Ashes to Ashes Ch. 02

The idea for this story was inspired by an idea from a reader. If you haven't read chapter one yet, I suggest you do so to fully understand the story.

The references to an incident involving President Pierce, the former First Lady and Speaker of the House come from a previous story, "Revenge in Advance: The Briefing."

The first chapter prompted a lot of questions from readers -- hopefully, this chapter will help answer those questions. And for those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper...

As always, constructive comments are always welcome and appreciated. Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc.

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Ending of Ashes to Ashes, Ch. 01:

John quietly motioned for everyone to leave, which they did. He hugged his children and quietly got into his truck, having already packed everything he would need. He took one last look at the house and drove away, a tear sliding down his face.

April remained draped over the headstone, crying uncontrollably, long after everyone but her children had left. They stayed behind as John had requested to look after their mother. She remained there for the entire night, soaking the ground with her tears. Surely, she thought, this was just a cruel joke and her husband would be back to exhume the mementos of their wedding. She never thought he had it in him to do... this.

...

Three and a half months later, John left the bungalow where he had been staying in the Florida Keys and headed to Miami, where he would board the ship for his 200-day around-the-world cruise that would end in New York. He had a new phone and a new number, having turned the old one off. He didn't want to hear from April and he certainly didn't want to talk to any reporters.

Only six people had his new number -- his attorney, his parents, who were looking after his truck, the children and George, the man now acting as the interim CEO of his business. He received regular updates from George and knew the business he built from scratch was in good hands.

He chose not to stay glued to the news, but learned from Mark, his friend and attorney, that Senator Jenkins resigned in disgrace and was facing a nasty divorce and several federal charges. Several others had also resigned their positions and were facing divorce as well. Doug was forced to resign and publicly apologize for his role in the destruction of April's marriage. His estranged wife was in the process of cleaning him out in a nasty divorce.

April had been brought up on ethics charges but had resigned before anything could come of them. She still faced other inquiries by government agencies, including the Federal Election Commission, however.

His funeral service got Jack and Robert their spot on the Drudge Report, and their blog was now going gangbusters with ongoing stories of corruption and sexual depravity in high places. They had even been featured on several prominent cable talk shows. Some publicly speculated that Jenkins and his cronies may have been tied to the coup attempt against President Pierce, but so far, no solid evidence supporting that allegation had been found.

The story of his funeral service had gone viral, as he suspected it would, but it was quickly replaced by other news, like the trials of the now-disgraced former Speaker of the House and the First Lady. It seemed that Washington was knee-deep in one scandal after another and confidence in the government was at an all-time low.

Mark said April objected to the settlement he offered, arguing that she didn't deserve any of the marital assets due to her actions and refused to sign. All she wanted was her car, her clothes and her personal property. Mark made the changes and April signed the paperwork without hesitation. In short, what would have been a 50-50 split became a 100-0 split in his favor. In a few months, the divorce would be final.

"It's the damnedest thing," Mark said. "She didn't even get an attorney. Took responsibility for the whole thing and said you were being far too generous to her. She even offered to pay rent if you would let her stay in the apartment over the garage."

"Really?" John asked.

"Yes," Mark said. "She resigned her office the very next day and pulled out of the election. Good thing she did. It seems someone (cough, cough) filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee against her." John laughed at that. He knew that Mark had filed the complaint on his behalf the day the divorce paperwork was filed with the court. "There's more. Senator Jenkins and others are under investigation on several charges, including blackmail. You probably know that she was drugged the first time and later coerced into having sex with multiple men. And it seems April's not the first one they've done this to."

"She still should've come to me with it," John said. "There's no excuse for what she did."

"I tend to agree," Mark said. "But you should know that there were some extenuating circumstances behind all this. She still loves you, you know."

"I know," John said. "I still love her too, but there's no way I can accept what she did."

"I understand," Mark said. "You have a safe trip, I'll be in touch."

