The Peace Proxy: Part 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

provided information for
the groundbreaking articles that had boosted Garrett’s career. That
was until two years ago when Mercury put
Garrett on a collision course with Senator Rimes. The construct was
elaborate, involving multiple offshore accounts, but simple in its
premise. The Senator would purchase undeveloped commercial properties, and the companies wishing to
procure his influence would buy them at three or four times the
amount paid. In some of the most egregious cases, the company
buying the land was the original owner who had sold it to the
Senator well below market value at the scheme’s inception. The
transactions were always executed through
several degrees of separation for both
parties. The story broke at the most crucial time in Senator Rimes’
reelection campaign. The campaign did not survive the scandal and,
after the truth was revealed , Garrett’s career
followed suit. During his investigation, Garrett met with and
received depositions from multiple witnesses corroborating the
fraud. After the article was published , they
disappeared, along with their carefully tailored backgrounds.
According to official records, they had never existed. Mercury had
provided all the contacts.
    The man offered his hand in that time-honored gesture meant to demonstrate affability for
the newly acquainted. Garrett’s emotions were taking his body in
another direction. His clenched fist lashed out, contacting the
other man’s jaw with a loud crack. When Garrett later recalled the
events of this meeting, it seemed that the appendage acted of its own volition, while the rest of him watched
with the apathy of a detached bystander. The punch had its intended
effect and the man Garrett knew as Mercury fell flat on his back
with a resounding thud.
    Garrett stood over the fallen figure. “You
set me up,” he accused between ragged breaths.
    The man moaned as he rolled over. Using one
hand against the floor, he recovered to his
knees while his other hand stemmed the flow of blood from his
broken lip.
    With his back still to Garrett, he swore
loudly. “Damn it. I didn't set you up.” He stood as he spoke and
slowly turned to face Garrett. He met Garrett’s incensed stare as
he massaged his jaw with his right hand and added, “We both got
burned on that investigation.”
    Garrett sensed the truth of the man’s
assertion, but the frustration of struggling for
years to reestablish his credibility left his anger
unabated. “I didn't read anything in the paper about you losing
your job.”
    “Well, that's the downside of being the front man. You get the glory, but
you also bear the burden if things go bad.”
    “Interesting philosophy. How do I know you
are who you say?” Garrett questioned.
    “I've been working with you for seven
years.”
    “Wrong,” Garrett interrupted, “I worked with Mercury for five years.”
    “We're still working together,” the man
countered. “Do you think recordings of Governors
engaged in embezzlement and their off-shore bank account records
are delivered by the information fairy ?”
    “I haven't disclosed the bank records yet,”
Garrett admitted. Knowing the accusation against Governor Weller
would generate considerable intrigue, Charlie had elected to
release the financial details in a follow-up article to garner
additional attention for the Herald. “So you're the anonymous
source?”
    “Yeah, I gave you Weller,” he shot Garrett a
sidelong glance. “ Actually, you kind of
screwed that up.”
    “Everybody's a critic,” Garrett responded
dryly. “Is that what this is about?”
    “Nah, what do I care if you killed him
instead of wrote a story.”
    “I didn’t…,” Garrett protested, but the man stopped him with a wave of his
hand as he laughed.
    “I’m just playing with you,” the man
replied. He had a rare, childlike enthusiasm that gave him leave to
joke when he was clearly in dire straits. That trait
probably contributed to his success as someone who could