Trail of Destruction

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Not waiting for his driver to do the honors, Brad opened the car door and jumped out onto the driveway in front of his house. "Pick me up at the usual time tomorrow morning," he called out over his shoulder. He raced up his front walk, his bodyguard scrambling to keep up with him. Brad yanked open the front door, which was unlocked as usual. His home was on a five-acre lot, which was fenced with a wrought iron security gate at the entrance that kept unwanted visitors out. As he stepped into the foyer, one of the staff was waiting to greet him. After handing over his coat and briefcase, he asked where his wife was. Before taking off to find her, Brad nodded to his bodyguard, a signal for the man to have a seat in the foyer. He would remain there for the night, guarding the front entrance, unless Brad summoned him.

A couple of minutes later, he stepped into the library, where he found Carolyn sitting on the sofa, surrounded by her beloved dogs, Daisy, Annabelle, and Coco. She had one of her corgis on her lap and the other two positioned like bookends on either side of her. They swiveled their heads in unison as he walked into the room, four sets of eyes boring into his. The dogs wagged their tails in greeting, but made no attempt to get up from their comfortable spots.

He walked over to the sofa and leaned down to give Carolyn a kiss, before taking turns patting each dog's head. "I'm going to fix myself a drink. Do you want one?"

"No, I'm fine," Carolyn said, nodding towards a glass of water on the cocktail table. "I'm still trying to rehydrate after my afternoon ride. Dexter was being lazy, and I really had to get after him. I was sweating up a storm when I finished, but at least we ended on a good note."

"Do you have a show this weekend?" Brad asked as he opened a cabinet, revealing a mini bar.

"Yes, I'll be at Ledges again. There are three shows left this season." Ledges was a winter series of indoor horse shows that ran from December through April each year. The facility was located about two hours northwest of Chicago in Roscoe, Illinois, and it was the only game in town for riders who wanted to compete during the winter months but didn't want to travel to the Florida shows. There were two "A" rated shows each month, and unless Carolyn was on her deathbed, she and her horse would be there competing. There was a champion and reserve champion awarded at the end of the series based on each rider-and-horse-team's point accumulation. "I'm in second place right now, but I've got a chance to move into first if we do well this weekend."

"I'll drink to your good luck then," Brad said, lifting his gin and tonic in a toast before taking a sip. He walked to an armchair across from Carolyn and set his drink on the end table next to it. Before sitting down, he loosened his tie and draped his suit coat over the back of the chair. "So did you see my announcement?"

Carolyn nodded. "Yes. I made sure I was here to watch the evening news. I recorded all the shows for you."

Brad leaned forward eagerly. "How do you think it went?"

"I thought you were great. Your prepared statement was right on point. You covered the issues that are most important to you. And you handled the Q and A well. You were articulate, polished -- basically, I thought you looked very presidential." Carolyn smiled. "But I may be a little biased."

Brad laughed. "I should hope so. But I'm glad to hear I have my wife's vote, at least."

"Count on it. So would you like to watch the news now or after dinner?"

Brad looked at his watch. They usually ate an early dinner, shortly after he arrived home. "Do we have time? If you don't mind, I'd rather not wait."

"I guessed as much, so I arranged for a late dinner." Carolyn picked up the remote and aimed it at the TV. They started with the local news and then worked their way through the networks, analyzing each segment as they watched.

When the last one had been aired and discussed, Brad leapt from his chair and began pacing around the room. The corgis jumped off the sofa and started to follow at his heels, tumbling into each other whenever he made a quick turn. "I think that went as well as it could have gone. Of course, the real test will be in a couple of weeks, after the press has time to do some digging."

"What could they find that would hurt you?"

Brad shrugged. "You know when I balanced the state budget, I had to make some cuts. People lost their jobs. There are bound to be some disgruntled ex-government workers out there who want to complain about the job I've done."

Carolyn shook her head. "I don't think they'll generate much sympathy. You did what you needed to in order to get the state back on track. Most of what you eliminated was deadweight. Not to mention what you did in cleaning up the bidding process for construction projects. You got rid of all those under-the-table deals, and now jobs are getting done on time and under budget."

Brad nodded. "I know I made the right decisions. I'm just saying that I've made some people unhappy, and I'm sure my detractors will jump at the chance to bad mouth me."

"I guess that comes with the territory. I wouldn't worry about it, though. Based on your approval ratings, you've got a lot more friends than enemies out there."

"Except for the NRA contingent. I can't count any friends among that group. Once I pushed through the new gun control laws, I burned those bridges but good."

"You can't expect to get everyone's vote. But the drop in violent crime since you spearheaded that effort speaks to how effective it was."

Brad smiled and sank back down into his chair. "I know you're right. I'm just trying to be prepared. And I am really proud of the gun control laws we passed. Even though that's a state issue, as president, I would push hard for all the states to follow our lead. In fact, I've decided that gun control is going to be one of my primary talking points in the campaign. I think people are tired of escalating gang violence and crime rates. I don't think anyone other than the rabid NRA members really believe that citizens have a constitutional right to own assault weapons."

Now that Brad had stopped pacing, the corgis jumped back onto the loveseat beside Carolyn. She nuzzled each one playfully until they settled down. "I think having gun control as one of your talking points is a great idea. I know how passionate you are about it, and that's going to come across to the voters. So what comes next, now that you've announced?"

"Our top priority is raising money. Terry's putting together a slew of fund-raising events. Dinners, cocktail parties. Mostly in the Midwest initially so that I can take advantage of the connections I've got. Then, once we've got some money in the bank, we'll start expanding our coverage. We'll need to hit all the major metro areas and, of course, all the states with early primaries."

Brad watched as Carolyn bit her lip and began to rub Daisy's back. "I know it's going to be hard for you to leave the dogs and horses to come with me. Most of the appearances I can make on my own, but there are going to be times when I'm going to want you with me."

Carolyn nodded. "I know, Brad. I promised I'd support you, and I will."

Brad walked over to Carolyn and leaned down, scooping Coco up and depositing her in the corner of the loveseat so that he could sit next to his wife. He took her hand. "You're one of my best assets, you know. You're beautiful, intelligent, funny. People love you."

"Then I'll be there. Whenever you need me." Carolyn squeezed his hand. "Why don't you go change while I check on dinner?"

"Sounds good." Brad leaned over to kiss her before he got up to leave. He knew she wasn't excited about campaigning or the prospect of being the president's wife, which is why he hadn't shared his plans with her earlier. But that didn't bother him, because he also knew that she'd do whatever he asked. Manipulating his wife to do what he wanted was just part of the game.