The Senator's Choice (2 page)

For Daniels, the bill did more than create a signature moment for him in Congress — it helped him save his hometown of Waycross. Once a bustling town, the economic downturn hit the town hard. The population had dwindled to less than five thousand after swelling to more than twenty-five thousand when Daniels was a kid. With plenty of cheap property and a population starved for real work, Zolcorp targeted Waycross for one of its new refineries.

Four more days.

Four days was an eternity in Congress. Senators
’
stars could rise and fall and rise again in that period of time. They were all a news story away from watching their power dissipate on the allegations of a scandal. The media
’
s insatiable desire to be first on a story resulted in a rash of stories that failed to check sources. If a senator
’
s story fell first into the hands of a reporter determined to make a name for himself, he would waste the next month in damage control, not to mention spend half of his next campaign deconstructing the half-truth accusations that his opponent would pounce upon. But this vote seemed like a lock. It was the kind of vote Catherine would have been proud of.

Daniels looked at the faded photo on the corner of his desk — a cozy family picture with Catherine and the boys, Mike, Ben and Luke. He tried to replace it many times but couldn
’
t bring himself to do it. As he thought about Catherine, he moved to twist his wedding ring. It wasn
’
t there. He
’
d finally taken it off six months ago.

“If all of Congress was like you, this country would be in a much better place,” she once told him.

“Honey, you do know I
’
m not perfect, right?” he responded.

“Yes, but perfection is not a prerequisite for greatness.”

Enacting legislation never felt like a moment of greatness to Daniels, but the consequences often did. When citizens regained power from an overreaching government or gained justice on a corrupt system, he felt proudest about what he did. Despite what his colleagues on the Hill did, he always knew he
’
d been sent to Washington to serve the interests of the people above his own. The New England Energy Access Act was primed to do just that at the expense of a favor from his own party.

Bella Zander, his 23-year-old aide, knocked on his door.

“
Come in,
” he said.

She slid a package onto his desk. “This just came for you, sir.”

“Thanks, Bella.”

He opened it and pulled out a piece of paper and a picture. He gaped at the image. “Bella! Get in here now!”

She rushed into the room. “Is everything all right, sir?”

“Who gave this to you?”

“One of the mailroom clerks. Why?”

“Do you know which one?”

“Yeah. Is there a problem?”

“See if you can get him on the phone for me.”

Daniels stared at the photo. He struggled to hold back tears.
No! This can
’
t be happening to me!

He tossed the note and the snapshot on his desk. It was a picture of his youngest son, 15-year-old Luke, bound and gagged. The accompanying note read:

“Vote NO on the bill or your son dies.

Call the cops or the feds and he dies. We
’
re watching you!”

Bella buzzed his office phone. “I
’
ve got the clerk on the line, sir. Should I patch him through”?”

His phone buzzed with a text message. “Hold on a second.” He read the text message:

Don
’
t talk to the mailroom clerk unless you want him to die.

“You know what, it
’
s all right. I
’
ll handle it later. Tell him everything is fine.”

“Okay, sir.”
Bella hung up.

They
’
re listening to me too. I gotta get outta here!

He stormed out of his office and headed straight for Bella
’
s desk. Leaning over her desk, he whispered, “
Can I borrow your cell phone for a minute?
”

She furrowed her brow and cocked her head. “Are you sure everything is okay, sir? You
’
re acting very strange all of a sudden”.”

“Can I borrow your phone or not?”

“Fine. Take it.” She handed him her phone. “You look kind of pale, sir. I think maybe you should go to the infirmary.”

Daniels held up his index finger to her as he turned and walked away. He slipped down the hall into an unoccupied conference room. As he sat down, he began to loosen his tie. He needed to make two phone calls first: Mike and Ben.

***

THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Daniels sat across the table from his sons, Mike and Ben, in the same conference room.

“What
’
s this all about, Dad? You
’
re freaking me out,” Ben said.

Mike leaned forward in his chair. “Yeah, the last time you called an immediate family meeting like this was when—”

“Let
’
s not go down that road, son,” Daniels said. “But this is almost as important.”

“What
’
s going on?” Ben demanded.

“No use in mincing words here: Luke
’
s been kidnapped.”

Ben pushed back from his chair, stood up and started pacing about the room. “Kidnapped? Are you sure?”

“Yes. They sent a proof of life picture,” Daniels said.

“Can I see it?” Ben asked.

“It
’
s probably best that you didn
’
t see it right now. I don
’
t want you getting worked up.”

Mike buried his face in his hands. “This can
’
t be happening. What
’
s this all about?”

“It
’
s about the New England Energy Access Act,” Daniels said.

“Are you sure?” Mike asked. “You think someone would go to such extremes over that bill?”

