“It went better than I ever dreamed possible,” Phillips admitted. “There were at least half a dozen times there I thought it would turn into a bloody riot. You will probably need a lawyer to handle that guy you had to restrain. He will be getting his VCR ready to tape you mangling his hand for posterity and a jury.”
“You won’t believe this,” Sotello told him. “He came up not more than fifteen minutes ago to ask if he could volunteer for my campaign. His name’s Joe Randall, and he apologized for coming up in my face. He said he at least believes I mean what I say, and he told me he doesn’t even have friends he can say that of.”
“What did you say,” Phillips asked in astonishment at Sotello’s revelation.
“I told him he does now, and invited him over to the office tomorrow to talk it over,” Sotello replied.
“Good Lord Jim, where the heck have you been all these years?” Phillips asked, shaking his head. “I could have had you in the White House by now.”
“Without Darren, I would never have even dreamed this could happen,” Sotello said. “I hope he saw the whole show, because I figure tomorrow things will be getting ugly.”
“You will be lucky if you even get near your office tomorrow,” Phillips agreed. “You’ll have more groups out front picketing than the United Nations. Every left wing cause will have a representative bused in with a banner to wave with some accusation on it. La Raza will have their own contingent there bright and early to chant twenty-four seven until you get out of the race.”
Sotello laughed, as Phillips completed his dire warnings. “Thanks buddy, I know what I’m in for. I told the kids they better avoid the office like the plague. I was surprised the reporters weren’t in my face from the moment I walked out of the building.”
“They had their hit pieces to write,” Phillips informed him. “They heard enough in the auditorium to write smear columns for the next year. What would they need you for?”
“I see your point,” Sotello replied. “Hell, I didn’t even get a chance to get into the abortion and environmental topics.”
“You’ve done enough damage for one night,” Phillips quipped.
“Ya think?” Sotello replied.
“I have to get going Jim. I have a lot of ground to cover with some sympathetic media ears I promised exclusives to.” Phillips stuck out his hand, and Sotello shook it. “I must say, you have the right attitude for this stuff. I’m only surprised you never considered a career in politics before.”
“I never thought about it,” Sotello explained. “I admit to catching the bug tonight though, and I will probably need the passion to keep building if I am to get through the next two months. How the heck do people do this for years at a time, just building to an election?”
“The ones who stay, have it in their blood,” Phillips answered. “I did for a while, but I became disgusted with the people I had to deal with to get elected. I have to admit to saying whatever I needed to, and the boundaries between reality and fiction began to blur on a constant basis. You’ve given me a chance to get behind something I can believe in.”
“Just make sure you stick to what I say Adrian,” Sotello replied. “You needn’t get involved in any media spin games on my account. You know the ropes. I just don’t want any confusion about what I believe, because if by some miracle I do get elected, I want to get started right away on the agenda I outlined while running.”
“I will handle things just as we agreed, but becoming Governor will not take as much of a miracle as you think,” Phillips stated. “After tonight’s kickoff, the polls over the next couple of days will let us know if we can scare Davidson into debating us. If you get close to him, he won’t have a choice. You will have to get within ten points of him, or he will duck any mention of a debate.”
“Do you think it will be a good thing to debate him?”
“Jim, Davidson better pray he can keep ducking a debate,” Phillips instructed. “You could eat his lunch without breaking a sweat. Politicians like him, and me for that matter, duck debates with people like you. You are well educated, well informed, and most frightening of all, you believe in what you say. Passion wins votes, and especially from a patriot. No matter what the media thinks, people rally around a man who believes in America, and professes that belief with the eloquence you do.”
“I know one thing: I love this Country, and I believe there are a hell of a lot more of us closet American Nationalists than any of these leftist whackos know about,” Sotello replied firmly. “I have an idea I want to run by Darren. It may generate some campaign money on top of being an easy vote generator. What do you think of a run of t-shirts sporting a big flag with the words I Love America on the front, and the words Jim Sotello wants you to be proud of it once again?”
