51

After Jason Carson left, Will sat on the bench in Washington Square Park for some time, his thoughts wildly fluctuating.

So Sandstrom has played his trump card and thinks he has me trapped.

But William Jennings Worthington VI wasn’t the type of man to go down without fighting hard first.

He heard his mother’s voice: “Family first. Promise me.”

He heard his father: “Always do the right thing. But always know when it’s time to fight and when it’s time to back away. Listen to that still small voice.”

But was it time to fight? Or time to back away—and make certain the secret about his brother would never see the light of day? The still small voice wasn’t talking.

How Will wished he could talk with his dad, get his wisdom. Or talk to Drew. But no, neither knew why this was such a difficult decision for Will. Only his mother and Laura knew part of his quandary.

Will hailed a cab. By the time he arrived at the campaign launch, he had to have the answer.

It was one of the larger political media events New York had seen. The campaign staff had to build two risers to accommodate all of the camera crews. That was simply the nature of media in New York. They loved a heavyweight fight and a good story. It didn’t take much to bring out the klieg lights, and they’d been waiting for the Worthingtons to enter the political arena for years.

Sean knew his older brother was prepared for this—both for today and for whatever a potentially brutal, ugly campaign might throw at him. Will was tough and resilient. Sean was convinced Will wasn’t in awe of a soul on the planet and there was very little he feared. Will had already mastered many of the issues that could trip up a new candidate. He was a very quick study. He was also prepared to answer questions today about the latest developments on American Frontier and his role in it.

Worthington Shares had indeed sold its position in the company. The stock market had wobbled a bit, then moved on.

The White House had begun a concerted effort to walk away from its earlier rosy assessments of the Arctic spill and its consequences. But it was also taking a cautious, diplomatic approach and was being careful not to trigger additional stories that pitted the president against a company and its executives who had been consistent allies. Various White House aides had made the rounds of the Sunday talk show circuit to walk back the president’s position on Arctic drilling, but they were all careful not to overtly criticize American Frontier’s handling of it. They were also not willing to commit to any future course of action in the Arctic.

Despite repeated efforts by Green Justice and the NGO community to get access to the oil spill site, the eight nations of the Arctic Council had continued to allow the United States to manage the recovery operations. That meant American Frontier continued to have a clear, unfettered, unrestricted hand in controlling what the world knew about the spill.

Will was fully prepared to take all of this on and also to challenge the president and tie both Senator Loughlin and the White House to the disastrous Arctic drilling policy. Now that he was clear of the board and Worthington Shares had divested itself, Will was free to speak his mind about American Frontier and its efforts to corrupt the political process for its own purposes.

Sean was confident virtually nothing would take Will Worthington by surprise.

Will arrived at the campaign launch and media briefing with only a minute left before the scheduled start. He didn’t stop to speak to Sean, Sarah, or any of his campaign staff, but instead strode briskly past them and took his place at the podium. The room grew quiet and waited. The rows of television cameras lit up.

Before he spoke, though, Will looked off to the side, directly at his younger brother and sister. His parents had made the trip from Chautauqua and were sitting with them. Laura was sitting next to his mother. Will knew his next words would greatly impact their lives, but in ways none of them were anticipating.

At last the still small voice spoke. It whispered, “To those who are given much, much is required.”

In that flicker of an instant Will realized, No one ever said that the “much required” would be easy. Drew had been right all along when he’d invited the siblings over for dinner and said, “What happens next will change each of your life paths. It will define each of you personally.”

And Drew didn’t know two-thirds of it. At least not yet.

At that moment Will spied Jason Carson in the darkened left wing of the stage. So he’s here to make sure they get what they want, Will thought. But I have to do the right thing . . . for my family. For Sean, and my mother.

Gripping the podium, he began his speech. “I know that all of you came here today to hear about an announcement and a campaign launch,” he said slowly and deliberately. “I know that’s what all of you were expecting and anticipating. But I’m sorry to tell you, I’ve decided not to run for the United States Senate seat in New York. I’ve made this decision for personal reasons. I don’t intend to discuss those reasons now or in the future. Thank you.”

Will turned away from the podium as dozens of questions were shouted and made his way toward Jason Carson, standing in the shadows. His eyes locked with Carson’s.

“You got what you want . . . for now,” Will said, his chin lifted. “My brother comes first. My family comes first. I made the decision to protect them.”

Carson’s expression was gloating, condescending. “You did the right thing.”

“No,” Will said, “I did the necessary thing. You won this round, but I’m coming after you. So get ready.”

He paused a split second longer, just enough to see fear flicker across Jason Carson’s face. Then he exited the stage and pushed his way through the door that opened onto the crowded sidewalks of New York.

Will started walking then and didn’t look back.

He had plans to make. And they would be plans greater than any he’d ever made before.

Of that he was utterly confident.