***

The beep in Jones’s ear signaled that the call had ended. He kept the phone pressed to his ear, his jaw slack. His brain was wild with activity, trying to process everything he’d just heard.

The phone eventually slipped from the side of his head and landed on the pile of papers Jones was sifting through to prepare for his debate with Smith.

Jones wasn’t sure what Daniel had gotten himself into, but if Terry was after him for something, then it would put Jones at risk. Daniel knew too much about the visit to Mexico. He couldn’t risk leaking that until the treaty was signed, and he still hadn’t received word that it had been finalized. He hit the button on the intercom that signaled for his secretary.

“Cindy, get me Congressman Hunter on the line. Immediately,” Jones said.

Before Cindy could answer, he clicked the intercom off and leaned back into his chair. His jacket was off, his tie undone, the top button of his shirt open, exposing his white undershirt. The skin on his face looked more flaccid than it had in days prior. He rubbed his eyes and smacked his cheeks, the skin under his neck wobbling slightly. For the first time since his very first term in office, he could feel the disgusting beast of doubt closing in on him.

Doubt was the one emotional response that could unravel a man in his position. He’d seen it happen so many times before, even using it to his advantage. He couldn’t risk exposing himself before the debate. If that happened, then there was the potential for the American people to turn against him. And despite how much he loathed the illusion the citizens of this country still controlled it, now was not the time to pull back the curtain.

The intercom buzzed. “Congressman Hunter on the line for you, sir.”

“Put him through.”

Jones kept the phone on speaker, and when Cindy put the call through, the crackling sound of static and wind sounded on the other line.

“Daniel?” Jones asked.

“What do you want, Jones?”

Jones rose from his chair. He placed both hands on the desk to brace himself and leaned over the speaker to make sure Daniel could hear him properly over whatever noise was in the background.

“Are you alone?” Jones asked.

“Not really.”

“Can you find a quieter place? This is important.”

“Jones, whatever it is you’re trying to sell, I’m not buying. Take whatever steps you think you need to, but know that if you go near my family, there won’t be a rock or hole in the ground that you can hide in to keep me from finding you.”

The call went dead, and the loud background noise disappeared with it. Jones fell back into his chair, his hands rubbing his throat. He felt hot. His laptop sat closed on the corner of his desk, and he grabbed it. He powered it on, opened a file, then started composing an email.

Jones dragged one of the files labeled “Hunter” and attached it to the email. The subject was always the same: “CLICK HERE FOR PRIZE!”

The body of the email was disguised as nothing more than spam. The email address Jones used was run off of some hacker server halfway around the world. It was used by individuals who had harmful or illegal intentions. He’d only used it a handful of times before, but Terry preferred this method of transaction.

Once the file finished encrypting itself, Jones moved the mouse over the send button, but he hesitated. His right index finger was raised to click the button. Jones moved the mouse away from send and moved it back toward the subject line.

He started typing, changing the message he’d written earlier to something different. Once he was done, he clicked send, and off it went. Daniel was too much of a loose end. Jones couldn’t risk it. He slammed the lid of the laptop down and removed it from the pile of papers he had been working on before the call. He picked up where he’d left off, but his eyes kept looking back over to the computer.

It wasn’t regret that Jones felt. It wasn’t any feeling of attachment that he had developed toward Daniel. It was simply the acknowledgement of a decision. One that he couldn’t take back now. The wheels were in motion. Jones just hoped that it would happen soon.