by Gary Ballard
Losman smiled the grin of a predator pleased to finally meet a canny opponent. “Fair enough,” she said, raising her hands above the desk before leaning back in her chair. “Since I don’t know you, explain to me how you intend to help my candidate win the election.”
“Your opponent is about as dirty as they come,” Bridge began.
Losman feigned a sarcastic surprise. “No, you don’t say! Was it the fact that he was appointed into his position by corporate fiat or the fact that he’s done nothing for this city other than bulldoze neighborhoods since he got into office? You could ask any ten people out on the street and nine of them would say he was dirty. You could put a patron saint into his position and at least six would still think he was dirty.”
“What if I told you I was in possession of information proving your opponent was engaged in ethically questionable activities that would make all ten of those people throw up?”
The wall came up. Losman’s features hardened into an inscrutable blank stare. “I would say that you should be talking to the press. They love a good sex scandal. My candidate isn’t interested, no matter what the price.”
Bridge was taken aback. He hadn’t even mentioned sex or money, but it appeared the negotiations had started without him. “What I have will make sure Sunderland gets fewer votes than drunken Mickey Mouse write-ins. All I need…”
And just like that, the negotiation was over. “You don’t understand, so let me make it perfectly clear. My candidate is in no way interested in your seedy scandals. Maybe you haven’t checked the polls lately. Soto is ahead amongst just about every demo that matters.”
“I do understand that he’s both ahe C’No, yad and behind by statistical nothings depending on whose poll you believe. Two days ‘til the election and it could go either way. I’m offering you a slam dunk.”
“You’re offering me the chance to drive this campaign right in the gutter. My client has no interest in those kinds of dirty politics-as-usual.”
Bridge couldn’t prevent a hint of anger creeping into his voice. “Come on, lady, we both know politics is about as clean as a fucking cesspool, especially in this city. And we both know your client has as much blood on his hands from the riots as any Chronosoft executive. Soto ain’t no Richard the Lionhearted, no matter what you’re trying to peddle on those commercials of yours.”
“Richard the Lionhearted? You’re going to go crusaders on me? That’s very educated of you.”
“I read history, I been to college. That’s a good one, eh?”
She smiled a smile so disingenuous it gave the truth whiplash. “Yes, quite impressive.” And then she was done playing games. “This meeting is over.” Her eyes were simmering coals, and Bridge knew he was wasting his time. “Will you leave quietly, or should I indulge myself and let my security curbstomp you out the door?”
“I’ll show myself out,” Bridge said coldly, standing and straightening his lapels. He gave her a sarcastic head bow and walked out, barely able to contain his anger. He waited until he’d crossed the street and made it around the corner before letting out a torrent of inventive curses. He began to walk aimlessly, not thinking about a destination, just trying to sort out the puzzle before him.
Soto’s people weren’t interested in dirt, but that just didn’t compute. Politicians spoke ad nauseum about their desire to run clean campaigns, their firm belief in a return to honorable politics as if such a thing had ever existed. But invariably, all political races turned into sleazy, mud-slinging games of one-upmanship. The presidential election of 2020, the first Bridge had voted in, had taught him the scant lessons he knew of politics, and he’d mostly sworn off voting after that bitter experience.
It was beyond Bridge’s conception that a politician wouldn’t take any opportunity to smear his opponent, especially if done in such a way as to make it appear the smear-er had nothing to do with the smearing. Losman had refused to even consider the option. While both she and the candidate may claim it was because Soto was some crusading savior, Bridge wasn’t buying it. Furthermore, Bridge had never mentioned what exactly it was that Sunderland was involved in, yet Losman had immediately hit upon a sex scandal. That seemed a little too spot on to be a coincidence.
Bridge looked up to find himself in front of a waiting cab. Without even consciously considering it, Bridge had decided on his next course of action. He needed to see Tom Williams.
