The Night Gods II- Chapter XXXI: The Price Is Right

Artwork by @marty-art on Steemit... With many thanks!

Price's first assignment was pretty simple and straightforward- a bit of surveillance on the Shoemaker home... Denning was feeling him out. Seemingly satisfied with the results it was time for phase two- broaching the subject of procurement. He would have to approach the subject carefully... he was getting relatively adept at having to break in new "consultants," but he wanted to avoid any more incidents like the untimely demise of Fleming, or the acrimony of Przybysz- who he was certain was responsible.

"If you recall, Mr. Price," he began, "we spoke of certain peccadilloes earlier. I have a rather unusual request... one you may view as distasteful."

"I'm not here to judge, Mr. President," Price said stoically, "merely to follow orders."

"Hear me out before you agree," Denning told him, and then explained what he wanted. Price agreed without hesitation. Denning would spare the next girl- at least until he was more certain of Price's loyalties. Much to his chagrin, he would have to keep his bloodlust contained temporarily. He informed Price that he would call him later to set up the liaison.

Przybysz and Dick returned to the townhouse with the video and discovered upon watching that David's assumption was on target... It was dynamite. Denning and Phillips spent several minutes together with the Massachusetts Governor absent... more than enough time to become intimately acquainted. They acted like old chums... a most unusual pair- an up and coming politician, soon to become a presidential candidate and an aging former serial killer recently pardoned from 15 life sentences... Strange bedfellows indeed.

After a brief phone call to Lena, David, having burned several copies of the master, was off to the Senate Office Building. He and Lena watched with great interest the interaction between Denning and the future murderer of his wife.

"I'm going to make a copy for Sean too, if you don't mind," she said, "he needs to see this too."

"What do you think about Bret running the story? He asked hopefully.

"I don't know," she replied. "I'm sure he'll be all for the idea, but there may be legal issues. This is great stuff though, David... along with Przybysz' pictures it should at least be enough to start raising public doubt- not just about this, but all of his stinking wars." They chatted over coffee waiting for Sen. Ashby to return from a vote at the Capital.

Senator Ashby was duly impressed by David's find. He kept a copy to bring with him to show certain colleagues. He had been in Washington a long time and had allies in both parties, both in the House and Senate that he had been working tirelessly with to put a halt to Denning's bellicose policies.

"THis is splendid work, David," he said, "but I think it best for now to keep the photos under our hat, as an ace in the hole, so to speak."

David tried to hide his disappointment. He wanted to throw everything they had at Denning and take him down once and for all. The Senator, sensing his disappointment, spoke in a soothing tone:

"I know how close you were to Jim and how badly you want to punish Denning for his death- we all do. You've done a fine job here, son and we'll get him. In politics it's never wise to show the opposition everything you have all at once."

"I just thought..." David began.

"I know, I know," The Senator cut him off gently. "We'll use the video to begin swaying public opinion in out direction. Once it begins to build momentum- then we bring out the heavy artillery. This has to be done just right. Remember, Denning is the President of the United States, not some schmuck off the street... Once this starts to come out, he'll be more dangerous than ever... and more determined."

Price proved a pretty difficult guy for Denning to read- he seemed trustworthy enough, but he didn't want another encounter like he had with Przybysz. He was pinned on the horns of a dilemma- Przybysz was his only real contact to the Council. There was Beck, but he was with some radical splinter group that wanted to blow up the world... Denning needed someone he could trust. He had Duke Wade but that toady was barely able to offer advice- he did provide fairly competent henchmen but...

If he had handled Przybysz differently, he might be able to persuade him to provide another procuror, one Denning could be sure of. Price would get the girls- that he was certain of, but the big question was would he do the cleanup afterward. And then there was Konstantinov with those damning photos... if they ever got out into the public- that prick had really thrown a monkeywrench into the works. He needed a diversion, some kind of political sleight of hand to distract the public until he could be rid of Shoemaker and that bitch girlfriend... They needed to be done away with- Price could handle that, but not at their house this time. It would have to be finessed- and after they were out of the way... the other ties to Maureen and that cunt Melissa.

The more he pondered, the unhappier he became. His mind wandered to Beck... Beck and that band of lunatics that he was with. They wanted war- and not just any war either... They wanted something huge- fucking maniacs. He didn't have a problem with a war, but look at what happened with N Korea- that almost ended things and if he tried it again- there was Konstantinov with his fucking pictures. Denning knew he needed Beck and his nuts and had to placate them... he was stuck playing both ends against the middle. He shook his head- he needed a release, so he called Price. Fuck it, he decided to go all in on this one. What's Price going to do if he's ordered to clean up the mess- turn him in? Not very likely.

