The Mark

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"City planning is right up your alley, and it wouldn't take much for me to shift Corey to another role. I think Hal Smith is retiring soon, and that makes an opening that I can play with. People love when they get moved around a bit-keeps it fresh." "Who are you fooling, Wayne? No one likes to be shifted around.

It amazes me how quickly you've learned to spin your decisions."

"Ouch! Was that meant to hurt?" Wayne laughed nervously, not

sure if his friend was teasing or serious. "I'm sorry. I just don't like the whole political scene."

"That's what I'm here for. I can front run the politics. I just need you behind me, overseeing the city growth. Come on, what do you make at your firm? I'll match it and give you a ten percent raise!"

"It's not the money, Wayne. It's more the time. My girls are in school now, and between family and church, I don't have time for much else."

"Church? You're putting church before me? You've got to be kid ding! That church you go to is big enough to survive without you. I need a better excuse than church."

"You just don't get it, Wayne. Church is not a club I belong to or an obligation I have. It's family. Yeah, I know the church is growing, but there are people there I love like my own brothers and sisters. They keep me accountable to be the person God would have me be. I can't walk away from them."

Wayne was well aware of Thomas's religious convictions. During the campaign, he often referred to Thomas as his spiritual advisor because he constantly urged him to stay on the high road. His advice was always solid and moral, and with him around Wayne consis tently made better decisions. Thomas had been a friend, not an em ployee, and Wayne wanted that to change.

Wayne shifted in his chair and leaned forward on the table. "Well, I'm going to shift gears here a second and see if I can throw some bait in your path. My vision is farming renovation. I believe we can put our little Creston on the map by upgrading our facilities. We have prime land and the perfect environment to breed cattle. I heard the other day over at the Wilson farm, they've been experimenting at their breeding facility, Wilson said he was close to breakthrough innovations in im munity milk production. Milk that fights disease! It's calcium rich and boosts immune levels, especially among senior citizens."

"What's the point?" Thomas gave Wayne an interested stare, as he leaned forward in his seat.

"The point is, with funding and improvements, our Creston farm ers could produce something the world really needs! I just need to come up with the funds. That's why I need you. With your connections in agriculture-I know you've served on the Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board for the state of Indiana for five years now-surely you know people in Washington who can lobby for aid for research?"

Thomas tossed his head with a chuckle and sat back in his chair. "I don't know what you think the committee is, but it's not anywhere near as connected as you hope it is! There are five of us, and the biggest deci sion we made last year was to have farmers clearly mark their fence lines in red so the assessor could identify the county easements in comparison to the owned land, which was in yellow. It was really a thrilling day."

"Oh, I think you can dig a little deeper than that, Thomas. Come on, in that little Blackberry of yours you have to have names of people who know people who can help little ol' Creston!"

Wayne grinned. He knew he was begging for help, but he really wanted Thomas to join the team. "The trouble with Creston is that no one has dreamed big in years-in decades, maybe even in centuries. Well, I'm here now and I'm going to make a name for us. We're going to use our resources and our experience to capitalize on our strengths. I need you on the team, Thomas. There's no two ways about it."

Thomas shook his head.

"I hear you, but it's just not the right time. You know I'll always be around for you. I don't need an official capacity. I will do this for you... "Thomas stood and reached to shake Wayne's hand. "I'll wade my way through my contacts and see if anything pops out at me. If it does, I'll make a call. Will that make you happy?"

Wayne stood and returned the gesture by again grasping Thomas's hand with both of his.

"I won't be happy until we're working side by side and Creston gets the funding it needs to become great!"

Mayor Durbin watched Thomas get into his jeep. From the win dow in his office, he could see the good people of Creston milling down the streets and talking on the sidewalks. This was his kingdom, small as it may be, and he was determined to make it the best kingdom in Indiana.

He returned to his desk and opened his Internet browser. It was time to see what was going on in the world. He had time for a quick surf and then back to calls. The red bannered headline on the CNN news page caught his eye-TEMPLE MOUNT CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE IN JUNE. He shook his head in disbelief. The territo rial battle was finally over.

Who would have ever thought the Israelis would share the mount with the Arabs or visa versa? Alexander Magorum is too good to be true. I need to keep my eye on him. Who knows? I could learn something useful.

"Miss Orion?"

The red light on her telephone flashed, and Alexander Magorum's voice came over the speaker.

"Yes, sir?"

"Would you call the staff and set up a meeting for this afternoon?"

"Consider it done, sir."

"And for next week, cancel any appointments. I will be touring the new temple and then spending time with Prime Minister Rabin and his wife at their Haifa villa. I am leaving Sunday afternoon."

"Sir, is your security arranged?"

"I don't know, Miss Orion. Have you called my chief of security yet?" "Of course, sir, I will handle the arrangements." "Thank you."

It took approximately twelve minutes for Elise Orion to contact PM Rabin's secretary of state, receive fax and e-mail confirmations of the schedule in Israel, arrange a security detail with Agent Vasiliev, confirm departure times, arrival times, and flight times, call Klara to instruct what to pack, schedule a late Saturday afternoon mani cure/pedicure for herself so that she would be presentable (because of course, she would be going also), cancel all prior appointments, and order a four course dinner for Alexander Magorum and his entou rage so that they wouldn't be hungry when they arrived in Jerusalem. She even remembered to order his favorite Swiss chocolates for the airplane. At thirty-two, some questioned that she was mature enough to handle this job, but she had consistently proven them wrong.

Elise reached up, pulled at her blonde bangs and swept them down on her forehead, tucking them behind her ear, her natural waves controlled in a short bob. Maybe someday she'd allow a little more length, but for now, this was more manageable.

"Have I told you lately how good you really are?" she said aloud. The sound of books falling, a glass breaking, and the low rumble of her employer's voice snapped her from her self-adulation, and she jumped. Immediately she stood and went to his office door. When her hand touched the knob, she stopped. She leaned in and gently placed her ear near the door.

If someone walks in now, this will be hard to explain.

But Elise had learned the hard way that noise in that office did not always mean her assistance was needed. She hadn't perfected her discernment in this area yet, but she was getting better at it. She closed her eyes and listened. She couldn't make out words but there were definitely two voices.

Speaker phone, no doubt.

She waited, and the voices quieted. Then the distinct smell of cinna mon wafted from beneath the door. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"You chose wisely," she quietly said as she lifted her hand from the doorknob. By the time she returned to her desk, Magorum's phone light was out. Things should return to normal now. Elise opened the file drawer to her right and pulled out a calendar. She opened it up to May and made a small red x on the current date, then glanced up at the month as a whole.

More x's than last month. Considerably more. I wonder why?

Elise returned the calendar to its file and shut the drawer. Her gaze lingered on Alexander Magorum's door for a few moments, her mind deep in thought. One day she would find out exactly what made him tick, and when she did, she would help him avoid these outbursts. It was part of her job to make him the best man he could be. That was her goal. That was her commitment. That was her call ing. Therefore keeping track of his mood swings was necessary for her to understand the man as a whole.

And Elise Orion never stopped short of complete success.