A quick call to Tom led Bridge to the Press Room, a tiny bar and grill just outside of the downtown area where most of the news broadcasts located their LA bureaus. The Press Room was such a prototypical LA establishment, a darkened private restaurant built in the 1970’s. The original décor still insulted the eye with its vomit brown plush carpet, dark faux brick and copious red stained glass. It was the kind of place anyone could walk into, from movie stars to regular schlubs, and the patrons would pay no special attention to anyone, making it the perfect anonymous meeting point for reporters and their sources. Or, in the case of Bridge and Tom Williams, the perfect meeting place for client and provider.
Tom was the kind of man who stood out anywhere he went, a ruggedly beautiful man with perfect blonde hair, teeth and physique. His square jaw was prototypically Midwestern, and his voice had the gravitas to carry a broadcast all on his own for hours. His career had been practically meteoric, from local field man to local anchor to the face of the Chronosoft owned National News Network in 15 years. Luckily for Bridge, in the Press Room, Tom was just the good-looking guy in the corner booth with the slick talker. Tom had needed a source for floating card games, the kind of games no one admitted to running or participating in. Tom had a helluva gambling problem when he was losing, and he’d been close to having that problem exposed when Bridge had taken care of him. Bridge knew a guy.
Bridge’s stomach started grumbling as soon as he sat down, so he ordered lunch, while Tom just had coffee. “Like I need anymore caffeine in my day,” Tom grumbled to no one in particular. He crossed his hands in front of his chest and gave Bridge a stern look. “So why the fuck did you feel it necessary to call me out at work? I thought you relied on the utmost discretion.”
“Under normal circumstances, you’d never hear from me unless you sought me out.” Bridge was paddling against a very tough upstream. “This is not a normal day. I’ve got something big.”
“How big?”
“Like break open an election big.”
Williams’ eyebrow shot straight up, and he seemed to be chewing on the thought. “Elections? Since when did you get involved in politics?”
“Something kind of fell into my lap. Believe me, it’s nothing I’d touch otherwise. Would you be interested and more importantly, would that interest be worth anything?”
“That all depends. What election are we talking about?”
“THE election, my friend. Two days from now, the mayor of Los Angeles against the upstart neighborhood crusader. I’ve got some dirt that is guaranteed to swing this thing…” Bridge paused as the waitress brought the drinks to the table. When she’d left, he continued, “I’m serious, this is national breaking oh my god everyone switch the channel big.”
Tom ripped open a packet of sweetener, dumping it unceremoniously into his coffee. He Cis n" color=" stirred in silent thought, finally lifting the cup and wincing at the heat. Replacing the cup on the table, he shot Bridge down. “I can’t touch it.”
“What do you mean you can’t touch it?”
“I mean I can’t touch it. Editorial directive, coming from the very top. No one, and I mean no one, breaks any kind of scandal on this thing first. Me, the guys at CNN, the local guys, nobody can touch any kind of dirt on this election until someone else breaks it first.”
“I thought you guys lived to break stories like this, like it was a divine calling.” Bridge asked with confused irritation.
Tom chuckled. “You know, for someone so street wise, you sure are naïve as shit.” He took another sip of his coffee, his reaction no more positive than
from his first sip. “Man, they make some shitty coffee here.”
He stared straight into Bridge’s eyes, his hands gently pounding the table to emphasize his points. “Look, I’ll level with you. We like to call ourselves journalists, and we ride that objective viewpoint pony until it is dead. But it’s all bullshit. The more people I get staring at my face every night, the less actual journalism I’m allowed to do. I’m a glorified teleprompter with a dashingly handsome face, if I do say so myself.”
He leaned back in the booth, a weary sigh escaping his body. “I’m not allowed to piss people off, I’m not allowed to make a stand, and I’m not allowed to break a story if the suits that give me my paycheck don’t want me breaking it. At best, I get to regurgitate the talking points, the PR spin. Maybe once a year, maybe, someone with some actual journalistic abilities is allowed to get a page of copy to my desk and I get to read the truth before the bullshit is tossed on top of the body to cover it all up. I have a staff to do my legwork, which usually consists of emailing their plugged-in buddies to feed them the official lie.”
“I’m the hype machine, buddy. It’s a wonder I can still fucking dress myself.”
Bridge sat aghast. “Jesus. I thought I was cynical.”
“You ain’t old enough to be this cynical, bucko,” Tom smiled sardonically.