Phillips started to say something, and then paused. He rubbed his chin with his hand. “You know Jim, I think you’ve got something there. Send me a digital picture of you in a pose like they had on the old enlistment posters, and I’ll put it on the back of the t-shirt with your statement. I know a guy who would love to get that idea in production. You can show Darren a finished product.”
“Man, that sounds good,” Sotello said excitedly. “I never thought about my picture with it, but your idea fits perfectly. When could I get some ready, if I send you the picture first thing tomorrow morning? I’m not sure I want to use the flag on it though. Think about the idea though Adrian, and let me know.”
“Give me three days to kick it around,” Phillips answered. “Has Darren given you a bad time about me? You took an awful chance asking him to let me run your campaign.”
“He wasn’t happy about it, but even he knew we needed someone who would be too afraid to sell us out to anyone,” Sotello stated matter-of-factly. “I bet with the press you engendered for tonight’s kickoff, with televised coverage, Darren was pretty impressed. Give it another month, with Gina doing as well as she is now, and I think relations may warm up considerably.”
“I owe you my life,” Phillips said solemnly.
“Lynn’s little con fiasco changed the paths of a whole lot of lives, and ended hers. I did not see the point in it ending any more. I didn’t know you before, so I assumed you might be desperate enough to kill Gina. I know now, and Darren knows now, that you would never have done anything like that. Gina explained the way the whole deal came about, and who really created and ran the scam. To her credit, Gina took a lot of the blame on herself. She realized the thing would have never gotten off of the ground without her betrayal of her Father.”
Phillips ran his hands through his hair and turned away for a moment from Sotello. He turned back after a few seconds. “If you see Gina, will you tell her I am sorry? I better go. I don’t need to be tearing the scab off of that one right now, and congratulations again. I will see you in the morning.”
“I’ll be in before eight,” Sotello nodded. “Just take it easy. One step at a time.”
“I will.” Phillips walked away, toward the parking lot.
Sotello walked back towards the auditorium, and spotted Tank and Jay, standing in the shadows. “Man, I thought you guys would have split long ago.”
“We wanted to make sure Oakland’s answer to Elmer Gantry didn’t get jumped out here all by his self,” Jay quipped.
“Yea brother,” Tank added. “We saw your little set to with the chanters. I never realized how dangerous this politico stuff got.”
“Well, I worked the tough spot tonight to see if I could handle it,” Sotello said. “It seemed like the crowd started to shift a little. They at least liked what I had to say tonight. Tomorrow may be a different deal all together, when they start reading what the press has to say about what they saw.”
“They will crucify you in the papers,” Jay agreed. “You better hope enough of the live coverage made it out to counteract what they make up in the newspapers. I have to hand it to you. The only difference between you and a seasoned politician tonight is a veteran campaigner would never have
taken the chances you did.”
“You will be neck deep with every Chicano hate group in the state tomorrow,” Tank warned. “You declared war on their rice bowl, pal. Without undocumented aliens to extort money from, those groups will fold up like tin in a tornado.”
“What the hell would you know about tornados?” Sotello said to Tank jokingly. “Anyway, thanks for the back up in there. I noticed you guys didn’t bring your wives.”
“We’re not like you,” Jay pointed out. “We don’t take our loved ones into potential war zones.”
“That was cold, Jay,” Tank whistled.
“He’s right,” Sotello admitted. “I ought to have my head examined, but I ain’t going back now. I talked long and hard to my two know-it-alls, but they never budged. I saw in their faces tonight they were a bit surprised at how rough it got. Wait until they see me on the road. I’ll be lucky if I don’t end up wearing every rotten tomato in the state.”
“We’re going to head out,” Jay said. “You be careful, and if you need us, call us.”
“Yea, if you give a talk to some conservative group, we don’t have to be armed at, we’ll bring along the family,” Tank told him.
“I’ll keep it in mind. I guess I better round up my campaigners,” Sotello sighed. “Talk to you two later.”
