Killinger / Webb Valhalla Plot

Operation Presidential Thunder
1. Auflage 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5439-3149-5
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 270 Seiten

Michael Connor has only a few more weeks left until college graduation when suddenly his quiet little life flips upside down. Accidentally discovering a secret plot by covert assassins to rig the 2020 presidential election, Michael must flee for his life across East Texas and figure out some way to save himself and his country. Come along for a unique literary ride filled with love, murder, levity, and heart-pounding suspense - all masterfully woven into one spectacular novel called The Valhalla Plot: Operation Presidential Thunder.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Killinger, Bob

Webb, Mike

Leseproben

Chapter One

Six months before the 2020 presidential election

Friday 6/12/20, 9:00 PM EST
“Maury Prince Live”
BMM Cable News

“Hello, America, this is Maury Prince Live,” Maury said, beginning his monologue. “Tonight, my guest is William Henryk Runnarbole, the Democratic hopeful in the race for 2020 presidency. Runnarbole, a former senator and governor from the great state of Oregon, hopes to be the man to fill the Democratic Party’s credibility gap and stop their losing streaks over the past few years. Runnarbole’s small-town rhetoric, mixed with his extensive knowledge of Washington, D.C., and the way it works has placed him and the woman who says he brought sunshine back into life, his wife, the beautiful Alex Steward Runnarbole, into the lead with six months to go.

“Their unorthodox presidential ticket, a Democrat, Runnarbole, running with a Republican, Louis McNamara, as his vice-presidential candidate, has shaken up the presidential race against President Donald Trump and given them a slight lead in the polls. President Trump’s first term has been a complete success by all economic, social, and global standards, and most Democrats didn’t want to enter the 2020 presidential election race, feeling there was no way to challenge him. But William Runnarbole, an old guard Democrat, knew if he could run with a D.C. stalwart like Republican Louis McNamara, they could pick off votes from the presidential incumbent and possibly defeat Trump Mania.

“Tonight, I’m going to introduce you to the Runnarboles, putting political issues on the backburner. William, Alex, welcome to the program.”

“We thank you for having us, Maury,” William said, smiling into the camera while clutching his wife’s hand.

“Tell me about your hometown of Whitktaw, Oregon, Billy—if I may call you Billy?”

“That’s fine, Maury. Only my mother called me William, and only when I was in trouble. Whitktaw’s home for me, the West Coast version of heaven. We had one pharmacy and one grocery store when I was a boy, and I thought we had the world. My grandfather was a Polish immigrant and one of the founders of Whitktaw.”

“Is it true your real name is Runnarktbolski?” Maury asked, smirking at the camera. “And, if it is, why did you change it?”

“Yes, Runnarktbolski is our true family name, but my father, a retired black raspberry and hazelnut farmer, felt it easier to sell his produce at the marketplace on Saturday mornings if his name was less difficult to pronounce. Capitalism forced a name change, Maury, and my father was a true capitalist and a strong role model. The life of a farmer is filled with discipline, complete dependence on your own hard labor, and a love for the land. I learned a lot from my father, and I was lucky to have him in my life as a child.”

“What was it like growing up as a boy in a small town? I know the New York streets taught me how to survive. What is it that a small town offered a growing politician?”

“You get to know the people, Maury,” Runnarbole said, looking right into the camera now. “A small town teaches you about taking care of each other, never lets you keep secrets, and rewards you for being honest. I tell you, Maury, honesty is what’s missing in a lot of homes, neighborhoods, and cities today, and I hope to help children grow up in the same atmosphere I did if I’m elected president.”

“Mrs. Runnarbole,” Maury said, smiling, “you’re a New York City woman and the daughter of the long-time mayor Daniel Thompson, the railroad tycoon and a powerful Democrat. I’m sure your childhood was quite different.”

“Yes, Maury, I’m a big city girl, and I love New York,” Alex said, while secretly fondling the interviewer’s right calf with her toes from under the table. “But I admire small towns also. How could I not, being married to a small-town boy?” She looked adoringly at her husband. “And please, call me Alex.”

“Thank you, Alex,” Maury said, a little ticklish from her toes. “One of the major questions about you, Billy, is your educational background. You graduated from high school, but not from a university. Why?”

