My company was a part of the American Voting Revolution.’”
Robert sat quietly, watching the steam rising from his teacup and thinking hard. Is that it? Am I getting the full picture? Almost sounds too easy.
“It will be a very lucrative contract for them; it’s many millions of dollars,” Helms continued to sell the deal.
“Listen,” Robert said, decisiveness in his demeanor, “we have a process for vendor selection in my team. We assess all bidding vendors, we assign scores by category, and we rank vendors on their qualifications, experience, skills, and so on, based on our assessment. Then we compile the final rank and choose the vendor who ranks the best.” Robert took a sip of tea. “I can’t change this process; it’s not under my control. Your vendor might be on the short list, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to win the bid.”
“All you need to do is tilt the scale in their favor, that’s all. No one will be the wiser, and we’ll be even. Once this is done, you’ll never see or hear from me again.”
“Not sure that I can,” Robert said truthfully. “We have processes in place for this exact reason, to prevent biased or corrupt decision-making.”
“It’s a little late to grow a conscience, wouldn’t you agree?” Helms asked, his eyes cold as ice, piercing holes into Robert’s.
Robert felt the blood rush to his cheeks. Who was he kidding? He was as corrupt as if he had taken a briefcase full of cash.
“Look,” Helms insisted again, dropping his voice to almost a whisper, “I understand your hesitation. You don’t know this guy, Jeevan Ramachandran. Probably you’ve never heard of him. He’d be happy to have you visit with him, explore his company, kick the tires a little, and spend two weeks of leisure time at his expense, having everything you have ever dreamed of and more. You can leave tomorrow if you’d like. Ramachandran is that sure you’ll love what you’ll see at ERamSys. Why wouldn’t you spend a couple of weeks with one of the world’s biggest megalomaniacs, living it large?”
“I can’t travel, no, thank you.”
“OK, I understand, you have to think of Melanie,” Holmes said. “But will you do it? Will you hold your end of the deal?” His gaze was dead cold.
“It will be difficult. There are strong opponents to even offshoring this contract to begin with, due to security concerns, political concerns, PR, and overall risk.”
“You can deploy your people on-site for the duration of the engagement. They’ll be treated like princes, and they’ll be able to supervise, inspect, and direct whatever you tell them to, however you want. Full access, full freedom to change direction, as long as the contract gets delivered by Ramachandran’s group.” Helms leaned back in his chair. “There’s a bright side to it, too.”
Robert looked up from his teacup. He’d failed to think of any possible bright side of this nightmare.
“We don’t care where you contract the hardware,” Helms said and winked. “Will you do it?”
Mixed thoughts raced through Robert’s mind. Gratitude, for having Melanie’s life extended, for having a miracle happen in their lives. Deep shame for being corrupt, for taking, essentially, a bribe. The thought made him sick. He had never done that, nor had he thought it possible. Then fear. Deep-rooted fear of what this man could do if he didn’t hold up to his end of the deal. Would he come after him? Or Melanie? Or both?
“Yes, I’ll do it,” he heard himself say, “I’ll find a way.”
...12
...Wednesday, December 30, 9:01PM EST (UTC-5:00 hours)
...Flash Elections: Breaking News
...Nationally Syndicated
The red, white, and blue opening credits of Flash Elections rolled through, immediately followed by the ‘Breaking News’ transition screen. The colorful image faded, making room for the professionally attired, very popular political news anchor Phil Fournier.
“We were all expecting it, and now it’s out. Republican Senator Douglas Krassner of Texas has officially announced his intentions to seek his Party’s nomination for President. During a press conference that ended an hour ago, Krassner, now sixty-four, made a statement naming a few of the priorities the new administration should address. Let’s watch.”
A recording of Senator Krassner’s press conference replaced Phil Fournier on the screen. The Senator was elegant, charismatic, and visibly comfortable in the limelight.
“Good evening and thank you all for coming. I am excited to announce my intention to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States. I am excited and humbled at the same time by the immense opportunity I’ve been presented with