have an attack of regret and spill everything to the
entire world. Just imagine, Robert, how much that will hurt your family. And if that’s not enough, just imagine how much your soon-to-be ex-wife is going to hurt your wallet when she drags
you through the courts. I’m no fortune-teller but my guess is that she’ll take you to the cleaners, and there’s not a goddamned thing you can do about it unless you sit your ass
back in that chair and listen to what I have to say.’
The guests exchanged wary glances. Robert Murtaugh eased himself back down into his chair. Joaquin watched as the rest of the guests followed the old man’s lead, and he waited until they
were all watching him attentively before he spoke again.
‘I know about all of you,’ he said. ‘I know that all of you have something to hide, and that’s why you are here today – because I have seen the future and I know
that all of you are about to see your worlds collapse around you. You’re about to be on the news for all the wrong reasons, gentlemen.’
Governor MacKenzie remained standing.
‘This is a set-up,’ he murmured, eyeing Joaquin. ‘He could have found out about the affair any number of ways and paid for that video to be shot. It could even be an innocent
report with the scroll altered to say anything he wants it to.’
Twenty pairs of eyes looked expectantly at Joaquin, who raised an eyebrow.
‘Is that a chance you’re willing to take, Governor?’ Joaquin asked rhetorically. ‘If so, then you risk losing both your office and the respect of the people, something
that has taken you years to achieve.’
‘Something,’ the governor replied, ‘that wouldn’t crumble overnight because of your bizarre little experiment here.’
‘Unless,’ Joaquin countered, ‘it were revealed, as it will be, that you too have dipped your fingers in the dirty little pie of corruption. You lost the vote for the
governorship of Florida, didn’t you James, but it was so much easier to bribe officials into altering the new digital voting machines to guarantee your victory than it was to force a recount
of ticker tapes.’
The governor’s expression collapsed, the brutal simplicity of Joaquin’s accusation catching him unawares.
‘That’s ridiculous!’ he uttered. ‘I have never done any such thing!’
‘Yes you have,’ Joaquin assured him, ‘and a whistle-blower within the company that builds and maintains the voting machines will reveal all to the media in just a few
days’ time.’
Congressman Goldberg, his face trembling with indignation, jabbed a finger to point at Joaquin.
‘You have no right to do this! No matter how you’ve achieved it, this is an invasion of privacy!’
‘No it’s not,’ Joaquin replied, ‘because it hasn’t happened yet. I take it, Congressman, that after years of voting for laws that stigmatize gay and lesbian
marriages, you’ll be concerned that the world will soon learn of your own homosexual encounters with escort agencies in Washington DC?’
Goldberg almost gagged as his skin flushed a pallid red, but he said nothing. Joaquin looked across the faces of the men seated before him, before settling on Reed, who was now hiding once again
beneath his hat.
‘Or you, Harry.’
‘Don’t you even think about it, you sniveling little shit,’ Reed hissed.
‘I’ve already thought about it,’ Joaquin smiled, ‘and I have seen it, and believe me, it’s not going to turn out pretty for you. Remember that famous story of how
you started your empire by building a single pump in Texan soil with your own hands? Trust me, it’ll take a lot less than the thirty years you then spent building up your company to lose it
all when it’s revealed that you didn’t build the pump after all, preferring instead to unload a shotgun into the owner’s face after a bar-room brawl and take over his
operation.’
Reed lurched out of his seat toward Joaquin, but instantly the four bodyguards
entire world. Just imagine, Robert, how much that will hurt your family. And if that’s not enough, just imagine how much your soon-to-be ex-wife is going to hurt your wallet when she drags
you through the courts. I’m no fortune-teller but my guess is that she’ll take you to the cleaners, and there’s not a goddamned thing you can do about it unless you sit your ass
back in that chair and listen to what I have to say.’
The guests exchanged wary glances. Robert Murtaugh eased himself back down into his chair. Joaquin watched as the rest of the guests followed the old man’s lead, and he waited until they
were all watching him attentively before he spoke again.
‘I know about all of you,’ he said. ‘I know that all of you have something to hide, and that’s why you are here today – because I have seen the future and I know
that all of you are about to see your worlds collapse around you. You’re about to be on the news for all the wrong reasons, gentlemen.’
Governor MacKenzie remained standing.
‘This is a set-up,’ he murmured, eyeing Joaquin. ‘He could have found out about the affair any number of ways and paid for that video to be shot. It could even be an innocent
report with the scroll altered to say anything he wants it to.’
Twenty pairs of eyes looked expectantly at Joaquin, who raised an eyebrow.
‘Is that a chance you’re willing to take, Governor?’ Joaquin asked rhetorically. ‘If so, then you risk losing both your office and the respect of the people, something
that has taken you years to achieve.’
‘Something,’ the governor replied, ‘that wouldn’t crumble overnight because of your bizarre little experiment here.’
‘Unless,’ Joaquin countered, ‘it were revealed, as it will be, that you too have dipped your fingers in the dirty little pie of corruption. You lost the vote for the
governorship of Florida, didn’t you James, but it was so much easier to bribe officials into altering the new digital voting machines to guarantee your victory than it was to force a recount
of ticker tapes.’
The governor’s expression collapsed, the brutal simplicity of Joaquin’s accusation catching him unawares.
‘That’s ridiculous!’ he uttered. ‘I have never done any such thing!’
‘Yes you have,’ Joaquin assured him, ‘and a whistle-blower within the company that builds and maintains the voting machines will reveal all to the media in just a few
days’ time.’
Congressman Goldberg, his face trembling with indignation, jabbed a finger to point at Joaquin.
‘You have no right to do this! No matter how you’ve achieved it, this is an invasion of privacy!’
‘No it’s not,’ Joaquin replied, ‘because it hasn’t happened yet. I take it, Congressman, that after years of voting for laws that stigmatize gay and lesbian
marriages, you’ll be concerned that the world will soon learn of your own homosexual encounters with escort agencies in Washington DC?’
Goldberg almost gagged as his skin flushed a pallid red, but he said nothing. Joaquin looked across the faces of the men seated before him, before settling on Reed, who was now hiding once again
beneath his hat.
‘Or you, Harry.’
‘Don’t you even think about it, you sniveling little shit,’ Reed hissed.
‘I’ve already thought about it,’ Joaquin smiled, ‘and I have seen it, and believe me, it’s not going to turn out pretty for you. Remember that famous story of how
you started your empire by building a single pump in Texan soil with your own hands? Trust me, it’ll take a lot less than the thirty years you then spent building up your company to lose it
all when it’s revealed that you didn’t build the pump after all, preferring instead to unload a shotgun into the owner’s face after a bar-room brawl and take over his
operation.’
Reed lurched out of his seat toward Joaquin, but instantly the four bodyguards
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