Chapter 70

It was after midnight before Jason finally collapsed across the bed in Newt’s guest bedroom. He was bone tired, but it had been a very successful evening. They’d finished the five paragraphs that were to be inserted - three in one section and two in another. There were several pages in between, but the wording linked them together as one, and the whole was definitely greater than the sum of the parts. The three men involved in the wording were convinced that a favorable ruling would be a ‘slam-dunk’ when it reached the courts.

Unfortunately, Andy’s absence and the strange location overcame his tiredness, preventing Jason from having a very restful night’s sleep. Thus, even after two cups of strong coffee with his breakfast, by the time he arrived at the Senate Office Building, he knew he would have to take a ‘white’ to stay alert. Of course, this was something he was used to, as Special Ops forces in the field tended to take Provigil like candy.

He reached his office before his staff and changed into his spare suit. Later in the morning he’d send the one he’d been wearing out to be cleaned and pressed. At least he was now presentable, but he’d have given anything to be able to wear some comfortable jeans, a chambray shirt, and his moccasins. Instead, he had to meet with Joe Bliden as early as possible; the information to Lindsey had been sent to a special private email account last evening. He’d received an acknowledgment from the Senator before he went to bed.

“Madeline,” Jason said into his office’s intercom.

His secretary immediately picked up the phone, and responded, “Good Morning, Senator. How are you doing this morning?”

“I didn’t sleep very well, so I’m dragging. Do you have any coffee made yet?”

“Yes, Sir, would you like me to bring you a cup?”

“That’s OK, I can get my own. I do need you to see if you can find Senator Bliden and see when would be a convenient time to meet with him. Also, I have the suit I wore yesterday. Do you think you could get a cleaner to send someone for it? I need to have it cleaned and pressed sometime today.”

“There’s a service downstairs that takes care of that. I’ll give them a call, along with Senator Bliden.”

“Thanks, Madeline. I’ll be out for the coffee in a few moments.”

Jason turned on his computer and headed for the coffee while it was booting up. Exiting his private office, Jason headed for the coffee machine. Someone had brought in some fresh croissants and he grabbed a couple with a napkin. He also picked up a couple of packets of strawberry jam and a plastic knife. Even though he’d already eaten he was confident he’d need the energy before the morning was out.

He was headed back to his office when Madeline said, “Senator Bliden asked you to meet him in David Rockefeller’s office in ten to fifteen minutes. That’s five offices down the hall on the left side.”

“I can handle that.”

“I thought you could,” she responded. “After all, navigating through this must be so much easier than the jungles of Central and South America,” she added teasingly.

Deciding she wasn’t flirting he motioned her to join him at his desk while he ate one of the pastries. As she sat in the chair in front of the desk Jason asked, “What brought that up?”

“It seems there was a movie on one of the cable channels last night called ‘The Sniper.’ After picking up on what your friend Consuela said yesterday I decided to watch it.”

“And your reaction?” he asked cautiously.

“It was bloodier than I’m used to, but the details were fascinating. Is it really like that?”

“Why ask me?”

“While you were busy yesterday I did some research on my boss. It seems he has quite a reputation among the Special Forces. I have to say I’m impressed.”

“Impressed?”

“Boss, it might not show in my accent, but I was born in the south, with pickup trucks, deer rifles and even some moonshine whiskey, so I’m really not turned off by the idea of shooting someone. In contrast, I find acting a little ditzy - along with seeming to agree with all the liberal ideology concerning gun control, war and peace, and a woman’s right to an abortion - is a very effective means to fit in with the rest of the women around this town, and especially in this building. On weekends I often go over to a pistol range in Virginia to work off some frustration.”

“Then to answer your question, sometimes it happens that way, but a movie is too time-compressed. In reality, a sniper might have to stay hidden for days waiting for the right shot. There’s a scene in one of the Clancy movies where a young Hispanic soldier is training to be a sniper. They did a very good job on that one, as he was totally surrounded by the men used in the exercise, yet they couldn’t find him, or even see him move.”

“I’ll have to check it out. Now, where are those clothes for the cleaners?”

“They’re in a plastic bag in my washroom.”

“Then don’t worry about them, as I’ll make sure they get to and from the cleaners. You just take care of your meetings, today. Your agenda is about as full as it can possibly be.”

“True. By the way, do you have the number for my daughter in Phoenix?”

“Yes, Sir, your wife gave me a whole list before she left.”

“Good. Later on this morning see if you can find where to send some roses to my wife.”

“Red, yellow, or white?”

“Actually, she’s partial to the ones that are an orangey yellow with the petal tips looking almost like flames. If they’re not available, then we probably can’t go wrong with red.”

“Consider it done. Any note?”

