trump.
A knock on the door indicated Hepgard, and he buzzed the man in, set the interference and did not offer him a drink.
“So now she’s at twenty-eight percent and climbing,” he said at once.
Hepgard said, “That’s just reaction to Hunter being effectively quashed.” He looked around for a seat for himself. There wasn’t one, on purpose. He sat on the bed instead.
Lezt said, “Yes, but she keeps climbing.” He gripped his drink and the arm of the chair.
“Guy, my techniques are proven. She’s just molecularly coated against shit.”
“It seems like it.” He wanted to be angry, but Hepgard was right. It should be working. Just nothing stuck to her. That little twitch personal she had, JessieM, was both a brilliant spinster and very popular. How could anyone hate a college girl turned promoter, who had no perversions, drinking problems, whatever? It seemed her only purpose in life was to ping inane messages around the nodes, and she was brilliant at it, and now getting paid.
He said, “The first thing is, do not touch JessieM. No matter what. She’s a favorite pet and it will only be seen negatively.”
Hepgard nodded. “Agreed. Do you have something specific in mind for the other?”
“It’s time she made a personal sacrifice for her party.”
“Guy…” Hepgard stopped.
“Yes, that’s what we’re down to. She cannot break thirty percent!”
“What is it with you and that number?”
The man didn’t know, and he’d have to be told. Lezt took another heavy swallow, winced and looked up. “At thirty-two percent, it’s established by the election commission that she can have Special Service security freely as a campaigner. She’d only have to pay transport costs for her own people. No Ripple Creek, still with BuState security, free military resources on request, all government. If she goes down for anything in front of the SecGen’s personal guard, he takes the hit.”
“I thought that didn’t take effect until ninety days out?”
“That’s for anyone over five percent. It’s twenty percent at a hundred and twenty days, thirty-two percent at one eighty, which is next week.”
“You don’t want much, do you?” Hepgard was wide-eyed at the implied but not directly stated subject of assassination.
“My boss has agreed to the same elements used for that… apprehension.”
Hepgard snorted. “Which doesn’t seem to have worked. They didn’t kill the man, and he’s back at work. Highland benefitted by ignoring it. They’ve demanded more money and got it.”
“In this case they’ll be available to encourage her into an area where some very bad people will be outraged at civil society and very violent. So sad, but she tried so hard, let us remember her as we move on. Your job is to find that location, prep it, ensure everyone is in the right state of mind, and let me know. Keep in mind there’s about twenty-six hours of delay round trip.”
“And you want this in a week?” Hepgard looked very unsure. That was a nice score, but he better get sure in a hurry.
“I do. Why are you still here?”
Hepgard turned and walked to the door. As he closed it behind himself, Lezt heard him mutter, “Fucker.”
And Franklin Lezt had just enough of a recording to ensure that any claims against him would take down the SecGen, as well as BuInt.
CHAPTER 16
Jason stretched in his chair. He needed more exercise. He didn’t like exercise, but he disliked not exercising more. However, as assistant team leader, he had administrative stuff to handle, and some specifics to follow up on. He was worried about Aramis, but the man did seem to be recovering properly. Still, the intimate details were going to be a problem for the man, and he wanted to do what he could to help.
Which was what the first tagged message was about. He opened it, let it decrypt, then decrypted the decrypt.
Aramis sat across the room, occupied with some kind of work of his own-charts, maps, something. He wasn’t going to come see the screen, was what mattered. That established, Jason screened the message.
“Dear Jason,
“Thank you so much for keeping me informed. Aramis is a good friend, and yes, I was worried about him, about all of you, in fact, after you treated me so well during a very trying time.
“I have no specific information on who might be the threat to you or your charge. These things are generally discussed in private, completely off record, and the government responds to my ignoring most of its actions by ignoring me in return.
“I can very much suggest that you look inside for threats. I know that’s what happened to me, but it’s not uncommon. However, from all I can tell, She is actually on very good terms with her family and immediate friends. They do well from her existence, and her will calls for most of her money to go to several causes, not personal inheritors. I would look for anyone who might have connected recently and has influence, and also anyone who profits from her demise. Not her family, but certain competitors, or businesses who stand to improve their position if she’s out of the way. It’s also possible for agencies to act that way, though she’s mainstream enough I can’t see her threatening enough cuts or profile changes to trigger that. Of course, someone scheming enough could manipulate others into setting up a complicated trap. I’m confident you’ll hinder that, but it could get messy and I want you all to be safe. Cocktails here when you return.
“I’ve taken the liberty of informing Aramis’s recent paramour of his safety first, incident second, with most details redacted.
“Thank you again, my trusted associate.
“C.”
He hadn’t expected Caron would have much, but she’d certainly be looking now, and she deserved to know Aramis was okay.
The list of people who’d be happy with Highland out of the way, though, was huge. Most were not able to connect here, but enough were that was a fruitless pursuit. It would take a graph that could weight each of them on several factors, several locations, timeframes, all in several dimensional arrays. There certainly were ways to set that up. He had no idea how. Elke might.
Nor was it certain only one group was targeting her. In fact, it was certainly more than that, even if some hurled nothing but invective and the occasional piss-filled water balloon.
In the meantime, they had another escort for another speech. He did have to respect Highland on that point. There weren’t a lot of votes here, but she was angling for every one she could get, and she did hold up against threats. She probably figured enough small blocs of votes could swing the election, and it was entirely possible she was too self-centered and snobbish to really grasp threats.
“Ready, Aramis?”
“Yes.” The man seemed calm, prepared and relieved to be back at work. Good. Though Shaman indicated he had occasional nightmares and was taking medication for sleep. Still, work was good therapy, and they worked best as a team.
The military had relented on the test-firing issue. The team had their own clearing barrel in their wing, in a well-insulated and deadened alcove, with extra fill to trap bullets. Officially, there was a ventilation system for toxic gases, because Cady, Alex and the BuState facilities engineer said so.
They approached the drum, Alex said, “Escort Team, performing function check,” and waited for the computer to acknowledge and flash green.
“Please proceed,” the waveform voice said.
Alex pointed his pistol and fired, checked the cycle, then repeated with his carbine. He stepped aside for Jason.
