A Tax in Blood by Benjamin M. Schutz

Author:Benjamin M. Schutz
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781497652958
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road

Chapter 22

My car phone rang while I sat in traffic, growing ever more claustrophobic.

“Hello.”

“Leo, I’m returning your message.” Samantha said flatly.

“I think we should talk, don’t you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Where are you now?”

“I’m here at the Skyline Dalton. The signing should be over in about an hour.”

“Why don’t I come down and meet you there?”

“Okay.” She hung up.

It took just about the entire hour to get from Georgetown to Bailey’s Crossroads. I took the health club elevator down to the shopping mall. A large publicity photo of Samantha was in the bookstore window. Beneath that was a copy of the laudatory reviews that had appeared in the local newspapers. I stood off to the side and watched Samantha signing books and talking to her fans. A woman stood in front of her, her arms clasped around the book like it was a life preserver, and went on about how much she enjoyed Samantha’s books and how they spoke to everyone, not just women. The line of true believers wound around the front of the store. I caught the note of contempt in my thoughts, the desire to cut her down to size, and wondered what put it there. Samantha looked like she’d be busy for a good twenty more minutes so I walked over to the bar in a nearby restaurant, pulled up a stool and ordered a drink.

The bar television flashed the presidential seal and then the words Presidential Newscast. The bartender slid my drink over to me, looked at the screen and said, “Want to bet he appoints a committee? The guy passes the buck around like it’s a social disease.”

“I don’t know. He’s in a tough spot. He has to try to balance our freedom with the need to protect people. That’s a tightrope that gets harder to stay on the slicker it gets with blood. I guess we’ll find out what kind of wire-walker lives in the White House.”

The local channel logo appeared and then the great one himself filled the screen.

“This evening, my fellow Americans, I want to address the recent terrorist attacks in our great country. They are a threat to all we hold dear, to what makes us the greatest nation on earth, the home of the free and the land of the brave. First, let there be no mistake, the United States will never negotiate with terrorists. Nor will we capitulate to their demands. No dialogue can be forced this way. No grievance can be legitimate that is brought to us soaked in the blood of our citizens. We will interpret all such actions as acts of war against the people of the United States. Any demonstrated connection or support by a foreign power for these acts will draw an immediate reply from the United States. The entire spectrum of response and retaliation will be considered.”

“Okay, here comes the committee,” the bartender said.

“Give him a chance.”

“If we are to survive this attack, if we are to remain the home of the free, we must, more than ever, be the land of the brave.

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