DAMON, IN HIS ROLE AS CROSBY WHEELER, WAS PLEASED WITH the way the show had turned out and had made sure that all the comments in favor of Jefferson Health populated first on the UBC website. Karen had known from the outset what the true spin of the story was going to be, having forfeited her journalistic integrity in exchange for Crosby’s silence regarding her husband’s side hobby. Karen’s husband had a predilection for his young interns, many of whom he’d pressured into physical relationships. When Crosby had shown Karen the video of the last young girl, the youngest yet at only seventeen, she begged him to bury it. Her career would be ruined if it came out that not only was she married to a lecherous misogynist, but that she’d known about it and done nothing to stop him. The face of journalistic fairness and justice, Karen was beloved by the American public, and her livelihood depended on it staying that way. So she went along with whatever Crosby asked rather than endure public scandal, though he thought he’d seen her flinch when he ordered her to change this story.
Damon sipped his morning coffee while reading the newspaper. He took a moment to imagine next week’s headlines: PRESIDENT GOES ON KILLING SPREE. Of course his people would come up with something far catchier, but he’d keep the paper as a souvenir for years to come.
He looked back to that day’s paper and froze when he turned to the classifieds section.
Rare coins dating back to time of Christ. Set of ten from original 30. Guaranteed authentic. Serious inquiries only, email fatherbpottersfield@gmail.com. He read the ad three more times. Who the hell had run it? Could it really be the Judas coins? Which set were they? The ten that had been in Jerusalem, under the church’s watch? There was only one way to find out. He went to one of his untraceable email accounts and typed:
Interested in coins. Who was original owner?
If they gave him the right answer, then he’d take it to the next step and meet them. It would make things so much easier if he could get his hands on another ten. It might even help him figure out how to make the set complete. As soon as he hit send, he turned his attention to a bank transaction he needed to complete. Ten million into Brody Hamilton’s offshore account and another ten into Leonard Reed’s. A final payment of another ten to Leonard Reed after the White House doctor administered the vaccine to the president on live television. The next day, the Ravage would take over and the president would behave like all the others had and then be found to have meth in his system. The country would be in shock, and while they mourned, Brody Hamilton would step in and restore order.
Hamilton’s time in the Senate had been well spent, and as president, he’d have no problem getting the bills passed that Damon would feed him. He’d begin by finally making euthanasia legal. He’d start with the easy win—doctor-assisted suicide. But before long, he’d extend the law to doctor-directed end-of-life decisions. Those who had outlived their usefulness to society would be put down. The bioethicists would continue to do their job of framing life in terms of utility. And with the rising cost of health care in this country, people would be willing to accept that resources needed to be used wisely. The threat of more increases in health-care costs due to the burden of the old and infirm would be enough to convince most people that it was time to embrace euthanasia as other countries had done. Anything was possible if it was framed properly. After all, what kind of quality of life was there for someone old and sick?
By the time he was finished, individual freedom would be an abstract concept. Hamilton had three years left before the term would expire, and by the time he’d carried through all of Damon’s plans, it wouldn’t matter if he was reelected or not. Three years was enough time for Damon to destroy America. By then, he and Evan would be living across the Atlantic and Damon would begin his work in Europe.