CHAPTER
13
As autumn progressed so did preparations for the implementation of the government. Elections would be held in January and candidates were lining up to run for either the office of governor or as a member of the Council. A new government building was being built a block south of Main Street. A local architect had been commissioned to design it and his renderings were placed on the Microcosm.org website. It was going to be a very large and simple, yet beautiful red brick building. The design called for three stories, including a basement. The building and its annexes would swallow up nearly an entire city block. A groundbreaking ceremony was scheduled for January, just after the elections. A sense of calm was beginning to emerge. Many citizens felt that with a government in place, and with an official police department and fire department, the town’s residents would be much safer.
Insight spies were out, trying to gauge citizens’ feelings about the government. An unofficial poll of hundreds of voting aged residents showed that a large majority wanted a government and many felt that the experiment’s organizers had been irresponsible by not having a government in place. Along with the approval of the establishment of a government was the sense that following the U.S Constitution was the only way to go. The once divisive issue of establishing a government was beginning to reunite the people. A sense of calm, after the turbulent and violent summer, was beginning to return to the town, as was the sense of community.
The deadline to file petitions to run for office was October 1st, less than two weeks away. If Anna was going to persuade David to run for the town’s governor she decided she would have to tell him right away. That would give her a week to help him overcome any objections he might have.
There was another problem—Charlie. The thought of him caused Anna to reflexively roll her eyes. The physical relationship was long since over, something that Charlie complained about less and less. Her problem was that she needed him and his experience. He needed her for her youth, her energy, and her ability to network with younger people. They both acknowledged, furthermore, that they needed a face to their movement. That’s where David would come in.
Charlie could see the benefits of including David Asher. He was handsome and charismatic, relatively intelligent, and was articulate. However, he’d discovered through his spy network that Anna had become romantically involved with him. This fact irritated him every time Anna brought up David’s name. Still, there were bigger things to worry about. He was willing to overlook Anna’s relationship with the younger man, but it wasn’t easy.
Despite all of her reservations to ask David to join their consortium, he proved to be willing. Not just willing, but eager. What Anna didn’t know was that David had known for weeks that she was going to ask him to join her and Charlie’s enterprise. What she and Charlie didn’t know was that David Asher was no pushover. He would have his say, or he would not participate.
Anna and Charlie’s followers quickly got the signatures needed for David to run for Blue Creek governor. They were the first campaign to organize, to raise money, and to advertise. Before any other prospective candidates had even found campaign managers, the Asher campaign was already well underway.
Now that the battle with Charlie Henry and company was now over, Patton was able to concentrate on other things, namely his wedding. Once the dust settled from the government fight, he realized how much he’d neglected his fiancé and their planning. Most of the big things were already planned, but it was the small things that needed to be decided. A pianist for their ceremony and reception, final arrangements for the honeymoon, flight and lodging for his mother.
Patton was in a daze thinking about these things when he looked up and glanced at a billboard. It was one of only a few billboards in all of Blue Creek and he drove by it every day since it was erected. This time, however, something caught Patton’s eye that he had never noticed before. It was an image of a smiling man. He was at least ten years younger than Patton, possibly more. He was extremely handsome—even Patton had to admit that. He had blondish hair and crystal blue eyes. There was something about the smile that seemed familiar.
Patton stewed about it for the rest of his ten minute drive into his office. He’d seen that face somewhere before. Not just in passing either. Patton reached his building and parked. He walked to his office and greeted his employees as he always did. Still, his mind was on that face. He logged onto the Blue Creek intranet site. There was that picture again, the same advertisement. Patton finally took the time to read what the ad was for—the man was running for Blue Creek governor. He clicked on the ad and a new webpage opened up.
The main page featured a few different pictures of David Asher and some stock photos of people, supposedly Blue Creek residents. There was the obligatory photo of Asher shaking someone’s hand, his sleeves rolled up, his tie loosened and askew. Veins stood out from his tan, muscular forearms. Patton clicked on a hyperlink that said “What I Believe” and waited for the page to load.
The title and some text loaded immediately, but Patton could tell that a picture was also loading. Once the picture appeared, it all became clear.
“The guy from the train!” Patton shouted. His secretary flew into his office, her face pale, obviously alarmed by Patton’s outburst.
“What?” she nearly shouted herself.
Patton gestured for her to calm down and that everything was okay.
“Sorry. It’s just … I saw someone and I finally figured out where I know him from.”
She looked at him blankly.
“The guy from the billboard out by my farm. The guy running for governor. You know, the one that’s all over the intranet.”
Recognition dawned on his secretary’s face.
“You mean the really hot guy?”
Patton blushed and then smiled. He realized how frantic he had been. He chuckled lightly and patted her on the shoulder.
“Yeah. The hot guy. Sorry I startled you. I met him on the train coming from California. He was all full of himself back then. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s running for governor.”
