Free Prophet by Frank Peretti Page A

attention.”
    “That’s a great lineup, too,” said Devin.
    “I think it’s outstanding,” said Rowen. “We have Rosalind Kline, the star of Who’s Got Problems? ”
    “Ever seen the show?” Devin asked the governor.
    “I don’t watch that slop,” he said under his breath.
    Rowen continued, “She’ll be doing a spot emphasizing the women’s rights issues. And then there’s Eddie Kingland, who’s really into environmental issues, so he’ll do a plug from the environmental angle.”
    “Help me out,” said the governor.
    Benthoff rolled her eyes. “Oh brother, you guys! Haven’t you ever watched Love Thy Neighbor ? He plays the hunk next door.”
    “These are household names,” said Rowen, “faces the public will instantly recognize and identify with.”
    “Uh,” Devin prompted, “you do have Theodore Packard doing an ad, right?”
    “Oh?” said the governor, his eyebrows going up.
    “Got him,” said Hartly. “He’ll be doing an ad on pluralism, freedom of artistic expression, cultural diversity. We picked him for the classy folks.”
    “Thank you,” said Slater, and they all laughed. “Well, that’s what we want. Whatever will get their attention where they are.”
    “And what about the posters, the billboards?” Devin asked.
    “Those should be ready for posting next week,” said Rowen. “I think . . . uh, Mason, do we have photocopies of the revisions?”
    Hartly dug into his valise. “Right. I think you’ll like these.” He gave a small pile of papers a shove and let them slide across the conference table to the three. “You’ll notice we took the same style from the TV spots and translated it into provocative stills that evoke the same image. The public will see the TV ads, so they’ll immediately recognize the billboards. Their eyes will be drawn to the familiar.”
    Slater, Devin, and Benthoff perused the sketches and nodded approvingly.
    “And did we ever get any mention of the Hillary Slater Memorial Fund?” the governor asked.
    “Oh!” said Rowen. “I believe we had Anita Diamond lined up to do a TV spot. You’ll recall she’s very active in animal rights—”
    “Animal rights!” The governor cursed. “I want people to see how I care about young women needing an education and you give me someone identified with animal rights?”
    Rowen and Hartly looked at each other for a suitable reply. Hartly took the question. “Oh, beg your pardon, Governor, I’m afraid we may have misunderstood—”
    “If image is everything I don’t like the image!”
    Devin tried to intercede. “Guys, the Hillary Slater Memorial Fund provides grants for girls going to college. It doesn’t have anything to do with animals.”
    Rowen and Hartly stopped cold, then chuckled, then laughed a very socially soothing laugh. Hartly addressed the problem. “Hey, I think we’re still okay. Eugene said we had Anita Diamond lined up. Uh . . . that means we’ve talked to her, but it’s nothing firm. But using her might work anyway. She’s a successful young black singer who overcame poverty and hardship and racial prejudice, that sort of thing . . .”
    The governor was not appeased. “We’ve got enough black footage in the TV ads. We’ve established that I like blacks. What I need now is a young woman with some brains.”
    The two media consultants looked blankly at each other. “Who do we have who’s known?” Hartly wondered.
    “How about a lesbian?” Devin suggested.
    The governor cursed again.
    “Hey, they vote!” said Devin.
    “I know that!”
    Devin turned to Rowen and Hartly. “What about Packard? Isn’t he gay?”
    Hartly shrugged. “He isn’t telling, sir.”
    Slater mulled it over. “Well, Martin’s got a point. Get me a gay. Somebody famous, with some credibility. And I don’t want any lisping limpwrist. Have him say something nice about me. I’ve been nice enough to them.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “And then maybe we can get an actress to plug how I’ve formed