The Last Election (6 page)

“I wish I knew, A.K.”

The two men looked at each other, not knowing what to say next. Davis took a seat in a plush office chair facing the desk, and waited for Kirk to speak. He could sense that Kirk had something to say but was having difficulty saying it. He gave Kirk all the time he needed to collect his thoughts.
 
Minutes later Kirk asked, “Do you really believe the ‘urban legends’ about Bonsam?”
 

“A.K., you know I do,” said Davis.

Kirk stood up and began rubbing his clasped hands together. “I just cannot fathom the thought that Bonsam, the leader of the free world, has his whacko disciples secretly placed in every corner of the government, willing to do his evil bidding. Yet, for Pete’s sake Bobby, the thought of it keeps me awake at night,” said Kirk.

 
“A.K., the rumors have been floating around Washington since the day Bonsam took office,” replied Davis. “Remember his followers during the 2008 campaign? They were borderline cult members. They were like the Manson family and Bonsam was Charles.” Kirk cringed at that remark.

Davis continued. “Seriously, A.K., I’m not just talking about supporters who went door to door to get out the vote. I’m talking about high level people throughout the federal government and powerful business leaders. It’s rumored that he has ties to organized crime. I really believe that Bonsam has the connections and resources to allow his followers to set up hidden cells everywhere. And not just in the government and private companies but in foreign nations as well. Rumors persist that they are just waiting for their marching orders from Bonsam. Heaven only knows what havoc they would wreak if Bonsam turned them loose.”

Kirk paused for several seconds. He had been in the Senate for years and found it hard to comprehend that this could be going on right under everyone’s noses and not be detected. Still, he had an ominous feeling about Bonsam and the things he was willing and capable of doing to stay in power. Finally he replied, “Ok, thanks,” and headed toward the door

As Kirk walked past Davis, Davis said, “Do you believe it?”

Kirk paused when he reached the door, then slowly turned and looked back over his shoulder at Davis and said, “Yeah, I do.”

Chapter 8

President Bonsam got up from his desk in the Oval Office and stretched his arms high in the air as he let out a long, loud yawn. He walked over to the couch where Vice President Michael Holden was sitting and plopped down beside him.

“I want to thank you for all your hard work over the last few days, Mike,” he said. “You campaigned hard and you did it with class. Together we have ensured ourselves certain victory in tomorrow’s primaries, and we will continue to be victorious all the way to the nomination.”

Holden looked at Bonsam.
What planet is he on? We are behind in almost every poll!
“You’re welcome, Mr. President.”

“I know what you are thinking,” Bonsam continued, “that we are behind in the polls.”

The hair on the back of Holden’s neck stood up.
That was creepy.

Bonsam’s voice deepened. “But my people will not let me down. My people know that I alone am the chosen one to lead this nation. They will rise up tomorrow, and see that I remain the one true leader of the United States.”

Holden could not believe what he was hearing.
My people? Chosen one?
He decided that now would be a good time to leave the office. “Yes, sir. Is there anything else you need before I go?” he asked.

“No, Mike,” Bonsam replied. “Go get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a momentous day.”

Holden did not like the sound of that. He got up and exited the office as quickly as he could. Once Holden had closed the door, Bonsam smiled and said, “Tomorrow will be very momentous indeed.”

Chapter 9

The Super Tuesday results were in. President Bonsam had a few insignificant wins, but the day belonged to Senator Alexander Kirk. It was still mathematically possible for Bonsam to win the primaries, but he would need a miracle.

In Governor Clark’s view, President Bonsam’s demise was inevitable. Bonsam had to be the biggest idiot ever to hold the presidency. He bungled everything he touched. The economy, the war, even the fiasco surrounding his selection of personal friends to be federal district judges was just too stupid to be believed.

Clark also found Bonsam extremely weak. He repeatedly capitulated to the whims of every world leader he met. Clark hated that. Not once did he take a strong stand against any anti-American world leader. China, North Korea, and Venezuela all got a free pass and it got worse and worse as his term wore on. The
coup de grâce
was when Iran lobbed a few Fateh-110 missiles into Tel Aviv.

Bonsam’s initial reaction was a pathetic display of his weakness. He was touring an automobile plant and shaking hands with the union workers when some hack from MSNBC shoved a microphone in his face and announced that Iran had just attacked Israel. His deer-in-the-headlights expression, followed by three consecutive “
umms
” and a “
daherr
,” was seen on televisions around the world about, oh, a billion times over the next two or three days.

President Bonsam pontificated about doing something while doing absolutely nothing. Heaven forbid that he do anything that might upset the Iranians. He simply looked the other way, leaving Israel to fight it out alone. What little manhood he still possessed was sliced away as Israel pounded the Iranians into an unconditional surrender, while the members of his administration curled up into the fetal position and wet themselves. To Clark, that was the final nail in the coffin of his failed presidency.

“Well, there it is, Bonsam is finished,” Clark said to Brett Mason as they stood in Clark’s campaign headquarters watching the final results roll in on CNN. Clark turned to his secretary and said, “Thanks for working late tonight, Emily. You can have Friday off if you’d like, give yourself a nice three-day weekend.”

“I had already planned on it,” Emily replied with a smile.

