Orchid Blues (Holly Barker 2)

"I don't believe in fantasy, Ham; I deal in reality. The right man, with the support of like-minded people like you, can make his own reality."

"Nothing like this has ever been done before," Ham said, shaking his head.

"Sure it has," John replied. "Go back and look at

Germany in the twenties and thirties. Adolf Hitler did something very like what I'm talking about. He didn't lead the sort of revolution they had in Russia; instead, he infiltrated his country's institutions, built public support, co-opted industry and the army, and, in a very few years, got himself elected dictator with over ninety percent of the vote. It can be done here, too."

"Well," Ham said, gazing at the lake, "this is all pretty breathtaking."

"I understand how you feel, Ham, and you're right to be skeptical. You stick with me, and by the time a few weeks have passed, you'll see a bigger picture, and you'll come to know in your very bones that what I've been telling you can and will happen."

"I'm looking forward to learning," Ham said.

John clapped him on the shoulder. "Great! Now you get back out there and make marksmen of those boys. We're going to need them!"

Ham walked back toward his students in a daze.

36

Ham drove quickly back to Orchid Beach, watching his rearview mirror to be sure he wasn't followed. He drove down AlA to the South Beach area, turned in to a driveway and waited for a car to pass. Nothing did for one minute. He backed out, drove to Holly's house and parked the car. She wasn't home, so he hiked along the beach to the house next door and found her having dinner with Harry, Doug and Eddie.

Harry saw him at the sliding door and waved him in. "Ham, it's dangerous for you to come here a lot."

"Nobody followed me," Ham said. "I checked thoroughly, then I parked at Holly's."

"Get yourself a beer," Harry said. "You want some pizza?" He waved at the three open boxes on the table.

Ham got himself a beer, grabbed a slice of pizza and took some deep breaths.

"What is it, Ham?" Holly said. "You look funny."

"I feel funny," Ham said.

"What?" Harry demanded.

"Listen, Harry," Ham said, "when I got into this, I thought I was looking for bank robbers, you know?"

"Right."

"And then I thought maybe it was a little more complicated than that, but…" He stopped.

"Ham, what is it?" Harry asked.

"This is a lot bigger than any of us thought." Ham repeated his conversation with John, word for word.

When he had finished, Harry and Holly sat and stared at him, saying nothing.

"Well?"

"Well, shit," Harry said, putting down his slice of pizza and taking a big swig from his beer bottle.

"What do you want me to do, Harry?"

"Do you think this guy was just blowing smoke up your ass? You think he's fantasizing all this?"

"Not for a minute," Harry said. "If you'd been there, you wouldn't think so, either. This guy is perfectly serious."

"You think maybe he was exaggerating a little?"