Dead Man Running (9 page)

"
Sounded like he was talking to someone about nuts, but I don't hear too well
,
"
said the woman.

"
Oh, God.  Do you know where he went?
"

"
I think he's in Mrs. Tolliver's class.
"

"
Where?
"

"
Down the hall, second door on the right.
"

Jan sprint
ed
out the room.

"
But you need a hall pass...
,
" the old woman called after her.

Jan g
ot
to the room.  As she approache
d
,
she heard the
singing. 
"T
he itsy bitsy spider
came down the water spout, out
came the rain and washed the spider out!
"

Jan enter
ed
the room.  There
wa
s Wiley, holding hands with
an adult female who had to be
Mrs. Tolliver. 
Linking hands with that pair were nearly a dozen children. 
The group
was
singing and acting
out the song.  Wiley's arms spread out as
they all sang "O
ut came the sun and dried out all the rain!
"

As she release
d
his arm, Mrs. Tolliver and her class ma
d
e
a
climbing motion with their fingers
.  "A
s the itsy bitsy sp
ider climbs up the spout again!"

Jan
wa
s stunned as Wiley ma
de
the climbing motion along with them. 
He seem
ed
to be evolving – somehow becoming more aware – more human. 
As the
music
end
ed
, the class cheer
ed
.

Mrs. Tolliver quieted her class.  "
Okay
children
, what do you want to sing next with Congressman Wiley?
"

'Hokey Pokey' someone shouted. 

"
Okay, everybody get in a circle!
"

The dozen or so children assemble
d
in a circle.  Wiley look
ed
around and slowly shuffle
d
into place.  The singing beg
an again. 

"P
ut your right leg in!
"

The students put their legs in.  Wiley follow
ed
along.  Jan watche
d
, astonished.

"P
ut your right leg out!
"

Again, all participate
, including the dead man
.

Jan walk
ed
over to Mrs. Tolliver.

"T
hen you shake it all around!
"

"
Can I help you?
" asked the teacher.

"
Yes, I'm part of the c
ongressman's staff.  I'm afraid to say we lost track of him.  How long has he been here?
"

"
About twenty minutes.  What a surprise!  He just showed up.  He stood there staring into the classroom.  I recognized him, of course.  I invited him in.  He was little quiet, so I suggested that we sing some songs with the children.
"

"
Amazing.
"

"
I didn't know he was such a nice man.  So warm and loving with the
c
hildren.  I thought he was just another crooked politician.  If people knew the real Ben Wiley, they would be surprised.
"

Jan smiled broadly.  "
No truer words were ever spoken.
"

She
and Mrs. Tolliver join
ed
the circle.

"D
o the hokey pokey and turn yourself around and that's what it's all about!
"

Jan smil
ed
as she h
eld
Wiley's hand.
 

She
now
had a new plan, one that would turn the tables on that witch Mrs. Wiley
and Ben's less than loyal chief of staff.

FIVE

They thought it best to bring Wiley back to his home, a
place
familiar and safe, especially with Mrs. Wiley still enjoying the
Hamptons
.

Elias, Chi, Jan and Wiley
were in the study.  Jan was seated
as Chi and Elias pace
d
about.  Wiley st
ood
against one wall, slowly performing the hokey pokey.

"
So, he just walked out?
" asked Elias.

"
He just walked out
," answered Jan for the umpteenth time.

"
What were you doing when he walked out?
"

"
Sleeping.
"

"
You stayed here all night?  With him?
" asked Chi. 
He kept his distance from Wiley. 
He was slowly becoming afraid of
the man….the thing
.  Maybe Brinkman
had
been here
.

"
Yes.
"

"
Why?
"

"
Someone has to keep an eye on him.
"

"
That worked out real good.  Why don't we just parade him on Channel Two
News?
  All of
Harlem
saw him get thrown thirty feet by a car
,
"
said Elias.

"
Break his own leg and then walk away
,
"
added Chi.

"
So what, they'll still vote for him
,
"
replied Jan.

"
Meanwhile we find you two at a school dancing.  I thought he could
barely
walk
.
" Chi looked at Elias, then Jan.