"Thanks," John said. Ending the call, John thought about what Mark had said. He knew April still loved him, but in his mind, there was no excuse for what she had put him through. Moreover, a part of him still loved her and missed having her with him, but her actions and disrespect had all but burned that love away. In his mind, this should have been their retirement cruise.

According to the children, April had suffered a bout of depression, and, when she was at home, spent most of that time next to the gravestone, crying or talking to herself. She was so distraught, they said, that she was nearly put into a mental health facility for her own safety. They also said she moved into the small apartment over the garage over their objections.

John walked up the gangplank to the huge cruise ship and was escorted to his luxury stateroom. He was shocked to see two beds in the stateroom. He turned to the man who escorted him to the cabin.

"Why are there two beds here?" he asked. "I paid for a private cabin."

"I'm sorry, sir," he said, consulting a tablet. "But there's another passenger who was booked in this room as well. If you like, I can speak to the person in charge of cabin assignments and see if we can get you a private cabin."

"Yes, do that," John said. He threw his bags on the bunk and looked at himself in the mirror. Those three and a half months in the Florida Keys had done him a world of good. He spent his time running on the beach and working out in a local gym. He even spent time at a local dojo. He had taken martial arts while in college and liked the mental discipline it gave him.

As a result, he had lost weight and his skin was no longer a pasty white. The time spent working out had gone a long way to easing the pain and hatred he felt at the funeral. He had let his hair grow out and now sported a short, but full beard. He had even started smoking a cigar at the end of the day, enjoying his smoke with a large sniffer of brandy.

He began putting his things away when he heard the cabin door open. He turned to see who was coming in and saw... April.

"John?" she asked. "Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's me," he said. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You don't think I'd let you cruise around the world without me, do you?" she asked.

"But... but," he began. April cut him off.

"But we're getting divorced, is that what you were going to say?" she asked, smiling.

"Yeah," he said. "What about your career and your campaign?" He knew she resigned, but wanted to see her response. She smiled and walked up to him. God even though she lost weight, she still looked good, he thought.

"Well, I resigned the day after the funeral and dropped out of the race. You should've seen the new Speaker's face when I told him. He was furious but I told him he could kiss my lily-white ass if he didn't like it. I'm done with politics for good. Besides, the divorce isn't final yet," she said.

"We still have a few months left as husband and wife," she added. "I'd prefer to spend that time making things up with you. That is, if you'll have me." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I know I screwed things up royally, but I'd like a chance to set things right. Please? You never even gave me a chance to explain myself. I still love you and I miss you so much." John had to admit to himself that he never did give her a chance to explain and the truth was that he missed her as well.

"I miss you, too," he said. "And I still love you. What you did just hurt so much." She wrapped her arms around him.

"I know," she said. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for everything. I hope that after I explain you can forgive me. Even if you can't maybe we can be, you know, friends with benefits. You're the only man I really want." He looked at her carefully but saw no sign of deceit in her face.

"You're the only woman I ever wanted," he said. She looked him over before speaking.

"I see three months in the Florida Keys has done you some good," she said. "You kinda remind me of that guy in those beer commercials. You know, the 'most interesting man in the world.'" He chuckled.

"Stay thirsty, my friends," he said in a mock Spanish accent. She laughed. It was the first time in months she had a truly good laugh. "Wait, how did you know I was in the Keys?"

"Well, I still have a friend or two on the Intelligence Committee," she said. "It didn't take much, really. A phone call or two, that's all."

"Do the kids know you're here?" he asked.

"Yes, they do," she said. "They think it's a great idea and they told me not to come home until we've reconciled." She looked at the cigars in his shirt pocket. "What's this?" she asked. "Are you smoking now? You know these things are bad for your health." She pulled a cigar out of his pocket and looked at it closely.

"Yeah, I like to finish my day with a nice cigar and a sniffer of brandy," he said. "Besides, I figured with everything else going on, what the hell..." She smiled and nodded her head.

