The Reformers: A Matt Blake Novel (The Matt Blake legal thriller series Book 2) (22 page)

“Bill, do you know what my mother wanted me to be when I grew up?”

Carlini chuckled and shook his head.

“Mom wanted me to be a dentist.”

“Never ignore your mother, Mr. President.”

Chapter 47

I walked into our apartment at 6:15 p.m. I had promised myself that I wouldn’t let my insane work schedule interrupt the time I spend with Dee. She didn’t greet me at the door, as usual. I could hear her having an animated phone conversation in the kitchen. She cupped the phone to her chest.

“Matt, it’s the President of the United States.”

I grabbed the phone and pinched Dee on the ass. It was probably Woody to give me a report on a case we were preparing.

“Good evening, Matt, Bill Reynolds here. Hate to interrupt your private time at home but I’d like to see you here tomorrow. If it works for you, a car will be at your place at 8:45 a.m. to bring you to the airport. All travel arrangements have been made, of course. I’ll see you at the White House at 11:30.”

“Of course, Mr. President.”

What the hell else would I say? Holy shit. The President wants to see
me
.

“So, tell me, Matt. Do you think the President of the United States has a personal injury case he wants you to handle?”

“Dee, I have no idea what this is all about. Why the hell would he want to see
me
?”

***

I walked into the White House at 11:15, escorted by two Marine guards. I was amazed that the security precautions were so minimal, but I guess when the President wants to see somebody, things shift around.

I’m usually pretty good at sizing up situations from their context, but I had no fucking idea why the President of the United States wanted to see me. I must admit that it felt cool. I had only been to the White House once before during a school trip in high school, and never dreamed that I would be invited here by the president himself. A Marine guard escorted me to the Oval Office. The Oval
friggin
Office.

President Reynolds was sitting behind his desk. My mind was occupied by the fact that I was in the Oval Office to meet with the President of the United States. When I entered the room he walked swiftly over to me, extending his hand and gesturing me toward the seating area. Reynolds had a well-earned reputation as a charming guy.

“Matt, let me get right to the point. I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like I know you personally. People tell me, including Rick Bellamy from Homeland Security, and Sarah Watson at the FBI, that you’re a hell of a lawyer, and most importantly, a hell of a problem solver. You seem to be an expert on a strange group of people known as NFL. I’m sure I don’t have to explain that to you.”

“No, sir, I know more about NFL than I want to remember.”

“Let me get right to the point, Matt. My friend. Rick Bellamy wants you to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, and I completely agree with him. It won’t pay as much as your law practice, but from what I’ve heard, you and your wife have plenty of money so it shouldn’t hurt to spend a year or two in government. Bellamy is opening an office in Chicago, and you’ll be in charge of it. From what I’ve read, you did an outstanding job of serving our nation when you were in the Marines. You’re a genuine war hero. So what’ll it be, captain? Your country needs you.”

I could have passed out. This was the last thing I expected from this meeting. Okay, time to make a decision. Only an asshole would say that he needed time to think about it.

“I accept, Mr. President. Rick Bellamy and I go back a few years, and it will be a pleasure to work under him.”

“Welcome aboard the Reynolds Administration, Matt. My aide will fill you in on the details, and then Rick Bellamy expects to see you. He’s meeting right now with my chief of staff.”

***

Rick Bellamy met me in an office in the West Wing.

“I’m glad you accepted the position, Matt. I can’t think of a better man for the job.”

“Rick,” I said, “I was uncomfortable grilling the President of the United States for information, but I have a few questions for you. My primary question is, what do you want from me? I’m a PI lawyer.”

“The answer is simple, Matt. You know more about the NFL people than anybody, and I get the impression that you’re not too pleased with them.”

“Not pleased? Rick, I’m sure Jack Logan filled you in on our meeting with Imam Mike. Mike thinks that the NFL is equally as evil as the jihadis, maybe more so because they have a lot more brain power. So no, I’m not pleased with them. Are
you
?”

“No, I’m not, Matt. But a lot of people in government look at the obvious. NFL does some serious ass-kicking, the kind of ass-kicking we’d like to do. Yes, they’re vigilantes, but they are convenient vigilantes. But I don’t trust them, and I know you don’t either. That’s why we’ve asked you to take this job. Using the resources of the Department of Homeland Security, we want you to keep a close eye on these people, especially the honcho, Bartholomew Martin. You will have a direct phone line to me personally. Watch these bastards, Matt.”

After I met with Rick Bellamy I called Dee. I told her I’d fill her in on the details when I got home.

***

Dee was waiting for me at the door when I buzzed myself in. We kissed. So far, so good. I figured I’d get right to the point.

“President Reynolds has asked me to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, right under Rick Bellamy.”

“That’s nice,” she said. I could tell she was less than enthusiastic.

“So, hon, your husband is going to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security.”

“You’re having doubts, aren’t you baby?” she said. Dee has a way of looking past my words and directly into my mind.

“Aren’t
you
?” I said.

“Hey, the President offered
you
the job. You talk first.”

“Well, they’re opening a new office of Homeland Security right here in Chicago, so it won’t involve my being away.”

