"Of course, although don't think I'm trying to influence you with it," I said with a smirk. I handed one to Sophie and one to the Mayor, and all of us put our toppings on. The Mayor was a chili and ketchup man, not too bad in my opinion. You can tell a lot about someone by their taste in hotdog toppings. "So what did you want to talk about?"
"Walk with me," the Mayor said, indicating towards the rest of the plaza. I nodded, and the three of us walked and ate at the same time, a rather impressive feat for Sophie who was wearing one of her sexy suits and carrying a purse and briefcase along with eating a hot dog. "You pissed off some people, but I agree with you overall."
"Then why did you have the meeting with them?" I asked, not mentioning the fact that his very own deputy mayor was one of the biggest criminals in the city. The time wasn't right yet. "You look like a hypocrite doing so."
"Most politicians have to be," the Mayor replied. "But I'd like it to be different."
"I'm sure, but I'm afraid it might be too late for you," I said, looking around. I could see that while a few people were looking at us, there was nobody who might be eavesdropping. "You know that the biggest criminal in the city works for you. Or do you work for him?"
The Mayor looked at me with a moment of panic on his face, and almost choked on the last bite of his hotdog. I, on the other hand, finished off my first dog and started on my second. "So you know too."
"For quite a while," I said, stopping and casually tucking another bit of hotdog into my mouth. I don't know what the City Hall hot dog vendors used for their product, but it was the best damn dog in the city. "And I know something else, too."
"What?" the Mayor said shakily, still recovering from the news that I knew.
"Owen Lynch is going to be caught up in all this, very soon now. If you want any chance of surviving this politically, you need to distance yourself from him immediately. Tell me, who is honest and has the balls to take him down in the state level?"
"At the state level? Nobody. Owen's got connections up there too, he's tied in with all the movers and shakers all the way to the governor's office. But if you're looking for a cop or prosecutor who's willing to take him down, Bennie Fernandez at the DOJ is your man. He's as clean as a whistle, and Owen hates his guts. If it wasn't that Bennie is kept busy chasing the small fish, Owen would have had him taken out long ago."
"I know who Fernandez is," I said. "And you're sure that he can take Lynch down?"
"If there's any evidence. But Owen didn't get to where he is without being slippery. Guy makes Teflon look like super glue."
"I know. Okay, Joe. Thanks for the information. Trust what I said though, you need to dump Lynch now. As for me and Sophie, we're leaving town tonight. We won't be back."
The Mayor nodded, and held out his hand. We shook, and the Mayor turned to leave. About halfway there, he turned back, a questioning look in his eyes. "Who are you, Marcus Smiley? Really?"
I shrugged and gave him a grin. "It's not who I am underneath that counts, but what I do that is important."
The Mayor looked at me quizzically for a moment before turning and going back towards City Hall. Sophie, who had watched the entire exchange silently, watched him go. "You think you can trust him?"
"Yeah. He knows he's in league with dirt, but he's tried his best to be as clean as a politician can be in this city. Besides, he was legit on Bennie Fernandez. Sal Giordano hates that guy too. I'm only worried about one thing."
Sophie watched the Mayor start up the steps to City Hall. "What's that?"
"How anyone can consider themselves worthy of leading a city and not get such an obvious Batman reference. Come on, let's go home."
Chapter 49
Sophie
The news reports were buzzing when Mark and I came home that evening. The bomb at the airport had gotten the attention of Homeland Security and the FBI since it happened on an airfield, and rumors were already swirling that there were things found in the warehouse that were connected to Owen Lynch. I sipped at my tea and looked at Mark. "Had you planned on that?"
"No, but I'm not surprised. Actually it's a bit of a setback," I said. "While it hurts Lynch, the problem is it takes heat out of the Confederation. We're going to have to really make sure the next one goes smooth."
Tabby came in, dressed to kill in a business suit that looked more appropriate on Sophie Warbird than Tabby Williams. Still, she filled it well. "Hey you two, you need to make your departure."
"You're right," Mark said, sighing and finishing off his own tea. He was dressed in cargo pants and a sweatshirt, and I had a moment of deja vu as I thought of the night that Mark and I had first fled the city, the clothes were so similar. "You ready?"
I nodded my head and got up. "I'm going to miss the purple hair," I said, running my fingers through it. As part of our plan to disappear, I was going to go back to my regular shade of brown while also getting a short haircut. "I kinda felt like a superhero with it."