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Ch. 243 - John Gaines
🕑 Added 2022-05-21 02:51:19 +0000 UTCJohn Gaines was having an odd day.
"Senator, there's an email. It was flagged urgent." One of his secretaries had burst in saying.
A man. A donor was offering him 'consulting fees' if he agreed to meet.
Somehow his email had bypassed all their firewalls and checks and directly arrived at his desk.
As of they already knew what his email was. And they shouldn't.
For security reasons, once he had started running for senate he had changed his emails and kept them secret, routed through a private server network.
And yet here it was.
He paced around the room nervously, having a crisis of faith.
Now usually he would have rejected the offer.
Hackers were a dime a dozen and some intern had probably been careless or bribed.
A quick search of the staff would reveal the culprit.
Or so it would have been.
Except in this case no one had come anywhere even close to the server room.
Even at this stage he would have either called in private investigators or gotten the authorities involved.
But it was the amount being offered that stopped him dead in his tracks.
100 million dollars.
This mysterious sponsor was willing to offer this much. Something that could become a boon to his campaign, skyrocket him to the white house even.
And all of this for a meeting?
He found it hard to believe.
"Senator Gaines?" The secretary called put and John gulped heavily.
It was tempting. He was tempted.
But he wouldn't bow down to this....this corruption.
No doubt this sponsor wanted something from him. No one offers that sort of money and doesn't want anything.
Only the meeting would tell. A meeting he was going to reject on principle.
"Tell him no. I refuse. I will not stain my campaign with...this. I believe in the good of the people. I will win the honest way."
"Great principles sir." The secretary sounded a bit annoyed.
A bit odd too.
"But unfortunately we can't. The lines are cut. The elevators aren't working and the emergency exits are bolted shut.
The building has been locked down and we ...have been locked in." She sighed with worry.
She did that an awful lot he had noticed. Maybe a vacation...
No.
He had to focus on this first.
"Use your smartphone then. Contact the authorities."
"We can't sir. The entire building is on lockdown." The secretary repeated in a droll voice.
It was only then that he noticed it.
Her eyes...they seemed hollow. Lifeless.
Like a...puppet.
Wait, why did he think of a puppet?
What was happening?
"Janice?" He called out to his secretary, waving his hands over her face.
But she didn't react.
A chill ran down his spine.
"S-s-security!" He cried out.
But once more no one answered.
Then he finally realized it.
He could feel it in the air.
Dead quiet.
He walked outside and saw his staff frozen like statues or droning about lifelessly like his secretary.
"Hey! Wake up! Security! Security?!" He shouted to no avail.
Thi can't be happening. He thought desperately as fear filled him.
This was something straight out of a horror movie. One of those indoe horrors his wife liked, woth their existentialist themes and-Ah!
He realized.
This was a dream. It had to be a-
"No. This is not a dream. You are not asleep. You are not in a mental hospital either. And finally, no, you haven't been drugged." The voice came suddenly from behind him. He whirled around and saw the intercom had been switched on.
Just he didn't know when.
"This isn't a joke is it?" He asked.
"Nope." The voice replied.
A man he noted.
"Whatever you're trying, let me tell you it's... it's not a good idea! You won't get away! You will be caught! The police is-"
"Not coming. So give up on that. Or don't. Doesn't matter either way." The man replied nonchalantly.
"W-who are you? What do you want? Why don't you talk to me face to face?!" He asked.
"Oho~" The man on the other side of the line seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Now you're interested in meeting? What happened to keeping to your principles, senator?"
"What do you want dammit?!"
"A meeting senator. Honest." The man on the intercom said.
"Just a meeting." He said.
Only this time the voice came from behind him.
He jumped up and scampered over his table to the other side, skirting roght up against the window.
"Hello there, senator. Let's talk."
.
I sat down on the chair after putting on the performance of a lifetime and I can say for certain.
Sneaking behind people and scaring the shit out of them is hella fun!
I totally get why the magicians do it all the time!
"Have a seat senator. It's not like you're going anywhere." I laughed scaring him even further.