“That’s nice too,” she said, with a slight smile.

This was Diana Blake I was talking to, Diana Blake, the most enthusiastic woman I had ever met. A woman who would do a cartwheel when she picked a good Scrabble word. But she had her enthusiasm, if any, well under control.

“My salary will be a hell of a lot less than I make at Blake & Randolph, a lot less.”

“Matt, after my settlement from the
Spellman
case and that big award you got for Al Yamani, we have money squirting out of our ears. Lots of lawyers spend a year or two in the government and return to their practices. Money isn’t an issue. Tell me what you find troubling, and I’ll tell you what I really think.”

“Well, besides the fact that I married well, the president as well as Rick Bellamy did zero in on something they want from me.”

“Your knowledge of NFL, yes?”

“Yes. They seem to think that I’m the country’s maven on the subject.”

“Well, aren’t you?” she said.

“I guess, but that’s not what’s gnawing at me. After meeting with Rick Bellamy, I’m really clear that they want me to keep a sharp eye on the outfit, but that’s about it. Although neither the president nor Rick Bellamy said it in so many words, I think they see NFL as a convenient group to have around. NFL does the dirty work that our Constitution forbids our law enforcement from doing. Yes, they’re a bit nervous about the group, so they want me to learn everything I can about them and to keep the government informed.”

“So they don’t want you to try to stop them, just keep an eye on them?” Dee said. “Does that about sum it up?”

“Yes, but I told you about my meeting with our top secret mole, Imam Mike, who I’m not supposed to tell you about.”

“Yes, Matt, you did tell me about him, and it freaked me out as well as you.”

“Dee, Imam Mike thinks that Bartholomew and this NFL group have big plans for a political takeover, and not just in the Middle East. They may kill bad guys, but they’re just as bad.”

Dee said nothing. The ball was in my court, and she was waiting for me to serve it.

“I want to talk to you as a political science professor, Dee. Where do you see this all going? Help me sort this crap out.”

“It’s going nowhere good, Matt. I’ve wanted to talk to you about this, and now that you’re a big government honcho, who better?”

“Let me guess. You’ve already started to make notes for an article or maybe a book on the subject. Am I right?”

“Yes. I have about 100 pages of outlines and notes. But I’m not sure I want to see it published.”

“Don’t want to see it published? What are you talking about, Dee?”

“Here’s what I’ve put together so far and you tell me what you think. I’ve been analyzing this NFL group and comparing it to other major movements in history. I’m looking for similarities, and it scares the hell out of me. I’ve looked at the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, the rise of the Nazis in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, and militarist Japan in the 1930s. Matt, what do all three of those movements having in common?”

“Well, this probably seems simplistic, but I’d say ‘Out with the old regime, in with the new.’ ”

“No, it isn’t simplistic,” Dee said, “it’s the essence of any major change in a country’s government. And in all three of those world-changing cases, the masses were behind the changes, at least in the beginning.”

“Dee, do you think that the NFL wants to replace regimes all over the Middle East with itself, and then branch out from there? I know that’s what Imam Mike thinks.”

“Yes, I’m not just talking about the Middle East. Sure, that will be their base of operations in the beginning. You said that Kurdistan seems to be their home office for the time being. I’m talking about the United States. The historical fingerprints are all over this, Matt. We already know that all levels of government have been infiltrated by NFL, including the Pentagon, the FBI, and the CIA. We don’t know the numbers, but based on weapons thefts alone, we know these guys are in deep. And from the polling numbers I’ve seen, the American public is loving the idea of radical Islam getting its ass kicked, although they don’t really know about NFL—yet. In the not too distant future, I expect to see that Bartholomew character run for President of the United States.”

“Holy shit, Dee, you’re serious aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am. He’s a classic example of a power-grabbing dictator. And when was the last time you ever saw a dictator say, ‘I guess I have enough power, I think I’ll relax’? Doesn’t happen that way, Matt. Never has, never will. I think we’ll see Bartholomew run for office on a third-party ticket and not even bother trying to get the Democratic or Republican nomination. He has the money to start a grass roots campaign from scratch. Imagine his populist campaign argument—‘We stopped the forces of radicalism and made America safe. Now we’ll keep it safe. Do you want to return to endless terror?’ Can’t you see that argument convincing a hell of a lot of people? I can. And once the prick is in power, we can kiss goodbye to the United States Constitution. So that’s my happy-face message for the evening, honey. Pardon me while I throw up.”

Dee has a clarity of thinking that’s hard to ignore, and I think she’s right. When she put it in the historical perspective, I no longer thought of NFL as a group of thugs who perform useful tasks. She’s right. They, and especially their leader, Bartholomew, want power, and they’re unlikely to stop in the Middle East.

“Do you think I should take this job, honey? I already told the President yes.”

“Well, look at it this way. The President appoints you as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. I know why. You’re a highly decorated war hero, a successful and famous lawyer, and the top layers of government know that you’re an expert on Bartholomew and NFL. You’re the obvious pick.”

“Do you mean the obvious pick or the obvious
patsy
, the perfect fall guy if everything gets fucked up?”