ALL IN: Race for the White House (39 page)

“Betty, we will all be memories at some point.”

I could hear Bud bitching in the background about how weak Porter was. He couldn’t bring himself to call him the president. North Korea had launched a test rocket as a show of strength claiming it was a weather satellite.
 

“The VP should take a strong stance and send a carrier off the coast,” Bud said. “Jack will be running against Porter, It’s going to be a shallow victory against that guy.”
 

Bill was answering his mutterings in a low tone, “What does it matter, Bud?” I heard him say as I began speaking to Betty.
 

“Why don’t you bring the girls down to Texas; you can speak. Lily and Timlin and their husbands, your grandkids, all onstage while you dedicate land to energy production under a Canon Presidency. That will be his legacy, in fifty years Gene’s name. Your family name will be bigger than Carnegie. Your husband was mixed up with organized crime; you can choose how he will be remembered.”
 

I had a heart-to-heart with Betty as we discussed the speech she could give. I gave her a choice: she could donate the land or wait for the Feds to seize it.
 

“Take the payoff out from under them, there’ll be no reason coming after a dead man. I promised her if she agreed I would order them to leave her alone.
 

“The country will be on your side, Betty, for a leading donation in the Energy Revolution, others will follow…, but you’ll always be the first. Think of that. Besides, I’ll be right there next to you the whole time, it will be good you’ll see.” It helped that she liked me personally.
 

The Hobbs family fortune divided three ways left Betty the sixth richest woman in America followed by her two daughters tied for seventh.
 

Betty told me that her oldest, Timlin, was quite taken by our campaign and wanted to get involved. She confided that her daughter was divorcing and that she would be coming with her girls. She added that her husband paid the worthless son-in-law five million to sign a release to get the hell out of their daughter’s life. Days later, he returned violently angry, wanting more money. The family believed there was motive.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

The event in Big Spring was growing by the hour. Texas State Troopers decided to close off the interstate. People were leaving their cars by the side of the road and walking in.
 

I was ready to hit the stage joined by the Hobbs Family. What better way to start I thought than to begin with a gift.
 

I was waiting backstage when Betty arrived and reintroduced her daughters, “You remember Lily and Timlin. You met the night of the fundraiser.”

“Yes, I remember. Great to see you both again.”
I heard myself saying it, but I must have been distracted in New York because one of the girls was a looker and I would have remembered her.
“Girls, this is going to be a great night.”
 

Lily was thirty-three, thin and plain, with short, dark, unstyled hair speckled with gray. She was shy, opting to stay close by her mother. Practically drooling like she was sedated, she barely lifted her head to say hello.
 

Betty busied herself preparing Lily for the stage, topping her head with a little floral hat pinned at an angle.

Timlin, on the other hand, was a real shocker.
From the ground up, she was a study of Sandy, pink stilettos with zebra print platform heels, a tight black skirt, and a low-cut white blouse. Her hair was pulled back into a single thick braid checkered with sunny blonde highlights. It was a great look.
 

As I was noticing, the tone of her voice gave way her enjoyment, “You don’t remember me do you, Senator?”
 

“How did you know?”
 

“Because the night we met I looked more like my sister. You seem repulsed by her. Now that my ex is out of the picture, I’m free.” Timlin twirled side to show off her new look.
 

“You’re pretty, Timlin.” I couldn’t imagine her looking anything like her sister.

She asked playfully, “Can I call you, Jack?”
 

“Of course, I’d like that.”

Beaming with confidence she
pressed closer, whispering, “I can’t take my mind off of you. Believe me, I’ve tried. If I don’t get to be involved with you...”

I cut her off trying to keep it light, “Don’t be silly, we’d love to have your help.” I figured she had great contacts and obviously, it couldn’t hurt to have her around.

“Let me know what I can do, I’m ready to start anytime.” Timlin moved so close that our bodies were touching.
 

To drain the awkwardness I hugged her, “It will be great…”

I didn’t finish. She was fuller figured and felt soft and beautiful. She looked up at me moving her face gently to one side. I thought she was presenting her cheek for a friendly kiss, but she moved toward me. The corner of my lip brushed her mouth and she went limp in my arms.
 

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

“Yes…” She exhaled.
 

I was invigorated as I linked arm in arm with Betty, Timlin, and Lily. We walked out to a sea of humanity who had spent the last few days waiting for me.
 

The festival was amazing; deciding last minute to bargain with Betty Hobbs rather than destroy her husband’s name had paid off. The crowd was exhilarated with possibility as I gave the speech I had waited a lifetime to give.
 

I addressed the crowd.
 

“I believe that generations from now, you who were here will remember this day. The time has ended, when ordinary Americans suffer under the weight of wealth and arrogance. We will not reward greed.
 

“We are not here to condemn, but instead providing an avenue of opportunity to make it right, to rebuild America. You heard Betty Hobbs get up and tell you that she along with her daughters, Timlin and Lily, will be donating fifty thousand acres and half their vast fortune to energy research and production.”

I called Betty and family back out onto the stage. The crowd erupted in cheers that further electrified my delivery.
 

“We and those we represent are creating a Legacy of Philanthropy. The Hobbs family is first. My presidency will give the opportunity. If the greed continues, there will be justice. No, there will be a
reckoning
. I will go after those who have raped America and hurt you in the process.”
 

For as far as I could see, the farmland was filled with humanity searching for meaningful change. Each sentence brought the energy level higher.
 

“I have not found an instance where great wealth was amassed without harm. We will expose crimes committed in the creation of these vast fortunes. Those who cause you pain will be brought to justice!