“I hope so,” Jay laughed, “but I wouldn’t want to put money on it.”
“Don’t listen to him, Jim,” Tank said, putting his arm around Sotello protectively. “You can’t live forever, right?”
Sotello pushed him away good-naturedly. “Thanks for the sympathy, now get out of here.”
The two walked away as Sotello started through the entrance. Jay turned around, yelling his name. Sotello stopped and turned around. “Listen, if anything happens to you, can we have your house?” Both Tank and Jay busted up laughing as Sotello gave them a rude salute.
Inside the auditorium, Ellen and Craig were deep in conversation with Jacob Stanton and his wife Ginger. Sotello noticed no one was smiling. As he approached, Ellen looked up, and saw him approach. She met him with a hug.
“You were outstanding Dad,” Ellen said. “It was all I could do to keep from standing up and cheering.”
“Coming from you,” Sotello said kissing her on top of her head, “I couldn’t ask for a better review. I figured you would tell me if I bombed.”
Craig walked up to shake hands with his Father. “You were scary old man. I thought the first guy was going to drop the mike and run, when you jumped down off of the stage.”
“I didn’t want them to think I would just stand up there while they hooted and called me names. Did you like it, Jacob?” Sotello asked Stanton, as he and his wife walked up behind Craig.
“Man, that was somethin’,” Stanton replied, smiling broadly. “I wish to God someone had begun saying those same things twenty years ago. If they had, we would not be in the mess we’re in now.”
“We were talking to your children about exactly that when you came in,” Ginger said. “I guess we’ll have to wait for the reaction in the news tomorrow.”
“It will be interesting to see how many ways they demonize me. Jacob, how long do you think it will take for the first polls to come out?”
“I bet the first liberal news polls will be out instantly,” Stanton informed him. “Their questions will be slanted to the point people will think voting for you would be the same as shooting their dog. If you are within ten points, we’ll be in business.”
“That bad, huh?” Craig asked. “Democracy in America seems like a foreign language to some of these folks. Dad, watch this. Ever since you told us you were running for Governor, I’ve been working on my Red Davidson impersonation.” Craig transformed himself. His head came slightly forward, his eyes widened a bit, but dulled, and lastly, his mouth tightened as he spoke.
“The President caused our energy problems,” Craig said, in a voice so like Davidson’s, Stanton, who knew Davidson personally, immediately started howling in laughter. “I don’t think the people of California think this is a laughing matter, Mr. Stanton.”
Craig had them, and every time someone would stop laughing, he would add another line. “I will be meeting with my advisors from La Raza, and the teacher’s union tomorrow on what I should think of this Sotello guy. As soon as they tell me what to think, I will call a press conference. I will tell you this, our Red Chinese campaign contributors are very unhappy with this Sotello guy.”
“Oh my Lord son, you’re scary good,” Stanton said, wiping away the tears.
“I’m glad you’re on my side kid,” Sotello said, still laughing. “Do you plan on doing Davidson in public for real? I don’t know if it would be in good taste.”
“The first personal attack on you Dad,” Craig said, no longer smiling, “I will make him wish he had never been born. I’ve seen him in action. He can be vicious, and he does not let the truth get in the way of his agenda. Ellen and I have done some research on him, and I think you will want to fight this guy with everything you’ve got, including me. This is politics, right Mr. Stanton.”
“Hell yea,” Stanton agreed. “That snake will say anything. Jim, you have to be ready to trade everything with him, including the personal stuff. I have a few ideas, now that I’ve seen your son work. Make no mistake about it though, this will get ugly, and Davidson has the willing accomplices in the media to do his bidding.”
“I’m not afraid, Jacob,” Sotello replied. “I won’t roll over for him. I just don’t want the bulls-eye to get shifted from me. I can handle the heat.”
“If Davidson has to debate you, there will be standing room only,” Ginger said. “People will pay good money to see that one.”