Emily Kates had been a part of Clark’s team for the last eight years. She was cute, perky, and had a bubbly personality. She was a petite young woman, who had curly dishwater blonde hair and a tiny cluster of freckles on her nose. She had lived in Saginaw County all her life and had received an administrative assistant degree from Delta Community College. As she was completing her studies, she became old enough to vote and took an interest in politics. At that time she found that she shared many of the same political ideals and values of Congressman Sam Clark, so she volunteered to work on one of his reelection campaigns.

The head of Congressman Clark’s Saginaw campaign office was blown away by Emily’s skills and professionalism. He was a good friend of Clark’s, and he told Clark that he had to meet her when he campaigned in Saginaw. Clark took a liking to her right away. He was impressed by her administrative skills, and he liked her wit and her spunk. He offered her a job on his congressional staff, which she excitedly accepted. Years later when Clark became governor, he made Emily his top administrative assistant.

“Good night, Governor,” said Emily as she headed toward the door.

“Good night, Emily,” he replied.

Clark and Mason returned their attention to CNN.
 
Reporters around the country were being shown interviewing voters as they left the polling places. The overwhelming majority of the interviews showed enthusiastic support and praise for Senator Kirk.
 
  

“Looks like I’ll be running against the good senator from South Carolina,” Clark said contentedly.

 
“Well hallelujah for that,” Mason replied. “Really, Gov, it would be a cakewalk to win the presidency if you ran against Bonsam, but it is better for everyone, and I mean everyone, now that Senator Kirk has won the primaries and Bonsam is history. Balance has returned to the force.”

“Thanks for your input Obi-Wan,” Clark replied sarcastically. “Now go get your lightsaber and start preparing for our press conference tomorrow. Everyone will want to know our reaction to Kirk’s victory.”

“Let me rephrase that, Gov; our reaction to Bonsam’s defeat,” Mason replied. He pointed to the television and said, “Check it out.”

Three men wearing black leather jackets and black berets were shown scuffling with a team of security guards outside a polling place in Cleveland. The reporter at the scene of the disturbance described the chaos and stated that the air was filled with tension. The cameraman zoomed in on the apparent leader of the trio, who was shouting, “Don’t be a traitor! Don’t vote for Kirk!”
  

Chapter 10

The media had swarmed to Reagan National Airport the morning after Super Tuesday. They all wanted to speak to Senator Alexander Kirk now that he was the heir apparent to the Democratic Party throne. Kirk was due to arrive at any minute and the reporters were bustling with anticipation.

The White House had issued a press release that morning as well that stated that President Bonsam was happy with the results of yesterday’s primaries and that he looked forward to the primaries to come. It also stated that for personal reasons, the president would not be speaking to the media until tomorrow. Everyone just assumed that Bonsam needed the time to lick his wounds and regroup after yesterday’s blowout.

Senator Kirk, however, was riding high. Super Tuesday was in the books and he was now ready to sprint to the party nomination finish line. As Kirk’s limo pulled onto the tarmac and headed toward his Learjet, the crowd awaiting him pushed forward, but the security personnel on duty held the excited supporters safely behind the barrier ropes.

Cheers rang out as Kirk exited his vehicle and made his way to the jet. So many reporters shouted so many questions at once that it was impossible to make any sense of it. Kirk laughed at the spectacle as he stopped and motioned to the crowd to quiet down. A moment later he took a megaphone from an aide and said, “Thank you! Thank you all. Last night’s victories are yet again a clear signal that America is looking for a new direction. I promise to keep on fighting for you all the way to the nomination!”

He was going to say more, but the cheers from the crowd were loud and continuous. Kirk handed the megaphone back to the aide who patted him on the back and smiled. Kirk climbed the few stairs of the Learjet, stopping at the top to turn and give the media and the cheering crowd a final wave before heading off to South Carolina.

As he entered the cabin he gave a big smile to his entourage. They had worked so hard for him. “I am very, very proud of you all,” he said as he made his way to his seat.

His steward handed him a cold bottle of water as he made himself comfortable. He glanced over at his PR advisor, Celia Young, who was talking away on her cell phone. Celia was one of the best in her business and she had worked around the clock during Kirk’s campaign. She looked over and saw Kirk looking at her. She said, “Hold on,” into her phone, and extended her arm offering the phone to Kirk.

“Not now, Celia,” he said as he stretched out his legs.

“Sir, you’re going to want to take this call,” she replied. Her smile let him know that this was no ordinary phone call.

He took the phone from her and returned the smile. “Senator Kirk,” he said.

“Senator, Sam Clark here.”

“Why you dirty rotten leg! This call comes as quite a surprise!” Kirk laughed out loud. He was not at all expecting to receive a call from his old war buddy Sam Clark. For a moment he felt bad that he had called Clark a ‘leg,’ a derogatory term for Infantry soldiers who are not Airborne qualified, but the feeling quickly passed. He was about to say more, but was temporarily distracted by the steward who was motioning to him to fasten his seatbelt.

Nearby on the tarmac, three men sat in an aircraft refueling tanker truck watching as Kirk’s plane taxied by on its way to the end of the runway. They wore the uniforms of airplane
refuelers
, uniforms they had stolen a week before. The man in the middle turned to the driver and said, “There he is, Jorge.”