Daniels stood up and took his tie off. “They imprisoned a scientist with the EPA who threatened to go public with the truth about the environmental impact — or lack thereof — the pipeline would have.”

“Anybody but Luke,” Ben said. He pounded his fist on the table. “We
’
ve gotta call the feds and do something about this.”

“No. We
’
re not getting the feds or any other law enforcement involved,”
Daniels snapped.

“Why not?” Mike asked. “You
’
re just gonna vote No on the bill and expect they
’
ll return him to you like nothing ever happened?”

Daniels took a deep breath and shot a steely gaze at Mike. “Of course not. I
’
m going to call your uncle Seth and get him involved.”

“Is there anything we can do in the meantime?” Ben asked.

“Yes. You can go home and not breathe a word of this to anyone, not even your wives. We
’
ve got to keep this circle tight. I
’
m afraid these people are crazy enough to follow through on their promises if we don
’
t at least act like we
’
re going along with them.”

Mike and Ben took turns giving their father hugs before they prepared to exit the room.

“We
’
re gonna get through this. Just stay positive and pray it all works out,” Daniels said.

After his boys exited the room, he pulled out Bella
’
s cell phone and dialed the number for his brother-in-law, Seth Matthews.

“Matthews here. Who is this?” he answered.

“Seth, it
’
s me, Jeffrey Daniels.
”

“Where are you calling me from?”

“Never mind that. I
’
ve got a favor to ask.”

“Anything for you, JD. What’s this about?”

“I can’t tell you right now, but I need to make sure you’re going to be there for our lunch date. It’s important.”

CHAPTER 3

WHEN SETH MATTHEWS LIMPED into Madison
’
s Downtown Market and Café, he knew something felt different. For the past twenty years, Matthews had a standing Monday lunch date with Senator Daniels whenever the senator was in Columbus. The wait staff held the corner booth for Matthews unless he notified them otherwise. But when Daniels walked in, he requested a booth near the front window. Dishes clanked. Silverware clinked. Patrons chatted. It all combined to form a soundtrack worthy of covering their conversation — if anyone truly was listening.

Thump. Shuffle. Thump. Shuffle. Thump.

Matthews utilized his cane proficiently. He groaned as he slid into the booth.

“When are you ever going to learn?” Daniels asked him.

Matthews settled into his spot and rested his cane against the window. “Learn what? That I
’
m not twenty-five any more? I figured that out a long time ago.”

“No, that you
’
re too old to go diving after thugs.”

“The kind of thugs I chase don
’
t run — they shoot.”

“Let
’
s hope that cane is loaded then.”

“Would I be using it if it wasn
’
t?”

The response earned a smile and chuckle from Daniels.

Matthews put his arms on the table and leaned forward. “Is everything all right? There was something in your voice on the phone.”

“I just needed to make sure you were still coming today.”

Matthews leaned back and waved off the senator. “Jeff, you know I come here almost every Monday even when you aren
’
t in town. It
’
s just a bonus that you happen to be here most days.”

“I know, but today was really important.”

“Why? What
’
s going on?”

Matthews placed his hands up as if to surrender. “It
’
s all right. Nothing to be alarmed about. I just need your help, that
’
s all.”

“What kind of help?”

“The kind you can
’
t tell anyone about.”

“Oh. That kind of help.”

The waitress sauntered toward them, catching the eye of the senator. “Gracie, can I get a cup of coffee?”

“Sure thing, Senator Daniels,” she said as she scurried back to the kitchen.

Matthews leaned back and shifted in his seat. “What
’
s going on, Jeffrey? You
’
re starting to freak me out a little.”

“Sorry. It
’
s just that—” He looked as if he might break down and cry.

Matthews put his hand on the senator
’
s arm. “What
’
s the matter? You can tell me.”

The senator pulled back. “That
’
s just it. I can
’
t tell you anything.”

“Why not?”

“Because they
’
ll shoot me.”

“Who?”

“The guys out there watching.”

Matthews nodded as if he
’
d just learned something interesting. His calm demeanor betrayed the gravity of what he knew Daniels wanted to tell him. If anyone was watching, they wouldn
’
t perceive the conversation to be anything of consequence. He stared down at his menu and appeared to ponder his dining selection. “They can
’
t hear you in here, you know, unless your mouth is speaking directly toward their mic. Speak into your menu and you
’
ll be fine. There
’
s plenty of ambient noise out here.”

Daniels put his head in his menu and started talking about the Philly cheese steak. Then he blurted, “They
’
ve got Luke.
”

Matthews clenched his fist. “
They
?”

“
I don’
t know
who
, Seth. I received an envelope at my office this morning and it had a picture of Luke tied up and demands.”

“What do
they
want?”

“To kill the energy bill I
’
ve been working so hard on.”