His secretary nodded again, relieved. She turned and exited Patton’s office, trying to reduce her heart rate. Patton returned to his computer screen and began to read Asher’s website, page by page. What he believed in. Why he was running. What his plans were for Blue Creek. Why he was the best person for the job. The typical BS that politicians claim.
It was while reading that Patton remembered something the man – this David Asher – had said. Someone needed to “shake things up.” It had struck Patton at the time, and it bothered him now. The context of the comment returned to Patton’s mind. This Asher was saying that it was up to individuals to make things happen politically—to purposely push the town in a certain direction. This seemed to be a violation of the purpose of the experiment. Things were supposed to naturally come about by people’s actions and reactions.
Then Patton realized that the problem with tyrannical governments was the leaders’ desire to manipulate and control events. This was done first to gain power. Once power was achieved, these people could then control the people. If you can control the people you can control their resources. If you can control resources you can add to your power through money and political influence. Patton realized that this Asher campaign was what this was all about. Something was going on and he didn’t like it.
Mike Wilson had similar misgivings about the impending government, but he wasn’t as politically savvy as Patton. He wanted to get involved somehow but had no idea what to do. Mike drove the highway the circled the valley. It was his way of decompressing after a hard day. Mike rounded a bend and saw the billboard that had set Patton off. Instead of just driving by it, he pulled his truck to the side of the road and stepped out onto the shoulder of the highway.
The billboard was well lit, even at that time of night. Mike wondered if they kep
t the lights on all night, but he wasn’t about to camp under the sign to find out. He looked up at the grinning face and felt a sudden disdain for this man, even though he didn’t know who he was. Yes, there was something he could do and once he figured out what that was he was going to put his entire soul behind it.
Patton was paranoid about many things, but he was different about this thing. Maybe Patton was acting strangely because the situation was so close to home. If Patton was right about this guy, his ideas would most definitely affect their business and their livelihoods. Instead of getting worked up as he usually did, Patton was quiet, almost sullen. He had a determined look about him that Mike hadn’t really seen before. Mike wasn’t a weak man, but he had to admit that Patton intimidated him. They were friends, but there was something about the man that Mike couldn’t explain.
Mike shook himself from his daze, realizing during his drive home that he’d stood under the sign for over a half hour. He finally climbed into his bed around midnight. Before he fell asleep, he understood what he had to do. He was going to run for governor and try to stop what Patton claimed was going to be a runaway train. Mike clicked off his reading lamp. As he fell asleep, he prayed that he could make some difference here. Here in his new home.
Anna was accustomed to her lover’s moods, but this was the worst she’d ever seen. She’d almost had to beg him to come to her apartment in the first place and when he made love to her it was angry and passionless. Almost as soon as they were finished, he was up, out of bed, and getting dressed. She grabbed at his arm as he was trying to pull up his pants and he looked back her angrily.
“What!”
She knew better than ask him what was wrong. Instead she sat back on her bed and watched him finish getting dressed. If he wanted to talk about what was bothering him he could bring it up. Without a word, however, David Asher grabbed his keys, his wallet, and his phone and made his way towards the front door. Not wanting him to leave angry, Anna followed him with only a sheet wrapped around her naked body.
“David!”
He stopped and turned but didn’t say anything. Anna had gotten him to stop from leaving but now she didn’t know what to say. Her questions seemed to be in her eyes so he finally let her know what was bothering him.
“I met your friend Travis,” he said, letting the implications of his statement sink in.
It took a few moments but the meaning finally did sink in. In all of her attempts to keep David separate from the rest of her life, apparently, something had leaked.
“And?” she said, not wanting to admit to anything she didn’t have to.
“And … he told me about yours and Charlie’s plans,” he said, pausing again to let this sink in.
Anna said nothing but stood there, turmoil on her face. The cat was out of the bag, so it did no good to try to lie to him. However, she didn’t want to cause any more trouble than was necessary.
“Plans?” she asked innocently.
“To make me your poster boy while you and Charlie tell me what to do and what to say.”
She chewed on this for a moment, trying to think of a way to spin it. She suddenly wished that Charlie was there with his quick tongue.
“I don’t know why Travis would have given you that impression. We want you to be a candidate, yes,” she said, proud that she’d pushed back a little bit and not shied away from his anger. It suddenly dawned on her that Charlie and David were more alike than she’d previously realized.
“I don’t think he gave me an impression. I think he told me what was said to him in confidence.”
Anna wanted to roll her eyes. Instead, she moved towards him, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him towards her couch. He finally relented and the both sat down.
“I don’t know why he would have told you that. If you want our support, you’re going to have to listen to our ideas, but we are going to have to listen to your ideas,” she said, trying to avoid a motherly tone. While she only partially agreed with what she’d just said, she’d made it sound good.
