by Lee Strobel
“I got your text message,” Garry Strider said to him. “I really appreciate you checking with me about Gina, especially after what I said to you at the hospital. Actually, the news is good: Gina is conscious and the surgeon says she’s starting to show signs of recovery.”
“That’s fantastic, Garry.”
“Yeah, it really is. They don’t think there will be any permanent brain damage. The doctor told me, ‘She’s got a long and difficult road ahead, but there’s no reason to think she won’t recover.’ She’ll need some skin grafts on her legs, but overall the burns aren’t nearly as bad as they had thought. As one doc said, ‘There’s nothing that won’t heal.’ “
“Thank God! I’ve been praying for her.”
“Yeah, well, I’m just thankful for modern medicine — great surgeons, great doctors, great nurses, great hospital, great technology, great meds. And Gina has always been strong.”
“You think that’s all there is to it?”
For a moment, Strider didn’t answer. Then he said: “Yeah, of course I do.”
That’s when Snow’s cell phone vibrated on his desk. He glanced at the caller ID — it was the governor.
“Let me call you back,” Snow told Strider. “In fact, let me buy you lunch sometime soon. I’d like to talk to you some more.”
“You mean the interview I’ve been waiting for?”
“No, we can do that later. Let’s just talk.”
Strider agreed, then Eric hung up and grabbed the cell.
“Unbelievable about McKelvie,” were the first words from Edward Avanes.
Snow sat up straight, planting both feet firmly on the carpet. “Yeah, absolutely incredible.”
“I knew him for more than twenty years. He’s the last person I would have expected to be in collusion with the likes of the Bugattis. And then to kill himself — well, it’s tragic. It’s a tangled story, I guess.”
“Very sad.”
“Look, Eric, there’s no need to postpone this. The decision on the Senate appointment has been made for me. I want you to take the job. Fill out Senator Barker’s remaining term and then run for election yourself. As I’ve always said — you’re the future, Eric.”
Emotions roiled inside Snow. For a full ten seconds, he didn’t respond. Then Snow said the words he never thought he’d hear himself say.
“I don’t know, Governor. I’m just not sure. You’ll have to give me a few more days to think about it … and talk to Liz … and pray.”
MEET LEE STROBEL
A former award–winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, Lee Strobel is a New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide.
Lee earned a journalism degree at the University of Missouri and was awarded a Ford Foundation fellowship to study at Yale Law School, where he received a Master of Studies in Law degree. He was a journalist for fourteen years at the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, winning Illinois’ top honors for investigative reporting (which he shared with a team he led) and public service journalism from United Press International.
Lee also taught First Amendment Law at Roosevelt University. A former atheist, he served as a teaching pastor at two of America’s largest churches. Lee and his wife, Leslie, live in Colorado. Their daughter, Alison, and son, Kyle, are also authors.
A DISCLAIMER — AND SOME THANKS
I’ve been a reporter at a Chicago newspaper, I’ve prowled the back halls of the Cook County Criminal Courts Building, and I’ve been a pastor at a suburban megachurch — but what you’ve read in these pages is fiction. Indeed, the book is dedicated to a real–life chief judge who was the antithesis of my character Reese McKelvie.
Given my role as a pastor at two of the country’s largest churches, it will be natural for people to try to guess who the book’s characters most resemble. But it would be a futile effort, because they are the creation of my imagination.
The references to such real–life individuals as Chicago mob hit man Harry “The Hook” Aleman (whose federal trial I covered for the Chicago Tribune) and murdered Arizona investigative reporter Don Bolles (part of whose case I also covered) are accurate. But the plot of my book is merely a fanciful excursion into the intriguing world of “what if.”
This is my first major work of fiction, and I have many people to thank for their input, encouragement, and patience. Chief among them are my wife, Leslie; my editor, Dudley Delffs; the entire team at Zondervan Publishing House, especially Moe Girkins; my associate Mark Mittelberg; his son, Matthew Mittelberg, who was the first to read the manuscript and offer feedback; and Ronald Dunn, who wrote about the Lone Ranger episode that I referenced in these pages. Also thanks to Gary and Judy Fields and Chris Henshaw.
I also want to thank my daughter Alison, who’s a terrific novelist. She warned me at the outset that this project would be harder and more fun than writing nonfiction — and she was right!
ZONDERVAN
The Ambition
Copyright © 2011 by Lee Strobel
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.
EPub Edition © MARCH 2011 ISBN: 978-0-310-56016-6
This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook. Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks.
This title is also available in a Zondervan audio edition. Visit wwww.zondervan.fm.
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Strobel, Lee, 1952-
The ambition / Lee Strobel.
p. cm.
I. Title.
PS3619.T7545 A83 4 – 2011
813’.6 - dc22 2010049396
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental and is beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers printed in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Cover design: Curt Diepenhorst
Cover photography: Getty Images®
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