The Cure

Chapter 23

     WHILE TONY WAS PLEASED THAT THE secret service was being more than co-operative with them, but that co-operation was coming pretty much at a snail's pace. The people Tony wanted to speak with were being brought in for questioning one person at a time and they one had one table to work with. This meant that Bruce couldn't do his own interviews and split the workload. So, one by one they interviewed advisors from the Senator's office who were in town with him as well as some of the medical staff in a pitiful attempt to get an idea of what kind of aliment the Senator might be suffering from. Details were not readily available as the doctors were yet to identify what toxin was used, which made treatment of the patient nearly impossible. They were hitting the Senator with anti-bodies, steroids, and other general stuff hoping something might stick. Yet, whatever was in the Senator's system was not responding to any of it and continued its attack unabated. It wasn't looking good for the junior Senator from the south who had the charm that looked like was going to sweep the nation all the way to the Whitehouse. Tony could tell he had people like Bruce already set to back him and his campaign straight to the first Tuesday of November, but someone didn't like the idea of him being commander in chief and went to the extreme to take him out of the equation. The list of possible suspects was enormous. There were close to a dozen popular politicians on both sides of the aisle who hadn't declared their intent to run for office, and with Jackson out of the picture their chances to run and raise funds would be greater. Then there are companies and industries that Jackson spent a lifetime opposing that would have faced new regulations had he taken office. It was a daunting task, so whoever oversaw compiling that list was going to have their work cut out for them, especially if the Senator didn't make it.

     Tony watched with slight interest as one of the doctors being interviewed by Bruce abruptly walked out of the room when his questioning was done. After he left the room, one of the service agents walked over and asked if they wanted to speak with someone else.

     "Not yet." Tony replied, "We're going to take a break and get something to eat in the cafeteria."

     At that moment, he realized that Bruce was expressing a little frustration with his work at the desk.

     "Is there something wrong, Agent Kern?" Tony inquired.

     "Just this stupid pen, Sir." Bruce said, "Do you have something I can burrow to finish this last comment I'm trying to notate?"

     "Yes, I do," Tony replied, "But you better not lose it."

     Tony dug into his pockets and pretty much had to empty half his coat onto the table to fetch it for him. He placed his badge, his cell phone, a pepperoni stick, and a few five by three photos of Xavier Carter on the table before finally finding what he was looking for. It was a very expensive pen that was plated with gold.

     "This was a gift," Tony informed him, "I want it back when you're finished."

     "Yes, Sir." Bruce acknowledged as he took the pen and immediately resumed working on his interview notes. 

     Since they had to wait for Bruce to finish up, Tony grabbed the pepperoni stick and opened it up, chewing into it as he relaxed into his chair while waiting. While they were sitting there doing their work, one of the secret service agents came into the room to speak with her boss. She was there to report something that was unrelated to what Tony and Bruce were doing, but since Tony wasn't doing anything, he noted how cute she was and watched as she spoke to her boss but wasn't able to overhear the subject of their discussion. A few moments later she stood up to leave but as she was walking out of the room, she suddenly stopped when she looked in the direction of Tony and Bruce. Tony thought he might have been busted for staring but did his best to look busy, talking to Bruce about his report. It didn't stop her from walking over to the table they were sitting.