Chapter Fourteen
THE POLITICIANS-IN-TRAINING FELT compelled to blur the lines of friendship and politics. If you were a personal friend, you were expected to be politically loyal to one another. And it worked the other way. If you were adversaries, you could not be friends. This caused a lot of heartache as elections neared, when scores of politicos were forced to choose sides that strained friendships and – in a few minor cases, ended intimate relationships.
Ben always liked to think he was an exception to the rule. Yet, that was not to be. In his final campaign, a friend of his was running for student body president with the Campus Party; another, closer friend was joining the Gator Party ticket on the number two spot. Ben was torn. Eventually, he joined the Gator team, but that was not the end of it. Many of his younger friends were on the Campus side, and he had more fun chatting with them. Yet, because of the moles on both sides, he was accused of spying. And even when he sat near the Campus party presidential candidate during an ethics hearing, and engaged in conversation with him, Ben was given a true grilling by the other side.
He did not need that kind of grief. These were all his friends, to one degree or another, and he saw their hypersensitive loyalty test as an unneeded element of campaigning, but a true sign of where his friendships stood. That incident crystallized everything for him, and reminded him of why he will soon give it all up…
AS MIKE ADAMS remembered him, Kyle Schiff knew how to handle people. For that reason, he loved his job as a hospital administrator. It gave him real power to help deliver life-preserving care to those who needed it most; he was making a real difference in people’s lives. It was a feeling he had not enjoyed even as an advocate in the battle to defeat AIDS, and only truly felt once before, as a teacher shortly after graduate school in Florida.
When he got the message from Mike that he wanted to meet, he was unsure of how to react. While in college, they had a unique and contradictory working relationship. Kyle was the charismatic leader; Michael was his behind-the-scenes policy wonk. As Mike tried asserting himself as a student leader, Kyle was reluctant in his support, but also reluctant to explain why. Yet, they remained good friends throughout, and, as many would attest to, their way of working together functioned better than most partnerships.
Kyle didn’t care for Mike’s new book simply because the character clearly but loosely based on him put too much emphasis on his flamboyant personality and willingness to act abrasively with authority figures. That did not stop him from agreeing to talk with this former college friend all the same.
“Hey, Mike,” Kyle said, greeting him in a hectic public entrance to the hospital in Orlando. “Let me show you around, and make our way to my office to chat.”
“Alright,” Mike said softly. At least very few people will recognize me here in Orlando, he thought.
They began walking through the lobby area that doubled as a spacious arboretum, and tried their best to ignore the very loud rustlings of hospital patients and guests. An occasional doctor or resident acknowledged Kyle as they walked by. An assistant stopped him long enough to grab a signature before scurrying away. They turned a corner, and there was Kyle’s office, appropriately marked in the center with his name and job title.
“Okay, Mike, what’s going on?” Kyle said in an uncharacteristic desire to get to the point quickly. He wanted this confrontation with his past over with.
“Well, no doubt you’ve seen the news.”
“Yeah, you and Adam are hitting it off,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
“It’s just for the movie,” Mike said defensively, knowing full well the history Kyle and Adam shared in college, and Kyle’s disappointment that marked their graduations. “But it’s more than that.”
“Of course. You’re on somebody’s hit list.”
“Right. Brenda thinks-”
Kyle perked up and changed his attitude at hearing about the old professional secretary. “You spoke to Brenda?”
“What else could I do? It’s clear whoever wants to do me harm has a connection with what was said in the book. And Brenda thinks it has something to do with that leadership honorary you and I never really liked.”
“Are you suggesting a network of current and former student leaders in Florida are being used to undermine a film that makes light of their activities? Come on, Mike, even those people aren’t self-absorbed enough to do something like that.”
“They did that sort of thing while in college. How different would it be to blackmail someone in “real-life,” especially when they know where to strike? But the question I had was whether you knew anything about this?”
With a sigh, Kyle crossed his legs, and said, “Please, Mike. You of all people should know I have a problem with confrontations. It’s just unneeded stress, and I can’t deal with it very well. Besides, I like what I am doing now. I have no reason to see any of that change.”
“I can see that.”
“Mike, your real problem is not going to be finding out whether this leadership honorary has the time, resources, and motive to engage in these attacks. It’s pretty clear they do. What you have to worry about is what they will try to do to you if you get too close.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“You better hope I’m not. Remember, they chased fraudulent drivers, spied on their own members, and did everything in their power to shut down the extracurricular careers of those who opposed them. If – and this is a big if – they are willing to engage in activities outside of college, there may be no limits to what they will try to do.”
Mike shook his head, disbelieving in what Kyle was saying. Kyle may not still trust me, but he seems certain that Brenda’s instincts are correct. This can’t be good. Mike did not know what to make of it, but it was unusual that Kyle trusted Brenda’s point of view that readily.
BENNITA JONES DID not know George Avelli very well. His rise to prominence in Student Government occurred almost concurrently with Bennita’s decision to disappear into her work at Shands to finish her doctorate. Their political lives were thus on very different planes of existence, which is fitting, because their goals were very different. She sought power to implement her ideals; he sought power to gain notoriety and self-importance.
Her few memories of him suggested a very strange little guy. An Italian-American, his catholic upbringing made him very interested in union politics, but also made him conservative on social issues like abortion. His trademark look included very short (but not quite crew-cut) hair, and over-sized Henley shirts. He was at one point a strong proponent of the politicians-in-training that composed the leadership honorary, but left when they failed to deliver on several promises.
