Page 131 of A Light in the Dark
With that done, I got my chosen victim, a nice older man named Erik, to get me set up on the network and teach me how to access my work from home. Then, as I was ready totruly conquer the former mayor, I gained access to his email address so I could begin exposing the rest of his crimes.
On my way out the door, with thirty minutes to spare, a pack of reporters caught me in the lobby.
“Madam Mayor,” a reporter from the city-state’s major television station, River TV, greeted. He had become a favorite due to his friendly demeanor, good looks, and tendency to act like a regular person when needed.
It took me a moment to remember his name. “Mr. Mortain, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, call me Valerie.”
We shook hands and smiled at each other while a flock of cameras recorded our every move.
“Robert or Robby,” the reporter replied. “Do you have a moment for a few questions?”
I made a show of checking the time on my phone. “You can have thirty minutes worth of moments, after which I’m off the clock for the day. Doctor’s orders.”
“Doctor’s orders?” he asked, his eyes widening.
“I contracted a bacterial infection while on my unexpected trip to Moonriver. I was cleared to work five hours today, and I’ll be allowed to do three hours tomorrow. After that, it’ll be day by day. As I’m not allowed to work much until I’m cleared, I’ll be entertaining my family at my home when I’m not here.”
“I hope you feel better soon, Valerie.”
“Thank you. Please, do ask your questions. If I can answer, I will. If I can’t, at least I’ll be honest about not being able to answer them. Some questions I can’t answer due to the trial against the former mayor.”
“We understand; the police have already briefed us on what we can’t ask due to the trial’s integrity. Is it true thatyou have been working to help provide evidence for the trial?”
As I couldn’t see any problems with answering that question, I nodded. “It is. It’s a top priority for me, because Stonecreek deserves better. Every last one of that man’s sins will be exposed, and every realistic charge will be pursued in court. I am also working on making certain that our refugees are safeguarded along with those like me, who were raised outside of the city-state and moved here later in life.”
As I’d given them the opening, the reporters spent ten minutes asking about me, where I’d lived before moving to Stonecreek, and what I did when I wasn’t working. I appreciated that the conversation remained just that—a conversation, albeit one they recorded.
Then, with ten minutes left to go, Robert cleared his throat before asking, “Valerie, how do you feel about having been elected?”
“Honestly, it baffles me, but now that I’m here, I can understand how someone with my skills can do this job. Right now, I’m organizing things—and organization is what I do at my actual job.” I winced. “I’m on sick leave from that one, but it’s fine. I had plenty of paid sick leave available, so I’m taking it. That’s what it’s there for. At first, I genuinely didn’t understand why someone like me would be elected to be the mayor. It’s a very important job. But then a few friends explained it to me. Stonecreek doesn’tneedsomeone who knows how to be a mayor. Stonecreek needs someone with empathy and compassion. I have those things. Stonecreek needs someone who can mediate disputes between stubborn people.” I crossed my eyes. “I love my neighbors dearly, but they’re the definition of stubborn.Living on my street is often a battle. But I learned how to compromise between different people without anyone being too upset or getting too good of a deal. Those skills translate well to being a mayor. Allasandro Stephans is going to help as needed, too.” I dug my phone out and waved it around. “I can call him whenever I need to, but so far? I haven’t needed to. I’m sure I’m going to need to as soon as I begin putting serious work into ferreting out and eliminating the corruption in the government. I don’t want Stonecreek’s legacy to be a memory of death and betrayal. In ten years, I want Stonecreek to be thought of as a humanitarian leader. We start that through our refugee efforts. We start that at home, making sure everyone can find work and nobody lives in fear of what their government might do.”
For a rather long moment, the reporters blinked at me while they digested my words. I smiled, and as I wanted to go home, I said, “I’m not a perfect person, I’ll never be a perfect person, and I’ll definitely be trying to rig things so I have to do as little work as possible five days a week. My next step is to go over the entirety of the government employee base, eradicate injustice in how we’re employing people, and fix that. Once that’s fixed, I’ll target spending. Honestly, with the charges against the former mayor and the return of stolen funds, Stonecreek is fiscally stable. Owed pay is being issued, and I’ve already spread word among the city-state’s employees to report to me if there’s anything that needs to be addressed quickly. So far, the payment issue is the biggest of the problems, and that will be resolved by Friday. I expect this process will take at least six months. Then I’ll have to look into the election process for Stonecreek, make certain what has happened previouslycan never happen again, and that every future mayor of our city-state must fill the office here in City Hall with dignity, pride, and strong ethics. Never again is my motto, and never again will we have someone like that man running this city-state, not if I have anything to do with it. Everyone in Stonecreek deserves better. And next year, when the floods come, as many people will be kept safe as possible. We will not be dredging out bodies from the flood plains if I have anything to do with it. The people come first.”
Robert Mortain offered his most charming smile. “Thank you very much, Valerie. We really appreciate that you took the time to talk with us, especially as you’re ill. Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Actually, yes. Can you please run a segment teaching everyone in the city-state how to identify poisonous berries and other plants? We have many refugees who are not aware of the dangers in our city-state, and if the television outlets and radio stations are educating people, that will be one worry off my chest. I’d also like pamphlets available for grocery stores to hand out or put on display, especially in the fresh produce sections. That’ll be on my to-do list as soon as I get a few moments.”
“That’s something we can handle,” he promised. “And if we can’t make arrangements for educational pamphlets, I’ll make certain a reminder makes it to your desk.”
“You’re a gem, Robby. Thank you very much.” As I was aware a good political leader took the time to shake hands with everyone, I did just that, and I even managed to remember many of their names. The ones I hadn’t met or seen before introduced themselves before I had a chance toembarrass myself, making my life easier. While I went over a few minutes, Joel and my parents observed from nearby.
Robert nudged everyone about my time limit, wished me well, and set me free.
I headed for the elevator at a dignified stroll, and my parents and Joel joined me. I pressed the button, reminding myself not to heave any relieved sighs until after inside and the doors closed in case anyone still recorded me. Once inside and safe from prying eyes, I released my breath in a huff. “I didn’t die, but I was concerned I might.”
“You did fabulously well,” my neighbor informed me with a grin. “We showed up right before that reporter asked you about your feelings on being elected. I thought your mom was going to dive in to try to rescue you, but then she was shocked to discover you are a self-rescuing princess. The reporters played softball with you, though.”
“They were really kind, and I told them I was ill at the start of the session.”
“Ah. That would do it, especially if you told them you were ill because of that bastard.”
I nodded.
“Good move. The people are going to see you working despite being ill, and that’s going to win a lot over. Well done.” Joel pressed the button for our floor of the garage. “However, if you’re going to dodge the next election, you need to stop doing things people will like.”
“I’m going to find someone who likes to talk to reporters to speak to the reporters so everyone is happy unless I absolutelymust, and then I’m going to seek out reporters I like, including that Robby fellow. Robby did not try to grind my bones to make his bread, and he remembered the time limitand watched it. If they respect me, I’ll respect them back, and they all managed to do that today.”
“I’m sure you’ll have some warfare with reporters eventually, but the fact they played softball with you today is a good sign. Good call on throwing Allasandro under the bus. He deserves it.”