“So you won’t even take this story for free then?”
“I don’t even want to hear what it is. It’ll just make me jealous.” He took one last slug of coffee, and made a face that belonged on a poison control sticker. “Goddamnit, they gotta get some better coffee in here. Listen, I have to get back. We’re doing a story on the glorious benefits the LGL has brought to Los Angeles.” He seemed more intensely displeased over the story than he was the coffee. “Say, have you thought about using a leaker for the story? That’s probably about the only way you’re going to get it out there.”
“Where do you think I got it from?”
Tom shrugged. “Well, good luck with that then. Once it gets out, I’d love to do a followup, if it’s still news by the time you get it out.” Bridge waved him off. “Suit yourself.” Tom turned to leave, but Bridge stopped him.
“This doesn’t all seem slightly suspicious to you, then? The eve of one of Los Angeles’ biggest elections and you’ve been forbidden from breaking any story on the candidates. That doesn’t smell at all fishy to you?”
Tom’s sardonic smile was infuriating. “It stinks like last week’s garbage. But it does alert my well-honed journalistic instincts to one thing.” Bridge marveled that he could say those words with a straight face.
“Yeah and what’s that?”
“The fix is in. Gird your loins, buddy.” With that, the newsman left whistling some pre-21st tune.
Bridge sat and finished his meal, the wheels in his head turning desperately with every bite.
*****
Chapter 9
August 30, 2028
1:14 p.m.
Bridge lingered long over an after lunch coffee, his mind in a tumult. In the best of circumstances, he would have had five paying options for selling this recording and moving on, but time was against him. Few would touch something this hot without demanding a serious discount for the added danger. Tom’s intuition, for all its sarcasm, was spot on. There was definitely a fix in. Losman trying to pass Soto off as some kind of shining knight crusader might play well on the evening news but Bridge knew better. The network’s sudden reluctance to break any sort of electionscandal just exacerbated his natural paranoia. The kind of high-level string-pulling this would require made his asshole twitch.
Soto had a reputation that Bridge was all too familiar with, even though he’d never done any business with the man. Soto had earned his reputation during the riots just like Bridge. Soto had lived in a lower middle class subdivision, not the type of place you’d see corporate types living in. Mostly Hispanic, it was populated by workmen, janitors, school teachers and retail workers, the kind of barely-above-the-poverty-level residents that politicians pandered to for elections before forgetting completely. He had been a struggling real estate developer living in the home his parents had bought back in the early ‘80’s when home ownership was still attainable with hard work. The neighborhood had the unfortunate providence of being on the border between the poor areas that exploded into chaos during the riots and the targets of that chaotic rage, the downtown corporate sectors. It quickly found itself under siege, with rioters on one side wanting to march Fe to >
But Bridge knew a guy who lived there during the riots. Paco had cowered in his parents’ basement most of the time, until Soto conscripted him. Paco hadn’t wanted to fight, but Soto left him little choice, strong-arming the 17-year old into manning a barricade against the rioters. Paco had been a quiet hacker, the kind of kid that couldn’t fight off swirlies in high school. When Soto was done with him, the kid was hard. The riots had done that to a lot of people, but Paco was a kid. He spoke about the things Soto had done, the murders he’d committed and the ones he’d ordered. Soto had been particularly brutal, at one point stringing up a rioter by his ankles and leaving him to die screaming yards in front of the barricades to discourage other invaders. Somehow, that brutality never made it into the official Soto story.
That made Bridge skeptical about the Soto campaign’s desire for honor. Soto wasn’t the kind of man who was squeamish about literally and figuratively crucifying his enemy when the situation called for it. His campaign manager having more scruples than her candidate was a nigh impossibility. The fix was in, but Bridge was damned if he could figure out the angle.
