The morning news revealed that a bomb had been found at the secure location where Bazir Malek and his wife, Reshmina were being kept in hiding. Already three different activist groups had taken credit for the attempt, and though initially the debate for tonight was said to have been postponed, already things were back on track. The debate would proceed as scheduled. She was watching the vid feed when Connor arrived.
“Did you see?” She asked him. He nodded.
“Just like we expected.”
“But they’re saying it was an activist group.”
“No...there are several groups that are claiming responsibility, but Grace, you and I both know that it doesn’t matter who actually planted the bomb. Mason already knew it would happen.”
“And if he knew...”
“Then he was involved. Somehow.”
“You’re right. I know you are. But this is all so hard.”
“I know it is, Grace.” He said, consoling her. Suddenly the door to the room opened. Connor reached for his weapon. Mason Alexander stepped through the doorway. Grace gasped. Connor did not pull his gun, but neither did he remove his hand from inside his jacket.
“Morning, Grace.”
“Mason.” She replied.
“I see you’ve seen the news. About Malek.”
“I have.”
“But no big deal. The final debate is still on as scheduled. That’s good.” He approached her. “Connor.” He nodded at the agent.
“Mr. Alexander.” Connor replied.
“Grace, I need to speak with you for a bit. I’ll be tied up the rest of the day with pre-debate interviews and such, but I want to make sure that you are prepared for after the debate. I want you there with me.” He turned to eye Connor. “And I don’t want any repeats of what happened last time, are we clear on that Agent Sloan?” Connor nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now if you would step out of the room, I need to speak to my wife in private please.” Connor turned back to Grace.
“He can stay.” She said. “I have no secrets from him.” Mason raised an eyebrow.
“Is that so?” She nodded in response. “Be that as it may, I have some things to discuss with you, and I wish to do so in private. If you please, Agent Sloan.” Connor hesitated. Grace paused for another moment and then nodded to him. She could see in his face that he did not want to leave the room, but reluctantly he did as he was asked. He stepped out into the hallway, and she watched as the door slowly swung shut behind him.
“What is it, Mason?” She asked, trying to temper the anger that she felt towards him.
“Look, you fucking bitch, I am this close to the Presidency!” He yelled at her. She jumped back. “And you are not going to fuck this up. Do you understand me?” He paused. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”
“What? I don’t understand?”
“Don’t play coy with me, bitch. You think that I don’t know everything that you and your little boy toy have been up to?”
“What?” She gasped. “It’s nothing like that!”
“I don’t give a fuck what it’s like. And I certainly don’t give a fuck if he’s banging your god damn brains out. What I care about, Grace, is that you do exactly as you are told. What you are told. When you are told.”
“I don’t understand-”
No, of course you don’t, you stupid bitch. So let me spell it out for you. In plain simple English.” He stepped closer to her, now just inches away from her face. She tried to retreat, but her back was against the wall. “Send it.” He said. Her blood froze.
“What?”
“Send it.”
“But...what are you talking-”
“I said, send the god damn message!”
“But-”
“Send the fucking message!” Mason yelled. Suddenly there was a thump at the door. She looked past him, hoping that Connor would come busting through. “Don’t look for help. You’re not going to find it, Grace. Now do as you have been told and send the god damn message. You want to get the truth out. You want to fuck up my chance at the Presidency. You want to take the one thing from me that matters? That really matters?” A gunshot rang out in the corridor. Then another. “You have no idea.” He grabbed her by the arm. “I know you have that message ready to send. And I know what’s in it. And I am telling you to send the fucking message, right now!” She was confused. How could he know? There was no way he could have access to her smart contact or her message account. She always kept it with her. It was not synched with any other device. He just could not know.
“But-”
“Did I ask you a question?” She shook her head. He sighed. “Do you have a message in your outbox?” She nodded. “Is it ready to be sent to the media?” She shook her head.
“No, I-”
“Shush.” He said, calm now. “Answer the question.”
“But-”
“Grace, Grace, Grace. Just answer the question.” She nodded. “There, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” He bared his teeth at her in some sort of demonic smile. “And the attachment? Something very nasty, I think. Right?” She shook her head. “Something about relocation camps, air bases...you know, things like that?”
“Mason, I-”
“Send it.”
“But-”
“Send it already, Grace.” She called up the message. “Go ahead.” He said. She did. The message was sent. “Ah, there you go. Finally! I thought you were going to chicken out, Grace.” He turned away from her and crossed the room. But how did he know she had really sent the message? How did he know about the message at all?
“How did-”
“No time, Grace. Too much to do. That bastard Malek is still alive, so I’ve got to get ready for this final debate. He’s a slippery little bastard that one. But no matter, this will all be over soon enough.
“But the message?”
“Oh, that. Your little tell all message never made it off the messaging server. It has been harmlessly deleted, Grace. Much like you are about to be.” He smiled. “It’s a pity you know. Sloan was good man. I’m not quite sure how you turned him on me like you did, but no matter. That issue has been resolved.”
“What do you mean?” Clearly remembering the gunshots she had heard moments ago. “Where is he?” She said desperately. She messaged Connor, but there was no response.
“Don’t worry yourself about that, Grace. Your new detail will arrive in a bit. Got to keep you safe for a few more days, you know.”
“Connor!” She yelled, and pushed past Mason as she rushed for the door. She snatched the door open, and stared into the empty hallway. She looked up and down the corridor, but it is was vacant. She spun around.
“Where is he?” She demanded.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Mason! Where is he?” She ran across the room and began to beat her hands against his chest. He stepped back and slapped her across the face. Her hand went to her burning skin.
