Part 19 (1/2)
He had never been in a room so dark and quiet. The vacuous cell seemed as if it was beyond s.p.a.ce and time. William tried to count off the seconds as they pa.s.sed, but before he could even reach thirty he felt as if he was going mad. He resigned to lying motionless on the floor.
He did not know if he had been in the cell for hours or days when the light finally came on. The illumination from the fluorescent tubes was unnatural and uncomfortable. The light was too bright for his eyes, so he squinted until they could adjust, but they never did. Immediately after the lights a.s.saulted his eyes, a low hum to a.s.sail his ears.
He heard the revolting sound of steel sc.r.a.ping against steel as a narrow plate at the floor level of the cell's door slid open. A long, thin knife clattered loudly on the concrete as it was tossed through the opening. William recoiled as he heard the same deep voice as before.
”Do me a favor, hummingbird; off yourself so I don't have to.”
In a moment of boldness that surprised even William, he stood up defiantly and shouted, ”If I'm to be killed, let him who wants me dead do it himself!”
”It's not a man who wants you dead, babe; it's a woman.”
His heart sunk and his stomach turned again. The woman's voice was all too familiar. He cried out as he pounded on the door, but they were already gone.
Chapter 29.
Senator Ames Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis was as close as the senator had been to Was.h.i.+ngton in months. He did not want to admit it, but to be honest, he was afraid of the east coast. In fact, he had every right to be; the urban areas throughout New England had become something out of a nightmare.
Murder rates in the cities had skyrocketed, riots and looting were rampant, people were starving and no one was safe. What made it even more dangerous for Ames was that people like him were being demonized for everything. The same experts who had borrowed and regulated the world into crisis were now blaming the peoples' woes on a lack of regulation and a fundamental ignorance of the way markets really worked. It was treasonous in his eyes. They had polarized the people. Those who held contrarian beliefs were not considered political opponents, they were now public enemies. The senator knew that one beat their opponents, but eliminated their enemies.
Ever since St. Ansgar, he had a new resolve; there would be an election, and they would win, or they would die trying. It did not matter if a man was rich or poor, black or white, from San Francisco or San Antonio, the truth was the truth. If a moral man was given the truth and was taught how to reason, he would choose correctly. He had to choose correctly. The senator's ideals were founded on that principle. Eventually, the people and they would realize their mistakes and correct them. He would take his message all the way to Was.h.i.+ngton. But if he did not make it there, then that was all part of a much greater plan and he could accept that.
Let's see if we're bulletproof.
The site he had selected was a security nightmare; a shooter would have 360o of office towers and skysc.r.a.pers to choose from. The senator's back was all that would be protected at any given time. Nonetheless, he had given his security detail nearly two weeks to prepare for the event. If they were not ready now, they would never be.
Ames wandered the halls of the museum that was beneath the Soldiers' and Sailor's Monument in the center of Indianapolis. His Secret Service security detail shadowed him from across the empty room. The halls were lined with the exposed b.u.t.tresses that supported the towering monument above. He was lost in his thoughts and not admiring anything in particular as he meandered here and there.
”Senator, I've just received word that they're ready for you up top. Are you sure you don't want to wear a vest?”
”I'm sure.”
”Right this way then.” The stoic agent turned and spoke into the microphone attached to the cuff of his jacket, ”Negative, he's still refusing the vest.”
”This is Katie O'Rourke with WIBC news radio Indianapolis, the independent voice. I'm standing outside of our downtown studio where Jackson Ames, the Republican Senator from Ohio, is about to speak to a sprawling crowd in Monument Circle. The crowd can hardly contain themselves. This'll be the first time in seven months the senator has spoken in Indiana.”
”Thanks Katie, from what I understand this is the largest venue he has spoken at in months, and the farthest east he has been since very early in his campaign. How is security there? I'm sure he is a little nervous with the riots just over a mile away in Fletcher Square. Today is the first day that police have regained the upper hand since they erupted nearly two weeks ago.”
”Security is extremely tight and highly visible here, Scott. The entire downtown district has been closed off; every floor of every building in the vicinity has been searched and everyone in attendance was required to pa.s.s through metal detectors and body scanners. The city has taken every possible precaution to ensure the safety of the senator. They lobbied very hard for this event and they don't want any incidents.”
”Speaking of incidents, I've heard there was a bit of a shakeup in the senator's team, is that correct?”
”That's correct Scott; this is exclusive to WIBC. We're getting reports from an anonymous source within the Ames' camp that earlier this week the senator's senior advisor and long-time friend, Wade Anderson, resigned from his campaign. Mr. Anderson resigned after the senator refused to wear body armor for today's speech. We're still not sure how this will affect the senator's campaign. Mr. Anderson was known to be very influential with the senator and was a political force in his own right.”
”That sounds like a very reckless move by Senator Ames, especially considering how dangerous the city has become.”
”It does appear that way, Scott. We're not sure what political calculations were weighed by the senator to come to this decision, but we hope today will be a safe and uneventful affair. Back to you, Scott.”
”Thank you, the always wonderful, Katie O'Rourke.”
