A God in Ruins - Leon Uris [177]
“Well, just travel right into the riot spots.”
“That could be messy. I think…I think we buy two thirty-minute time slots a day, one at noon, one at eight in the evening, and we’ll do a combination infomercial/up-to-the-minute report.”
Darnell Jefferson turned on his heel. “Darnell! Do not leave!” Darnell’s hand dropped from the door knob. “Now, what is it you know you didn’t know before?”
“All about my life,” Darnell said. “It isn’t very interesting.”
“Sit down, have a drink,” Thornton said. “This thing could be volatile, because—”
“Because you want it to become volatile,” Darnell said, looking down, then into the President’s eyes. “You want some more bombs to go off, cemeteries desecrated, synagogues burned to the ground, Kristallnacht, you want a Kristallnacht. Then their big daddy president will move in and save the day. You want to deliberately start Joy Streets late so you can take on the role of savior.”
“Are you trying to say I’m orchestrating these riots?”
“You knew they would happen, brother. And you knew you could have stopped them dead in their tracks a half hour ago. But there is more. You want some blood on the streets as well. Every time someone is killed or wounded, the pressure mounts on O’Connell to quit and withdraw.”
“That’s diabolical!” Thornton protested.
“It sure is. Thornton, stick this in your craw. Every casualty that puts pressure on O’Connell puts even more pressure on you.”
Thornton turned his eyes away.
“It’s down to simple math. If the people believe O’Connell, they will vote him into office next week,” Darnell said. “If they believe you, they will vote to reelect you.”
Tomtree averted his eyes from his friend’s piercing glare in a manner he had not done since they were teenagers.
Darnell became a bundle of sweating, pleading. “God, man, stop these riots!”
Knowing that Thornton was not going to budge, Darnell backed off, broken, to whine: “I’ve been following a black-hearted man all my life. My daddy believed there was a bright star in the east the night you were born. Like Jesus! ‘Thornton’s mind can go into places where no one can follow. He will achieve ultimate greatness for himself and for the human race.’ I believed that, too. I believed you would never make a decision that knowingly put America in danger.”
“That’s enough, Darnell.”
“No, it isn’t. The reason you are doing this tonight is that seed already planted in a gangly, pimply excuse for a basketball player in Pawtucket. You were pissed then, and you’re pissed now. World! T3 is going to even up the score for his friendless life.”
“I said, that is enough!”
Darnell ignored him. “The Bulldog Network, absolute secrecy guaranteed. A paragon of human achievement. Why did Thornton Tomtree love that? Big-time greed is where the power is, where the big bucks play. Greed is the curse of making yourself a deity in your own eyes up to a point where you cannot manage a human relationship. Greed is justifying any and all means of control. You’re an electronic monster! We have a president uncaring of how many people are killed on the streets so long as he wins his reelection.”
“I knew you’d end up weeping on your knees, big-time, when the going got tough. You didn’t know what the presidency is all about,” Thornton said.
Hugh Mendenhall slipped in.
“Muslims stirring up a riot in Detroit. That’s a very incendiary place. Michigan governor Grayson McKenney has just called up the National Guard.”
“Goddammit! Grayson’s a Republican. He should have called me first!”
“At the moment AMERIGUN is setting up for a TV and website blast starting in the morning. Otherwise, these brush fires continue to pop up.”
“Colorado?” Thornton snapped. “Has O’Connell called up his guard?”
“Negative. Nothing seems to be happening in Denver.”
“Any idea how we might set Denver off?” Thornton asked.
“I don’t fucking believe this!” Darnell cried.
“Sit down and shut up, Darnell.”
More news of rioting. The downtown areas