"Well, at least you have good taste in cigars," she said. "I hope you don't like to smoke alone."

"Why, do you smoke too?" he asked. She laughed.

"I could get used to it," she said. "Besides, I've heard these things can be used for something else, if you know what I mean." He recalled the stories he once heard about a former president who allegedly used cigars on a mistress and smiled. Looking at his open luggage, she saw an unopened box of condoms. "What's this?" she asked. "Are you looking to get lucky?"

"Well, I've heard about some of these cruises and I wanted to be prepared," he said. "I had planned to wait until the divorce was final, though."

"Maybe if things work out, you won't need them," she said. She pulled a piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to him. "And before you ask, I went down the day after the funeral and got myself tested. As you can see, I'm clean."

"That was probably a very wise thing to do," he said, looking at the paper she handed him.

"I have to admit, that funeral was a stroke of genius," she said, "It really made me realize what I had done to you -- to us. I've done some incredibly stupid things, and I hope you'll at least give me the chance to tell you what happened."

"I know you were drugged the first time," he said. "Maybe other times as well, and I know that you were blackmailed into doing what Senator Jenkins wanted."

"If you know all that, why the funeral, and why the divorce?" she asked.

"I didn't learn about that until afterward," he said. "But there was more. You have no idea the hell you put me through the last year. You treated me like crap -- like I was just a servant you could order around. I simply couldn't take it anymore." She nodded her head.

"I understand," she said. "Maybe I didn't at the time, but I do now. And that's why I want to at least try to put things back together. I'll make you a deal."

"What's that?" John asked.

"You give me a fair hearing and we try to make it work," she said. "Scream at me, hit me, call me names, fuck me like a two-bit whore, do whatever you need to do, even if that means fucking someone else in front of me. I'll understand. If we can't get it together in the next two months, I'll leave. We'll let the divorce go through and you'll never see nor hear from me again. Deal?" John thought about her offer for a moment.

"Okay," he said. "I'll give you two months. We'll see where we are then and go from there. But you should know that it's not going to be a cakewalk. You hurt me worse than you could ever know."

"I know," she said. "And I'm truly sorry. Maybe if you knew the whole story you'd understand a little bit better."

"We seem to have plenty of time," he said. "This is a 200-day cruise, you know." She nodded her head.

"Okay," she said. "Do you want a full play-by-play or the Reader's Digest version?"

"I've seen enough play-by-play in the videos and the pictures," he said. "The abridged version will do for now, but I may ask you to clarify some things."

"Fair enough," she said. "It all started about 16 months ago. We had passed a huge budget and the president just signed it. Senator Jenkins held a victory party at his place. Of course, there was a lot of alcohol. And dancing, and some flirting. Someone handed me a drink and I felt odd after I drank it. I can't describe it completely, but I kinda blacked out for a while. The next thing I know, I woke up in Jenkins' bed. With him and another man. I don't remember what happened that night at all. I got dressed and went back to my apartment. I tried not to think of it and hoped it wasn't as bad as I had feared. Then the senator came by a couple days later with a huge envelope full of pictures. He also had a USB stick with video. He told me I had a choice -- either go along with him or face the consequences."

"Why didn't you tell me this at the time?" John asked.

"He threatened me," she said. "He told me that if I ever said anything to anyone -- especially you -- that he would destroy you and your business. John, he was the chairman of the Banking Committee -- the Senate committee that regulates your industry. And he had very powerful and influential friends. He's the type of guy no one crosses. Those who do usually end up disappeared or dead under mysterious circumstances if you know what I mean." John considered her words before speaking.

"So he threatened to go after me if you didn't obey him?" John asked. April nodded her head.

"Yes, he did," she said.

"So why didn't you go to the authorities?" he asked.

"I did," she said. "I reached out to the FBI and I've been working with them on the down-low ever since. I wanted to tell you about everything, but they told me not to. You don't understand, John," she said. "Until the coup attempt on the president, people like Jenkins did whatever they wanted. There's a two-tier system of justice in this country -- one for people like you, average people who just try to obey the law and make an honest living, and another for people like Senator Jenkins."

