Page 53 of Locked Down

“My uncle has Tracy and her team creating marketing paraphernalia, fliers, banners, stickers, all the stuff he’ll need to run for Vice President.”

Ryker stared at her. Vic crowed internally a little because it seemed she’d rendered him speechless. The clock ticked loudly on the kitchen wall.

Finally, he exhaled sharply.“Vice president? Your uncle is running for vice president?”His voice was harsh.

Vic nodded.“It would appear so. At least, he's making all the paraphernalia for a run.”She added a pinch of salt to the veggies.“It doesn't make sense to me. We have a Vice President. The man's still in office. He’s running a campaign together with the president. Why would my uncle create this stuff now? Is he thinking four years out?”

Ryker was staring at the floor. His gaze met hers, but it was more of a thousand-mile stare. She took her drink back from him and took a sip. As she put it back on the counter, her hand brushed his. His gaze locked on hers again and, just like that, she knew he'd connected some dots. She saw it in his eyes.

“He's not waiting four years. He's making all the stuff because he thinks the VP is going to back out. No, not thinks, he sure the VP isn't going to make the run.”

“I mean I know he's been sick, pneumonia, I think,”Vic commented,“but there hasn’t been a single mention about him not running for re-election. Or that he's that sick. They're playing it off like it's a mild case.”

Ryker nodded.“As far as I know, it is. But what if your uncle plans on making it worse? What if he has…”Ryker stopped talking.

Great. Now he was shutting her out. She didn’t go through all of this so she could be left in the dark.“What is it?”Vic demanded.“What are you thinking?”

Ryker gave her an assessing gaze and then he leaned forward.“I've gotta go, Vic. I know today was hard. You did an amazing job.”He kissed her. It was a quick buss on the lips and then he kissed her again. A much longer kiss that curled her toes and made her want to spend the rest of the night kissing him. And then he was gone.

Vic stood in the kitchen and stirred her dinner. What in the hell was her uncle up to? And why did every instinct she had scream run?

TWENTY-TWO

Ryker drove the Porsche like he'd stolen it. He weaved in and out of traffic and went well over the speed limit. He made it to Archer’s apartment in record time. He banged on the door and Archer let him in.

“You found something?”Archer said quietly.

“You're not going to believe this. Vic found a file on her fellow employee’s laptop. Davis has a group of them working on all kinds of marketing materials.”

“Marketing materials for what?”Archer asked as he stepped behind his wet bar and poured himself a drink. He held the bottle up and gestured towards Ryker. Ryker nodded. He needed a drink after this bombshell. Hell, he needed a dozen.

“Austin Davis is planning a run for vice president.”

Archer froze in the act of setting a second glass on the counter. After a tense beat, he started pouring the drinks. His green eyes were dead cold when he met Ryker's gaze again.

“Are you certain?”His voice was neutral, but Ryker had known him long enough to know the quieter Archer’s voice got, the worse the situation was.

“Yes, I’m certain. Archer, this is worse than we feared. If Davis becomes vice president, he'll have the power to do all kinds of evil deeds. He'll have almost the ultimate power.”

“Hewillhave the ultimate power,”Archer stated as he put the bottle down.“My understanding is the president is nothing more than a puppet for his inner circle. He’s just a face the public likes. Davis wouldn’t do this unless he was sure he was going to be asked to run with the current President, which means the inner circle wants him. As VP, he’ll have the power to do whatever he wants as long as the inner circle condones it. I am sure right now they think they can control him, but I’ve been around Davis long enough to doubt he’ll be that malleable. This is a colossal misstep on their part.”

Ryker plopped onto a chair in front of the fireplace. It wasn’t on but suddenly he was cold all over. Archer walked over, handed him the scotch, and then took a seat across from him.

“Are you telling me that Austin Davis is as good as the next President of the United States?”

Archer took a long pull of his drink.“It puts a whole new spin on things. If Davis does become the Vice President, that means he will be making deals and doing business. Considering the way he's done business in the past, and who he's done it with, that opens up many terrifying scenarios.”

Ryker shuddered as he contemplated the possibility.“The group that supports him, the man I heard on the phone, they're setting him up for this. It's enough to make your blood run cold.”

“I'll admit this is far worse than I thought it would be. If Austin Davis gets to be Vice Presidentandhe takes over the Society, it means he rules the world.”

“We have to find out who the hell is backing him. Do you know who the President’s inner circle is? Can you warn them?”The scotch wasn’t warming Ryker’s insides like he’d hoped.

“I doubt the people I know are in the President’s inner circle. Those who appear to be his inner circle aren’t necessarily the decision-makers. There is a small group that guides him. Lots of secrecy surrounding their identities. I could hazard a guess about who may be involved but it’s not something I can be sure of without approaching them directly and asking.”

Ryker watched Archer.“Do you think they’d tell you even if you did ask them directly?”

“Maybe not. I can’t run around D.C. yelling the sky is falling without any proof. If we want Davis discredited, we have to find something that will turn them sour on him.”

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