Double Team
Chapter 217
“Don’t mention your move before you make a move.”
—Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words
“AMANDA, DID YOU RECORD THAT?” I asked as I stared at the door. I couldn’t believe someone I didn’t know had just walked into my ready room and threatened to have me sent to the agriculture fields if I didn’t change my message in the show. From a conglomerate of interested businesses. RSI. China.
“Yes, Jacob.”
“Send it unedited to Ray Long in Chicago, and to Will Forsythe and Ron Starling in DC. Add a message to Ron’s copy that says, ‘How are you going to protect my family?’ I need to play my guitar for a minute to calm down.”
“Affirmative, Jacob. Messages sent.”
“And, Amanda, post the entire thing to our YouTube channel.” I grabbed my guitar and sat in a corner playing. I was uninterrupted for half an hour when there was a knock on the door.
“Jacob, it’s time to get started,” Donna said. “We’re fifteen minutes from curtain.”
“How does it look?”
“Just like you asked. Sign-carrying proponents of reform. Packed house. A news crew standing by from the local television station.”
I stood and caught Donna around the waist to give her a passionate kiss. Not very professional, but I needed that touch with one of my wives.
“In case I don’t survive this, know that I love you and tell each of my wives that I love her.”
“Don’t be so melodramatic. Get out there and make Cindy look good.”
I laughed and headed backstage.
What I wasn’t taught in high school was how broken our government is. The constitution, like the legal code, has become a battlefield for politicians and lawyers to see how they can bend and twist it to their own needs. The laws that are supposed to be applied uniformly to all Americans are somehow exempted for our political leaders.
When we started this campaign, we wanted to recover the dream of what the National Service was intended to be. It was to be filled with opportunity and we allowed it to be turned by greedy politicians and rapacious businesses into a period of forced slavery during which our youth was beaten out of us. The bill to reform the National Service was shuffled aside in the Senate as the Senate Leader refused to put it on the agenda. In the House, it was tabled. So, we launched a drive to elect only pro-reform candidates this year.
I’m here to tell you tonight we were wrong.
We need to elect candidates who are willing to take on the challenge of reforming the government, not just the National Service. Our campaign finance laws are so leaky that political donations find their way directly to the pockets of the candidates. Our representatives and senators are bought and paid for by campaign donations, business deals, and outright bribes. They do not represent we the people. They represent the special interests who bought and paid for them.
Our government officials at every level of local, state, and national government have become a special class of nobility in direct opposition to the constitution. Since they make the laws, they can exempt themselves from them. They live in a bubble of protected status that we must burst! Senators and Congressmen should be nothing more nor less than laborers paid by the people to do a job and held accountable to the people for the quality of work they do.
One of the great flaws in the setup of our congress, our executive branch, and our judicial branch is that they are expected to police each other and themselves. Yet the congressional ethics committee repeatedly covers over infractions by its members in a kind of ‘I won’t tell on you if you don’t tell on me’ tacit agreement. Corruption stretches into every branch of our government at all levels and we need candidates who are committed to correcting the problem from inside before the people of the United States take it in their own hands to correct.
Part of that power structure of the Senate has seen how one man can control what comes before the Senate for consideration and can distribute wealth and influence to the people who support him. Our slate of candidates is committed to legislative management reform that not only expedites legislation but that holds those in power accountable for their actions.
Article II, Section 2 of the constitution clearly places the armed forces of the United States under the command of the president to show that the military is a servant of the civilians, not the other way around. Yet, as illustrated by the National Service, our military arm has acceded to great authority over civilians who are not part of the military, are not participating in civil unrest or rebellion, and are in no way a threat to the stability of the country other than through their votes on election day. Military authority over civilian matters must be curbed.
And finally, our judicial system has failed to apply the law and constitution equally to all American citizens. Clearly stated costs for violations of the law have been distorted and applied differently based on race, social status, religion, economic condition, and sex. Our nation is due massive judicial reform that focuses on justice for all and not on justice for those who can pay.