“I love her; I miss her, and I’m proud of her and my son.”

Madeline wiped a small tear from her eye, and responded, “Good job, Boss. I know that will mean a lot to her at the moment. I’m guessing that she’s going to be stuck in Phoenix until after the baby is born.”

“Yes, but I don’t want it to be public knowledge. At the moment the last thing I need is the hint of a scandal, so the fewer sharks swimming in the water, the better. That reminds me. I need to get a car and driver for the evenings and mornings for a while, as I’ll be staying in town most nights until the recess. By the way, I liked the casual way you said ‘boss.’ When we’re not in a formal setting, or one where it wouldn’t be appropriate, you can call me Jason, or ‘boss, ‘ if you prefer.”

“Thanks, Boss, I’ll do that, as well as make sure Andrea receives her roses. Now, you need to get out of here, or you’re going to be late.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Jason sheepishly replied as he headed out the door. Moments later, Jason entered the office of the junior Senator from West Virginia.

“Good Morning, Senator,” greeted the woman at the first desk. “They’re waiting on you in David’s office. Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes, thank you, just black, please.”

“Not a problem, Sir, just go on in. I’ll bring your coffee to you.”

Jason nodded an acknowledgment and entered the inner office area. Inside there were a total of three Senators and two Congressmen sitting around a small conference table. From the way the office was arranged it must have been brought in just for this meeting. Senator Bliden quickly greeted Jason and led him to the remaining chair. “Jason,” he asked, “do you know everyone here?”

“Yes. Some, I’ve known for years.”

“Good. Now, I’ve been explaining about your warning. I’m hoping this will be a good brainstorming session to try to find a solution.”

“That sounds good,” replied a slightly anxious Jason. This wasn’t how he wanted this to come down. For the next forty-five minutes, several different ideas were brought up, but the others in the group quickly pointed out weaknesses. By the time Jason started on his second cup of coffee the group was rapidly becoming discouraged. Finally, Jason saw the timing was right and said, “I know we’re all getting tired and a little frustrated. I’ve an idea, but I waited to bring it to the table until all other options had been shot down.”

One of the Congressmen replied, “Jason, I just hope you’ve something workable.”

“I think it might be, but I need to preface it with a few items so there’s no misconception. First, what I’m proposing could have an impact upon my tribe, but there’s no way I will profit from it, personally. For that reason I’d prefer my name not be linked to this in any manner, as someone in the future could try to make that claim. At that point, guilty or not, it could taint our efforts.”

Joe Bliden responded, “Jason, that disclaimer was handled well. I can see the wisdom in it. I just hope your idea has the same wisdom.” The others around the table all added their agreement.

When they were finished Jason began, “I saw the solution in two related parts. The first part was to insert wording into a bill that was going to pass with little additional reading or argument. What I had in mind was the spending bill for the Department of the Interior. The final version should be going to the press by noon, today. The second part is to utilize the courts to solidify it into law.”

“I can see potential here,” remarked the most senior of the Congressmen. “What did you have in mind?”

Jason handed him a sheet, and said, “Here is page three eighty-seven, with the two added paragraphs shown in italics.”

The Congressman read the paragraphs and their immediate context. When he finished he nodded and passed it to the person sitting at his right. When each person finished reading he nodded as a sign of a favorable opinion as he passed it to the next person at the table. When the sheet had traveled full circle, the West Virginian asked, “Jason, I noticed you included land leases in this. Did you have a reason?”

“Yes, and that’s both part of my original disclaimer and part of my opinion the court will rule favorably on it. You see, I happen to know there’s some land adjacent to the reservation that’s about to have the lease terminated and the property re-leased to another company. I think it will be a perfect court case to obtain a favorable ruling”

“Can you elaborate?” asked the senior Congressman.

“The land, which had been devastated by a fire, was leased to the tribe about forty years ago. The lease explicitly calls for the tribe to reforest the lands as well as provide maintenance of the trees and the property. There’s an annual lease payment, which has been faithfully paid, along with a final payment based on a percentage of the net income generated when the trees are harvested by the tribe. At that point the grant section is supposed to kick in and designates the land be added to the reservation, as long as the tribe replants the trees a second time.”

“That sounds like a fair agreement,” said this same Congressman.

“It is, but now the trees are ready to be harvested this administration plans to cancel the lease with my people and turn it over to a major Republican supporter who’ll reap the benefit of our labor.”

The man replied, “I can see where this little addition could be used to block such activity, and you’re right, this would be an ideal test case. Gentleman, I propose Jason’s idea be implemented as quickly as possible.”

“This might not be a formal meeting, but I’ll second that motion,” added the West Virginian.

