Nathaniel's Chorus. Gary Lightfoot

      “Don’t forget that she’ll also be paid off, once I finish the painting.” Neil says after swallowing his bite of doughnut.

      Nancy follows Uncle Carroll out; as they walk he says to her, “those boys mean the world to me. You let me know what I can do.”

      Neil joins Nathan as they eat a few doughnuts and drink their coffee. As they’re sitting on the couch, Nathan begins to replay yesterday’s tape of Senator Branch listing the charges against Nathaniel.

      “Senator Foot, do you understand the charges that I have just listed?”

      Neil interrupts the recording,

      “Wait Junior, back it up to where he lists the charges.”

      Nathan rewinds the tape until he thinks it’s far enough. He then presses PLAY,

      Senator Jeremiah Branch, is preaching in his heaviest southern drawl,

      “We will show that you have been involved with the terrorist group known as tri-P and that you have been willingly providing sensitive intelligence information to the tri-P. We will show that this, aforementioned intelligence, has been used in the planning and funding of assassinations.”

      Senator Branch pauses for effect, looking to the gallery for a response. But the response is muted, having just recently tossed most of the gallery out, leaving only a handful of media to cover the event. Senator Branch sits back in his chair as his aide who is standing behind him leans down to tell him something.

      “I wish we could hear what that aide is telling him.” Neil says under his breath.

      Nathan agrees, “yeah, me too.”

      Nathan pauses the tape, freezing the image on screen, “That guy looks real familiar, doesn’t he?”

      “I don’t know Junior, once a guy puts on a suit, they all look alike.”

      Nathan discounts his thought and presses PLAY. As the tape plays, he stops it again. “Look at that guy, we know him.”

      Neil sits up and stares at the screen. “From where?”

      Nathan picks the photo album up from the table in front of them and begins paging through it, “The Teams”

      Neil relaxes back into the couch, “Dude, that’s a long time ago.”

      “I know, but trust me Neil.”

      Neil knows not to argue with Nathan’s memory and asks where another album is.

      “Junior, let me help, where do you keep those?”

      “In the bottom of the side table.”

      Neil walks over to the side table and begins to open the cabinet door. As he does he sees the letters from Nathaniel.

      “Hey Junior, when did you get your last letter from Nathaniel?”

      Nathan looks up at Neil, “About a month ago, I guess?”

      “Yep, me too.”

      Neil pulls out several albums and then sits back on the couch next to Nathan, as he begins to look through one of the albums he says, “Junior, we looked pretty good back then.”

      As Nancy enters the room she says, “You guys still look good.”

      Neil nudges Nathan in the side with his elbow, “She said I look good.”

      Nathan nudges Neil back, “Lil bro, she said I look good.”

      Nancy steps in, “I said you BOTH look good,” she leans down and gives Nathan a kiss, and then pinches his check and says, “and I love you.”

      Nathan says, “See, she loves me!” as he does he slugs Neil in the shoulder.

      Neil grabs his shoulder and says, “Dude, that hurt!”

      The two brothers begin to wrestle on the couch, as they do the PLAY on the remote is pressed and the tape begins to run. The two brothers stop wrestling and look at the TV. As they do the aide behind Senator Branch, begins to stand up, as he does he moves awkwardly. Nathan lets Neil fall off the couch and onto the floor and begins looking through the album again.

      “I think I know who that is.”

      Neil gets up from the floor and stretches his back, while rubbing his shoulder. He picks up the remote and begins to pause, rewind, play and then pause the tape again.

      “Junior, watch this.”

      Nathan finds the picture he was looking for and asks Neil to look at the album as he looks at the TV. They swap places, now Neil is staring at the album while Nathan is standing in front of the TV.

      Together they say, “It’s him!”

      Nancy, totally confused says, “Who him?”

      Nathan points at the aide standing behind the Senator and then points at the picture in the album. Nancy isn’t convinced,

      “I don’t know guys, they sort of look similar. Who is he?”

      Nathan punches Neil in the same shoulder he hit earlier and says, “It’s Neil’s sore shoulder that gave it away.”

      “Yeah thanks Junior.”

      The two brothers go on to explain that one of the team’s members was wounded in the shoulder. He was a medic and knew that the wound needed to be treated, but he continued on their mission helping other soldiers until the infection was so bad that he was transported home for more medical care.

      Neil presses SLOW motion and watches as the aide stands up and awkwardly adjusts his shoulder when he stands upright.

      “I’d bet that he’s still in pain, and that he’s trying to medicate it himself.”

      Nathan reaches for the phone and asks for someone to find Nathaniel’s friend and lawyer’s phone number. “Find Jeff’s number, we’ve got to get a message to Nathaniel.”

      Nancy, getting a little impatient, demands, “Okay boys, who is he?”

      In unison the brothers say, “Cliff Cortez.”

      Chapter 4

      Day two of the Senate Committee hearing on International Terrorism was postponed until the afternoon, due to a special closed session called by the Chairman. The cameras have now been on for five minutes waiting for the Committee members to assemble. Noticeably absent is the Senate Committee Chairman, the Right Reverend Jeremiah Branch. Late as well are Senator James Bernard and Senator Cindy Aaronson. Sitting at the table in front of the partial Committee members are freshman Senator Nathaniel Foot and his close friend and lawyer, Jeff Alexander. Access to the hearing is again limited to a select group of media. Their cameras are trained on Nathaniel as he pulls a coin from his pocket. A hush descends on the room.

      The hall now echoes as Nathaniel begins anew to “tap” on the base of the microphone in front of him and “squeak” in his chair.

      “Nathaniel,” Jeff warns him, “hurry, someone’s behind us.”

      A hand reaches from behind Nathaniel and places a frosty cold can of “Coke” on the table next to Nathaniel’s microphone,

      “Your order sir.”

      Nathaniel turns to see whom the hand is connected to; it’s the Chairman’s aide. The aide nods and begins to walk away. Nathaniel takes a sip of the icy cold Coke and says, “Ah, thanks, Cliff.”

      Cliff is caught off guard and stumbles as he looks back at Nathaniel,

      “What did you say?”

      “I said, thanks for the Coke.” Nathaniel hesitates until the aide turns to walk away and then he says, “Cliff”

      Cliff comes back to the table and bends down as if he dropped something next to it, as he does he whispers to Nathaniel,