Chapter 10: Money Talks

"Velma, I have a disk here that I want taken across the street in ten minutes. This one is not sexual in nature but it is more explosive, I believe." She handed a new unmarked plastic case to the surprised waitress. "Will you do it?"

"Oh yes I will, Dana. Oh yes I will." She accepted the DVD and tucked it in her apron pocket. "What is it?"

"It's a recording of the number two man in the FBI accepting a "donation" and agreeing to look the other way where 'certain irregularities' are concerned." Dana nodded to the waitress and left the café, followed by Wally and Carl and Jim. They pulled out of the truck stop parking area unnoticed and drove straight to the state capital building.

They stopped at the rear of the building. "Carl, you have all the identification necessary to make a delivery here. Go to the guard inside and ask him to call Will James down here to accept the package, either he or his driver. Make sure the message sent specifies either he or his driver only may accept it. That is important. Go."

Carl hurried across the parking area to the capital building and disappeared inside. Two minutes later a door exploded open and a squad of armed men ran toward the armored car. "Get out of that vehicle right now." the leader screamed.

"Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin," Dana screamed back. "Get Will James out here." She locked the front doors before anyone thought to try them.

Will stepped outside the door, waved for Dana to come in and disappeared back inside. "I'll go out alone. You two stay in here. Dana unlocked the door, slipped out and Jim locked it behind her.

One of the armed men tried to grab her by the shoulder and was thrown to the pavement as a reward for his efforts. The others kept their distance. Halfway there she turned and waved for Jim and Carl to join her. The black clad squad kept pointing weapons away from her, scanning the trees and parked cars, anywhere an assassin could hide and do his mischief.

"Well. I am so glad you made it. You certainly caused an uproar. The governor doesn't know whether to congratulate you or order your execution. I was told that fifty agents descended on that TV station and tried to confiscate that recording of Langwell accepting a bribe. Worse yet, Henry Carmichael is a friend of the governor."

"Tell the governor to get himself a better class of friend," Dana said in a firm voice. Jim and Carl joined them and they entered the building together. The Spartan office they were led to was a far cry from the governor's office.

"We'll hide you in here for the time being while we sort things out. What other surprises do you have for us, I wonder?" Will asked her.

She handed him her shoulder bag. "Let's get to a VCR player. Some of these older tapes will lay the groundwork for what has followed in recent years. You look through these goodies and see what you think will play to the hometown folks," Dana told him.

"I assume these are not all of your home movies?" He looked at her expectantly.

"Big boy, these don't make a dent in what I have stashed with certain people. If the governor gets any funny ideas about holding us in protective custody, please inform him he will not be amused at what happens next."

"And just what will happen next, young lady?" Everybody turned to face the governor of California. His suit coat was missing and his face showed he needed to sleep. He continued, "I assume you have reserved the worst for last?"

"Well, Sir, to begin with, I have enough to virtually destroy both of the major political parties. I'll do this because this is one you're your good old boys cronyism is not going to sweep everything under the rug and out of sight. I am willing to ruin as many reputations and lives as is necessary to get my point across."

"Why would you do this, you of all people?" the governor asked.

"Because of Jim here. I was forced to learn that our political system is rotten to the core. I can't clean it up all alone, but I can make a big start. It has been arranged so that if I disappear or appear incapacitated or die, Tapes and disks are going to be sent to radio and TV stations all over the USA and Canada. The Canadian Prime minister's right hand man adores little boys. You might so inform him."

"What if I just have you locked up and tell the world you are insane?"

"Do it and I can almost guarantee you the people of this state will crucify you, literally nail your damned political ass to a wood cross. You can't threaten us, We're already under threat of death. We can't be worn down and we are not going to relent because we'll be killed by people who are too greedy to realize how little time they have left.

You will either get all the people on my list or else you can kiss California good-bye. Then you can watch from the sidelines as your political parties both go down the drain. Jim and I want to live and be happy. Is that too much to ask?"

"There's nothing I can say to make you change your mind? How about money?" This state has been famous for its gratitude." He looked at her as if he anticipated her to try to negotiate a price.

"I have more money than I'll spend in my lifetime. Jim and I are living on borrowed time until those renegade Los Angeles cops and the others who want us dead are arrested and under lock and key. I just pulled the plug on the FBI. I bet they have not been too anxious to press this matter as they were?

Dana watched in surprise as the governor's face seemed to change. "Okay, here's the deal, young lady, I'm with you a hundred percent. I have already issued an arrest warrant for Henry for his own safety, of course. There has already been one attempt on his life since that tape aired.

"Sorry it failed," Jim stated coldly. "He is pure slime."

She continued. "Get a VCR in here and play some of this older stuff. There are notations on the labels that will help you sort through and decide. I merely grabbed and tossed willy-nilly so you will not find a single thread of logic in what I took with me. Some of the tapes seem to be of entertainers who came to the West Hollywood house for straight safe sex. As far as I'm concerned, burn those tapes. I am not interested in causing anybody any embarrassment just for the sake of playing God."

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Dana," the governor said. "Would you be willing to permit the people in these tapes to resign over the course of the next two years? I'm trying to find a way to not throw out the baby with the bath water. It would be a very simple thing to completely ruin both parties beyond reclamation. That would be bad."

"Why? Convince me." Dana stood in front of the tall, lanky politician. With arms folded and jaw stuck out belligerently, she would have looked ridiculous if it weren't for the expression on the governor's face.

