The Peace Proxy: Part 1 (2 page)

The murmurs quickly grew into shouting as
mayhem erupted throughout the assembly.

“Order! ORDER!” The Chairman demanded as he
tried to regain control of the session.

With the bulk of the Senate drama concluded,
the
anchorwoman
reappeared to announce the
Alien Research Center had issued a statement explaining the
sighting as a survey ship observed through the distortion of the
Martian atmosphere. The center maintains the alien fleet will not
reach our solar system for at least sixty-seven years. It continues
to coordinate humanity’s research efforts, ensuring we are prepared
to meet the impending threat.

Garrett was so intent on the news report,
Julie had to tell him twice that the Governor would see him.
Garrett thanked her as he moved toward the large double doors that
led to the Governor’s office. As he reached out to open the door on
the right, both doors opened inward, automatically. The Governor
had a proclivity for the extravagant.

The Governor’s office was decorated
similarly to the lobby,
except for
the wall
behind his desk, which was entirely glass. Rumors of the Governor’s
private garden, the most
extravagant
and
criticized aspect of the recent
Jersey State
House renovation, had reached Garrett. The Governor had the complex
gutted
through the center
to make room for his private oasis. Despite being
locked in winter’s grip, t
he view of the manicured,
snow-covered topiaries, merging seamlessly into a series of
heated
water features, was serenely
captivating.

Governor Weller stood as Garrett approached
the desk. He offered his hand and a forced smile. Seeing the smile,
Garrett knew instantly Weller feared the reason for the visit, but
he
was playing along cordially, in the
hope
that Garrett’s target might be someone
else. Garrett also assumed Weller knew Garrett’s
specific
professional niche, either by reputation or
through a background check, which he was certain preceded any
visit.

“Welcome, Mr. Richards. Please sit down,” he
offered in a friendly manner. Garrett assessed him rather quickly.
He
was dressed
in a suit of dark green. His
collar
was unbuttoned
, and a tie lay on the
desk. His mannerisms tended toward the naturally friendly. Knowing
this short interview would bring Weller’s world crashing down
evoked the briefest feeling of doubt. Here is a guy who just got in
over his head, poor fellow. He noticed Weller’s skin and his suit
hung loosely on his body, indicating recent liposuction. Weller’s
physique trended toward the
plump
side. He
must be unable to take metabolism stabilizers, Garrett thought. For
the unfortunate Mr. Weller, this meant his metabolism could not
be brought
into equilibrium; he
actually
had to use activity and monitor his diet to
maintain his physique. There was a small percentage of the populace
that could not dip into the well that truly provided a better life
through chemistry, but, in recent years, the ability to match an
individual was almost taken for granted. Recognition of the
Governor’s condition struck a deep chord of pity in some part of
Garrett that he rarely found a
use
for, and
the excitement of the impending conversation withered away. Under
normal circumstances, Garrett lived for these moments, when the
predator knows the prey has allowed the distance between them
to irretrievably shrink
, leading to only one
possible outcome, and this aberrant feeling was ruining it for him.
It was not that Garrett was
an especially hard
man
, but years of investigative journalism had left him
somewhat indifferent when it came to the human condition. Was he
going soft? Garrett dismissed the notion. Focus, he chided. You are
here for a story, not to dissect Mr. Weller’s trials and
tribulations.

“Governor Weller, thank you for seeing me,
particularly on a Saturday,” Garrett started.

The Governor nodded his head, but the smile
left his face as he did. “Well you can’t stop the press,
right?”

“Right,” Garrett agreed as he sat in the
offered chair facing Weller’s desk.

“You said you wanted to speak to me
concerning the State’s construction contract.”

“That is correct,” Garrett began. “It seems
the state averted a strike by a matter of hours.” That’s the
spirit. Now that the interview was underway, the old instincts were
emerging through this haze of self-examination. “I’ve been
following the contract renegotiations for the State’s
infrastructure sustainment.” Garrett continued, “No one expected
the impasse would
be overcome
so quickly.”

The Governor nodded his head in agreement.
“Thank you. It is quite an accomplishment for the State of New
Jersey.”

“Of course, your negotiating team must be
second to none.”

“The best,” the Governor agreed.

“There is speculation that paying a penalty
for the work that
was erroneously authorized
would have saved the state more money than renegotiating a contract
that would expire in a year.”

The Governor shifted slightly in his chair
before replying. “It depends on how you run the numbers. On the
surface, it appears the settlement put the state at a disadvantage,
but the out-of-scope work was extensive. Due to a misunderstanding
of the contract structure, much of the work had been completed. The
Union made it clear anything short of a renegotiation would
be countered
with legal action. It is
important for the residents of New Jersey to understand the cost of
litigation would have been considerably more than negotiation. At
least this way the residents of New Jersey are getting services for
the expense.”

“Yes,” Garrett paused briefly, feigning
contemplation over his next statement. “There are some rumors
concerning the nature of the compensation.”

The Governor again shifted his bulk as if
the subject had somehow rendered the conforming chair decidedly
uncomfortable. “The terms of the agreement are public record,” he
countered.

Garrett continued, “I am referring to rumors
of personal compensation.”

“I assure you my staff’s ethics are
impeccable,” the Governor replied coolly.

Garrett responded with a half-smile, knowing
the interview was about to take an ugly turn. “No doubt. The rumors
concern your involvement.”

The Governor straightened, scattering items
across his desk. The reaction could not have been more dramatic if
he had
been struck
by a stray bolt of
lightning from the clear blue sky visible through the room’s
decadent picture window.

“Mr. Richards, that accusation borders on
slander,” he belted out with all the anger he could muster. “If
you’ve come here to accuse me, you’re gravely mistaken.” His eyes
narrowed as he continued with a sinister tone, “Do you think I
don’t know how you ended up with that two-bit rag you write for
now? How hard do you think it will be to discredit you?”

