“Maybe. I don’t know,” he said shaking his head. “I don’t understand the need for all the dishonesty and secrecy.”
“Brother, they’re stealing from the common man. Without us, Pat and Ernie and the rest of the farmers would have been left to try and deal with this themselves. The government would have swept in, bought their land for pennies on the dollar and they would have been forced to find something new to do.
“It’s terrible to believe that your own government doesn’t have your best interests at heart but we all know it’s the truth. Not just here. Everywhere. What’s the saying? Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” said Matt.
“For everyone?” asked Jak. “It just doesn’t seem like there’s anyone honest any longer.”
“There are lots of honest people,” said the deep voice standing in the doorway. They all looked up to see Michael Bodwick grinning at them. “I was honest. At least, I’d like to believe I was as honest as I could be as POTUS. There are things that sometimes we can’t reveal to the general public. Things that if they knew, would cause utter panic. Those are things best hidden. What you’re speaking of is greed, which breeds dishonesty. I never wanted to be a millionaire. You don’t take the job to be rich.
“Not everyone sees it the same way. Many take the job for the sole purpose of being in control, making money, and doing all the wrong things. But there are still some good men and women out there who believe in the basic rights and principles of all Americans to have a government that works for the good of America, not the politicians.”
“Any insight into those people?” smirked Ham.
“Some of them are sitting in this room,” said Michael.
“Oh, fuck no! Hell no!” said Matt. “That is not a job I want or desire. You were great at it, Michael but you knew the players and understood how to find out who was good and who was not.”
“And so are you,” he said staring at the men in the room. “Listen, I’m not encouraging anyone to run for office. I’m just saying that you already know the characteristics needed to do this job and do it well. Find those men and women that can be honest with you.”
“And the VP? Is he someone we can trust in that way?” asked Ham.
“I don’t know him personally but from what I’ve heard, yes. I would do him the favor of being honest from the beginning. I reached out to Senator Ming, someone I trust, and they’ve asked the VP to meet with Saint and Hayes as a favor. He’ll meet with them.”
“We’ve directed them to Chicago,” said Ham. “We appreciate the touchpoint with Senator Ming. If you trust her, we trust her.”
“Let me know if I can help at all,” he said turning to leave.
“Michael? How did you do it?” He stared at Ham with an inquisitive gaze. “Staying honest. How did you refuse all the bribes and requests?”
“Easy. It’s not who I am as a man. That’s where it all starts.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Somebody should have told fucking Chicago that it’s spring,” said Hayes pulling up the collar on his totally inadequate jacket.
“Dude. It’s Chicago. It could be seventy-five degrees or it could be twenty. Just suck it up. Didn’t they teach you that in the Navy?” smirked Saint.
“No. Half the time I was teaching them shit,” frowned Hayes.
“That’s what you get for being a genius,” laughed Saint. “No one ever asked me to teach them shit.”
“I know that’s a lie,” said Hayes. “You were good at your job, brother. Youaregood at your job. I learn from you every day.” Saint stared at him out of the corner of his eye and grinned.
“Thanks, Hayes. That means a lot to me.”
“I think sometimes you guys forget where we all came from. Me, Victoria and the others. We didn’t have parents. We didn’t have mentors. We didn’t have people forming us into normal human beings.”
“Brother, you’re more normal than half the people I met in the military,” said Saint. “Having parents or siblings, a house with four walls, that doesn’t constitute normal. Others might think so but some of the most grounded people I’ve ever met, were those that had to struggle to get to where they are. Those that knew what it felt like to sleep on a hard floor.
“We had this guy on my team, he was from some small town in West Virginia. The first night, we’re in camp in the desert and we’re sleeping on these miserable wooden pallets with just a blanket beneath us. First night, everybody is bitching about being uncomfortable, but old Bo, he’s over there snoring away.”
Hayes gave a smirk and a nod as Saint continued.
“It was the same for the next three nights. Finally, somebody asked him how he could sleep so well in the harsh conditions. He looks at us and says, ‘Harsh? This is awesome. I slept in the hayloft winter, spring, summer and fall. Bugs, heat, rain, snow, it all got to me. But it was the only place I could sleep and not be afraid of my daddy’s belt’. Not one of us bitched after that.”
“He sounds like a good man to have on your team,” said Hayes.
“He was.”
