Dark Power Page #3

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During Mayor Stanwood's administration,

I became his most trusted assistant.

More than that, he

became a father to me.

The father I never had.

Now, he didn't want a lot

Of lavish expenses going

into his funeral. He...

Even in his death had the best interest

Of the people he served in

the forefront of his mind.

I think now is a good time...

To take a moment and

say your final goodbyes.

Well, we'll give this guy a day.

Tomorrow we pay him a visit.

I trust you, James.

Thank you, sir.

You're welcome.

Sometimes more than the

other people that I work with.

I'm sick, James.

And... I need to keep

my condition secret.

Well, what do you mean sick?

We can get you

treatments, specialists...

I've already gone through all of that.

There's nothing else that can be done.

I can delay the process

But there's nothing else I can do.

So, uh...

I don't want to alarm anyone.

That's why I want you and...

we, to keep this under wraps.

We could figure out a way for

you to get me my medication

Without anybody finding out.

Yes, sir.

I need to talk to you

about how I want you

To handle things after I'm gone.

It's open.

Your assistant said

you wanted to see me.

I came as soon as I could.

Have a seat.

How are you holding up?

Yeah, I know.

Sam was a good man.

Even though we were political opponents,

He still treated me with respect.

Every bad thing he ever said about

you had to do with your golf game.

That sounds like Stan.

How's your wife doing? I

know they were old friends.

Well, you can imagine.

They worked together on

quite a few city projects.

That's actually how I

got bitten by the bug.

Give her my best.

I will.

So what's on your mind?

A job.

A job? For me or you?

For me. Working for you.

I already have a bunch of interns.

With Stan gone, it's

only a matter of time

Before I'm handed my walking papers.

You and I both know the

vice mayor is not well enough

To continue her duties.

Those duties most certainly

will not be coming my way.

What exactly are you looking for?

Make me your campaign manager.

I already got one of those.

He's the best in the business.

I know, and I respect what he does

But he's won't get you

where you need to be.

You want to elaborate on that?

I have certain information

that he is unaware of.

What kind of information?

Certain information about

your opponent, Michael Conway.

Information that if leaked through the

proper channels at the proper times,

Could derail his entire

campaign while bolstering yours.

I can get you that

throne you're looking for.

If you're referring to the city funds

He used to bump his

own staff's payrates,

Then you're three steps behind.

You're getting your news from cave

paintings, it's coming to you so slow.

It's much bigger than kicking

a staff a few extra bucks.

How big?

Guarantee me a position on your staff

As campaign manager

And you get to know what. Until then...

You're just going to have

to lose sleep over it.

And what if I say no?

I'll just start combing the classifieds.

I think JC Penney's hiring.

Maybe I'll get a job there.

I'm sorry.

You'll have to do better

than some vague secret

In order for me to

think about hiring you.

Freeman's a smart guy.

He wouldn't miss something as big

As what you're talking about.

You're sure about that?

Sure enough to know I'm

not going to let him go

Without seeing a few more

bullet points on your resume.

How's your campaign financing?

I'm all good there.

I got more support than

you might even be aware of.

What if I could triple that support?

Does that pique your interest?

Triple it?

Yeah. I'm interested.

Okay.

What I'm about to tell you

does not leave this room.

Sounds exciting.

It is.

Look, you're not trying

to get me into hot water?

If I was trying to

get you into hot water,

You'd know it by now.

All right, fair enough.

Fire away.

During my time with Mr. Wood,

Not all the funds coming into the city

Were, let's just say... clean.

This includes payouts,

Financing for various programs,

And of course, campaign funds

For the mayor's re-election campaign.

Gangsters pulling strings

from behind the curtains.

This isn't news.

Even John Q. Taxpayer isn't

stupid enough to believe

Everything he hears from the media.

Mobs have been involved in everything.

This isn't exactly mob.

It's more of a fraternity.

Fraternity? Is that what you call

the hoods that you grew up with?

No, them I call friends.

This is childhood, and yes,

Those are the people I grew up with.

They're the same people

Who are going to add some

very working-class appeal

To your very blue-blooded campaign.

And yes, some of them can also provide

A lower-level liaison

to this fraternity.

Even though Stan tried to keep

me clear for the most part,

He did provide me with some information.

What kind of information?

The kind of information that brings

you political favors and financing

In exchange for keeping your mouth shut.

If you're talking mob money,

you can stop right now.

I'll stop whenever you want me to stop.

But you and I both

know campaigns like this

Are won and lost in the trenches.

And it's dirty.

You need somebody who's willing

to be a little bit muddy,

So you don't have to.

Freeman's not that guy.

All right, look. I need

a night to think about it.

I have a meeting with

some high level people.

Come by my place tomorrow at 9 AM.

Bring your resume.

I'll be there.

Right on time. I like that.

I can't tell you how many times

People show up late for meetings.

It drives me nuts. I bet.

What's this? My resume.

You know I was joking, don't you?

Not all of us are stiffs.

Some of us do have a sense of humor.

Coffee? Please.

Cream? Sugar?

Black, please.

It's a hell of a place you have here.

Thanks.

I designed it myself. Every square inch.

I even planned out where every

piece of furniture should go.

You're an architect?

Anal retentive, I think, is the term.

But yeah, that's what

I went to school for.

I really loved it.

I used to reverse engineer old buildings

To see if I could improve

them, make them better.

Such as the pyramids, for example.

But I usually couldn't.

What made you change gears?

Architecture and politics are

not exactly in the same ball park.

I know it's... this

is going to sound corny

But I thought there was

a lot more that I could do

For this city in politics

than I could with my drawings.

There was a lot of impoverished

areas where I got my first gigs

That weren't getting the kind of funding

That I thought they should have.

So, as an architect,

No one's going to listen to me.

I can't do much with that.

But with a shirt and a tie

and a campaign billboard

Suddenly everybody's listening.

Yeah.

I got to say I didn't picture you

As a knight in shining armor type.

A lot of us in politics are

here for much less noble reasons.

Well, that office isn't mine yet

So don't be handing me the

trophy till the race is over.

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