Dead Man Running (8 page)

Harlem
socialite Dolores Capshaw's c
ampaign headquarters
was her
penthouse apartment. 
Ca
mpaign posters
lay
about
- t
he candidate, a youngish black woma
n with flawless near white skin,
grins from the poster with this caption surrounding her face
:

BEN THERE DONE THAT - CAPSHAW FOR CONGRESS

The candidate, in the middle of the busy apartment,
spoke
to an equally
harried
young man.
 
"
Humphrey, what are the overnights showing?
"

Humphrey
finger
ed
his
Droid
until he call
ed
up the report
.
  "
We thought we could gain some ground after his statement during the breakfast.
"

"
And?
"

"
We lost ten points.
"

"
How can that be?
"

Capshaw grab
bed the
phone
from Humphrey. 
Her
index finger
furiously
flipped page after page of the report
.

"
With him admitting a drug problem,
it
seems
that
all of
Harlem
's drug users and drug dealers got solidly behind Reverend Wiley.  That's a significant block of votes.
"

"
I was counting on those votes.  Ever since Reagan came out with
his
'
just say no
' campaign
,
the drug community
has
always voted Republican.  Darn, I just knew they were going to vote for me.
"  She stomped her
Ch
r
istian Louboutin's clad feet.  "
Who else did we lose?
"

"
We lost the race card crowd.  They apparently think that this whole thing has been made up by the white man to get Wiley.  The
y're
all in Wiley's corner now.
"

"
We need some dirt on Wiley.
"

"
Yeah, drug use just doesn't get you as far as it used to.
"

"
Try to find something really damaging.
"

"
We'll start digging.
"

"
Hurry, there's not much time left.
"

By mid morning
Jan lift
ed
her head from Wiley's bed. 
It took a few moments for it to register that t
here
wa
s no one
lying
next to her.  Jan leap
t
from the bed.  Wiley
was gone!

Jan pull
ed
on her
clothing, her
boots.  She r
an
out of the room.  Forgetting that he can't respond, she shout
ed
his name
.

"
Ben!  Where are you?
"

In a few minutes Jan had searched the house with no success.  She retrieved her cell and made the call
that
she was dreading.

"
Chi Bright.  Speak.
"

"
Chi, he's gone.
"

"
You mean...
"

"
He's gone.  He's not in the house.
"

"
Start searching outside.  I'll get Elias and come right down.
"

Wiley
strolled
down
Harlem
's
Lexington A
venue
, the venue
bathed in sunshine. 
Last night's meal ha
d
given him new vigor and locomotion.  His arms
swung
at his side
s
and he
wore something more than
the same blank stare. 

He had even dressed himself in a gray suit, white dress shirt, black Nikes and no socks. 

As he walk
ed
along
, several of his constituents recognize
d
him.  They shout
ed
out greetings or other words
:

"
Good
m
orning Reverend!
"

"
Hey Wiley,
w
hen
y
ou
g
onna get these streets fixed
?  D
on't keep walking
,
you hear me, nigger!
"

"
Reverend Wiley, what a pleasure it is to see you!
"

"
What you doing down here Wiley, your limo broke?!
"

Wiley
reached
an intersection. 
The sign
blared
"DON'T WALK" and c
ar
s
we
re speeding through. 
After the briefest hesitation
Wiley step
ped
out into traffic.  The cars brake
d
but not quickly enough
.  A cab crashe
d
into him and lift
ed
his body into the air. 

Wiley
land
ed in a heap
on the opposite side of the street.  The cabbie
exit
ed
his vehicle and
c
ame
running over along with several onlookers.

"O
h my god, they hit
R
everend
W
iley!
"
someone shouted.

"S
omebody call an ambulance!
"  Several cell phones
we
re produced, some calling '911', others to record the scene for posting online or sale to the
mainstream
media.

Wiley
's body was
face down, his
left
leg at a grotesque angle.

The cabbie, a small man of Eastern European descent, patted his victim on the shoulder.  "
Hey, the ambulance is on the way.  Just
lay
still, buddy.
"

With that, Wiley turn
ed
himself over.  Staring at the cabbie all the while,
he
grab
bed
his damaged leg and straighten
ed
it.  There
wa
s a loud
crunch
as he did
so.  The crowd groan
ed
.  A young man up front faint
ed
. 

Wiley stood
. 
He brushe
d
off his suit and pat
ted
his
Afro
. 
The crowd part
ed
as he walk
ed
away.

"
But the ambulance?
" ask
ed
the cabbie. 

Wiley stopped, turned to face the man.  "
God ain't got nothing to do with it!  Time to ride the white wave!
"

Wiley let out a loud grunt as he continue
d
down the street.
  The crowd, several dozen now, watched as one
, a
dumbfounded mass
of humanity,
as their representative walked away. 

They were either too stunned or too afraid to follow.

In front of the Wiley home
Elias st
ood
outside the limo.  He lean
ed
over to talk to Chi, behind the wheel.

"
You cruise around, he's got to be close by.
"

"
How far can a zombie go?
" Chi asked.

"
I don't know, but from here on out, we keep him under lock and key.
"

Elias
took
off down the street
, heading in the direction of
Lexington Avenue
.

Wiley continue
d
his
sojourn
down the
broad avenue
.  An old woman, holding the hand of a kindergarten age girl, approache
d
him
.  He halt
ed
as the woman block
ed
his path.

"
Reverend Wiley, this
be
my granddaughter,
Braunkisha
.  She
be
o
'
ly five year old but she wants to a
x
you a question.  Go ahead
child
.
"

Wiley's eyes travelled from the old woman to the face of the child.

"
Reverend Wiley, my daddy keeps hurting Mommy?  Can you help me?
"

Wiley stare
d
at her with a
blank look. 
"
Bring ya momma in and I'll heal her too!
"

The old woman
stood open mouthed
.  Wiley lift
ed
his head and quickly walk
ed
off.

The young child jumped up and down, tear
s
coming out her eyes. 
"
You see, granny, t
he
c
ongressman
gonna
help Mommy!"

Jan reached
the scene of the accident.  The crowd
wa
s still buzzing.

"
Has anybody seen Congressman Wiley?
"

A shopkeeper hear
d
the question.
  "
Have we seen him?  Who hasn't?
"  He shove
d
a Droid in her face and she watche
d
the YouTube video of his miraculous resurrection. 

"
Where did he go?
" she asked as she handed the man
back
his phone.

"
I don't know.  He got hit by a car, got thrown up in the air
thirty feet
, broke his leg, then he broke it back and took off.
"

"
What direction did he go?
"
she tried again.

About a half dozen people point
ed
south.  Jan sprint
ed
in that direction. 

A
few
block
s
later, the avenue
led
onto a bridge.  Jan g
ot
to the crown of the bridge
, her breath ragged.  She
look
ed
in all directions.  No sign of Wiley.  There
we
re few buildings around.  Mostly vacant lots except for a small school building on the opposite end of the bridge.

Jan rushe
d
inside the school, bolting to
the
visitor's
desk.  An older woman
stood
behind the desk.

"
Excuse me
but
I'm looking for Congressman Wiley.  Have you seen him
?"

"
He walked past here
about fifteen
minutes ago.
  Are you from his staff?"

"Yes," Jan said.  She smiled, collected herself.  "
He didn't say anything, did he?
"