I have spoken before of the creation of a Reform Caucus in the United States Legislature and those candidates for office who have committed to it. Tonight, I’m bringing an expansion of that concept to you and am announcing the founding of the Reformist Party. The people running at every level of elected office who have committed to the Reformist Party are committed to the six party reform planks I’ve just mentioned. National Service Reform, Campaign Finance Reform, Congressional Ethics Reform, Legislative Management Reform, Military Management Reform, and Judicial Reform. When election day comes in two weeks, we need to elect Reformist candidates in every race in which they appear. To facilitate that, we have established a website active tonight that lists every recognized Reformist candidate in the country. ReformistParty.com is now open and ready for you to check who to vote for in the upcoming election.
I want to tell you that this is not without cost. You will disagree with some of the non-platform stances of some candidates and I can only ask you to weigh the cost of giving a person who disagrees with you on a single subject a voice, against the cost of failing to make sweeping reforms to our government.
This afternoon as I sat in my ready room preparing for this speech, a man unknown to me entered the room to convince me on behalf of a business conglomerate that would lose money if the service was reformed that I should soften my stance on reform. He did it first through offers of mentorship and later employment after my service. He continued with threats indicating that he could have me assigned to the agricultural fields for the next two years and ruin my hopes of a music career if I failed to comply with his demands. I don’t know who he was. But it happened that I was recording myself practicing this speech when he walked in and you can see the entire recording on our YouTube channel right now. This is why we need Reformist candidates. This person believes he is above the law, above the constitution, and above the people of the United States. Identify him and turn him in!
The United States was founded on the dream of a free and classless society with equal opportunity for all. We will recover the dream.
That was the longest speech I made, but not the only one. Between sets of Morricone music featuring the battling strains of Cindy’s flute and Desi’s voice as Remas and I filled the background and our wives danced, and sets of lively tangos in which I carried the lead on my Flamenco guitar with Sophie and Brittany dancing, we told the crowd exactly what to expect in congress tomorrow morning and how to combat it. And for the first time, I told the general public what had happened to me when I started National Service and why I took the strange man’s threats seriously.
The concert went three hours and we didn’t lose any of the audience. Even the news station stuck around until the end and met with me onstage. I had to repeat almost everything to them in an interview that I’d said during the performance. It was well after midnight when I tucked Amanda under my arm and joined my wives to head for the bus.
I saw familiar faces standing between us and the bus. The SSR stretched out in a line. I heaved a deep sigh. Might know they’d be the ones sent to conduct me to my service in the agricultural fields.
“Well?” I said. “Are you going to drug me this time so I don’t resist?”
“What?” Paul said. “Jake, that was all a big mistake. I was hoping you’d get past that misunderstanding. We thought we were doing what we were supposed to do.”
“And what are you supposed to do tonight?” I asked. “I’m getting tired.”
“We’re supposed to protect you and make sure no one attempts to override your assignment on this deputation team,” Dana said. “It’s a temporary assignment because we were in Indianapolis and Ron said we were the closest people he could send. When he gets a real security force set up for you, we’ll get back to our base and wait for the next disaster.”
“I guess I should be flattered. I’ve advanced from target to disaster. Hey. Really? I’m glad to see you guys. You did an incredible job in Washington. I can’t imagine what it must have been like.”
“You think you’ve trained for everything and then something like this happens,” Derek said. “What a mess. It’s like the state was just sliced in half from Mount Rainier to Puget Sound. Everything in front of the flow was wiped out.”
“And working in and around the lahar was spooky. It was like walking through concrete just before it sets,” Rick said.
“So, are you guys all set? The bus is ready to pull out to take us to our campground about an hour or so east of here.”
“We’ve got our truck and will follow the bus. You know us, we have all we need to camp next to you.”
“Yeah. Let’s get ready to roll.” I paused and looked into Dana’s eyes. I saw a sadness there I could barely stand. I reached out my hand and led her onto the bus.
“You can make love on the sofa in the back of the bus or wait till we get to the motorhome,” Beca said. She’d taken charge of showing Dana around our bus as soon as we boarded. I wasn’t positive why I’d chosen to bring her onboard, but sincerely hoped she didn’t choose the sofa. My wives had immediately assumed I’d brought her with me to renew our relationship. I wasn’t positive. I was incredibly tired.