Garrett assessed Governor Weller for a
moment before calmly replying, “Given my history, how sure do you
think
I would have to be to accuse you?”

The Governor’s face blanched as he
considered the question. He swallowed before replying in a raspy
voice,
“We’re done
here.”

Garrett allowed a brief pause before using
the adage, “Is that your official statement?”

The Governor stood rapidly, nearly knocking
his chair over in the process. He postured to seem as imposing as
his small frame allowed. Garrett had worked him into quite a
frenzy.
This was
more like it, now for the
crescendo.

“Get the hell out of my office!” the
Governor bellowed. “My lawyers will have an injunction against the
Herald in place before you can get back to New York.”

Garrett relaxed in his chair, as if the
Governor had just repeated Julie’s offer for coffee.

“One last item before I leave,” Garrett
began calmly. “Could I get your comments on this conversation?” As
he
finished,
Garrett placed a small oblong
device on the Governor’s desk and depressed a recessed button on
its side. The device obligingly played a voice recording. The
Governor recognized the speaker. It was he.

“
If the contract goes for open bid we’re
going to lose it,
” the Governor’s voice emanated from the
recording device, filling the otherwise quiet room. The Governor
also recognized the second voice as Karl Sigler, the owner of U.S.
Granite, the company that currently held and, through the recent
negotiations, retained the state’s infrastructure contract.

Karl’s
retort
was
direct, “
You’d better figure out a way to keep that from
happening, Frank.
”

Irritated, the Governor replied
, “I told
you never to use my name, jackass.
”

“
Whatever, Frank
,” Karl countered.
“
If this deal goes sour don’t think you’re going back to being
an honest citizen. You’ve made a lot of money
off
me. It wouldn’t be in your best interest to
become useless.
”

The Governor abruptly collapsed into his
chair. As the recording played on, he appeared to shrink into the
cushions as if he
was
some morsel being slowly
digested by the overstuffed upholstery. The conversation continued,
although, it was clear from the Governor’s appearance he wished it
would stop.

On the recording, the Governor was
chastising Karl. “
Don’t threaten me, you little rodent. I’ve
already told you, if you want to keep the contract, give me a
reason to renegotiate it.
”

“
What do you mean?
” Karl queried.

“
Get the union involved concerning
out-of-scope work
,” the Governor’s recorded voice
instructed.

“
It’ll cost
,” Karl insisted.

“
It’ll cost a lot more if you don’t,
”
the Governor countered. “
Make it happen. And Karl…
”

“
Yeah?
”

“
You ever call me again on this line,
Granite will have
an
unexpected
change in leadership, capisce?
”

The recording ended. Garrett retrieved the
device and, giving his best effort not to look too smug, stared
expectantly at the Governor. The chair slowly exuded the Governor
back into the room. As he brought his hand out from under the
desk,
Garrett saw it held a small needle gun.
The tiny device was as deadly as it was concealable. Now it was
Garrett’s turn to shift uncomfortably in his chair.

Garrett tried to sound calm, but as he
spoke, the words roared in his ears. “I didn’t take you for a
murderer.”

The Governor’s eyes widened giving him a
crazed appearance as he replied, “I’m not going to kill
you,
Mr.
Richards,
unless you
insist. My associates have people for that, but I will take that
recording.”

“Sure,” Garrett replied. He casually placed
the device on the desk. “Can I go now?”

“No. I have no illusions that this is the
only copy, it just can’t be found with your body. I’m going to call
my associates. Then you can go.”

Governor Weller retrieved a satellite phone
from the top draw and placed the credit card size device on top of
the desk.

“Sigler,” he
commanded,
and the phone obediently established a connection. After several
rings, a voice answered through the desk speakers.

“What now?” The voice demanded. Garrett
recognized Karl’s voice from the recording.

“It’s Weller.”

“I know who it is. What do you want?”

“We have a problem,” the Governor explained.
As he spoke, the Governor reached
across the
desk
to retrieve the recording device. His motion shifted
the direction he was pointing the needle gun away from Garrett’s
immediate vicinity. Recognizing this window of opportunity would
close in moments, Garrett reacted quickly. He grabbed the
Governor’s wrist and pulled him into the desk hard enough to
squeeze the remaining air out of his lungs with a surprised squeak.
Before the disadvantaged Governor could regain his seating, Garrett
dove
over the desk. The Governor, Garrett, and
the chair hit the floor in a tangled mess, leaving the Governor
gasping for air. With the Governor’s attention focused on his next
breath, the gun no longer held the same importance it had a few
moments earlier, and the impact liberated it from his
weakened
grasp.

Karl was still on the line. “Hey, you
there?” He queried, concern evident in his voice. Garrett tried to
restrain the
Governor,
who was recovering from
the initial shock of the indignities inflicted through Garrett’s
desperation. With a surge of strength that surprised Garrett,
Weller broke free of Garrett’s grasp as the two rolled across the
floor. Weller dove for the gun and achieved his objective. He stood
as Garrett rebounded into him. The gun discharged, removing a large
section of material from one of the ornate doors.

“What’s going on over there?” Karl asked
alarmed.

Garrett’s entire concentration was on the
hand that held the weapon, leaving Weller’s other hand free to land
blows
on
various parts of Garrett’s body.
Eventually, one found its mark and Weller broke free as two armed
guards rushed into the room. The older of the two already had his
weapon drawn. The younger struggled to remove his from its
holster to
match his weathered counterpart’s
state of readiness. Despite their differences in reaction times,
they both shared the distinction of appearing scared witless. That
probably makes four of us, Garrett mused. The younger guard
succeeded in freeing his weapon and, along with his partner,
brought it to bear on the Governor.