’s right,” sighed Ken. “We’ll find them both; you’ll see.”

Jimmy had been thinking about Cindy for much of the ride north. She seemed to have vanished into thin air. At least with Patty there was a trail to follow, cold as it was.

“Come on inside,” Dunn called from the front door. “I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Jimmy watched as Jacobs and Dunn disappeared inside. The brown house could use some paint and would soon be in need of a roof, but it looked solid enough, and it was definitely off the beaten track. A two-car garage sat behind the house, and behind that was a thick stand of poplar. Birds called from the trees as a light breeze rattled the leaves. Julie tugged Jimmy’s arm, and he saw that Bill and Ken were almost up to the house.

“Come on,” Julie said. “Let’s go see what we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

The first thing that caught Jimmy’s eye as he walked inside was the bright red shag carpeting. They both kicked off their shoes at the door, setting them next to the others. The living room was small and looked as if it belonged in a museum. From floor to ceiling, the décor was early seventies. A Spanish conquistador print hung behind a lime green couch. The console television sat in the corner, complete with tinfoil-adorned rabbit ears. An exhausted-looking recliner that may have been orange at one time sat next to a navy blue loveseat. Jimmy could see that a brick had replaced one of the missing legs.

“Well, what d’ya think?” asked Dunn, nodding his head with obvious pride.

“Oh, it’s very nice,” said Julie. “How long have you been out here?”

“Let’s see,” Dunn said, scratching the stubble at the side of his head. “I think my folks moved here in seventy-one. They were here for over thirty years. I know the stuff is outdated, but I just don’t have the heart to replace it. This is home to me.”

Jimmy hadn’t known what to make of the big man with the crumpled nose, but Dunn’s words struck a chord inside him. They followed him down the short hallway into the dining/kitchen area. The carpet here was dark green with a clunky black chain pattern, well-worn, but clean. A long oak table with matching benches sat to their left and a kitchen, complete with avocado-colored appliances to the right. The rooms were bright with sunshine and smelled of Pine-Sol. Jimmy smiled to himself; the cupboards were imitation black walnut and the countertops were burnt orange. The walls in the kitchen were painted tan while the dining room had been wallpapered with an Oriental print, silver and black, and full of dragons.

“This way,” Dunn said, waving them into the laundry area at the back of the kitchen. “Your rooms are downstairs. They ain’t much, but they’re clean and the beds are comfortable. We’ll get you settled, and then I’ll rustle us up some grub.”

They followed Dunn down the painted wooden stairs and into a long room with cinderblock walls that had been painted sky blue, each block carefully outlined with black. Dunn stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pointed to a door on the left. “Jimmy, you and Julie can sleep in here. I mean, if you two sleep together. I’m sorry, I just assumed…”

Bill laughed. “Oh yeah,” he said. “They sleep together, all right.”

“That’s enough, Bill,” Ken said, clamping a strong hand on Bill’s shoulder.

“Thank you,” Julie said to Dunn. “This is so nice of you.”

“I’m just glad to have company,” said Dunn. “Okay guys, follow me. Your rooms are this way. Ken, why don’t we put you here? Bill, you can have the back room.”

Jimmy flipped the light switch and followed Julie into the bedroom. A queen-sized bed sat against the far wall under an egress window that spilled sunlight onto a faded quilt. There were three dressers, painted three different colors, and the walls were adorned with Fleetwood Mac posters and string art. The carpet was a remnant, blue shag, but appeared to be so freshly vacuumed they left footprints as they explored their new home. Jimmy sat on the bed and bounced up and down. The springs groaned and so did Jimmy. Julie narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

An hour later, Jimmy found himself sitting at the table with the others. They had just finished their lunch of spaghetti with surprisingly good canned sauce. Dunn doted on them like long-lost relatives while Jacobs filled them in on the political climate.