The senator walked onstage to the roar of the crowd. They cheered and waved as he walked a lap around the monument's platform, greeting all. Ames waited for the wave of applause to subside before beginning his speech.
”Indianapolis, it's truly a pleasure.”
He proceeded to circle the platform as they cheered once again.
”I'm sure you are tired of the same old speeches you've been hearing from me on the radio.”
A resounding, ”No!” came from the crowd.
”Oh, really? Well, in that case, I hope you'll oblige me this opportunity to deliver a slightly different speech. I'm afraid of the speed and direction in which we as a nation are moving, and I'd like to address this here with you today.”
The crowd offered a more subdued applause as he continued to pace the stage. He wanted to address as many people as possible on a personal level with eye contact. He had a very important point to make. As the applause subsided once again, he began his address.
”During the final hours of the Revolutionary War, the republic was dangerously close to collapsing just as it was being born. The officers under Was.h.i.+ngton's command were furious over the failures of the Continental Congress to honor its promises to them. Some officers had back pay owed to them for nearly six years of service, and none of them had been paid at all in the last several months. The officers had even heard that the government was on the verge of insolvency, and that they might try to dissolve the Continental army to avoid paying the debts at all.
In March of 1783, a letter was circulated among the officers at Was.h.i.+ngton's camp at Newburgh. In it the author, identified only as ”Brutus”, addressed the complaints and called for a clandestine meeting to be held the next day to discuss their next course of action. Brutus' arguments in the letter were well-reasoned and concise. Ultimately, he contended, that their only remaining recourse would be at the tip of a bayonet.
When Was.h.i.+ngton discovered the plan, he forbid them from holding the a.s.semblage. He scolded their plans of a covert meeting as disorderly and irregular. Instead, he requested they meet a few days later at their regular meeting that he didn't usually attend. Upon hearing this, some officers began whispering that Was.h.i.+ngton was sympathetic to their cause and that he would help them lead a coup against the Congress.
Was.h.i.+ngton was in a dilemma; was his duty to his army who had unarguably been wronged, or was it to the Congress who held jurisdiction over him? Was.h.i.+ngton's allies were wavering. Many of his senior officers sided with Brutus, and the Congress offered no solutions to the growing problem. He ultimately decided that he could not lead the officers' insurrection. As had often been the case in the long war, Was.h.i.+ngton was once again alone.
On the day Was.h.i.+ngton requested, hundreds of officers gathered to discuss the fate of the republic. General Gates, who would later admit to being Brutus, was in the midst of his opening words when the unexpected happened. Was.h.i.+ngton emerged from a side door and strode onto the stage beside him. Begrudgingly, Gates yielded to his superior.
Many of the officers were angry he had shown. Others were excited, hoping he would rally them against those who had wronged them. Still other officers were embarra.s.sed to be seen there by their commander. Regardless of their feelings concerning his presence, an ominous sense of estrangement hung heavy in the room; was he one of them?
He had written a speech. His aides had prepared his notes in large script so that his aging eyes could read them. His bright blue eyes scanned the officers in front of him. He knew most of these men by name and respected them greatly. They had fought boldly alongside him against insurmountable odds. How could they throw everything away now? He cleared his throat and began.
His tone was angry and frustrated; he scornfully branded the anonymous dissenter a subversive and a coward. He scolded Brutus for his lack of 'regard to service' and 'love of country'. He admitted that he understood the men's complaints, but he completely dismissed their resolution. 'I have never left your side one moment,' he said. How could they question his loyalty and love for them now?
He expressed his sympathy to Brutus' many valid points, but pleaded with the officers' to consider their families and property if they were to desert the republic or descend into civil war. The British would surely use the chaos to wrest control from them once again. A thousand victories and tens of thousands of American lives would all have been for naught.
He pleaded with the men, called upon their senses of duty and honor, and begged for more time to correct the failures of the Congress. As he gazed out at the crowd in front of him, he was overcome with a sense of defeat. Brutus' rhetoric had been far more eloquent than his own. Was.h.i.+ngton had failed.
In desperation, he retrieved a letter from his from his coat that was written by Congressman Jones. The letter praised the brave men for their selfless duty and offered his utmost support to their cause. The hastily written script of the letter was tiny and difficult for Was.h.i.+ngton to see. His eyes failed to focus on the words and they blurred together. He stumbled through the first few sentences of the letter. The murmurs from the crowd were increasing, he had lost them completely.
Was.h.i.+ngton stopped, embarra.s.sed and broken, and removed a pair of spectacles from the pocket of his regimentals. As he placed the gla.s.ses on his face, he said, 'Gentlemen, you must pardon me. I have grown gray in your service, and now find myself growing blind.' Very few of them even knew that he wore gla.s.ses. They had always knew the man as the fearless, frontline commander, now they saw him for what he truly was.
Was.h.i.+ngton was a man that had given the better part of his life to his country for future generations he would never know. They had seen him exhausted before, but he now displayed the look of being worn and battered from the years of sacrifice. He appeared vulnerable and heartbroken. If he, who had given so much, could still have faith in the fledgling country, then who were they to question?