They all said their goodbyes, and Sotello walked Ellen and Craig out to their cars. “Did you two really liked my town meeting?”
“It was scary,” Ellen answered, “but it’s a scary world. It fired me up.”
“You never hesitated,” Craig added. “You really knew what you wanted to say. I think you made a great choice in taking questions right off the bat. By the time those people knew they were being used, it was too late.”
“I see you were right all along though,” Ellen continued. “We really did not have a clue. Mr. Stanton and his wife really put it into perspective. They could tell we were a little freaked. You were a natural.”
“We’ll see how much of a natural tomorrow,” Sotello said, opening Ellen’s door for her. “No use even giving things much thought yet. I hope a lot of people saw me on TV. I don’t want you two to get too down if things turn bad; because remember, Clinton and Gore took California by landslides. Somebody, besides illegal aliens, voted for them. Let’s not get too charged up.”
“Hey, at least you get to say what you want,” Craig replied. “Somebody will finally hear what a lot of us think. You can say it all for us before the election. Then we can find out just how left wing this state really is. We might be pleasantly surprised.”
“Don’t count on it. Take care kids. I’ll see you both in the morning. If there’s a riot in front of the Agency tomorrow, just drive on by.”
“You want us to call first?” Ellen asked.
“That might be the best idea Honey,” Sotello answered thoughtfully. “I’ll get there around six o’clock. That way, I’ll be there before La Raza or the Teacher’s Union can bus in any demonstrators.”
Both kids laughed, and Sotello walked to his Dodge. He saw a figure standing near his car. Sotello put a hand inside his jacket and gripped the handle of his Glock 9mm as he walked towards him. He searched the now almost empty parking lot for anyone else in the shadows, but could see nothing out of the ordinary.
“You can get your hand off your piece now, Sotello,” Damon Wilkens said, with a laugh. “I know after a meeting like that one why you would be a little jumpy.”
“D,” Sotello sighed, easing his hand out of his coat. “It’s dark. I just thought it might be a cute little conservative groupy wanting to jump my bon
es.”
Wilkens laughed again, as he shook hands with Sotello. “I’ll bet you did.”
“Why didn’t you wait with the kids back in the auditorium?”
“I needed some air,” Wilkens answered. “I have to say, I never expected anything like that. If you need any help with flyers or signs or anything, you call me. I’m going to get a big billboard sign for my place. I will soon be a friend of the Governor of California. You going to invite me to the mansion?”
“You will always be on the guest list, my friend. People you can trust in this life come few and far between. I think,” Sotello continued, “I will need as many old friends as I can get, if I manage to pull this off.”
“Watching you out there in the aisle of that auditorium really fired me up. I think a lot of us just walk around, swallowing this PC crap, without getting our brains into gear. Like you told that lady, hell, we’re getting shot and killed now. What would be wrong with at least giving the common folk an even chance? Will you call me tomorrow, once you get through the riots, and protest marches out in front of your place?” Damon asked smiling.
“Yea D,” Sotello answered. “Thanks for the positive prediction. Thanks for coming, I will call you tomorrow.”
Wilkens moved away from Sotello’s car with a little wave. “Don’t call me though until you have Fort Sotello secured.”
“If you want that guarantee,” Sotello laughed, “you might have one hell of a long wait. Goodnight D.”
Chapter 25
Solidifying The Base
“I told you Jim would be over here at dawn,” Jay told his partner, as Tank pulled up in front of Sotello’s detective agency in their squad car. “He wanted to be holed up inside when the angry mob gets here with the pitchforks and torches.”
Tank laughed. “That’s cold, brother. You think he’ll spring for breakfast. We did stay up last night holding his hand, when we had to be on duty early.”
“Always thinking with your stomach,” Jay admonished him with a headshake. “Do you think he really will get his ugly butt elected?”
Sotello: Detective, ex-FBI, ex-Secret Service (DeLeo's Action Thriller Singles Book 1) Page 28
