Her head slammed against the side of the trunk, then settled as ice-cold water ran down her face. She was floating. The trunk was floating. She looked through the holes and could see the bright lights of Washington ahead. The Capitol lost in a sea of stars, sparkling as if in a dream.

Someone gasped.

When she realized that it had come from her own lips, she sucked in air and forced it out quickly through her teeth. She heard it. A light whistle. A signal to the two men who must be watching from the riverbank that she was still alive.

She took in another deep breath and forced it out with all her strength. The whistle grew less faint. She did it again and again, the water rushing through the holes and over her knees. She whistled, signaled, kept her eyes on the Capitol. The feeling in her body was coming back, the water rising until it washed over her face. Her chest stiffened and she screamed. It was real this time. She heard it in the river as her lungs filled with water and the trunk began to sway, then pitch forward, tumbling at a severe angle to the bottom.


 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 

Frank Miles grabbed the remote, hit STOP, REWIND, and then PLAY. A political ad flashed up on the TV screen.

It was an off-year election, meaning that the presidency wasn’t up for grabs. Most of Frank’s races this cycle were state-wides and Senate incumbents that would bring in a lot of money by the sheer number of campaigns. Of the firm’s thirty clients, twelve belonged to Frank with the rest split between his two partners. Frank knew that ten of his clients would win, one was ridiculous and had no chance. But the last would be a tough call, his primary focus. A U.S. Senate seat had opened up in Virginia. His client, Mel Merdock, a Senate wannabe, needed a fortune to play and had it to spend. But he was young, green, new to politics. And their opponent was a seasoned businessman who spoke common sense and had a solid political base. Lou Kay was popular and ready, and his consultants had fired their first salvo. A tough negative ad that hit every TV station in the state.

Frank managed to get a copy of Lou Kay’s spot an hour after it had been delivered to the stations. There was a map of the United States with lots of graphics, then shots of Virginia cities and neighborhoods under a cutout photo of Mel Merdock smiling. Whistles and gongs—the whole thing was meticulously put together to look like a game show. And Mel Merdock, Frank’s client and candidate for the U.S.