“And I swear to you, if you re-elect me for a third term I will do what it takes to send those troublesome rebels back to the hole on Korhol they climbed out of!”
Federation President Andrew Martin smiled, basking in the applause and cheers of his faithful followers, whom without he knew a second, and possibly third term, would never have been possible.
“Now my opponent, he is a good man. I’m not going to slander him or his character but let me point something out to you. When we first started hearing about the Korhal Liberation Front, I was half-way through my first term. I have been there since the beginning. Mr. Ragsdale however, was still a wet behind the ears senator from a backwater planet.
“Am I saying he would be a bad president because of his inexperience? No! What I am saying is, I was in this position when they started this war, let me be there when we finish it!”
The roof almost blew off the building as everybody cheered. With a warm smile and a twinkle in his brown eyes, Adam waved to the masses as he walked away from the podium.
Even though the hall was only a mere fifty feet from the entrance, it still took nearly an hour for him to reach it, for Adam is a people’s President. His motto was ‘If you lose contact with the people then you lose contact with the reason you are in this position’ and he firmly believed that he should never walk away from any hand that wanted a shake, and shoulder that wanted a hug or any baby that wanted a kiss. It was this charm and his down to earth, ‘aw shucks’ personality, along with his strong no-nonsense stance on terrorism, massive tax cuts and improvement to the galactic economy that constantly brings in high approval rates.
It also won him a top spot on the Korhal Liberation Front’s list of targets.
“Wonderful speech Mr. President,” a local man said as he vigorously shook Adam’s hand. “Very moving, very classy.”
“Thank you. I appreciate all the support I can get.”
Finally, the retinue of security guards and political advisors made it to the foyer, where Adam’s press secretary was waiting with a communicator in her hand.
“Sorry to bother you Mr. President but there is a Lestra’ad on the line who wishes to speak to you.”
A huge smile appeared on Adam’s face as he accepted the tiny device. “Rowan! Good to hear from you old friend.”
“And you as well,” the amphibious alien responded. “Very moving speech.”
“Oh, you caught the broadcast did you?”
“Of course I did! Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Adam chuckled as he walked towards the doors.
“Then why on Earth didn’t you come to it in person? Joveria is only a few parsecs from Earth. Shoot in, shoot out. We could have done a tandem conference. I talk about my re-election hopes and you talk about the hunt for the terrorist leader.”
At this Lestra’ad laughed, but with slightly less humor than his friend. “I’m afraid I was too busy doing the afore mentioned hunting terrorists.”
Adam sighed, suddenly feeling his years hit him. “When is this going to end old friend? We are much too old to continue. War and politics are games for the young.”
“All too true. Sadly though, as long as there are terrorists to hunt and crooked politicians to keep in check, we will never gain rest.”
“No rest for the wicked eh?”
“That saying could apply for me I’m sure but you? What’s the most evil thing you have ever done, jay walk?”
Both men laughed at this as Adam walked out into the street, security men all around him.
“Listen Rowan, I am about to head back to Earth. How about tomorrow morning I meet you at that little bistro in downtown Iacon for breakfast? If memory serves, it’s my turn to pay.”
“Actually it’s my turn to pay but I wouldn’t expect a boy scout like you to say that.”
The next one and a half minutes was such a blur that had things gone better, Adam would claim to never remember fully.
Stepping off the curb as he lowered his head to get into his car, a bolt whizzed by, singing some of the gray hair on top. Turning his head to see what the whizzing sound had been, he watched as a hole burned into the chest of the security guard behind him. Instantly, two pairs of hands pressed him closer to the ground.
“We have shots fired! I repeat, shots fired,” another security agent called into his walkie. “We have one man dead but the president is ok.”
“Did he say shots were fired? What the hell is going on Adam?”
“Mr. President, we have to get you in the car!” The agent on Adam’s left side yelled. Roughly, the two men picked him up, careful to keep his head hidden behind the car as much as possible.
“Adam! What the brix is happening over there!”
Another flash appeared in the night sky, and suddenly the head of the man holding up Adam’s right arm caved in on itself. Adam felt the communicator slip from his hand as the man’s dead body slid off his arm. He made an attempt to go back for it but the guard on his left kept pulling.
“Come on Mr. President! There’s no time!”
Adam glanced back at the communicator and the two bodies lying on the ground. An odd feeling began tugging at the back of his mind but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was.
“Drive! We have to get the president out of here!” The guard yelled at the driver as he closed the door behind them.
The driver nodded as he pressed the ignition switch to the car. For a brief second the engine stuttered as if it didn’t want to start. The driver thought nothing of it but Adam knew. He also figured out what that feeling had been.
Ah yes, he thought to himself, seconds before the flames engulfed his body. That was Death breathing down my neck.