Bridge paid for his meal and strode outside, not quite sure what his next move should be. He spotted a street term and logged in using another disposable ID to check his messages. The first six were all from Nicky, barely veiled threats at first, escalating with each successive call until the final message had lost all semblance of subtlety. Nicky was ready to put Bridge down, and had gotten pissed enough not to care that such a threat was being recorded. He was going to have to do something about Nicky, but that had to take a back seat to this Sunderland situation. He also had a message from that executive, Thames. The normally confident executive’s voice sounded thin and frayed, and Bridge imagined his bosses were putting serious pressure on him. He’d have to wait as well. There was no way Bridge could stick his head out into the hacker pool far enough to hook up a leaker, not with a hit order floating around the GlobalNet. Aristotle had called to check up, and Bridge smiled a bit at the bodyguard’s undeserved loyalty. Bridge really needed to give him a bonus.
The last message was from Stonewall, short and cryptic enough to make Bridge’s heart skip a beat. “Yo, Bridge, give me a call about that thing, eh? I got news.” Stonewall was really good at disguising his criminal activities with code words. Bridge immediately purchased another disposable ID and returned the call.
“Yo, Bridge, where you been?”
“Working another angle. You got something for me?”
“Yeah, but it ain’t what you want. Louie Lou, eh?” The ex-footballer hung up Kallr di without even a goodbye. That meant nothing good, and probably a whole lot of bad. The code words Louie Lou was a location where the two could meet.
Louie Lou was a restaurant on the decaying edge of the warehouse district, a shithole diner that saw more rendezvous traffic than regular diners. They had good coffee and crappy food, but if you needed to meet somewhere away from where the shit was going down, Louie Lou’s was the place. Bridge caught a cab immediately, not even bothering to hide his trail. If Stoney wanted to meet at Louie Lou, it was an emergency.
Stonewall sat sipping coffee at a corner booth with a good view of the entire diner and the street outside. Catching sight of Bridge, he immediately dropped a few bills on the table and walked out. He greeted Bridge on the street with a curt, “Follow me.” The lack of chit-chat made Bridge keep his mouth shut as they stalked west a few blocks into rows of warehouses. Three blocks into the walk and
Stonewall started talking. “So we took your boy Paulie’s crew to a safehouse and went to work on them. One of them didn’t last the trip. The second one managed to make it all night. Poor bastard didn’t talk though.” Bridge had lost track of where exactly he was when Stonewall stopped at the side door of a large warehouse. The building was so dilapidated that Bridge at first thought it was abandoned. The keypad entry was pristine, however, and the Mexican quickly entered a combination and opened the door. Bridge began to follow him in when he noticed the chaotic pattern of a shotgun blast in the dead center of the door. The door’s metal was perforated, blackened holes at waist height giving Bridge a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Watch your step,” Stonewall warned. Bridge narrowly avoided stepping directly in the puddle of blood on the floor. Whoever had been standing behind the door had taken the shotgun blast badly.
“We’d started working on Paulie when Twiggs sent me out for lunch. I was like ok, I’ll pick up where my homies leave off. I couldn’t have been gone half an hour.” Stonewall led Bridge down a shadowy hallway. The blood from the puddle was smeared down the hallway, leading to a body face down in a pool of light. The coppery smell of bloody death seemed to soak the air in the warehouse, the air which was even now closing in on Bridge, so stuffy it was like breathing sawdust and paranoia and impending doom. He could feel the gorge rising in his throat while his back was awash in freezing sweat. Bridge began to say a vain prayer in hopes of warding off the inevitable scene he was about to witness.
“But this is what I found.” Stonewall swept his arms wide to encompass the whole of the scene. The doorway opened into a tool storage area off of the main warehouse floor. A haphazard series of cheap metal shelves and cabinets containing various motor parts and tools formed a makeshift room around the doorway. It was well lit with burning incandescent spotlights hanging low from the ceiling. The air was stifling with the smell of settling dust, motor oil, sweat and blood. All the blood. Bridge felt his lunch start to revolt, heading back up his esophagus with sickening force. “Hold it in, hombre, you don’t want the cops sniffing out your DNA ‘cos you yak all over the crime scene.” Bridge got a grip by steadying himself on one of the shelves, which wobbled under his weight. He drew back his hand from something sticky, but was relieved to discover oil on his hand instead of blood. He immediately grabbed a dirty towel from a nearby shelf and wiped both his hand and the shelf where he’d placed the hand. Stonewall approved. onewallˀoved. “Now you’re learning.”