“Any opposed? Questions? Objections?” asked Joe Bliden. When no one responded, Joe asked, “Then, what’s the best way for us to proceed from here?”

“I’m on the conference committee,” answered the Congressman from Minnesota. “I can get it inserted within the hour.”

“Then let’s be sure to show our appreciation to Jason for his hard work,” directed Senator Bliden.

“Actually,” remarked Jason, “as I said earlier, the wisest thing we can do is remove me from this meeting, and especially my involvement in the wording of the insert. Though I don’t personally gain from this, I don’t think the media would make that distinction, and they could twist good intentions into seemingly ugly greed.”

The old congressman shook his head as he replied, “As much as I hate to admit it, he’s absolutely correct in his evaluation of how this would be attacked in the media. At the same time, it’s so unusual to see this kind of pulling together by those of different ideology I want to shout it from the dome above us. Jason, you may not get the acknowledgment you so richly deserve, but I personally promise we won’t forget it.”

“I agree,” added the junior Senator from West Virginia. “Most of us have to fight to receive positive media attention and here is a significant act of bipartisanship we have to keep hidden. It just doesn’t seem fair.”

Jason had to work hard to suppress a grin when he replied, “I’m humbled by your compliments. May I suggest once the existence of this action is known the official version should be the wording was inserted by my colleague from Delaware? It might bring harsh reaction from some of the conservative Republicans, but your fellow Democrats and the general public will likely praise you. Who knows, it might help propel you into the White House.”

With that Jason excused himself and quickly returned to his office. He barely got the door closed behind him before he burst into laughter. Who said politics was hard? Jason thought to himself. You stroke their egos, throw in a little misdirection, and it’s like taking candy from babies. Of course, that group will probably be pissed when they learn the full implication of all this, but that won’t be for a while. We’ve too many other actions that need to precede the revelation of the grant from Lincoln. Hopefully, Hawk has formulated a plan and has started its implementation.

Over breakfast Hawk began to map out his day with his two administrators, Maria and Brenda. During the night some ideas had started to take shape, so he needed to meet with several people. These meetings needed to start shortly after they arrived at the office, and several of them had to occur in a specific order. It’d be his wives’ job to set up the different meetings and to also help keep the flow of personnel moving efficiently. After covering the basic points Brenda suggested, “Hawk, why don’t Maria and I alternate attending the meetings to take notes, etcetera? That way both of us stay involved without getting bored or too tired. We can bring each other up to date later this evening.”

“That will work for me.”

Maria added, “Since Mark Grey Fox is the first person on your list I’ll call him on his cell phone and let him know of the meeting.”

“Good idea, sweetheart. How many cars are we taking this morning?”

“I’ll need mine,” responded Brenda. “I’m going with our two pilots to look at an airplane right after lunch. We’ll probably take the prospective aircraft on a short trip, so I don’t know, for sure, when I’ll be home.”

Maria added, “I’ve got something I need to do with Andy in the late afternoon. I should be home for dinner, but we’ll probably be eating an hour later than normal.”

“Then, I’ll take my pickup, as I may also work later than usual,” said Hawk. “We can work out the details later, but I suggest one of us bring home some ‘take out.’“

“Good idea,” his two wives said in unison. Thus, a few minutes later, the three vehicles left the ranch, and within ten minutes Hawk was walking into his office arm-in-arm with both his women. Life was definitely good.

Deke Templeton was carrying his coat, a mug of coffee, and eating a toasted bagel with cream cheese while he quickly walked toward his car parked in the driveway. The TV had said it was going to be another scorcher, and with the temperature already in the high eighties, he didn’t doubt it one bit. As he opened his car door a flash of color in the side mirror caught his attention. He laid his coat across the back of the passenger seat, placed his mug into the cup holder, and walked to the rear of the car. A child’s bike he didn’t recognize was lying sprawled across the driveway.

He moved it to the side but its presence puzzled him. He and Tracy had been gone to a play the evening before, and it hadn’t been there when they arrived home, sometime shortly after 11:00 p.m. Also, it looked like it had been just dropped by some child in a hurry, but it was too early for most children to be out playing. And, why was it in his driveway; his kids were still asleep? Just after turning east on West Elliot, Deke suddenly shuddered. Acting on the fear and suspicion he’d just felt, he pulled out his cell phone and hit a preset number.

“O’Hara,” proclaimed the one who answered.

“Captain, this is Deke Templeton. Do you have a missing child out near Stroud Park?”

“Let me check.” A couple minutes later, Captain O’Hara returned to the call and answered, “Yep. An eight year old girl and her bike are missing from a house on East Chilton. Mother found them both gone about forty-five minutes ago. Deke, what made you call and ask?”

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The Hawk and the Chipmunk

Mike Lowe aka The Scot

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