Tony

From several yards away, Tony watched the unfolding events with a mix of annoyance and concern. He had left the stupid girl at the edge of the park, but as he turned to make his way home, the new voice had arrested his movement – the voice of trouble.

"Marissa?" Tony heard Sam Lincoln call, and the sound sent a chill down Tony's spine.

How had the girl, in town only a few days, found so much access to danger? Tony wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. Innocent with a penchant for finding peril – not a good combination, and he almost wanted to leave her to learn the consequences of her actions. At the look of horrified misery on the girl's face, however, Tony felt stirred to compassion. She was almost safer on the streets where I found her than standing at the mercy of Sam Lincoln, Tony thought sarcastically.

After an instant of thought, though, he recognized Sam’s stance, that the ruffian intended to pursue the young woman and intercept her before she could reach her destination. "Hey, Sam," Tony called out loudly and glanced at the girl to make sure she kept running. The entire group of flunkies that followed Sam around with religious fervor redirected their attention to Tony, and he felt the sudden pressure to make up a reason for calling Sam's name.

"When is the rally for Regis going to happen?" An appeal to Sam's favorite crooked politician seemed a good excuse for Tony to hail the notorious troublemaker from across the square. Tony noted with satisfaction that after a second of mindless gawking, Sam's victim had fled across the street and entered the ground floor of the campus bookstore. Hopefully, none of Sam's crew had noticed the direction of her exodus.

"You looking for trouble?" Sam replied with a grin, and Tony cringed in irritation at the movement of several other guys into a line behind Sam – a gathering into ranks, almost military in its responsiveness. Tony had no desire to engage Sam under these circumstances.

"Only the political kind, Sam. I'm always interested in the thoughts of my community leaders." The sarcasm dripping from Tony's words could have drowned an elephant. In no way did Tony consider Regis McReynolds a community leader; more of a community bully. Anyone who manipulated businessmen with threats of physical violence deserved no great respect.

Sam looked around himself at the faces of his companions, and Tony could see the internal struggle battle inside the natural-born ruffian. No doubt, Sam would love to make a fool of Tony, but Tony had chosen his topic wisely. For all intents and purposes, Sam played a legitimate role in the McReynolds campaign for city council, and while Sam wore the political hat, any stooping to violence would reflect badly on the councilman. Tony suppressed a smile when Sam turned back with a look of exasperation. In the street, though the sun had set, too many uninvolved people meandered past to allow Sam to engage in any subversive activity.

"A week from Wednesday. Six o'clock on the eastern end of the lake. I'm sure you'll see some banners by tomorrow morning."

"Can't wait," Tony grinned, determining to watch his back for the next few days despite the apparent civility of the exchange. He felt smugly satisfied that he had rescued a victim from Sam Lincoln's clutches, but Tony still didn't relish the idea of making himself so conspicuous to his political enemy. Generally, Tony stayed out of the way of controversy, desiring to maintain the facade of indifference so he could play the spy for Jerome.

Sighing with mixed emotions, Tony turned back toward his father's house and made his way across the park as inconspicuously as he could manage. He had a feeling that his minute interference tonight would come back to haunt him later.