“Have some cocoa,” Brittany said. “I can see you are near sleep already. It won’t be long till we’re at the campground.”
I leaned back against the soft cushion of her breast as I sipped the warm cup of comfort. My eyelids were really heavy and I was half-dreaming when I started awake and sat up. Little conversation groups were in the seats of the bus. Cindy and Remas were cuddled asleep on the sofa. My head was spinning.
“Where are Lamar and Leah?” I demanded of everyone.
“What? I assume they’re following,” Rachel said. “I don’t remember seeing them when we left the theater.”
“One of them is always outside my dressing room when I’m there alone, but that guy was able to walk in without being challenged. I didn’t see them backstage during the entire show. They weren’t at the bus when we met the SSR. Where the fuck are they?”
Rachel was on her phone dialing up our security who had been traveling with us since Boston. No answer. She dialed Ron Starling and started an intense conversation I couldn’t hear. So much had been happening since five o’clock, I knew I’d forgotten something. We needed to go back to Louisville and find out what was happening. Rachel handed me her phone and went to talk to our wives.
“This is Jacob.”
“Jacob, Ron here. We’ve tracked the movements of Lamar and Leah. They left with your motorhome about two to guide it to the camp. They should never have left your show venue or family. We’re trying to sort out why they went with the motorhome. But here’s the clincher. At eight o’clock, their signals went dark. We can’t track their phones or their IDs.”
“Shit! They’ve been kidnapped!”
“That’s possible. I’m organizing a team to search, but we’re hours behind you. You have the SSR with you. I’ll call and brief them. They are not to leave you and your wives alone, ever. They are to take any other personnel they discover at your motorhome into custody immediately. We’ll sort the good guys from the bad guys in the morning.” I looked at my watch. It was two o’clock already and I couldn’t really make out anything on the dark mountain roads we were traveling. I disconnected with Ron and gave Rachel her phone. Across the way, Dana was on a handheld transmitter talking to her team.
So, Mr. Blue Suit was making his move. Ballsy to assume he could move in like this when I’d already identified him on our YouTube channel and talked about his threat in concert. I had a feeling the orders had all been given before he talked to me. There was never a deal on the table. They intended to take me or possibly all of us. I hoped the SSR team was enough.
That gave me an idea. I walked through the bus, pausing to kiss each of my wives and laying one on Dana as well. In the back of the bus on the luggage rack was a red and yellow backpack. I checked it and pulled out my green jumpsuit. I stripped and donned it then put the hiking shoes and socks I kept beside it on. All my clothes were folded neatly and placed on the rack. I took off my ID and slipped it into the Faraday envelope and put it in the pack.
I could see now that we were approaching the abandoned campground at the Kentucky Ren Faire. The faire had closed the second weekend of September but, of course, the grounds were a year-round village of craftspeople. The adjacent campground had no one in it but our motorhome.
“Welcome back,” Dana said when she looked me over. She reached in a pocket of her pack and pulled out camo paint to cover my face and gave me her cap. It was plenty big enough since it was adjusted to fit over her abundant and wild hair. She fastened her hair back with a headband. “Stick close to me,” she said. “The guys will stay by the bus. Two will go with us to watch outside the motorhome while we go in to check it. You have zip ties in the left pocket of your kit. No matter who we find, even Lamar and Leah, we truss them up to be kept for the chief tomorrow.” I nodded. I couldn’t believe Lamar and Leah would be in on any attempt to kidnap me, but I agreed to the precaution.
Dana and I hit the top step of the bus and checked our guards. When we stepped off, the driver closed the door and two SSR members closed ranks in front of it. Two more followed Dana and me to the motorhome while the rest patrolled in pairs. The door was locked, but I had my key and opened it cautiously. It was quiet and dark. We were dry camped, so the driver should have turned the generator on and lights and heat so it would be ready to welcome us. Dana went in first, crouched low. I found the switch inside the door and turned on the lights.
A figure dove at us from either side. More by luck than intent, I caught the guy grappling for me in a bear hug just as Dana flipped her guy and cracked their heads together. They weren’t completely out, but were stunned and I quickly got a zip tie on one while Dana kept a knee in the back of the other. I moved to tie his hands. Dana nodded and headed to the front of the motorhome where the driver would be behind the closed curtain.