"Art," Denning called him by a familiar sounding name hoping to build the illusion of comity- he was a politician, it's what he did. "I have a mission of sorts for you... I need a girl- like we discussed before."

"Very well, Mr. President," Price replied. "What time?"

Denning gave him a time and instructions as to how she should be brought into the Executive Living Quarters. Price agreed and left.

It was early evening before Bret got off work and he joined Lena at Dick's townhouse- the Senator was there.

"What's up?" He asked surprised to see Senator Ashby there. He kissed Lena, but before he could take a seat, David spoke:

"Bret, we've got something you need to see- a video. We need your input on how to proceed with it."

"Ok," Bret agreed following David upstairs to the office where he watched, his mind formulating the best way to present the information to the public- as well as to Leo Rosen who would have to authorize it before it was aired.

"This is really great stuff, David. How did you come across it?" He asked.

"Somebody sent Prz an anonymous email telling him to check out the conference. We tracked down the company that did the recording- the rest as they say, is history," he told him.

"Let me ask you something," Bret began, "did you sing any forms agreeing not to disclose the contents- a nondisclosure agreement?"

"I don't think so," David said, "I didn't when I picked up the publicity video... Dick and Prz got the master- let's ask them."

After some discussion, it turned out that they hadn't signed anything either, so as far as any liability went, it looked like they were off the hook.

"That's good so far," Bret told the group. "It's still kind of a hot potato... Legally it's still the property- the intellectual property- of the video company that made the recording. We need to get a signed, notarized affidavit from them giving us permission to use it. It may not be easy."

"Why," Lena asked looking puzzled.

"Because this is their bread and butter," Bret told her. "What are you going to tell them- 'Hey we want to use your video to take down the President'? If we broadcast it, they might lose a good deal of their business."

"But its a public meeting," Ann interrupted," open to the public. There's nothing on the video that anyone couldn't have seen for themselves."

"Good point," Przybysz agreed. "Anybody could have observed the same thing. Anyway, we've got to try."

"But we have to do it the right way," Bret said. "If we just broadcast it without permission, Denning's lawyers will have us in court trying to get a cease and desist order because we stole somebody's copyrighted material. Senator, what's your advice on how to proceed?"

"You're right about the legal issues, Bret," he began. "I'm going to invite some colleagues for an exclusive screening of out movie... That's a private viewing- not any violation of privacy. While I'm doing that, Dick or David, or one of you needs to get the agreement written up,signed and notarized. Be forthcoming with the video company- that it might be evidence of criminal wrongdoing... that way it won't come back to bite us- we may need them on out side."

"In the meanwhile, I'll run it by Leo," Bret said, "in anticipation of the agreement- that way we can do any necessary editing."

"Editing?' David looked upset.

"Take it easy, David," Bret said, "we can't show the whole thing. It's too long and the entire conference isn't relevant."

"Anica," Przybysz said to the girl, "how about you and I walking Bret and Lena home- we can take Bart with us."

"Can I hold him?" She asked excitedly. She loved the dog and always insisted on holding the leash while walking him.

"Sure Baby," Przybysz told her. "Ann, why don't you come along?"

"I think I will," she said. Her own kids were upstairs playing video games. "I could use some fresh air."

It was difficult to tell who was more excited by the walk, Anica or Bart. In many ways she was like a small child... To Przybysz that made Denning's crimes against her sister and her even more heinous- and strengthened his resolve to avenge them. Bret and Lena walked a few steps ahead and Przybysz turned to Ann.

"There's another reason I asked you to come," he said. "I need you to start observing the cars in the vicinity... I know Dick taught you when that business up in Boston was going on. Look for any that seem out of the ordinary, or that don't belong. You know what to look for- plumbing vans that don't move, cars in the same place all the time or have somebody in them day after day. You're around the neighborhood more than the rest and I suspect Denning's planning something... It's better to be prepared."

At the White House, Denning was about to put Price's loyalty to the test. he had arrived with a girl who appeared to be in her early teens... Within an hour or so- Denning would know.

(For links to previous chapters- go to Chapter XV)

https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xv-the-boogeyman
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xvi-wars-and-rumors-of-wars
https://steemit.com/writing/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xvii-blood-of-the-innocent
https://steemit.com/writing/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xviii-connecting-the-dots
https://steemit.com/writing/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xix-the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-georgia
https://steemit.com/writing/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xx-a-dangerous-man-part-1
https://steemit.com/writing/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xx-a-dangerous-man-part-2
https://steemit.com/writing/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxii-a-new-revelation
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxiii-clouds-of-warhttps://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxiv-yuri
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxvi-the-desperate-hours
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxvii-countdown-to-disaster
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxviii-plan-b
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxix-my-fellow-americans
https://steemit.com/fiction/@richq11/the-night-gods-ii-chapter-xxx-the-missing-link

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