Scion (45 page)

Tom braced himself for the bullet’s impact and closed his eyes. Being thrown forward and realizing he was being thrown forward was the last thing he had expected.

Chapter 4

“Just what in the fuck do you guys think you’re playing at?!” screamed Swanson, jumping from her car. She had driven straight towards the Chrysler as it had attempted to exit 4
th
Street. Her ceramic brakes had been the difference between emergency braking and an emergency call out.

“What are
we
playing at?!” screamed the driver in response, rising shakily from his seat, pointing at her car just an inch from his bumper. “You nearly killed us all!”

“Don’t be a fucking drama queen!” she chided, brushing past the driver towards the rear of the car and pulling open the door.

“Mr. Butler?” she asked stretching out her hand.

Tom opened his eyes for the first time and looked into the eyes of his savior. Unrestrained by a seat belt, he had hammered into the back of the front seat. He shook his head in an attempt to understand exactly what had just happened. Agent Chan, it seemed, was in a similar condition. He looked on in a daze as he also had hammered into the seat in front. However, whereas others were simply dazed, Agent Smith poured blood. His lip and nose had split due to the small .22 caliber pistol slamming into his face as his unrestrained body had also been thrown forwards in the car. The windscreen barely restrained the giant form of Smith as his outstretched hand containing the small pistol finally caught up. The irony was not lost on Tom as he began to fully understand the picture in front of him. The small weapon chosen for its lack of bloodletting had created a geyser in Smith’s nose.

Tom smiled and accepted Swanson’s outstretched hand.

Chan was quick to recover. “He has been released, Miss Swanson!”

“Not by me!”

“It is not your decision to make,” answered Chan authoritatively.

“In which case he is free to go with you or come with me, right?” asked Swanson cuttingly. Something was amiss and she had every intention of finding out what exactly it was.

Chan grabbed Tom as Agent Swanson began to pull Tom out of the vehicle.

“Hit it!” screamed Chan.

The driver reacted quickly and began to move but with Swanson’s Audi RS4 to negotiate, it wasn’t the sudden acceleration that Chan had been hoping for. Swanson removed Tom with a smirk while Chan looked on in frustration as the driver eased beyond the RS4 and then hit it.

Tom and Swanson watched Chan spin around in his seat and could almost hear the screams of anger as he vented at his colleagues while watching Tom and Swanson fade into the distance.

“So, Mr. Butler,” said Swanson turning to Tom. “Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on?”

Tom shook his head, and Swanson took him by the elbow and led him back towards the FBI field office.

“I thought as much,” she said despondently.

“I’ve been released!” Tom said, struggling gently against Swanson’s grip.

“Perhaps, but I’ve a funny feeling I just saved your ass and for that you are going to tell me something before you go anywhere.”

Tom looked at the surprisingly perceptive agent. He guessed she was mid-thirties at most, and from her confidence and the way in which she carried herself, she was an exceptionally capable one at that. She was right. He likely
would
be dead now if it were not for her instinct and, of course, her maniacal driving. He looked back towards her abandoned car, a station wagon, but a very butch looking station wagon.

“Should you not move that?” he asked, motioning his head towards her car and changing the subject.

She looked around. She wanted to get Butler back into protective custody. Her alarm bells were ringing on full alert. The streets were empty and Chan and his colleagues’ Chrysler were a dot on the horizon.

“You don’t mind?” she asked.

Butler shook his head and she changed direction and led him back to the Audi.

“How many kids you got?” asked Butler taking the passenger seat.

“Not married.”

Butler smiled. He knew she wasn’t married before he asked. “This car has a kind of family exterior but inside it’s all business.” He tried to move in the seat but it had devoured him with its sporty snugness. “It’s so you!” he added with sincerity.

Swanson looked at him for some hint of sarcasm but Butler looked deadpan and straight ahead. She shook her head and turned the ignition key. The engine’s bass-like roar announced its readiness to leap forward. Swanson eased the straining beast towards the garage entrance just a few yards ahead. The automatic doors began to rise at the click of her remote, and she looked again towards Butler and smiled. He reminded her very much of her father.

She turned the wheel sharply and floored the engine, the tires screeched and strained as the full power of the engine took them all by surprise. The car rocketed away from the FBI building and hurled its passengers across Washington.

Butler suddenly considered the prospect of a double bluff and instantly panicked.

“Have you eaten?” asked Swanson nonchalantly, taking a corner meant for 20 MPH at 60 MPH.

Butler relaxed mentally, at least as much as the G force being exerted on his body would allow. “Room service wasn’t due ‘til seven!”

“Excellent, I’m famished and technically you are free.”

Butler was no fool; the informality and lack of prying eyes was exactly what Swanson wanted. His already excellent opinion of her increased even further. She was a very smart young woman and one that would require him to be on top of his game. The last thing he’d want on his conscience was knowing he had gotten her killed.

Chapter 5

20 January 2013 - President Jack King Inauguration day

Oval Office – The White House

Jack woke up on the morning that would see a new America - an America that had spent four years in almost constant turmoil was coming to an end. He offered a new choice for America, a strong and proud America that rewarded those who worked hard and believed in the founding fathers’ principles. Nobody could deny that the last president had had the unenviable task of trying to recover from the global financial crisis, but one poor decision after another had been more than the public could stomach. Change was needed and President Jack King was the man chosen for the job. It wasn’t quite a landslide victory but not far from it.

It would be an uncharacteristically quiet inauguration; the twentieth fell on a Sunday and law dictated that the president must be sworn in by the twentieth. An official ceremony would be held the following day.