"What do you want?" He asked, his voice shaking.
"Didn't I already tell you? I want a meeting with you. I want to talk to you. Like people talk to a therapist. And I'm willing to pay you." I slid a card towards him.
"Generously."
He looked at card and found banking details.
"Go on." I said, pointing at his computer, which switched on at my command, "Check it out."
He gulped and crept closer, gingerly typing in the details.
"50 million." He read out.
"Yup. Half now, half after you finish hearing me out. Fair deal eh?" I offered.
"Wait, you seriously just want me to listen to you?" He asked with disbelief.
"Yup. Just give me like an hour or so. Hear me out, then if you want me gone, I'm gone. Promise."
"If that gets you off my back..." He sighed, sitting down.
"Now that's a smart man. So let me just skip to the most important part and spare you the bullshit. Magic is real." I twisted my hand in the air and aglowing circle appeared hovering over my fingers, sparking as it spun.
"No. No way. This has to be a joke. Where are the cameras? Did you giys all plan this together? Janice?" He looked at his dead eyed secretary but got no response again.
"Look if this is a publicity stunt or something, it's in really poor taste."
"It's not a publicity stunt. Allow me to prove it to you." I turned to Janice.
"Janice. Slam your face into the desk amd break your nose."
Immediately, she stepped forward and headbutted the desk, as droplets of blood splattered on it.
John jerked back, almost falling off his chair.
"What the hell?!" He cried out, jumping out of his seat to help her, when I waved my finger and sent him tumbling right back into his seat.
"Where do you think you're going, Mr. Unbeliever?"
He looked at me with terror and confusion.
"Wha-how did you....."
"Magic." I answered.
"No. That's... magic doesn't exist! This....you must have hypnotized them or ... or drugged them...or..." The hamster wheel of rationalization spun in his head.
"You really think I hypnotized all of your staff? Do you hear yourself? How would I even do that? Do you know how long it would take to do that? I would have definitely been spotted and you'd have been informed.
Same with drugs. The only mind control drug this strong is also incredibly lethal. It requires delicate administration. Something I couldn't bhave done again unless I was freakishly stealthy and good at chemistry amd a billion other things.
And think about it. If I could pull it off like you say I did, wouldn't it be in your interest to believe whatever I said? What with me being some sort of insane multi-talented super spy who according to your delusions did all this so he could meet with some middle management senator from New York?
Come on now. Haven't you seen Star Trek?
Remember what Spock likes to say? When you have eliminated the impossible, all that remains, however improbable is the truth." I explained.
John Gaines looked at me, rubbing his temples.
"Maybe you want a future president in your pocket like that villain from this one TV show...Heroes, yes. Maybe you want that..."
Oh, so they have Heroes on this world too huh?
Neat!
"Didn't take you for one to watch superhero shows, John.
Can I call you John?
I'm gonna call you John."
I could see the annoyance on his face.
But eventually he settled down and sighed.
"Fine. Magic is real. But what does that have to do with me. I haven't done anything against wizard kind or whatever else group you belong to.....
What do you want from me?" He asked.
"I told you already, senator. I just want to talk."
"Can you get to the point already?" He insisted.
I rolled my eyes.
This man is not easy to turn dammit.
An idea occurred to me just then.
If he won't turn with logic, maybe I should try guilt tripping him and his principles.
"Say senator. Let's do a thought experiment, shall we?"
"If it makes this end faster, and you return the free will of my staff, then sure." He said annoyed.
"Oh you care about free will do you John?" I asked.
"Yes, of course. Freedom is the right of every individual. It is our free will that makes goodness worth it. Because out of all things we could have chosen to do freely, we still chose to be good. That light is in every single one of us. Even you, though you might not see it." He said with a straight face.
And unlike me who was cringing from second hand embarrassment, he looked like he truly believed that.
Damn, he really is an incorruptible, moral paragon hero type guy!
And here I thought they didn't make this model anymore.
I chuckled.
"Good. I like that." I praised, "So let's proceed with our little thought experiment shall we?"