He earned Mike’s trust very quickly, and within months joined Mike in his short-lived New Democracy Party effort. They remained political allies for a while, until Mike abandoned campus politics all together to make a move to Georgetown University. They rarely kept in touch since.
Bennita was meeting with him, although he did not know it, because he showed up on Mike’s list. Like Kyle, Mike had exaggerated a character’s personality flaws that mimicked George’s own issues. They were meeting at the gift shop within their alma mater’s Museum of Natural History.
Based on what she remembered, George was easy to spot amidst the crowd that was filing out of the lecture hall of the museum. She waved her hand in the air, and energetically tried getting his attention. She did.
“George, right?” she said over the voices of those around them.
“Yep. It’s been a long time, Bennita.”
“Well, we’ve all been busy since college.”
“I suppose.”
“Then what have you been up to?”
“I’ve got a job with the School of Natural Environment, here. I help conduct computer tests involving everything from communication equipment to sophisticated pH testers. Anything we can do to study jungle life, basically,” he said with a detached indifference.
“Well,
that doesn’t sound too far from what I do. I still work with hospitals and their radiological equipment. Anything we can do to study radiation, and the like,”
“Right.”
“Anyways,” Bennita said as she gestured a suggestion of moving away from the increasingly packed gift shop. As they walked, Bennita continued. “I do have a reason to talk other than just this reunion we’re having.”
“It’s not about Mike’s situation,” he said hesitantly, with a noticeable pang of sadness in his voice. George wore his feelings on his sleeve, and that made upsetting situations hard to deal with for him.
“I’m afraid it is.”
“Is he in any danger? Why isn’t the FBI helping to protect him?”
“Mike thinks he is in so much danger that he had eluded the FBI in an effort to lead an independent investigation into this mess. What I wanted to know is if you knew anyone who would want to do this to him?”
“Oh gosh, I don’t know. If we’re talking strictly people from college, I really can’t think of any. Sure, he made plenty of enemies with those in the leadership honorary, but he also gained their respect. And his book is such a parody of life on campus that I really can’t see how anyone would take it so seriously. I mean, even people like me have lives built around something completely different than politics, and we could care less if he gets rich off it. I’m just a little mad that he didn’t consult any of us on it,” he said flatly.
Bennita nodded as she began stepping down a flight of stairs with George. He seemed to dismiss the whole notion of this incident a little too easily. He practically shrugged off its importance, despite the threats involved. She could not help but wonder why that was. It left a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach.
ADAM RUPPESBERGER REMEMBERED having a strong sense of respect for David Snyder, even though at the time he shared a popular skepticism about David’s involvement in campus politics. Many saw David as an ambitious Jewish kid whose rise to power came not from taking over an existing organization (such as the Jewish student union) or some policy expertise, but creating a whole new organization from scratch with dubious intentions. That’s not to disrespect his philanthropic endeavors; David now professionally runs a national charity called Buddies Forever that promotes volunteerism in pediatric and geriatric hospitals. It’s just that some saw his efforts to promote the group as also a way to promote himself.
Of course, David would simply answer his critics by pointing out that people believed in what he was doing and joined him in accomplishing those goals. Very few are lucky to build an organization from the ground up and then use its popularity for general good use.
When Adam asked to meet with him, David at first suspected that Adam was changing his mind and wanted to help the organization with a sizeable influx of good Hollywood money. That is why, when Adam arrived at BF’s national headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was disappointed by the more modest $250 donation.
“Now that we have the re-introductions over with, what is on your mind, Adam? Surely you are not here to discuss your current project with Mike.”
Adam shifted in his chair as he looked across David’s desk. “Actually, I am.”
“Why is that? Wait, let me guess. You guys are trying to play detectives and solve a whodunit mystery before the bad guy does more harm,” he said, exuding confidence before running a hand over his wide, toothy grin.
“Exactly. If you could find fault with Mike’s book, what would it be?”
“You mean, aside from the fact that one of his characters was a well-known volunteer that became successful in campus politics, much like I did?”
“Was that a problem for you?”
“You certainly picked the wrong place to start your investigation. Sure, it was not a flattering parody, but I’ve heard worse over the last 15 years. So what if I ended up joining that leadership honorary after he left? I also never pursued a lot of things you guys thought I would. I have no idea who would take time out of their life to play pranks on him, but I am too busy running this organization to do anything like that. As a matter of fact, I only skimmed his book, and I am not sure, frankly, whether I’ll watch the movie. I just don’t have the time,” David insisted.
Adam made a mental note of the subtle anger David Snyder expressed over the parody of himself, and his attempt to dismiss this investigation. Even with all his doubts about David’s alibi and professed lack of a motive, he just could not see the professional philanthropist as a would-be killer. To counter that theory, Adam thought, Maybe he had someone working with him as an accomplice.
MIKE WAS IN his car, fresh off his conversation with Kyle, trying to apply his costume once again. I can see how this is could get old very quickly, he thought as he struggled to put his black curls back on.
The sound from his phone indicated he had not one, but two incoming calls. He checked the clock and said out loud, “Right on time,” just before he pressed the button that brought up both callers as a conference call.
“Alright, it’s unsafe to keep this going long,” Mike pointed out to his two allies, Adam and Bennita, who were both in vehicles fresh off their interviews. “So, we all know the rendezvous point. And I trust we all will have plenty to confer about when we get there.”
“Indeed,” Adam said in agreement.
“Let’s just hope it is all worth it, Mike,” Bennita cautioned.
Mike did not hesitate to state what seemed to be the obvious. “If not, then we are in a lot of trouble.”