Run into Trouble

thing. “Take off his cuffs and let him clean himself up. I’ll go up and talk to Mr. Messinger.”
    With his hands free, Drake was allowed to use a bathroom that opened off the recreation room. He went inside and shut the door. It didn’t have any windows, so he couldn’t escape, even if he wanted to. He wiped the blood from his eye and forehead with a paper towel and examined his head in the mirror. The cut should probably have a couple of stitches, but it had pretty much stopped bleeding. As the man said, he would live.
    He came out of the bathroom to find that the man without a gun now had a gun. They still didn’t trust him. He tried to engage the guard in small talk but found that his supply of small talk was very small. Drake sat back down in the chair and waited for Casey.
    In a short time he heard footsteps coming down the stairs at the other side of the room. Casey appeared, followed by the guard. Casey was dressed in sport clothes. He spotted Drake and came striding across the room.
    “Drake, what are you doing here?”
    “I heard my father was here, so I thought I’d come and say hello.”
    “What happened to your head? Did they do this to you?”
    “No, I tripped in the dark.”
    “Sorry. I forget how dark it gets.”
    He spoke to the guard who had been watching Drake.
    “Bennie, you can go back on patrol. Keep those outside lights on. We don’t need another accident.” And to the other one, “Artie, wait just outside the door and keep it open.”
    Bennie and Artie went through the outside doorway. Casey pulled one of the other chairs away from the table and sat down, facing Drake. Drake measured the distance to the stairs from where he sat and from the doorway. The doorway was closer to the stairs.
    Casey said, “As you apparently already know, I’m holding a meeting here tonight.”
    “If I could just speak to him for a few minutes—”
    “How did you find out about it? Did your dad tell you?”
    “No. I…” Drake stopped, not having a ready answer.
    Casey eyed him closely. “What are you doing here, anyway? You should be resting tonight. Tomorrow’s the final leg of the race, and you’ve got a shot at a million.”
    “I thought this was more important.”
    Casey didn’t ask the obvious incredulous question. He appeared to be mulling over what to say. Drake waited for him to speak first, which he did.
    “I get the feeling that you’re not wholeheartedly behind me.”
    “I don’t like to see the Constitution trampled.”
    “I’m not here to have a constitutional debate with you, but as you know the founders of our country sanctioned rebellion in defense of freedom.”
    “Defense of freedom? You’re overthrowing the government in the name of freedom?”
    “Freedom from attack by a foreign power.”
    So many rebuttals came to Drake’s mind that he was momentarily speechless. “Isn’t that the job of our duly elected president and members of Congress? And another thing. You talk about freedom, and yet you advocate taking the property of everyone who lives on the coast.”
    “They will be compensated.”
    “But what choice do they have? What’s next, taking everyone else’s property ‘in the national interest’?”
    “Speaking of interest, it’s in your interest to join us. I’ve got the top military brass here, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. We’re the winning side, Drake. By tomorrow morning, we’ll control the government.”
    “The military is under civilian control. The president is the Commander in Chief.”
    “Starting tomorrow I’m going to be the civilian control. But don’t worry. It’s a bloodless coup. This will become the Western White House. I’m expecting you to finish the race. You’ll collect your per diem, and you’ve got a shot at really big money. Besides, there’s a place for you in my administration.”
    “Let me talk to my father.”
    “Sorry, there’s no time for that right now. I’ve got to get back to the meeting. I’m going to have Artie keep an eye on you until the meeting’s over. I suggest you rest in that reclining chair over there, try to get some sleep. After the meeting we’ll get you back to your motel.”
    It couldn’t be as simple as Casey said. Typically, overthrowing a government required lots of bullets and bloodshed. But if he had the military behind him… Drake remembered something.
    “It’s not a completely bloodless coup, is it? What about Grace?”
    Casey looked surprised, then