With no immediate response, David just sat there thinking, seeming to be assuaged. Anna went in for the kill.
“Without Charlie’s experience, my skill, and your talents, none of this will work,” she said confidently. “But if we’re divided in this they’ll chew us up.”
David nodded slightly. What she said made sense, but he still felt like she was trying to play him somehow. He stood slowly and looked down at her.
“I’ll go along with this, but if you guys try to screw with me I’ll hurt you both.”
Before Anna could respond, David walked out and slammed the door behind him.
Mike Wilson felt hesitant about his decision to run for governor, but the deadline to file was fast approaching. He knew that he would need Patton’s help—at least some money, and probably some help with his actual campaign. Running was the right thing for him to do, but he was afraid that Patton would laugh in his face. Instead, he was shocked to find out that Patton had reached the same conclusion at almost the same time.
Patton had the passion and knowhow, but he didn’t feel comfortable as the face of a campaign. Instead, he would help Mike in his run. He didn’t think it would take much money. With his outgoing personality, his charm, and his ability to succeed, Mike had a good chance of winning.
Mike was one of seven people to submit paperwork to run for the town’s executive office—five men and two women. Once the deadline to enter the race passed, a meeting was held for all of the candidates. The meeting gave Mike a chance to size up all of his opponents. The rules of the election were laid out at the meeting.
First, the candidates would be given a couple of months to campaign. On the first Election Day, there would be an initial round of voting. If any candidate were to win an all-out majority, they would be declared the winner. If that didn’t happen, the two highest vote getters would move on to the second round. All of the candidates were given the opportunity to introduce themselves. This would be their first opportunity to campaign since the local press was going to be present.
David Asher was the only candidate that impressed Mike. He was young, probably in his late twenties or early thirties. He was above average in height, very fit, and had movie-star looks. When he stood and introduced himself, he didn’t stammer, or struggle with what he wanted to say, to the point that he seemed rehearsed. After everyone introduced themselves, Mike felt that Asher was the only person that could beat him.
Mike had read all about Asher on his campaign website. He knew what he wanted to do. Meeting the man in person was a different story, however. David Asher was very charismatic. He dominated the room with his presence. Mike had a larger-than-life personality, but he decided to speak only when necessary. Asher, on the other hand, was switched on at all times. He kept up a healthy chatter, even while others were speaking. It was distracting to everyone, but they seemed to give him a pass because of his looks and persona.
Mike returned and reported to Patton, who had a long list of questions. Patton would need to develop a special strategy, he knew. David Asher was going to be the favorite. It was going to take some creativity to overcome his natural advantages.
Feeling overwhelmed with finalizing his wedding plans, however, Patton sought for help in organizing Mike’s campaign. They advertised on the Blue Creek intranet site and on social media sites, finally settling on a young woman who had experience in some Republican Party campaigns in the Midwest. She would help Mike put things together while Patton was on his honeymoon. They would have over two months to mount a campaign so they all thought they would have a good chance to win.
“What did you think of them?” Anna said, running her finger along his bare shoulder blade. David’s body was turned away from her, covered from the waist down with a cotton sheet.
He chuckled lightly and said, “Nothing. Those people are a joke. You should have seen i
t. I felt like I was a Wal-Mart after midnight.”
She laughed out loud, her bare chest rubbing against his back. “None of them can beat you?” she asked, still giggling.
“Not really. They have no idea what they’re up against,” he said confidently.
She sighed, continuing to rub his back.
“Not surprised.” Anna pulled her hand away to cover a yawn.
She loved these times, lying here naked with him. Tonight he’d been especially good. He was always better in bed after a confidence boosting experience. They didn’t talk for another moment and she drifted off to sleep.
When David felt her breathing slow he rose quietly out of the bed. He quickly got dressed, knelt down and kissed her forehead. He exited her apartment, quietly closing the door behind him..
Charlie Henry seethed behind his stone-silent face. In the passenger seat of his Cadillac was a .38 snub-nose revolver he had procured from Travis Snedley. When he saw David Asher walk out of Anna’s house, his impulse was to jump out and confront him. However, Charlie reconsidered. David Asher, though a mental pigmy compared to himself, was much younger and stronger and he would most likely put him in the hospital. Charlie decided that it would be better to slink up behind him in the dark and shoot him in the back of the head. Then, Charlie could stand over him and watch while the life drained from his eyes.
Charlie’s personal jealousy had begun to tangle with his goals and that was something he’d never allowed himself to do. That pretty boy was his ticket to ultimate political power. The desire to lead this people, even indirectly, won out and it saved David Asher’s life … for now. Once they were firmly entrenched in the seat of power, they could get rid of Asher—maybe make him a martyr, the way Lyndon Johnson had done with John Kennedy.
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