“I applied to a few big colleges but was not accepted,” Billy said nonchalantly. “I finally got accepted to Oregon State Teachers College, went there for two years, but, sadly, I didn’t graduate.”

“Why’s that?” Maury probed, rubbing Alex’s leg with his shoe now. “Do you consider yourself a poor student?”

“No, not at all. I don’t mean I flunked out, Maury. I mean I couldn’t afford it. My father was a modest farmer, and any spare cash went into our farm, not toward my education. You see, my father didn’t understand the importance of college. He dropped out of school when he was twelve and did pretty well for himself without it, so I never asked him for help. I didn’t feel it was right. To pay for my education, I worked as a night custodian at the Teachers College. I didn’t sleep much for two years, just cat-naps when no one was looking. They raised the tuition my junior year, making it impossible for me to afford to finish, so I was forced to leave. I never got the degree, and the sleep deprivation almost killed me.”

“Do you wish you had finished school? Do you think a degree would’ve helped you in your run for presidency?”

“Maury, college was a luxury that I wasn’t able to have in my life. My only regrets are the things that I could control and failed to accomplish. And I tell you, I have very few regrets. Also, you never graduated from a university, Maury, but look at what you’ve done for yourself in life, by the sweat of your own brow. I think you’d agree that the lack of a college education never stopped your ambitions or dreams of being a talk show host. If anything, it made you work harder.”

“Good point.”

“Also, my wife makes up for everything I lack in education, polish, and beauty.”

“Very true,” Maury added, taking off her other shoe with his feet. “Alex, you were a Princeton graduate at age nineteen, earned a PhD by twenty-one. A real child prodigy. Tell me about college.”

“Definitely my salad days, Maury,” Alex answered. “I loved college, and the Princeton campus was an honor to walk on for six years. My father thought my major in political science was a waste at the time, but it has been helpful. Maybe it was intuition, somehow knowing my life to come.”

“Do you think attending college at such an early age made you lose your childhood or hurt you in any way?” Maury asked.

“I love my life,” Alex said, knocking Maury’s feet away under the table. “I have a wonderful husband, a warm, loving home in Oregon, and the only thing I hope for in life is that Billy gets a chance to help this great nation, like I know he can.”

“Billy,” Maury said, frustrated by no feet to fondle, “you were a decorated army war hero. Tell me about those days.”

“Well, I think hero is a stretch. Yes, I did go to Vietnam in 1970. I entered as a Private First Class, due to my stint in college, and was a part of the US Army 101st Airborne Division in the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord from July 1 to July 23 in 1970. We were recognized for our service, and I received a Bronze Star in 1995 from former president Clinton. I remained in the army for two more years and was discharged a command sergeant major. I don’t like war and hate violence toward others, but I was proud to serve my country.”

“That’s what brought you into politics, being a war hero,” Maury said, liking the fact that Alex was rubbing his leg again.

“No, I didn’t go into politics after the war. I put some money together with a boyhood friend, and we bought a gas station in Whitktaw. I needed some time to rest after the war, so I learned a little about the business world. I married my first wife, Ester Flattenbush. She was a precious woman, my high school sweetheart, and was the person who told me I should enter politics. So I sold my share of the station to my partner in 1979, and then entered the political arena.”

“And that’s when you worked for the Kellerman Political Machine in Oregon,” Maury said, looking at his notes.

“Yes, some people called it that. I helped in Conrad Kellerman’s campaign for re-election to the senate in 1980. I traveled all across Oregon, making speeches and meeting people. He was happy with my work, so Kellerman brought me to Washington, D.C., with him as his administrative assistant.”

“I know you aren’t pleased about being connected with the Thoroughbred Incident,” Maury said, smiling at the camera. “For viewers who aren’t familiar with the incident, Conrad Kellerman was forced to resign from the senate in 1982 due to photographs of him on a horse with his twelve-year-old female cousin, both of them naked. Billy, did you think this would end your political career?” Maury noticeably flinched as Alex kicked him under the table.

“Of course not,” Runnarbole answered strongly. “I was in Washington, working hard...