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passions and greed of Pennsylvania voters. So there was no corruption charge that could be levelled against Conning, he
thought. No angle, no edge.
    Barnes was disappointed. Nevertheless, he made his final
decision that day, and informed his staff he would soon formally announce he
was running for the US Senate.
    To replace Thomas Conning.
    After Ezra Barnes announced his decision to run, Sybille Haskin
asked for a third meeting with Senator Conning, and was promptly granted one. What
now? He wondered.
    As usual without prologue or preface, she got to the point.
“Ezra Barnes is running for your seat.”
    “I’m confident the people of my state will…”
    “I’m not. I’d hate to lose your services after all my
efforts here, our investment in you. Did you know it costs us as much to
disguise the funds we’ve been contributing, as the amounts themselves? ConDyne
has been very careful in how it uses your information. I’m sure you realize
that. Everything you’ve given us could have come from one or more other
sources.”
    Conning found that comforting. Always good to know others
were as concerned with national security as he was.
    He breathed hard. What was this woman getting at ?
“OK,” he said, “so I understand your troubles. Do I play the violin now? We all
have our problems. But if you’ll just keep the contributions coming – and it
will be easier to hide, now that there’s an election campaign – I don’t know
what else I could do, or you could do, to re-elect me that my team isn’t doing
now, or plan to do before November. We have money, thanks to you, and
sufficient motivation.”
    “I’m sure,” Haskin replied. “Yes, I believe you’re working
hard. But if you lose this election, ConDyne will see to it you’re exposed,
reviled, perhaps put on trial.”
    Conning winced.
    “There,” Haskin concluded. “Does that help you with your
motivation?”
    Conning nodded.
    Ezra Barnes thanked his staff for their late nights and
eye-tiring screengazing. He didn’t want to tell them their efforts had turned
up nothing he could use against Conning, so he didn’t say anything. Too
discouraging , he thought. Might lead to a slackening of effort. His staff
were left with the impression some of their research had indeed found a wedge
that might be useful in the forthcoming Senate race. They mentioned this to
their closest friends. Very confidentially, of course.
    Ezra Barnes’ wish not to deflate the spirits of his staff
was one reason why in  a few months, he would lie in the middle of a parking
lot in Grantwood, Pennsylvania, surrounded by distraught supporters and
bleeding out.

Chapter 7: Four Months Before the Assassination
    Sybille Haskin had almost stopped worrying about Ezra
Barnes. Then her network of agents and informants, (most of them electronic)
once again came up with word Barnes had information that might damage Conning
in the election campaign. His own staff had been saying that to friends. It was
annoying to her that there was no consensus among the informants, as to what
this damaging information might be. Some hinted bribery, some disloyalty, some
inappropriate sex. Not with another man, Haskin was relieved to note; Pennsylvania
was not California. Yet.
    But – the next hint was Conning was having an affair with a
tall, thin, middle-aged woman from a defense contractor. That was, she thought,
so absurd as to be laughed off. But she didn’t laugh. Where had that thought
come from? She had picked up a hint of desire in Tom Conning’s expression, but
she hadn’t responded to it. Hadn’t even shaken hands with him. Conning must
meet numerous women every day, so why her?
    After a week of digging, the name “Marie” surfaced. It
wasn’t immediately clear if “Marie”, in this context, the Senator’s wife, or
someone with the same name, whom he’d been seeing on the sly.
    After another week, there was a consensus among the
electrons, Marie Conning had let slip to one of her