Free The iCongressman by Mikael Carlson

yesterday afternoon,
just as I said she would. My little speech got through to Congressman Bennit.
He wants to meet you.” Excellent!
    “Thank you, Blake. I knew you would come through in setting
that up,” I say, tempering my enthusiasm and taking care to repress my true
thoughts. A meeting with Bennit set up by Blake was a long shot, and I didn’t
have much confidence that he could get it done.
    “You’re welcome. Consider it thanks for getting me my job.
We’re even now.”
    “Even? Oh no, I don’t think that’s a fair trade. But you
know what? I’m in a good mood, so yes, we can call it square.” Getting Blake
his bottom-feeder job was really a piece of cake, but he doesn’t need to know
that. “Can you stay for lunch?” Please say no …
    “Thank you, but no. Even as a menial laborer, and with
Congress out of town, the Washington lobby never rests. Tell me something,
Senator. Why are you taking an interest in Bennit? I mean, not that I think he
wouldn’t appreciate your help. But why now?”
    I don’t have a high opinion of Blake. He thinks far more of
his capabilities than what he actually possesses, and may have been a trusted
advisor to Winston Beaumont, but that man was an idiot anyway. Only a fool
wouldn’t make certain a paper trail detailing illegal activities was destroyed,
or better yet, never created in the first place. Now he is on the way to the
clink along with members of his senior staff. Blake may have escaped a date
with prison rapists by selling him out to the Feds, but being permanently
banished to the lowest rung of the political ladder may feel like the same
thing.
    “The world is an unjust place. I learned that in my
reelection campaign, and I think you learned it as well. I’m just looking to
ensure another fine representative in government is not cast out because he’s
politically inconvenient. It’s how we can get our
payback, Blake.”
    That sounded believable. Despite my low regard for him, I
can’t afford to trust Blake. I don’t think his agenda will mesh with mine in
the long run, so he has to be kept at a distance and out of the loop. I only
need him now to gain Bennit’s trust so I can do the same.
    “Tomorrow, one p.m., the National Archives,” Blake says,
accepting my ridiculous answer and rising from his seat. “And don’t be late. He
was a teacher. I know he hates that.”
    “Duly noted,” I say, using the same broad smile I flashed at
every stop on the Virginia campaign trail eight years ago. “Have a nice day,
Blake. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.”
    Blake nods and heads for the exit just as my server arrives
with lunch. I have a meeting that I am actually looking forward to for the
first time since I lost the election. This could change everything. Yep, the
political winds define who wins and who loses, and a front is about to blow
into Washington.

PART II
WE THE PEOPLE

-ELEVEN-

 
    MICHAEL

 
    The National Archives Building bears a resemblance to the
Parthenon and is situated on Pennsylvania Avenue north of the National Mall.
The Archives exhibits important American historical documents such as the
Louisiana Purchase Treaty and the Emancipation Proclamation, but the Rotunda
for the Charters of Freedom is the part of the building the public comes to
see.
    It is there where the original copies of the Declaration of
Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are stored. Two
large-scale murals by Barry Faulkner in the Rotunda depict fictional scenes of
the presentation of our nation’s two most important documents. Both works have
more of a feeling of ancient Rome than anything depicting eighteenth-century
America.
    I have been wandering around the room for the last twenty
minutes, finally stopping to admire the Constitution before moving over to the
first official document that united us as a people. There are no long lines to
wait in like a Six Flags amusement park. Visitors to the National Archives are
allowed to walk