LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
2:16 AM, THE DAY OF THE CALIFORNIA PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY...
The kid with the ski hat went buggy-eyed and wide-mouthed. "You're that dude! Palmer! This guy's runnin' for president, dawg; I seen 'im on TV!"
His buddy with the corn rows wasn't impressed. He got a look at Palmer, and all he saw was another talking head. "All y'all got the same rap."
But Jimmy knew better. This guy was different. And when the Senator said, "Keep going like this and you'll be dead in five years," Jimmy knew it was true.
But the buddy still wasn't impressed. "Man, like you know my life."
Without missing a beat or taking a blink, Palmer said: "More than you think."
NEW YORK CITY
2:16 PM, THE DAY BEFORE THE SIGNING OF THE US-KAMISTAN PEACE TREATY...
The officer smiled at the classroom of high-schoolers. "And he did know. Three months after that day, me and my buddy joined a gang, and my buddy started dealing drugs and stealing cars. A year later, he died in a shootout with the LAPD. When I heard about what happened, the first thing I remembered was that conversation I had with the Senator—but this time, I took him seriously. I got back to school, I got my diploma, I got out of L.A., and I went somewhere new. I went from being a hoodlum, swaggering on the streets of L.A. and bashing in windows, to being on duty at the UN tonight, because a good man cared about me enough to tell it straight. He meant a lot to me." There was a pause, and Officer Jim Koerning let out a sigh. "I just wish he could see me now."