"
What's next, rollerb
la
ding?  What the hell is happening here, Jan
?
"
asked Elias.

"
He's changing.  Ben is becoming more alive than you thought.
"

The men look
ed
at each other.

"
Ben?  He's Ben now?  A couple days ago he made your skin crawl
,
"
said Chi.

"
I'm much more comfortable with him now.
"

"
I think
'
Ben
'
needs to be locked up till the election is over.  And you need to be locked up permanent
,
"
said Elias.

"
There's nothing wrong with me.
"

"
There better not be.  One week from tonight, I want to be celebrating his victory.
"

"
And you will be
," said Jan.

"
I better be,
and then
Ben can take a walk.
"

"
In cement shoes
," laughed Chi.

"
You can't.  He's changing.
"

"
He's dead
honey.  A
nd in a week, Ben go bye
-
bye.  Are you okay with that, Jan?
"

Jan look
ed
over at Wiley, still dancing.

"
Yeah.
"

"
Good.  Now take the dancing bear upstairs and lock him in his room.
"

"
I'm going to stay with him
again
.
"

"
I don't care what you
do.  J
ust don't let him get away.
"

Jan
rose, grabbed
Wiley's arm and le
d
him out
of
the room.

Once Wiley and the girl w
ere
gone, Chi got in his boss' face.  "
I don't like this, E.  This really don't feel right.
"

"
He
is
different,
"
said Elias.

"
Yeah, a lot different.  So is she.
"

"
You thinking we got to take care of her when we disappear him
?
"

"
I think we need to walk away
, now
.
"

"
Don't be we
ak, Chi.  Remember those 110Gs."
   

"
I remember
'
em.  I just don't know if this is worth it.
"

"
It's worth it, I'm telling
you it's worth all this."
                                

"
I hope you're right.  What about the World Affairs address tomorrow?  You're not going to let him go?
"

"
Why not, the last time Wiley spoke in public we gained ten points.
"
Elias laughed.

"
We're already going to win in a landslide.  Why risk it?
"

"
I don't just want to win, I want a mandate.  Plus, we can always say he suffered a drug relapse
if he says something wrong
.
"

Elias sat in a small studio in CNN's
Manhattan
headquarters.  A studio tech routed a microphone around his back and attached it to his lapel.  The woman handed him an ear bud and Elias gave the woman – a young Hispanic woman with a gentle face, strong booty in tight knit pants and fist sized breasts wrapped in a black bra
underneath
a skintight sweater – his warmest smile.  She smiled back and Elias made a mental note to get her digits before he left the building. 

Maybe she'd be willing to do him in a broom close
t
?

He sure could use the release – Wiley's adventure was all over YouTube and this was his twelfth interview where he attempted to explain away what the human eye could clearly see.

The fine
Latina
appeared again. 
"Thirty seconds, Mr. Turnbull," she said.  Her voice was husky and it turned Elias on.

Elias nodded and smiled.  He heard a voice in his ear bud counting down then he heard the voice of Wolf Blitzer.  A monitor underneath the camera that faced him featured Blitzer standing in his "Situation Room". 

"Our guest tonight in the Situation Room is Elias Turnbull, chief of staff for Democratic congressman Benjamin Wiley.  Congressman Wiley is an
I
nternet sensation this evening following the posting of this video on YouTube."  The picture splits in two – Blitzer on one side, the accident video on the other.  "As you can see it apparently shows the congressman being hit by a car, then miraculously mending his broken leg and continuing down the street."

"I have to say Wolf, the congressman did not mend his leg
.  H
e straightened his leg.  He then got up and continued on his walk."

"You're telling me, Mr. Turnbull, that this collision did not break the congressman's leg?"

Elias' monitor showed a recurring loop of the accident, NFL style with super slow motion.  Wiley's leg clearly bends at a supernatural angle.

"The congressman walked down the street to his appointment at a neighborhood elementary school.  There he danced with a classroom of school children.  Tell me how he did all that with a broken leg?"

"Can you tell
us how he survived the accident at all?"

Elias ducked his head, his contrition having to substitute for his boss'.  He looked up, making eye contact with the Wolf Monitor.