The Outer Circle (The Counterpoint Trilogy Book 3) by D. R. Bell Read Free Book Online

uniform.”
    Bigelow and Morton both smirked.
     
    As Johnson turned crimson and started getting up, the door on the left opened and John Dimon appeared, buttoning his shirt. His face and chest were red with perspiration. Amazingly, his famous hair looked perfect: groomed, smooth, nothing out of place, dark with just a touch of grey on the sides. Communicating virility and experience.
    “What’s all the noise, my friends?” he boomed out. “Are you killing each other again?”
    Dimon walked over to the side table, poured and noisily drank a glass of water. He left the bedroom door wide open, treating the room’s occupants to the view of a blond woman in her late thirties busily trying to cover and arrange herself.
    Dimon turned back to her:
    “Susan, dear, say hi to my brain trust here!”
    Susan whimpered something in embarrassment and tried to sneak out of the suite, but Dimon intercepted her and put his arm around her shoulders:
    “Dear, thank you so much for explaining to me the situation in your state and for working so tirelessly on our campaign! I am blessed to have such dedicated, good-looking representatives.”
    After he escorted Susan out, Dimon turned to his team:
    “Damn, those legs! Which state is she from? Let’s put some extra support behind her.”
     
    “I wish you haven’t been taking such chances now,” grimly commented Bigelow. “Get elected, then chase all the tail you want.”
    “Oh, don’t be a killjoy!” laughed Dimon. “I need this energy boost, how would I campaign otherwise?”
    “I’m glad you remember there is a campaign going on,” retorted Morton. “Because I bring some damn good campaign news to you!”
    “Now we are talking!” Dimon slammed his palm on the table, his face getting even redder. “Hit me with it!”
    Ignoring expectant silence, Morton sauntered to the side table, poured himself a couple of fingers of scotch, sniffed it and took a slow swallow.
    “Ah, this is better. Guess where I just flew from?”
    “Jonathan, cut this crap! Just tell me!”
    “Patience, patience. I came from Pennsylvania. You will be going there in a few days.”
    “Why? Pennsylvania is not on our campaign schedule until late July,” wondered Bigelow.
    “Because that’s where John will be giving his speech on July 4 th !”
    “He is supposed to be giving a speech right here, in Denver!” protested Bigelow.
    “Cancel that! John will be giving his speech at Gettysburg!”
    Morton enjoyed his triumph as the three others exclaimed in shock.
    “How did you pull this off?” even Dimon was floored.
    Morton smiled, “The superintendent of the Gettysburg National Military Park is a big supporter of yours. He actually contacted us with this idea and I flew there to meet him. Just imagine, on the sacred ground of the famous battle, as the country is reeling and looking for a strong leadership, the new Lincoln is rising! We’ll milk this for all it’s worth!”
    “Brilliant! I love it,” Dimon jumped up and walked the room in excitement, pumping his arm.
    “What about the logistics? Security?” asked the ever-cautious Bigelow, “We have only a few days to prepare.”
    “How’s my Praetorian Guard?” Dimon turned to Johnson. “Are you going to pull this off?”
    “We will, Mr. Dimon. FreedomShield has a lot of resources at our disposal. We’ve got you covered!”
    “Your ‘resources’ don’t come cheap,” griped Bigelow. “How much will this cost us?”
    “I will talk to Erik, we’ll take care of Mr. Dimon,” parried Johnson.
    “Thank you, Bob, you guys do take good care of me,” agreed Dimon. “But the campaign does need money. Chris, we have to more actively reach out to the big donors.”
    “We’ve been reaching out but many of them are either supporting Tice or on the fence because Kron is such a close second.”
    “Darn, that Kron keeps getting in the way. He’s got no money, no major backers, how come we can’t shake him off?”
    “Well, John, there