it’s putting their lives in danger. Romanoff slipped the shooter, but I don’t know if anyone else would get away.”
She thought for a moment. “Yeah, I understand your concern. I think you need to talk to Michelle Hicks about it. Romanoff may want to be in the lead on this to keep other Congressmen out of sight. He’s a pretty honorable guy. I think he’ll be even more aggressive and want to be the one attracting attention. But, I could be wrong. Talk to Michelle.”
“Alright, Leigh. Thanks.”
He started walking diagonally across the mall, unsure if he should call Laura for lunch, or call Michelle. He called Michelle. She couldn’t talk, but agreed to meet with him at two. He called Laura and diverted course slightly across the lawn, walking toward the FAA building.
He loved every moment with her, but today it felt awkward. He’d created anticipation around their forthcoming dinner on Saturday. It would be simpler just to avoid her until then, but the urge to see her overpowered logic.
After some benign discussion, she asked, “So, what are you up to for the rest of the day?”
“Well, after lunch, I’m meeting with Michelle Hicks again in Congressman Romanoff’s office.”
“You gonna talk about the shooting?”
“I want to find out if he’s backing off the drug language.”
She looked at him, understanding his dilemma. “Hunter, you can’t blame him if he’s now a target, too.”
“I agree, Laurie. I just need to know where we stand on the language. That’s my job. If Romanoff bails out, I need to find someone else to lead it.”
“That would just put them in danger.”
“Maybe, but it’s my job, and I believe in it.”
“Some job. Is it worth people getting killed?”
“People are getting killed every day over drug violence, Laurie. I’m trying to save lives.”
“No one in California could blame you if you resigned.”
“Is that what you want? Besides, I don’t think anyone would take this position if they knew what the risk might be.”
She took his hand and looked into his eyes. “You took it.”
“I couldn’t help it. It was personal. José had been killed, and I couldn’t let my sister risk it.” Technically, José was just missing until they found his car two years later.
“Maybe you should just let it rest now. If it goes any further that will be great, but you shouldn’t risk anything more.”
They ended the lunch knowing that nothing had changed. Laura was concerned, which he already knew. She also knew that he wouldn’t run from danger. Was that a weakness? Was that a mistake? He didn’t know. He also didn’t like the idea that his job put a strain between them.
Vigor
Ten minutes after leaving the FAA building and walking along Independence Avenue up Capitol Hill, he was sitting with Michelle Hicks in her office.
She was more reserved than last time. “Hunter, what can I do for you?”
“Michelle, I heard about the attempt on the Congressman and wanted to know if this changes anything about his support of the drug policy changes we discussed.”
“You think that has something to do with the shooting?”
“I don’t think it’s coincidental.”
She responded, “Well, I don’t know what that means, but the press is making some pretty wild speculations.”
At that point Congressman Romanoff opened her door and stepped in. “Well, hello again, Hunter.”
They shook hands and the Congressman sat down, intending to participate. Michelle said, “Congressman, Mr. Kohl is here about your interest in the drug policy. He thinks there may be a connection to the shooting.”
Romanoff smiled and looked at both of them in sequence then said, “Well, it’s better than some of the stuff out there about jealous husbands and boyfriends.”
She responded. “Aaron, Congressman, this is a serious matter. It could be dangerous and it could hurt your career.”
He smiled. “I don’t think so, Michelle.” He then looked at Hunter. “Mr. Kohl, can I call you Hunter?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good, in here, I want you to call me Aaron.” Michelle looked incredulous.
He continued, looking at her. “You see, Michelle, I had a nice chat with the Secret Service this morning. They’re now shadowing me wherever I go. It seems that Hunter and I have a common problem.” He looked at Hunter.
After a few moments, she said, “Aaron, I don’t know what Mr. Kohl – Hunter -- has to do with this?”
Hunter pursed his lips and looked at the table as Romanoff answered. “Well, we’ve both been attacked for the same reason. Is that right, Hunter?”
“I believe so, sir.”
Romanoff insisted. “Aaron.”