I’d just stood up to follow Dana when there was a scuffle in the front cabin.
“Tranq!” Dana screamed. I reached into the corner behind the driver’s seat and grabbed the shillelagh I’d cut in the woods the night of my escape from the mountains. I’d carried it with us in the motorhome believing it was some kind of protection if we were attacked. Well, I’d soon find out.
The scuffle continued ahead of me and ended abruptly as Dana fell back out of the cab at my feet. She was quickly followed by another goon, trying to get a dart into his gun and charging toward me. He was met with the business end of my club and dropped just like the boss had weeks ago. I grabbed another zip tie and bound his hands to the steering wheel so he couldn’t surprise me. Then I knelt to tend to Dana. I grabbed her transmitter.
“Dana’s been hit with some kind of drug. She’s out cold but breathing is smooth and regular,” I said. “Three bogies down and zip tied.”
The door of the motorhome opened and one of the guys stepped in, taking in the lay of the land.
“Jake, you okay?”
“Yeah, Derek. Dana’s been hit with a tranq gun.” He knelt beside me and we carried Dana to one of the beds.
“Veterinary tranq,” Derek said as he examined the reloaded dart gun. “Marked Azeperone. Nice they left the labels on. She should come out of it in half an hour. Probably have hellish dreams, though, and have no idea what she’s saying or doing.”
“How are things outside?”
“Paul’s down,” Derek said softly, as if afraid Dana would hear him.
“How? What happened?”
“We caught two prowlers outside and bound them. Rick caught Paul cutting the ties. He put Paul down and tied him, too.”
“Shit. I always suspected Paul was in on this from the beginning.”
“So did Ron. He’s been on watch anytime we were near you.”
I grabbed my club and made my way to the back of the motorhome, checking between the beds and in the bathrooms. In the back bedroom, I found Lamar and Leah, zip tied together with tape on their mouths. I went to free them but Derek laid a hand on my shoulder.
“Everyone we find stays trussed up for the chief tomorrow,” he said. “Remember.”
“Yeah. Sorry, guys. Get some sleep.” We walked back down the aisle where the intruders were waking up and moaning. “Can we get the garbage taken out so my family can get in here and get some sleep?”
“Lance, give us a hand here,” Derek said at the door. They carried the two guys out while I retied the guy in the driver’s seat and cut the one binding him to the steering wheel. I pushed him ahead of me to the door and the guys took charge from there, sitting him against a log with the other five.
“Okay to get my family to the motorhome now?” I asked.
“Should be good,” Derek said. “You want us to remove Dana and the two trussed up?”
“No. We should be good with three beds until morning. I need Emily to come with me first.” My sister joined me in the motorhome and started everything up, running the generator and opening the slide-outs so there was more room to walk in the massive coach. It was chilly inside and we got the heat turned on. Aside from Dana lying on one bed, everything looked mostly untouched. We brought the rest of the family into the motorhome, glancing out at the site filled with tube tents. Derek had taken care of calling everything in and Ron had been back in touch with Rachel while Emily and I opened the motorhome.
Dana moaned and I went to cradle her in my arms as she awoke and the family got ready for bed.
“Mmm. Jake, can we go to bed now? It’s been so long since I’ve had sex,” she moaned into my shirt.
“Let’s get the camo paint off our faces and our jumpsuits off. You did well, buddy. Thank you.”
“Yeah. My face itches.” She stood after Sophie and Nanette got her shoes off and unceremoniously stripped off her jumpsuit. Every bit as beautiful as I remembered. My wives led her to the bathroom to get her face washed as I stripped out of my clothes and washed my face. That paint does itch. When I returned to the bed, Dana was lying mostly in the middle with Sophie on one side of her. Nanette was waiting for me to crawl in next to Dana. She got in bed behind me.
Dana wrapped her arms around me and kissed me.
“I’ve missed you. You have lots of sexy naked girls around you. They make me turned on. I want to make love. Right now,” she said. Then she slumped against me and was asleep. I sighed.
I could use some sleep before I start anything else.
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