"What about the allegations of sex for donations or favors?" John asked. "Were those accurate?"

"I'm ashamed to say that yes, those were all true as well," she said. "Jenkins had me and a few others in his 'stable' that he would sometimes hand over to powerful donors."

"Stable?" John asked. "So he was a fucking pimp and you were just one of his prostitutes. Figures. Who else was in this stable?"

"At least two other female members of the House, a bunch of staffers and interns," she said. "That's part of what I was doing. I was giving the FBI information about Jenkins' operation, who was involved and that sort of thing. You remember that staffer who was found shot in Fort Marcy Park a few years ago?"

"Vaguely," John said. "What was his name? Andy Rich?"

"Yes," she said. "They called it a suicide. Said he shot himself in the head. A few bloggers tried to get to the bottom of it, but they were shut down and castigated as conspiracy theorists. They were even banned off social media for writing about it. You remember me talking about that?"

"A little bit," he said. "What does that have to do with you?"

"Well," she said. "What wasn't released to the public was the fact that he was hogtied and shot in the back of the head with a shotgun at point blank range. His wife was part of Jenkins' stable. She confided to me that her husband found out about it and tried to step in. Even threatened Jenkins if it didn't stop. A few days later, he was found dead. You connect the dots." John shook his head in disbelief.

"Holy fuck," he said. "So, what did you get out of all this, besides a lot of sex?" John asked.

"I got a cut of the donations," she said. "And endorsements."

"What was Simpson's role?" John asked.

"He was my minder, if you will," she said. "He worked for Jenkins years ago and later became a local Party official. His job was to make sure I didn't do anything to expose Jenkins or his ring when I was home."

"And the sex with him was just a way to keep you under control?" John asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Did you ever give me his sloppy seconds or feed me his cum?" John asked. April's face turned white. "I saw his messages to you. And I saw your response. What was it? 'Oh yeah, like always,' or something like that. Well?"

"You saw that?" she asked.

"Yes, the night you two came back from the Marriot after the fundraiser," he said. "Hell, I did everything but tell you flat out I knew exactly what you were going to do and you left me anyway."

"No, John," she said. "I never did that. I would never do that to you. I just told him that. I always cleaned myself up and I never, ever gave you sloppy seconds."

"I'm sorry, April, but I have a hard time believing you," he said. April pulled out her phone.

"Then believe this," she said. "The day I left Washington to come home, I messaged Doug and told him it was over. I also told him I lied about giving you sloppy seconds. Look for yourself." John took her phone and read the messages. Sure enough, that's what her messages said. Doug wasn't too happy about it, telling her she'd regret her decision. He handed the phone back to her.

"So, you were lying to me while you were cheating on me and then you lied to your lover," he said, chuckling. "Be honest," he said. "Did you enjoy all of this?"

"Honestly, a small part of me did," she said. "It was exciting and after a while I got a kick out of doing things behind your back. But a big part of me hated it. I hated what I was being forced to do and I hated being used like that."

"When I saw you with Simpson, it sure looked to me like you enjoyed it," he said.

"You saw me with him, too?" she asked, shocked.

"Yeah, at the fundraiser," he said. "I heard what you told him and it cut me to the bone. I also got video of you with him in his room at the Marriot. Turns out that's where he took all of the girls he was screwing. That's why I have serious trust issues with you right now." She started crying.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "It was just trash talk. I really didn't mean any of it."

"So when did you decide to start disrespecting me?" he asked.

"There wasn't a set date," she said. "I guess after a while I just started seeing you the same way Jenkins and his cronies did. They made it clear to me that you were just a prop, a tool to use for my election. That was part of it."

"What was the other part?" he asked.

"My contact at the FBI said I needed to convince them that I was going along with what they had planned so I could get more information," she said.