“Today, Liberty breathes the fresh air of change. There is nowhere to hide! The system will be cracked wide open and reworked for the greater good. I promise you that if you elect me as your president, you will see a first hundred days like no other!”

The crowd was emotional, I could see people near the stage were crying and cheering and raising their arms in defiance against a system that had failed them. The popularity of this event was opening the countries and possibly the world’s eyes to the root of the problem.
 

I took the opportunity to nail Porter.
 

“We cannot allow North Korea to fire missiles in an aggressive posture. There will be peace. The day I am elected, the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan will be on its way to park on their doorstep. Our diplomacy is simple: fire another missile and we fire on the palace.”

The people forgot the ruts in the fields and the conditions caused when thousands force themselves onto tight quarters in the late Texas heat. Anne Griffin had done her best to accommodate the masses, expecting numbers in the hundred thousand range; when things swelled beyond that, she called in the National Guard to deliver supplies as quickly as possible. We had to arrange to end the event and organize a safe and orderly disbanding of the crowds. People were still making their way to be part of history; the time had come to turn them back.
 

I took one last stab at the system before calling the epic event to a close. “The Federal Reserve is backstopping trillions in debt for the largest banks. Institutions have been bailed out to the tune of billions of taxpayer dollars. Never once did Washington succeed in helping you!
 

“Why is the government so willing to dedicate unfathomable amounts of money to help the rich, but so averse to helping the working man down on his luck? They call it personal responsibility when the system forces you out of a job and your family out of your home. Pain, humiliation, and shame are put upon ordinary, hard-working people while the elite go unscathed, bailed out by their friends in Washington. The Fed Chairman had to send word to one of the large investment firms to hold off on awarding huge executive bonuses months after they were bailed out. They didn’t get it. He had to tell them it would look bad. What were they being rewarded for? I promise, beginning my first day in office, I will sign an executive order making it illegal to speculate on oil without taking delivery. I’ll release the food the government has sitting in silos, instead of letting it go to rot to keep prices up. The founding fathers would not have allowed good food go to waste while children slept hungry in their beds.”

I was speaking over the cheers, euphoric over the sight of the throngs of everyday Americans coming together. The time had finally come to dismantle a broken way of life and begin anew.

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

“That was unbelievable, Jack!” Lexi was excited on the phone.
 

“The speech? I got a little carried away, the crowd inspired me.”

“All of it. The speech, the park, the people stretched out forever, the closing of the highways, the sheer spectacle of it all. You know what I loved the most about the last three days, Jack?”

“I don’t know, Lexi… the history in the making, the comparison to Woodstock?”

“All that, but most of all the timing, for three days after the president was shot the country was able to come together. It was cathartic for me and I’m sure for the people who were drawn to Big Spring. Remember right after 9/11 everybody was like your long-lost friend, we appreciated each other, and the pettiness was gone. It felt like we could love each other more if you were president. I’m not sure how it was for those watching on television. That’s the feeling I came away with.”
 

“I was surprised they closed Highway 87 and Interstate 20. Bill told me people were walking in for miles on foot.”
 

“We have footage of people walking in the park, passing the Comanche Trail sign and of families swimming in the spring. Anne picked an amazing location, and I’ve got to hand it to her: she somehow kept everybody alive down there.”
 

“You’re not kidding, Lexi. She brought in the Texas Guard and over a thousand volunteers, and somehow managed to provide the basic necessities, even though it had to be twice the number she’d expected.”
 

“The people kept coming. We got a lot of background footage. The network wanted it for our archives and for posterity. This thing was big, Jack. They’ll be talking about Big Spring and using that film for years. Jack, did you know that
Midnight Cowboy
was filmed in Big Spring?”

“No, I have to thank Anne for the parallels to ’69. The mood of the country is ‘revolution against the status quo’ like then. History repeats itself. She’s going to make a good VP.”

“Are you guys heading back to Washington?”
 

“Yeah, another hour in the air, and we’ll be there.”

“Who’s with you?”

“There’s the four of us, Bud, Bill, and Sandy of course. I sent Sarah and the girls out of there yesterday with Tip. Things were getting so crazy, I thought they’d better get a jump on the crowds.”
 

“Good ole Tip.”

“I sure miss Lisa, though.”

“I know, Jack,” Lexi spoke with heartfelt sympathy. She knew how much I cared for Lisa.
 

“I know I’ve told you this before, but I felt so much peace when she was near.”
 

“I know you miss her, I’m so sorry she’s gone.”

“You have that quality of kindness, Lexi, only you’re so hyper.”

“I’m always on the run following you around, the network’s so demanding.”

“The running’s going to stop soon, and you’ll be able to stay in Washington.”

“Thanks to all the scoops the network’s given me a five-year deal. I’m finally getting some respect. Before you came along, the top brass would’ve replaced me in a heartbeat.”

“That’s not true, Lexi. You’re great at what you do, not to mention the style you bring to your reports.”

“I’m telling you, Jack, and they let you know it with anyone. Do you have any idea how many hungry reporters out there in Anytown, USA would love to get a break, even for the money? The networks know people are willing to do anything to make the national market.”
 

“Anything, Lexi?”

“Yes, Jack, anything short of killing someone I guess.”

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

I met with Bob privately outside the residence before heading into the Oval.
 

“Bob, I wanted to take a minute to congratulate you.”

“For what, Mr. President?”

“I’m putting you in charge of my detail.”
 

“It will be my honor. Thank you so much, Sir.” I knew how much this meant to Bob. He was trying to maintain his composure.
 

“Do me a favor, Bob?”

“Sir?”

“I want you to triple the protection on my girls.”

“Yes, absolutely it will be done today.”

“Bob, I consider us friends. When we’re alone, call me Jack.”