Trail of Destruction

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Two floors down from Amy, Ryan was sitting at his hotel desk working on his story. He struggled as he tried to come up with a fresh spin on the day's events. He had to admit to himself that he had enjoyed the first few weeks on the trail. But now that they were three months into it, other than the change of location, it seemed like every day was a monotonous repeat of the one before.

He was amazed that Brad could garner such enthusiasm every time he spoke, even when he was basically telling the same story over and over. Maybe it's different when you're selling yourself, he thought. God knows, Brad certainly believes in himself and he's making others believe too.

His brother's popularity numbers had continued to climb in every poll to the point that he was now one of two front runners. The first primary was about six months away and if his momentum continued, Brad could very well be the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States.

Ryan was genuinely excited for his brother. He knew how much Brad wanted to win this election, and he deserved it too. Watching his brother, Ryan knew that he was passionate about leading the country. And his ideas were sound. Most of the Democratic candidates had similar platforms, but Brad had made gun control and crime reduction his signature causes. He had championed strong gun control legislation in Illinois, and crime had plummeted. Even though it was a state issue, Brad felt that, as the nation's leader, he could push the states into following the same course.

And his ideas were catching on. Maybe it was because for the first time there was a clear example linking gun control to dramatically lower crime rates. Maybe it was that gang activity was spreading outside of the inner cities and gaining a stronghold in the suburbs and rural areas. Maybe it was that people were tired of being afraid to send their children to school, knowing that another Columbine could happen any day. Whatever the reason, for the first time in history, it seemed like the country was ready to pass gun control laws with teeth. And people admired Brad for taking such a strong stance. He was gaining a reputation for being a man with character - someone who would stand up for what he believed in regardless of the consequences.

Of course, as expected, there had been a huge backlash. The other Democratic candidates and the Republicans were both painting Brad as the candidate, who, if elected, would start chipping away at everyone's individual rights. And the NRA was frothing at the mouth. They had already started running ads attacking Brad.

On the positive side, Ryan thought that the various responses illustrated just how serious a contender his brother was. His opponents were genuinely worried that Brad would get elected. On the negative side, Ryan was stunned by how vicious some of the attacks were. He had seen the hate letters and witnessed the emotional protests. He used to think the term gun fanatics was just a label the liberals slapped on those people, until he saw firsthand the unadulterated hatred in the eyes of some of the protesters.

He had already written a number of articles about both his brother's ideas about gun control and the response he was getting, both for and against. Although he had tried to maintain a journalistic objectivity in his reporting, he was surprised to receive hate mail himself. Even though he had never stated his own support of Brad's ideas, people assumed that since he and Brad were brothers, he agreed with the candidate. It was a little disconcerting to be so closely associated with his brother again, just like when they were kids.

Ryan finished his article - this time he didn't touch on the gun control issue - and hit the send button to his editor. He picked up the phone to call his wife. As he listened to Michelle talk about her day, he was grateful to get a respite from the campaign talk he was surrounded with twenty-four/seven.

"So how about you?" Michelle asked. "How was your day?"

"The usual. I finished my story, so I thought I'd take a run and then watch some TV. I sure wish you were here."

"Me, too. Actually I wish you were home."

"Even better. I was thinking I'd talk to my editor about a vacation. I could really use a week or so away from here. I'm getting pretty burned out."

"That would be wonderful. Would you want to go somewhere or just come home?"

Ryan thought for a moment before answering. "I know that you could probably use a trip, but to be honest, I'd love to just be at home. But whatever you want to do is fine with me. I just want to be with you."

"Why don't you find out how much time off you could get? Say it was a week. Then maybe we could do a getaway weekend and spend the rest of the week at home."

"Sounds great. I'll call Marty tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll talk to you then. I love you."

"I love you too, honey."

Ryan hung up the phone and looked out the window. The storms in the distance had moved even farther away. He put on his gym shoes, anxious to leave his hotel room. He was beginning to feel like a caged animal. A run would give him a momentary escape, but as he had told Michelle, he needed more than that.