“Settle down. Get yourself under control.” He crossed the room and sat down. “Sit.” He indicated with his hand. She ignored him. “Sit!” He yelled. Startled, she crossed the room and sat as far away from him as possible. “Now, Grace...Grace? Are you listening to me?” She turned towards him, her face still in her hand. “Grace, are you listening?” She did not respond. He sighed. “Look, Grace let’s not make this any more difficult than it needs to be. I want you to acknowledge that you hear what I am saying.” She reluctantly nodded. “Say it.” He demanded.
“I hear you.” She replied, her words dripping with hatred. He raised an eyebrow at her tone, but made no move towards her. He went on.
“Good. Because it is imperative that you hear each and every word that I say. So you had a nice little chat with Sarah this morning.” Fear suddenly gripped her. “A bit early to wake her up don’t you think?”
“I just wanted to hear her voice.”
“I’m sure you did. You know, it’s a good thing you didn’t tell her about your
little message fiasco.”
“How?”
“Never you mind, how. You just need to know that I know everything. I know everything you do, everything you’ve done. And Grace?” He said as he leaned towards her. “I know everything that you are going to do.” He laughed easily, and then sat back. “But, I’m afraid, I can’t trust you anymore. You know, you have crossed a line. Really. And you know, Grace, it’s a line you can’t step back over. What’s more, Grace, I don’t think you would take it back if you could. You know, I don’t know where I went wrong with you, I really don’t.” He sighed again. “But no matter, such is life, as they say. There’s no way to put the cat back in the bag.” He laughed again.
“What are you going to do?” She asked.
“About what?”
“With me?”
“You?” He smiled. “Why, nothing. Nothing at all. For now.” He stood up and walked over to her, and gently took her chin in his hand. She tried to pull back, but he held her firmly.
“Let go of me.” She spat at him.
“Ah, ah, ah. Listen carefully, Grace. Did you know that yesterday, our beloved little Bradlie received a very special present? You didn’t, did you? Ah, Grandma, you should keep up with things like this. And she absolutely loved her new present. And she was so surprised. She had no idea it was coming, and then there it was all wrapped up and pretty.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Why, Bunny Bear of course.”
“Bunny Bear? What is that?”
“Why it’s a super soft, furry, and incredibly cute stuffed animal. It’s as big as Bradlie is!” He exclaimed. “And she just loves the big guy. It’s amazing what they can do these days. It can even talk to her. Carry on a real conversation, she says. Really amazing. It really is. And you know what’s even more amazing that all that?”
“What?” She asked, though she was clearly through listening to this bizarre story, when so much more was at stake.
“Get this...” He leaned close enough to whisper in her ear. “That fuzzy little guy is loaded with enough high explosives to level everything in a mile radius.” She gasped. “I know!” He exclaimed. “Incredible isn’t it.” He laughed again.
“What have you done?” She leapt to her feet.
“Sit!” He yelled as she came for him, and once again, he slapped her. She fell back to the couch.
“Done? I’ve just bought myself a little insurance policy, that’s all.” He let go of her and stepped away. “Hey, Grace, you remember that message? You know, the one you had all ready to send? Just a few minutes ago?” She nodded, and his face turned sinister. “Well, I’ve got a message just like that. Just sitting there in my outbox. Just waiting for me to send it.” He smiled again. “Just a blink of the eye is all it would take. And do you know where that message will go?” He paused, watching her face. “Why, right to Bunny Bear, that’s where.”
“What have you done?”
“Listen very carefully to me, Grace. If you do not follow my every direction, to the very letter. I will send that message. And once good ole Bunny Bear receives the message...Boom!”
“No! No! No! You wouldn’t! Not Sarah! Not Bradlie!”
“Me? Oh, no, Grace. It wouldn’t be me. It would be you. You are the one that would be making me send the message. You would be the one triggering the bomb. You would be the one killing our daughter, her husband, and our granddaughter.” He laughed. “It would be you. Because if I send that message, it will be your fault.”
“I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Oh, I know, Grace. I know you will.” He began walking towards the door. “Oh, by the way. Just to keep you from doing anything stupid...I’ve had your phone, the phone here in the room, and your slate disconnected. And your messaging account as well. You can still receive incoming messages and feeds, but just I can’t trust you to be able to send anything out.”
“What do you want me to do?” She asked, horrified with the thought of Bradlie anywhere near such a device. She would do whatever he asked of her. She had to protect her family.
“Nothing really. Stay here...you’ll be locked in, at least until your new Secret Service agent arrives. Oh, and I’ve hand selected this one. He is my man.”
“What about Connor?”
“He was reassigned. To the old Arlington National Cemetery, I suspect. Something about pushing up daisies, I believe.” Pain stabbed through her heart. Her family in grave danger, Connor dead or dying, and Mason had her under complete control. “It’s been a nice chat, Grace, but I really must run. I’ve got some debate prep to complete before lunch with Teresa.” He laughed. “So, until tonight, Grace. I want you sober, and I want you there at precisely nine o’clock. Not a Minute later. This is the last time I’ll need you on camera, so do not fuck it up. Oh, and Grace?”
“What?”
“Wear the fucking red dress.” He smiled with his lips, but his anger permeated his expression. The door closed slowly behind him. She sat there, shaking. Unable to believe his words. Unable to comprehend who this man had become. Unable to grasp the level of evil that had risen inside her husband. The man she had once loved with all of her heart. An alert chimed on her smart contact. It was almost nine.
“Bradlie.” She gasped.
Chapter 30