President King took the oath of office in a small ceremony conducted by the Chief Justice attended by his wife and senior staff. His speech, safely tucked in his inside pocket, a month in the making, would have to wait until the public ceremony the following day. It was a speech that would never see the light of day. A speech full of hope and determination to work hard, pay down the debts of a wasteful government and ensure the generations to come wouldn’t have to pay for the generations in the past.

“Mr. President?”

Jack continued his discussion with the Chief Justice. He had a list of deeply unpopular laws passed by the previous incumbent to overturn as a priority and took the opportunity to discuss his plans with the Chief Justice.

“Mr. President?” asked Kenneth Lee, this time more firmly.

Jack turned, expecting to see his predecessor, but Kenneth was staring directly at him.

“Mr. President, we have a meeting scheduled.”

Jack looked over his shoulder before pointing to himself questioningly, much to the amusement of those gathered in the Oval Office.

Kenneth Lee had been Jack’s Chief of Staff from the moment he had entered the race. In fact, Kenneth Lee was the reason Jack King had entered the race at all.

Before Kenneth had approached Jack, he had taken an almost unheard of governor of Wyoming, America’s least populous state and made him the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. Overnight, the photogenic Wyoming governor was the answer to every Republican’s prayers. Swing voters loved him and with a Hispanic grandmother, another huge block of votes was in the bag. In both ability and stature, he soared above his contenders throughout the televised debates. The Republicans were back in a big way. There was little doubt in anyone’s mind that he was their man. By the time November came, the race was down to three.

Jack’s first meeting with Kenneth had been on a cold winter’s evening. A knock at his door at 9:30 p.m. was not unheard of but certainly not common. Kenneth Lee stood before him with a look of desperation on his face. Jack recognized Kenneth instantly. Jack was a staunch Republican supporter and had been a vocal advocate of the Wyoming governor’s plans to rebuild America from the ground up. Inviting him in, Jack was totally unprepared for the conversation that was to ensue.

In short, Kenneth Lee had made it abundantly clear that his country needed him to serve again, only this time in a slightly enhanced role. Two hours earlier, the governor of Wyoming had died of a massive heart attack. The announcement would be made within the next hour and with the pitiful display of the governor’s Republican contenders and the rock bottom approvals for the current Democratic incumbent, it was feared the impact of the news and the lack of hope it offered would send the country spiraling into a major economic depression. A phone call from the chairman of the GOP had sealed the need for Jack to ‘step up and take the reins’. The party was on the brink of meltdown, they needed somebody the country could look up to, a man of stature, a man of leadership, a man the country could respect and follow. General Jack King, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was their man.

His country needed him. Jack had never been found wanting when his country called. He stood up and helped the country through the mourning of a president who would never be and gave them the president they all dreamed could save them.

Kenneth Lee had been by his side from that day, an ever constant. He was a political warrior who ensured he was one step ahead and never ambushed. Money had never been an issue. Kenneth Lee had secured the largest war chest ever to be collected to fight a campaign. When more funds were needed, he doubled and trebled whatever the requirement was. Despite the election being almost a certainty from day one of Jack’s nomination as the Republican candidate, Kenneth took no chances. For every dollar the Democratic incumbent spent, Kenneth spent two on Jack.

“We need to go, Mr. President,” prompted Kenneth.

It was the simple act of Kenneth calling him Mr. President rather than Jack that made the realization of what he had achieved really hit home.

Jack realized then just how much his and his wife’s lives were really about to change.

After a small applause from the rest of the room, Kenneth led Jack with purpose towards the Cabinet Room. An elderly gentleman, immaculately presented, awaited their arrival.

“Mr. President, may I introduce you to Mr. Warren Walker. Mr Walker, the President,” said Kenneth.

He stood and bowed his head slightly, shaking hands with President King. “Delighted to meet you, Mr. President and please accept my congratulations on your superb victory.”

“Thank you,” replied Jack looking to Kenneth for some indication as to why they were meeting with Mr. Walker.

“I can see Kenneth has not warned you of our meeting,” said Mr. Walker, correctly reading the situation.

“No he hasn’t,” replied Jack honestly while staring at Kenneth. He turned to face Mr. Walker.

“I asked him not to. All he knows was that it was imperative I met with you on the twentieth of January 2013. ‘You’ being the president of the United States, not necessarily you, Jack King, if you understand my meaning.”

“Yes,” replied Jack. “If I hadn’t won, my opponent would be sitting here meeting with you.”

“Before I begin, I must note that my instructions are to discuss this with the president of the United States only. If you choose to include your Chief of Staff that is your choice.”

Jack looked back at Kenneth, his mind racing. What was the old guy going to hit him with? Was this the Area 51 alien chat or some other secret that you only became aware of when you were president?

“I didn’t catch which arm of the government you represent, Mr. Walker?” asked Jack, prying for some clue.

Mr. Walker smiled warmly. “Oh, I am not from any part of the government, Mr. President.”

Jack looked again at Kenneth for some clue about what was happening. Kenneth shrugged his shoulders, in an ‘I don’t know, your call’ fashion.

“We’re in this together, it’s his fault I’m here!” said Jack jokingly. However, his mind continued to race, and one question was stuck in his mind.

“Actually, would you mind excusing us for a moment, Mr. Walker?”

“Not at all, Mr. President,” he answered, not moving.

After an awkward second, Jack got up and motioned for Kenneth to follow him. They exited the room into Jack’s PA’s office.