Tags:
Fiction,
Humorous,
Media Tie-In,
Political,
Westerns,
Alternative History,
Alternative histories (Fiction),
Presidents,
Political Fiction,
Election,
political satire,
Baker; James Addison - Fiction,
Atwater; Lee - Fiction,
Presidents - Election - Fiction,
Bush; George - Fiction
necessary speculation, private versus public, had been breached. The military, for example, spent a lot of time producing âwhat ifâ scenarios. What do we do if âthere is a Russian counter-counterrevolution and they launch missiles at Moldova, Ukraine, and Berlinâ? If âthere is violent civil unrest in the United Statesâ? If âChina goes to war with Japanâ? Anyone with a grain of sense would consider that to be sensible speculation so that when the unthinkable does happen there is some sort of plan. But no! When one of those papers was leaked by some assholeliberal do-goodie, the media reacted as if the president was personally planning to open concentration camps to detain everyone who hadnât voted for Richard Nixon back in 1968. When a man in power told a dirty joke or stuck his dick in the box of some foxy Pandora or expressed his exasperation with some person or group in ethnic terms, that was material that could destroy a career, even an entire regime. Especially if the other side had a Lee Atwater who knew how to use it. This memo, or whatever it should be called, was pure madness. To admit that anyone in this administration had ever even had the thoughts that Atwater had written down would destroy them all.
Nevertheless, James Baker did not burn it, or tear it into tiny pieces and eat them, or head for the nearest shredder. He put the memo in his pocket. And kept it.
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6 Maureen Dowd and Thomas Friedman, The Fabulous Bush & Baker Boys, New York Times Magazine, 5/6/90.
Chapter
F IVE
M AGGIE LIVES ON the beach. In Trancas, just up from Malibu. I live in Sherman Oaks. Theyâre both in America. Thatâs a joke.
I got a visual for you. Me in my three roomsâbedroom, bathroom, and the room thatâs everything elseâpacking. Two large suitcases. Because Iâm moving to Maggieâs. I donât know what exactly Iâm in for, so I overpack. I hesitate over the guns. But for the same reason I pack my good suit and my swimming trunks, I take the Glock 17 with a shoulder holster, a Star 9-mm with an ankle holster and the little Beretta 92 that I can fit into a holster at the small of my back. All of them take 9-mm ammunition.
I take my fiber-case kits. The company recommends that we bring them on assignment whenever possible. There are three standard kits. The DSâdefense systemâincludes: the CMS-3, which detects RF bugs, carrier current, transmitters; the DL-1000, thatâs a hand-held, take-anywhere bug detector, a hand-held weapons detector, telephone-line tracing set; and a telephone scrambler. Kit 2 contains more active systems, âfor those times when itâs time to do it to them before they do it to you.â An EAR-200âyou can listen through walls; a long-distance parabolic microphone; a vehicle-tracking device. Computer software to block access to your PC. A remote car starterâfor the truly security-conscious; hey, there are people who need them, believe me. A Minox infrared camera with infrared flash; miniature microphones,transmitters, and recorders. The third kit has a stun gun, a stun baton, body armor briefcase inserts, and various mace systems.
All this equipment impresses clients. Thatâs what the company marketing trainers tell us and in my experience itâs true. The kind of people who hire us are the kind of people who buy Mercedes and Porschesâthey like the bells and whistles. Also, the equipment is a money-maker. Anything you use, you charge for. âYou want me to check your phone lines, sir?â You take out a $3,000 CMS-3 and bill $150 an hour or part thereof for the use of it. They understand. You can also sell them the equipment. Itâs like the Honda commercialââthe car that sells itself.â These are toys that people are longing for. Donât you want to listen through walls? Hear what theyâre saying when you leave the room? Know what your wife
Learning to Kill: Stories