Hunter acknowledged, “Yes, Aaron. There’s a good possibility that threats to me have something to do with you.”
Romanoff smiled. “There. You see Michelle. Isn’t this great!”
She was mystified. “Aaron. Are you nuts? What’s to smile about here?”
“Michelle, I want you to call a press conference this afternoon. It should get a lot of coverage with the attention I’m getting in the press today.”
“What are you talking about, Aaron. What’s this about?”
He looked at Michelle and Hunter, “I’m going to announce my whole hearted support of drug reform and use the shooting incident to drive the point home. The drug lords that think they own our streets are gonna be out of business. If they want a fight, I’m their man.”
She pleaded. “Aaron, this isn’t some petty scandal, this could get you killed.”
“It damn near did, Michelle. That’s why I’m going to fight this through. There are only two ways to go. I either withdraw my support, or drive it through Congress.” He looked at Hunter. “If we win, the drug gangs on the American continents will be out of business.”
She responded. “Very macho. And very dumb.”
“Why? My constituents will love it. Hell, maybe the whole country will love it.”
“So now you want to run for President?”
He glanced at Hunter then put his hands on her shoulders. “Look, hon, I don’t like being a paper tiger. I believe in this and it’s gonna create some murderous enemies. I can’t run from this. I think we can win. With the new Appropriations bill, we could actually stop the drug war on our borders and in our cities. You think I wanna let someone else get the credit? Hunter here is good at what he does. He’ll just go find some shmuck to back the House language, and I’ll miss the chance of a lifetime. A chance to do the right thing.”
Hunter sat silently watching the interplay between two professional associates, who were obviously more than just officemates.
Romanoff looked at Hunter. “Hunter are you up for this? I understand you’ve been operating under this same cloud.”
“Ah, yes – Aaron – I’m sticking with this. My families’ been threatened, my girl’s been threatened, and I just waiting until someone tries to ambush me, too. But, I signed on for this thing, and I’m seeing it through.”
“Good. Do you need anything from me?”
“Aaron, if you’re leading the charge on this, I’m here to go knock on every door in Congress if I have to.”
“Okay, I want you and Michelle to coordinate the lobbying effort. She’s really good at working the staffs on the Hill. You concentrate on the Senate and give her a hand in the House when we need the California-factor brought in.”
Body language said the meeting was over. Hunter stood and extended his hand first to Romanoff, then to Michelle. You’ve got my full support, sir.”
“Good, now I’ve got a news briefing to write.”
That evening in his apartment, Hunter was still trying to understand what was occurring in his relationship with Laura. It had grown over two years and reached and intense level in the last month. But since then, it plat
eaued and seemed to be cooling rapidly. He was in a tailspin and needed to get out of it. Partly it was nothing he could control, but most of it centered on his ambivalence about the future, the future with her. He wanted to call her but feared it would only dig his hole deeper. Their relationship seemed to be disintegrating overnight, and he felt powerless to change it.
He was eating a mixture of Asian foods purchased at the local market and watching the evening news when it was interrupted by a news conference called by Congressman Aaron Romanoff. Speculation had been growing all day about the reasons behind the attempt on Romanoff, placing the Congressman at the pinnacle of conjecture in Washington. He was either in the best or worst position of his career. After some introductory remarks by the broadcaster, the feed went live to the rostrum where Romanoff was beginning to speak.
“First of all, I’d like to apologize for interrupting evening broadcasts, and folks eating dinner. I’ll keep my comments brief and answer questions at the end.
As you all know, I was attacked by a gunman this morning as I was leaving my home. It’s been in the news all day long across the country, so you’ve probably all heard about it. I’m also sure that you’ve all been exposed to speculation about this attack, so let me set the record straight.
The attack this morning was against me, and no one else. It was not, I repeat not, about anything involving my personal life, although that has made interesting reporting over the past several years. This was about my actions in the Congress.
“Recently, I initiated an effort to have language enacted into law that would repeal the War on Drugs and regulate legal use of