“There have been riots all across the country,” he said, sipping ice water from a tall red plastic cup. “The problem is the same now as it was before; the people don’t have anyone to lead them. That’s why their movement keeps stalling out, because in the end they don’t have anyone to pin their hopes to. At least, not until you guys came along.”

“I can’t believe anyone took us seriously,” said Ken. “I was speaking rhetorically; why doesn’t anyone see that?”

Alex Jacobs laughed. “Too late for that,” he said, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. “From what I hear, you’re the only one who can give President Richter a run for his money. The people seem to love you.”

“That’s crazy,” said Ken, picking at a piece of bread. “What do the people even know about me?”

“You haven’t watched the news lately, have you?” asked Dunn, rising from his chair at the head of the table. “You’d be surprised how much has been dug up about you and Jimmy.”

Ken’s expression grew dark. “What are you talking about? I don’t have any skeletons in my closet and neither does Jimmy. We’re just regular people. That’s all, end of story.”

Dunn nodded as he took Ken’s plate. “And that’s why everyone wants you guys to win.”

“They’ve dug up everything they can on you guys, and the only dirt they could find was on your driving record, Jimmy—two speeding tickets. Ken, you’re like the guy everyone dreams of having as a neighbor. You’ve got a Master’s Degree in business and you’re a devoted husband, active in your church. You’re President Richter’s worst nightmare.”

Julie stood up and began helping Dunn clear the table. “I still don’t understand it,” she said, shaking her head. “I love these guys, but they don’t know the first thing about running a country.”

“What did George Washington know about running a country?” asked Dunn.

“Or what about Abe Lincoln?” asked Bill.

Jacobs looked at Julie. “The problem in Washington is that we’ve handed it over to the lawyers. Ken hit the nail on the head during his interview with Thrill. He said that our country is the biggest business in the world and that it was about time that someone recognized that. What do lawyers know about running a business?”

“Oh, it’s a lot more than just a business,” said Julie. “Besides, Jimmy barely graduated high school. What if, God forbid, they got elected and something happened to Ken?” She looked at Jimmy and smiled, sadly. “Jimmy couldn’t handle it, not in a million years. I’m sorry, baby. Somebody had to say it.”

Jimmy felt his face grow red, and he had to fight to keep his anger down.

“I’d be there to help him,” Bill said, pointing a finger at Julie.

“Oh please…” scoffed Julie. “Bill, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Bill’s head snapped back as if he’d been slapped. “Is that right?” he asked, sitting back in his chair. “Do you want to know what I think? I think you’re jealous of Jimmy. I think you just want to keep him all to yourself, just like you did up at the lake. And another thing—I do happen to know a little about a lot. I know that successful people know how to delegate responsibility. I know that Jimmy is a good judge of character. I also know that he is pretty damn smart. A helluva lot smarter than you give him credit for. You need to stop standing in his way. His country needs him.”

What followed was a long, uncomfortable silence. Julie stood frozen at the sink, and Bill never took his eyes off of her. Jimmy and the others exchanged worried looks as everyone waited to see how Julie would respond.

“Is that how you see me?” Julie asked, meekly. “Do you really think I’m standing in his way?”

Jimmy groaned. This was exactly how he thought she’d respond.

“That was a poor choice of words,” Ken said, rising to his feet to join Julie at the sink. “I think what Bill is trying to say is that we all need to be together on this. You should stand behind your man. God knows how many people out there want him to fail. Besides, if something ever happened to me, Jimmy would have you to lean on. Wouldn’t he?”

Tears ran down Julie’s cheeks as Ken wrapped his arms around her. She pressed her face into his chest and sobbed. “Of course he would,” she stammered. “I’m just afraid that you’re both going to get yourselves killed. Look how close you came today. I don’t want to lose either of you; you’re all I have.”

“There, there,” said Ken, cupping his hand around the back of Julie’s head as she cried. “Come on, give us a little credit, will ya? We’ve been in some pretty tight spots before and look at us—we’re still in the race.”