CHAPTER 3

"An American Icon..."

Senator Andross pulled the door all the way open. Billy stepped out, and suddenly was snatched into the air. Senator Andross quickly took notice of the muscle-bound man in the pinstripe suit and the dark glasses that now held a pistol to his son's temple. Just as quickly, more thugs surrounded the Andross family, and closed in tight. Senator Andross raised his fists, prepard to fight these goons off, adn quickly landed a punch across the jaw of one of the men in black. He fell to the floor, and Senator Andross turned to face his next assailant...

...then the pistol came crashing down across his neck.

Senator Andross crumpled to the floor, a large lump forming on the back of his head. The goons pressed the attack, kicking and pounding the fallen senator. Billy screamed, "Dad! Leave him alone!" to no avail. These men would only be stopped by one voice.

"That's enough. Let him up."

The goons hauled the battered Senator to his feet, and turned to face his bloodied face to meet a shorter man in a brown tweed jacket and slacks. The perfectly groomed moustache on his face twitched slightly as the corners of his mouth slid upward to form a greusome smile.

Senator Andross looked deep into the eyes of his captor.

"Davis. You son of a bitch!", Andross spat.

Senator Davis laughed aloud, but there was no mirth behind his laugh. This was the laugh of a monster. A killer stalking his next victim. But this killer didn't kill for pleasure, but for money. And a great deal of money had come his way for his "side business" as it were. Andross knew what he was up to. Davis ran a professional killer clearinghouse. From his lucrative defense contracts, and military sway, Davis could have anyone, anywhere killed for the right price.

And business was booming.

Davis spoke in a rich baritone voice, but it was devoid of any soul. "James. I begged you. I begged you, for the sake of your son..." Davis ran a casual hand thru the hair of Billy, who continued to struggle in the arms of the jackbooted thug who grasped him close. Davis stopped petting the boy, and looked deep into the eyes of James Andross. "But, you didn't listen!" He finished, and he jerked sharply on Billy's hair, pulling his head back hard. Billy cried out in pain and fear.

"LEAVE MY BOY ALONE!" Andross bellowed. "He's not part of this!"

Davis laughed and released Billy from his grip. Billy moaned in pain as his neck went slack. He stared with tear-filled eyes at the back of Davis' head. He wanted to hurt him, but he was helpless to do anything...except watch.

Davis casually strutted over to Senator Andross and lifted his blood-flecked jaw to meet his own face. "He should feel very lucky, James!" he laughed, "Your boy's about to be eduacted in the ways of American politics." Davis turned back to Billy, and finished, "You're going to get to see what happens when on of our 'own', turns his back on us. This will be lesson in loyalty."

Davis then stuck his face close to Andross'. Close enough to feel the man's breath on his face. Davis smelled of the dozens of people he'd killed, or had killed. It was a charnel scent. One befitting a dealer of death.

His voice came like a judge's death sentence, "You should have let it go, James. I'm sorry." Then, he backed away, and addressed his guards, "Bring them."

The guards, led by Davis and carrying a struggling James and Billy, approached a black limousine parked outside of the Senate building. Inside, the reporters, citizenry, and Senators in attendance had no idea that thier keynote speaker and his son had just been kidnapped by the very reason for thier being there, Senator Henry Davis. As the beefy guards shoved James and Billy into the limo, Billy's mind raced again. Oh God, what's gonna happen to us? Is this what Dad was talking about? What's going on?

Billy then knew that this was no time to be scared. He tried to push the fear out of his mind, but he knew that it couldn't be done alone. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Billy knew, there was a source of comfort. Old written words that were as clear as fresh ink in the back of his memories, and it was to this he clung to, to push the fear of death out of his mind. In his head, he heard his father speak to him, from some darkened corner of his mind, the first thing he'd ever memorized:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Over and over, he repeated these words. To the man who originally read these words, the King of Britain, they were statements of open rebellion. To the men who set them on faded parchment, the Congress of Virginia, they were not polite suggestions, but a system that should, and must be upheld at all costs. To Billy Andross, they were the words that kept him brave.

At the forefront of Billy's perception, his father and the man who would use these words to further his own greed, one Henry Davis, stared daggers into one another.

Davis spoke again, "Don't look at me like that, James. I did warn you. We could have made a hell of a lot of money, you and I. Put your son thru college"

James fired back, "You don't talk about my son, you bastard! You are the epitome of everything I've taught him to despise! You think this country, her freedoms, her people...are just playthings! Puppets! You sicken me, Davis. All you care about is money, and you don't care who you use up to make another blood-soaked dime, do you? You can do what you want to me, but you let my boy go and prove to me that you're not a total scumbag!" James Andross bored a hole thru Davis' face with his eyes. James loathed him with a passion not felt since The Nemesis and Statesman. Davis' practiced grin faded, and was replaced by a look of utter distaste, as if Andross were a bug on his shoe.

"Okay, asshole. You want to play hardball with me? That's fine. I've killed a lot of people, Andross. What's two more?" Davis sat back and lit a cigar. As he took a drag off his expensive smoke, he closed his eyes to savor the flavor...

...when suddenly, his face was splattered with spit.

Davis opened his eyes, expecting to see James snarling face, but instead, James was staring determinedly at his son. Davis' expression turned to one of shock as he saw who had spit on him. As the spit rolled down his face, Davis stared into the eyes of the slow-breathing boy who had moments before been a quivering mass of cowardice. The boy stared back into Davis' eyes. The look he gave Davis unsettled the corrupt senator. That, in and of istelf, was an amazing accomplishment, but still...those eyes, he thought, those eyes...

William Andross stared deep into the eyes of Davis, a mask of grim determination on his face. He wasn't afraid of Davis, and with a slow, deliberate tone, he informed Davis, "You don't scare me. You're going to regret this...all of you. I'll make you all pay."

Davis replied, this time with a hint of fear behind his voice, "We'll just see about that, boy."

The limosuine pulled down a forgotten stretch of highway, past the porno shops and crackhouses that littered the streets of Washington DC's "less fortunate" areas. As Billy stared out the window, surrounded by his captors, his spirits began to sink again. He saw how the homeless huddled together in alleyways for warmth, and how the pimps sold flesh like cheap cars. Billy wondered what brought them down this way. No one will notice our murders here. Dad and I are gonna die here..."We hold these truths..."

Again, the famous line from the Declaration of Independence crept into his mind. It pushed away the shadows of his vision, that line. He looked out on the streets again, and saw what could be. Parks, libraries, children playing. All the crime could be gone if someone would step up...and none of this would be happening.

But no one would. He was alone.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident"...God please get me thru this. Let me and Dad live. And I swear, I'll do what I can to help everyone in this country live free. Please God...please.

As Billy's mind swam with this vow to God, he felt his father's arm around him. He looked back at his dad, and he remembered that he was not alone in this. He wasn't alone at all.