Wild Cards [06] Ace in the Hole by George R.R. Martin Read Free Book Online

pushed a cigar-filled ashtray as far away as she could. Jack pulled up a chair and sat on it backward, gazing at Amy over the chairback.
    "What's up?"
    "You're not going to like this at all. There's going to be a big credentials fight tonight over the California delegation." Jack stared at her.
    "The Jackson people are gonna spring it on us. They're claiming that a winner-take-all primary is inherently discriminatory against minorities."
    "Crap." Jack's reply was immediate. "The California primary's been a winner-take-all for as long as I can remember."
    "The challenge gives everyone a chance to dismember our largest bloc of delegates, and do it in a righteous cause."
    "We followed all the rules. We won the primary fair and square."
    Amy looked exasperated. "The rules, Jack, are what the convention says they are. If they strip our delegates, they open the convention to a series of parliamentary and procedural battles that could unhinge everything. That's what Jackson, Gore, and Barnett want-if things get chaotic, it improves their chances of getting the nomination. If they can fuck us over and hand us a procedural defeat before the first ballot, they can hope to acquire defectors from our camp during the second ballot."
    "Great. Just great." Funny how he just couldn't get used to women who used words like fuck. Hell, Jack couldn't get used to the way men used the word these days.
    Some days more than others he felt like a relic.
    "The showdown's all going to be about the rule books and who can manipulate them best. Who's the parliamentarian for your delegation?"
    Jack shifted uncomfortably in his chair. " I guess I am."
    "Do you know anything about parliamentary procedure?" Jack thought about it. "I've sat on a lot of corporate boards. You'd be surprised at some of the tricks they pull." Amy sighed. "Do you know Danny Logan? He's our campaign parliamentarian. I want you to take your instructions from him."
    "When I last saw Logan, he was lying under a bar stool at LAX. "
    Amy's eves flashed. She tossed her chestnut hair out of her eyes. "He'll be sober tonight, I promise you."
    Jack thought for a moment. "Do we have the votes?"
    "Can't tell. Dukakis is hedging, like always. The people who can save us are the superdelegates. Most of them are congressmen and senators who would do anything to prevent a bloodbath. They may vote for us just to keep things sane. And of course they know Gregg a lot better than they know the Duke and Jackson, let alone Barnett."
    "This is all crazy."
    "The Democrats haven't had a convention that's gone past the first ballot since 1932. Everybody's making it up as we go along. "
    Jack rested his chin on his big hands. "I remember that convention. My family listened to it on our radio. We were Roosevelt all the way. I remember my dad breaking out the bootleg hootch when Texas Jack Garner defected from Smith and gave Roosevelt the nomination."
    Amy smiled at him. " I keep thinking of you as my younger ... indiscretion. I just can't picture you as old enough to live through those times."
    "Till Gregg came along, the only presidential candidate I voted for was Roosevelt in '44, when I was overseas. Before that I was too young to vote. In '48 I couldn't make up my mind between Truman and Wallace, so I never cast a ballot at all."
    "You almost voted for George Wallace?" Amy seemed a little shocked. "That seems unlike you."
    Jack felt terribly old. "Henry Wallace, Amy. Henry Wallace."
    "Oh. Sorry. "
    "Just to make it absolutely clear, the Roosevelt I mentioned was Franklin, not Teddy."
    "That I knew." Grinning. "How'd your meeting with Hiram go? Or should I ask?"
    Jack shook his head. "It was weird. I really don't know what to make of it." He looked at her. "Is Worchester okay? I wondered if he was ill. He didn't look healthy."
    "Mmm."
    "He's got this big sore on his neck. I read somewhere that sores like that could be a symptom of AIDS."
    Amy blinked in astonishment. " Hiram?"
    Jack shrugged. "I don't know