Blayze got the scoop on security at the venue. Several hot topics would be addressed by the group of diverse speakers. The local press planned to be there to capture highlights and interview the guest speakers once they were through. A much larger speaking event would take place that very day across town, where several candidates would address a similar crowd. The District Attorney would be at that event with most of the other candidates running for a title.
“Have you ever heard Ms. Vasco speak publicly?” Roman asked as they neared the university.
Blayze pulled his eyes off his paperwork, catching Roman’s gaze through the rearview. Blue sky and swaying palm trees glared back in the deep reflection of his gold-rimmed sunglasses. “Not yet,” he said, shooting a look to Sophia as well. “I don’t know how she even thinks about addressing big crowds. I think I’d rather be deployed again if I had the choice.”
“You and me both,” Roman said. “But really, you’re in for a treat. She’s good. Dang good.”
Blayze gulped. “I can imagine.”
“Gracias, Roman,” Sophia said with a grin. “Let me know how much I owe you for that later, will you?”
Blayze would be lying if he said his curiosity wasn’t piqued. The anticipation made the drive seem longer. It didn’t help that the traffic approaching the massive campus had slowed to a crawl.
A nervous energy hummed over his skin. Blayze was in charge of keeping Sophia safe among the chaotic crowd, but Sophia had a feat of her own to consider. People had gathered there by the busload. Scholars, professors, and news reporters. Extremists following the campaign trail would be there too, front and center. The other guest speakers included associates, managers, and spouses of those running for office.
Blayze wasn’t used to seeing this end of things. His mother, in her activist work, favored fundraisers, namely charities geared toward women’s rights. But it wasn’t rare for her to demonstrate support for a candidate she believed in.
Like the one who’d asked her out. Mom typically turned down gentlemen who asked her out, but she’d felt obligated to make an exception—something about the acquaintance who’d introduced them. When she came back that evening, Blayze, Chanze, and Jazmin were all lined up on the couch waiting to hear how it went. Mom began spinning some tale about the man being an alien in disguise.“It all started when I caught a hint of green alien flesh by his wrist…”The four of them stayed up until the wee hours of the night, sharing a box of leftover pizza. Boy, had they shared a lot of laughs that night. And many more over the years. Perhaps she was sharing a few good laughs with friends in the clouds. He’d like to think so.
“Okay, Blayze, I’m going to let you and Sophia out at this turnaround. Leave your luggage here. I’m going to drop it off at the hotel so it’ll be waiting for you.”
Blayze escorted Sophia into the building, paying extra attention to their surroundings. If there were a much bigger event coming up in this location, chances were he’d be on heightened alert that night. It’d be best to come into things knowing what to expect, maybe even bring Corbin in for backup, if possible.
At the entry, Sophia was greeted by an organized team who busily checked names, confirmed identifications, and got each guest suited up with a color-coded guest lanyard with their name printed on it. A small fan club huddled in the lobby got her attention with a few waves and the brave shout of her name across the busy corridor.
“We love you, Ms. Vasco!”
Sophia shot them an exuberant wave. “I love you guys too!”
Blayze tried not to get hung up on the declaration, but he couldn’t help but wonder how often interactions like that occurred. She wouldn’t want to encourage the wrong sort of behavior. Obsessions were common among public figures in general, but a woman who looked like Sophia was bound to get more than her share.
“You’re popular,” he mumbled.
“Not really,” she said through a smile. “Oh, there are the interns.” She shot the trio from yesterday a wave. Jane, Matteo, and Frank, Blayze reminded himself.
Sandwiched between dozens of guests and event staff, they filtered into a massive auditorium. The noise picked up there, the roar of jumbled conversation echoing off the endless windows, walls, and rafters. Blayze felt his stomach drop. If he took the amount of people who’d attended his senior class graduation and multiplied it by ten, it’d equal the size of the crowd Ms. Vasco would be addressing soon.
For the next hour, she rubbed shoulders with the other speakers, promising to talk with each more at that evening’s gala. The wordcommitmentcame to mind. This woman was committed to her cause; shehadto be to do all of this.
It was like a giant, indoor football stadium with two-thirds of the ground level filled with seating, leaving that one third available for the speaking guests. Since Sophia would be sitting on stage, Blayze had been shown to the tech room. A continuation of the rectangular stage surrounded by portable walls. It was dark, save the glaring monitors and flashing lights dotting the control panels.
Once the program started, Blayze stood against a far wall, monitoring the goings on through the multiple angles captured on screens ahead. While a crew of a dozen people or so sat up to the control table, Blayze spotted a few fellow guards waiting in the wings, arms folded, checking their phones and watching the clock.
A printed version of the program had been taped to the wall along the back. Blayze watched as the hour ticked on, his stomach turning in a million knots. He was sure to be in more turmoil than she was.
A last-minute schedule change pushed her up one space, and before he knew it, they were introducing the San Bernardino District Attorney’s daughter. A list of accomplishments reminded Blayze that she was a training specialist at the immigration office, who was simply taking leave to support her father in his candidacy. And what was this—she’d published a book on activism among immigrant families? This woman was growing more intimidating by the minute.
At last, Sophia approached the pulpit, thanking first the professor who introduced her, and then her audience. “It is truly a privilege to be here today…”
While tucked behind the scenes, Blayze watched Sophia warm the crowd with a tale about her late mother and grandmother. Their touching journey to America—the struggles they faced, the sacrifices they made, and the victories that followed.
“Some of you might have heard of my father, District Attorney Nicolas Vasco,” she said, shifting gears. The fans made themselves known with scattered applause and cheers. “You might have even heard him relay the story of howhisgrandfather came to this land with an unquenchable fire in his heart and an undying dream in his soul. Ladies and gentleman,thatis what our great country is about. Equal opportunity for male or female. Immigrant and native. Rich or poor.”
The crowd roared as she paused, nodded. “But what my father recognized during his service as District Attorney, is that the rich and poor aren’t getting treated as equals at all. Back in April, two men were charged with the same low-level, non-violent offense.Charged – not convicted.Cash bail was set for each. The first guy, let’s call him Tom, had the money. So, he paid it, and lived his life uninterrupted until he had his day in court three months later.Lucky for Tom—he had money. But the next guy, Adam, he wasn’t so lucky. See, Adam was barely scraping by as a single parent supporting three kids. And just because he didn’t have the money to put up like Tom, Adam spent the next two months in jail.”
A rash ofboosbroke out over the crowd.
Sophia shook her head. “Neither Tom nor Adam posed a flight risk, both were accused of the same low-level offense, yetAdamis the only one who sat in jail.Why?What was the single deciding factor: Adam wasn’t financially able to come up with the money.
