Free A Father's Wrath by Phil Nova Page A

it on him. “Sorry, Congressman . . . Timothy .
. . I don’t keep any cash in the office.”
    “I’ll just take the package you had in the
trunk of your car. The one for Mr. Carson.”
    “I’m sorry, sir. But I have no idea what you
are talking about.”
    Timothy just smiled, showing his big white
teeth.
    Bradley stood. “It was very nice meeting you
though.”
    Timothy kept his perfect smile while standing.
He shook Bradley’s hand and said, “If you want to play hardball Mr.
Bedford, be advised that I am not new to the game.”
    Bradley stood and watched the congressman as he
turned around and opened the door.
    Before leaving, Timothy turned back to Bradley
and said, “By the way, I will be heading the new congressional
committee on pharmaceutical manufacturing standards outside the
United Sates. It’s a shame we couldn’t be friends.” Timothy walked
out the door.
    Bradley wondered if the congressman was
bluffing. Were they really forming such a committee? Was this
really a set-up or just another greedy politician on the take? He
knew that this man could get Joe Martello to leave things alone,
and more importantly, he could make things go very smoothly for
Yates Pharmaceuticals in Asia.
    While pacing around in his office, Bradley
considered making the deal. If it was a set-up, he’d go to jail.
But then again, if he was somehow convicted of bribing McCoy, he’d
also go to jail. Either way, the company would probably have him
killed to silence him.
    Bradley powered off his computer and grabbed
his coat and hat. He was ready to go have a nice dinner, fuck his
Russian mistress, and forget about things for a while.
    On his way down the hall, Bradley tried not to
think about Congressman Scott and his deal, but that’s all he could
think about. He knew the congressman already had something on him,
and had unlimited resources to investigate with. It was easy to
picture himself in televised congressional hearings like Jimmy
Hoffa.
    Now that they were on to him, he had a feeling
they would get him anyways, so he decided to make the deal and take
his chances. If things went well, he’d have another congressman in
his pocket, not just a congressman, but the head of the
congressional committee on pharmaceutical manufacturing standards
outside the United Sates. An invaluable ally.
    Just as he approached the elevators, Bradley
turned around and hurried back. He hoped it wasn’t too
late.
    He approached his secretary’s desk and said,
“Lois. Tell security to stop the congressman. I need to speak with
him again.”
    She picked up the phone. “Yes. Hi, it’s Lois on
twenty-two. Please tell Congressman Scott that Mr. Bedford needs to
speak with him again.” She waited a second, then turned to Bradley
and said, “He already went into the garage.”
    “Well, call the garage and tell them to stop
him. I need to talk to him. It’s important. I’ll meet him in front
of the garage entrance.” Bradley hurried to the elevator and got in
with a few other people.
    Finally, at the lobby, Bradley exited the
elevator and hurried to a door on the back wall. The security guard
opened the door to let Bradley in.
    He hurried down the concrete stairs and then
made his way to the opposite side of the garage full of parked
cars.
    He was already out of breath. He stopped and
looked at the concrete ramp that led up to the street.
“Fuck.”
    Just as he was ready to go up the ramp, he
heard a horn beep at him.
    When he turned around, he saw Timothy siting in
a restored classic Corvette. Not what Bradley would have guessed
the congressman drove.
    Timothy pulled over into an empty spot and got
out of his car. He approached Bradley and said, “You are in
terrible shape. You really should join a gym.”
    In between breaths, Bradley said,
“Thanks.”
    Timothy said, “You wanted to see
me?”
    “I changed my mind. I want to make a
contribution.”
    Timothy put back his trademark
smile.
    Bradley said, “It’s on the