the beauty of the region, blah, blah, whatever, and we would like to leave on Thursday, the day after tomorrow, and be back the next Wednesday. Ask him to cover for us; he’ll be entertained and less suspicious. Something tells me he won’t mind. Then we meet with the team in the Maldives. We need help. This is too big for you and me, buddy. We have too many questions and too few answers.”
“Are we done for tonight, then?”
“Yep, grab our stuff. I’ll make the call to Tom, tell them to pack their bags.”
They left the hotel room feeling optimistic for the first time in weeks. After all, they had finally made some progress. They had all the code, and they knew what was wrong with it. They had one more piece of the puzzle left to find and a lot of damage control to think about.
Just a couple minutes later, a man entered the room quietly and started looking around. He took a picture of the undisturbed bed and went through the trashcans, looking for any trace of evidence left behind. Finally, he approached the desk and looked at the notepad. The pages Louie had scribbled on were gone, but indentations remained on the notepad, still visible in the desk lamp’s light. Satisfied, he put the notepad in his pocket and left, just as quietly as he had arrived.
...82
...Friday, September 2, 10:01AM EST (UTC-5:00 hours)
...Flash Elections: Breaking News
...Nationally Syndicated
“Good morning and welcome to Flash Elections,” Phil Fournier greeted his audience. “We’re opening the headlines this morning with the latest smear campaign against Senator Douglas Krassner, the favorite in this year’s Presidential races.”
The image showed a middle-aged, balding man, an average Joe Anyone, speaking with a reporter somewhere in downtown DC, in the blazing summer heat. Little sweat beads were forming on the man’s forehead, and he was wiping them off every minute or so.
“I am surprised, no, I am appalled to learn that a man like Krassner, who is very rich, and who keeps saying how he cares about the country’s well being and all that, has only donated $250 to charity in his entire life. His entire life! Now, what kind of man can sit on such a considerable fortune without finding a single cause worthy of a more substantial donation? Who are we bringing into the White House? The most selfish man who ever lived?”
Phil’s smiling face returned to the screen. “Now let’s hear what Senator Krassner had to say in response.”
The charismatic persona of Doug Krassner appeared, dialoguing with Phil Fournier in a cozy, dim-lit studio.
“Senator,” Phil asked, “what do you think about the recording we just watched? Is it true you’ve only donated $250 to charity in the past years?”
“Yes, it is,” Krassner answered without hesitation. “It is also true that I have significant charitable initiatives that I prefer to manage myself, or through my trusted appointees, rather than just donate cash to get tax deductions.”
“Can you give us an example?”
“Absolutely. Our family built and endowed the Dallas Medical Haven, a 180-bed hospital and a walk-in clinic, that covers any out of pocket medical expenses for families making less than $40,000 a year, regardless of whether they’re insured or not. Last year, we added a dental practice to the Medical Haven, with 23 staff dentists. Same rules, no out of pocket for any patient.”
“That’s amazing, Senator. I bet there are long lines in front of the Dallas Medical Haven, aren’t there?”
“There are, that’s true, and we’ve noticed that. People travel from other cities to gain access to our care. Consequently, the Houston Medical Haven is scheduled to open its facilities next April.”
“Any other initiative you might want to share with us today, Senator?”
“My wife is the architect and sponsor of the Smart Girls Center for Development, where girls with an IQ in the 95th percentile receive support to access suitable levels of education, regardless of family income, all the way through college. We all win when smart people are well educated and can lead the nation in business, economics, or medicine.”
“Thank you, Senator.”
The screen shifted again to Phil’s in-studio setting. His smile was almost sarcastic.
“Krassner’s support gained another four percentage points after this interview was released yesterday. Now at 46%, Krassner is leaving his main opponent, Bobby Johnson, a little further behind. If those who started the most recent smearing campaign had done a better job researching the facts, they might have chosen not to consolidate Krassner’s ratings any further. Johnson’s ratings also picked up