"Right now there are perhaps a hundred screwball movements, from the Green Party to the communists to the New Agers. If the two major parties implode because of the irresponsible actions of a very few, You will see chaos that will make the riots in South America look like tea parties. Every kook with an agenda will be out on the streets." He sighed and looked at her hopefully.

"Look, let me get the state leadership of both parties here in my office this evening. Let's get together and see if we can iron this out. I don't want to see any more people hurt than is absolutely necessary. You don't realize the damage you can cause this state."

"No, I don't, but I do realize the damage I can do to people like Andre Beaumont and his customers. I also know the damage I can do to the child molesters in high office who frequented Andre's whorehouse in West Hollywood." The governor flinched.

"You were there," Jim told him in a steady voice. "You accepted a big check from Andre. He called it a 'little donation in the interests of good government.' Then you went off with a girl named Angie. They sold her to an Egyptian." His young-old eyes stared steadily at the tall man, never wavering.

"Now wait a minute. I remember that occasion. The check was quite large and came as a surprise. That young woman said she was twenty. I have never knowingly accepted dirty money in my life. I know this sounds corny, but my record speaks for itself. Show me anyplace where I have shown favoritism." He winced inside as he thought of the small favors he had dispensed at various times throughout his political career.

Dana saw the faint blush that came across his cheeks. She nodded, "Okay, you accepted a big check from a pimp and got your ashes hauled by one of his girls. You have pushed to legalize prostitution in licensed houses." Your record speaks for itself. Dana's voice was full of contempt.

"I believed it was the right thing to do and I still do." His face was a mixture of pained emotions. "Believe me, I have never knowingly let money sway me on the issues I believed in. I just wanted to find a way to combat AIDS and the other STDS."

"Jim? It's your call. What do you say?" Dana looked at him, expecting a good answer.

"He is a heterosexual male who likes younger women. He's not all that much into kink that I can see." He looked at Dana and nodded.

"Here," Dana said and handed a cassette to the governor. "This is a record of the donation. Burn it. I never saw it. She looked at Jim and he smiled and nodded.

"My fiancé here, James Wright reads people better than a psychologist and gets to know them inside better than a proctologist. When things settle down I'm going to use him for jury selection. He's good."

She laughed and added, "He must be because he chose me." Her self conscious look belied her words.

"Will," the governor said, "Take these people down to the private conference room. I already have calls in to the leadership. This is going to be the damndest meeting I ever had to convene." He shook his head half in despair and half in resignation.

When they began to file out of the room, the governor said, "Dana, you are doing the right thing. I wouldn't have the fortitude to carry this off, but you doing the right thing for the right reasons." He wondered if he believed what he told her?

"I know I am," she answered. "I'm doing this to keep Jim and I alive long enough to get to know one another." She stepped through the door. Jim nodded and he and Wally followed.

Will led the entourage past many curious eyes. One young woman about eighteen said, "You're her."

"I am she," Dana replied. "Now we just have to figure out which 'she' I am." They walked past a puzzled intern.

"Well, you sure look like her, but much prettier." She called at Dana's retreating back.

Dana turned around and came back with a big smile on her face. "I like you. What's your name?"

"Don't laugh, but it's Monica," the intern told her in a shy voice. "I get a lot of teasing around here. Over my name."

"I am Dana and I am glad to meet you." She shook the young woman's hand and turned back to follow the impatient to keep going Will James.

"Sorry for delaying things, but when someone compliments me I have to respond. Short, fat and ugly lawyer broads just don't get that many compliments."

"Dana, shut up. No more of that stuff. It's crap. I don't want to hear it. Just shut up." Jim's face was red with emotion. "You have the most wonderful smile in the world. I love you and it hurts me to have you put yourself down like that. I won't stand for it."

Wally and Will James held their breathes in shocked silence. The shock became even greater as they heard, "Oh Jimmy, I'm sorry I upset you. I'll watch my big mouth."

She stood up on tiptoe and he bent down to kiss her on the lips. It was a fleeting and gentle kiss. "You are the most wonderful woman in the world." She hugged him around the waist. "Good looking, too." He smiled gently down on her.

"Remind me to go back up and review those old news clips of her in San Diego, when she tore some opposing counsel a new one," Will muttered to himself.

They ended in a plush room that had heavy brocade drapes on the windows. The deep rose design picked up the pinks of the still life oil painting that hung perfectly centered between them. The upholstered furniture was plush and without blemish. The mission tables scattered through out the room were not copies. The Turkish carpet on the floor had no flaws.

Jim had lived in surroundings almost as expensive for nearly six of his life. He was unimpressed. Wally stood in one place and looked around wide-eyed. Gingerly he sat on a straight back chair and remained as still as he could. Will James cared less and Dana ignored the décor. She sat down on an upholstered chair and gratefully tried to sink into its depths with a sigh.

The first of the invited people entered the room. The man looked out of place in such beautiful surroundings. His appearance suggested smoke filled rooms in pool halls and seedy hotels. "Okay, I recognize her. What's going on?"

"Patience," Will told him. "When we have a full quorum from both parties, the governor has something to say that you had best hear."

"If it has anything to do with that broad, then I'm long gone." Mitch Self had an electorate who thought he was quaint and "a breath of fresh air."

"You are Mitch Self. The last time you were in the whorehouse in West Hollywood, you couldn't get it up. Two girls tried for over an hour. You just couldn't get it up."

"Why you." he grabbed Jim by the front of his uniform shirt and found he in turn was elevated by a short, pudgy looking lawyer who had grabbed a handful of his crotch and lifted. He let go and Jim fell backwards.