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leverage – something he could hold over Conning – maybe. He
ordered his staff to find some dirt, if there was dirt. Not to manufacture
dirt, even though other politicians did that. Barnes was honorable, in his way;
he’d screw people to the wall, only if he thought they’d deserved it.
    Sybille Haskin and her employers were concerned with the
emergence of Ezra Barnes as a viable candidate to challenge Thomas Conning for
his Senate seat. They actually didn’t care if Conning was a Senator or not, but
they needed him to be President in two years. A defeated incumbent wouldn’t be
viable, so he had to be re-elected.
    Haskin’s wide network of information sources, consisting of several
superficially innocent people and computer apps, soon became aware Barnes was
not merely going to challenge Thomas Conning for the Senate (which she had
already assumed), but had ‘something on him’. This intelligence had come from a
FOAF who knew someone who worked in Barnes’ office as a sub. As became clear
later, however, this intelligence was in error: Barnes had nothing real on
Conning. But the sub didn’t know that, and then the FOAF didn’t know that, and
eventually Haskin didn’t know it either.
    Her first thought, was her role in the corruption of Thomas Conning
had been detected, and leaked to Congressman Barnes. But no, that would have
been re-leaked to the FBI and The Washington Post immediately,
and she would already have been apprehended. Or had Conning himself said something
about the source of his new millions? Or, stupidly enough, had Conning thanked
the Chairman of ConDyne for his contributions, to which Conning would have
received the cautious, flowery equivalent of “Huh?”
    Being a professional in her business, Haskin immediately
decided Barnes was a threat that needed to be removed, permanently. She
consulted with her employers, and they concurred.
    Thomas Conning heard a disturbing rumor. In fact, it was the
same rumor Haskin had just heard, although from a different source: Barnes’
staff was nosing around. What had they caught the scent of? Not Tidewater, he
was pretty sure. Then it must be the ConDyne deal. How the hell did that leak? The
woman had been seen, twice, in Conning’s office, but lots of people came and went
every day, including contractor reps. What had set her apart?
    And then it occurred to him: his wife Marie had seen her
that day. Marie was the suspicious type, especially after the time with that
woman in Lancaster, who’d also been about the same age, tall, dark clothing, mean
looking, even fierce. Yes, he had a weakness. He’d paid no attention to the young,
busty, and slightly overweight blondes in his office who’d tried to flirt with
him; none at all. In that way, he had accidentally acquired a reputation for
being unseduceable; rare for a politician. But Marie knew better.
    Ezra Barnes was pondering rumors he’d been hearing about
Senator Thomas Conning, that Conning had sold his vote and was a minion (great
word – have to use it in a speech – but would anyone understand it? Sounds like
a fish – better not use ‘minion ’). Of whom or what, no one seemed to know.
His House staff had sniffed out some rumors, but couldn’t substantiate them.
    Barnes had one possible edge. He’d thought he had an edge
anyway, until that very morning. Those rumors that Conning had some ethical
issues, was doing something that, if not provably illegal, would at least be
contrary to Senate rules and worthy of official censure? Yes, those. Meaty but
nebulous. The most likely possibility, whispers had it, was that Conning was
selling his vote in exchange for those enormous campaign contributions he’d
been obliged to report lately.
    Barnes’ staff had been diligently reviewing Conning’s voting
record, both on the floor and, more importantly, in committees. But they had
come up blank: the Senator’s votes had been party-line all the way, except for
a few when he’d had to accede to the