Читать книгу 1 Law 4 All - Gator - Billy Angel - Страница 18

Mac marveled enjoying the view from the Presidio’s Water's Edge restaurant. He expressed his gratitude to former California Senator Steve Miller, "Thanks for the invitation. I never get tired of looking at our Golden Gate Bridge from here."

Senator Miller, a Hastings Law School board member, took Mac out to lunch today. At five foot, six inches, the elderly Miller seemed full of energy. He walked so briskly from the parking lot to the restaurant that Mac had to occasionally double his strides. He intended to recruit Mac, a recent Hastings’s graduate, to teach a freshman Political Ethics class at the law school.

During lunch Mac asked the senator if he’d heard of the Steve Miller Band. The former senator smiled and commented that half of his voters thought they were getting a rock star for a senator!

Mac grinned. “They did get a rock star, a political rock star.” Indeed, Senator Miller’s conservative views were the last of their kind uttered from San Francisco and the left-wing northern California area. After Reagan, the entire state was inundated with illegals. Their gullibility and numbers energized California’s liberal, left-leaning progressives. From the 1990’s on California seemed like it only counted votes from Democrats. Since then California has been a slam dunk ‘blue’ state for the Democrats.

Senator Miller inclined forward in his chair, as if remembering the good-ole-days. “Now they call the west coast, including Hawaii, the Communist States of America!”

Miller continued telling Mac about the days when he first became a senator before all the party bickering began. "I visited DC last week and ate in the Congressional dining room, the separate room off the main dining room. There were a dozen or so empty large round tables that seat ten people. When I served, Republicans and Democrats would mingle and eat at those round tables. They would share war stories and just plain laugh with each other. Today those tables are gathering dust. I was told by the dining room staff that those tables are always empty. They commented that these days the senators and representatives all leave DC Thursday night and don't return until mid-Monday. Now I ask you, is that any way to run a government?"

Mac remained somber. His thoughts drifted between understanding the senator's disbelief and the Foundation's video meeting. "Senator, I can only imagine what DC politics was like in your day. In today’s reality, we have a divided, frozen government. I’m sickened that our representatives put party politics ahead of what’s best for our country.”

The senator complimented Mac on his political savvy. “That’s why we need you teaching,” shrugging his shoulders, raising his eyebrows, emphasizing, “AND influencing future lawyers. The Political Ethics class presents a perfect platform for expressing pure legal concepts and practices. You can give students an ideal picture of relationships and proceedings based on legal precedent and not a narrow, melodramatic vision of some pie-in-the-sky economic theory. We live in a real world with real people and real problems. Theories ending with global solutions will destroy the U.S. Global rules cannot survive in the United States as it was founded two hundred and fifty years ago.”

Mac enjoyed tutoring and bantering ideas with others in his study group. He especially takes pleasure in expressing his opinion with Carol, Jimmy or Juan. Their feedback helped him cement many of his current convictions. “Let me think this over. I’ll have more time to seriously consider your proposal after Juan’s upcoming wedding. I promise I’ll seriously consider the teaching position. If for no other reason than I’ll have an excuse to consult with you more often.”

Senator Miller nodded his approval and asked. “Is one of your Foundation guys getting married?”

“Yea, Juan Oneca. He practices in Tampa, Florida. All the Foundation members are attending. We have so much fun together. I feel like we’re back in school when we’re all together. Only difference is that we have more bills to pay. And now we have the money to pay them!”

They finished their meal with light conversation about San Francisco’s professional teams. Mac was a NBA Warriors fan. The senator enjoyed Giants baseball. They walked through the parking lot, said their good-byes, and left in separate cars.

Mac noted a black SUV with a hefty front bumper parked near the Presidio’s entrance. He recognized the SUV’s two men from earlier in the day, but he couldn’t place them. The SUV pulled away from the curb and began following his car. He evoked Juan’s ‘watch your back’ warning. He detoured exiting Golden Gate Park to the west. The road looped by the beachside, Cliff House restaurant with its large parking lot.

Mac made a quick turn off the main road into the Cliffside parking lot. He cruised through the lot, past the front valet area to another smaller, more secluded parking area south of the restaurant. He parked his 1962 Burgundy Jaguar Mark II, on the cliff’s edge facing the ocean. He scanned the parking lot for the black SUV. Not seeing it, he got out of the car and walked around to the edge admiring the view and taking some long, deep breaths of the ocean’s heady scent.

He walked a few cars over from his car to get a different view of the surfers off the point. Today the north swell brought in six to nine foot waves. The bigger waves separated the beginners from the experienced surfers, he mused. He recalled learning to surf in American Samoa with his beautiful Kitiona in her tiny bikini guiding his every move.

A loud smash, crushing sound interrupted his daydream. He felt his legs bend to the bumper of a Toyota sedan behind him. His off balanced body moved towards the edge of the cliff. “Hey!” he yelled. Much to his panic he turned to see the black SUV’s, huge bumper pushing the Toyota recklessly forward. Only inches separated him between the Toyota and the guard rail.

His athletic instincts kicked in. He jumped on top of the Toyota’s hood, ran over the roof and onto the hood of the black SUV. He glanced at the driver and passenger and kept running onto the roof. He hopped to the car on the left just as the Toyota was pushed through the ornamental, wooden guard rail.

Mac landed on the ground between two cars over from the SUV. He pulled out his cell phone and speed dialed 911. By the time the 911 operator answered, the SUV had backed out and rushed off spitting gravel in its wake.

Mac stared in awe at the open parking space and the Toyota at the bottom of the cliff. While waiting for the police to respond, a tourist pulled into the vacated Toyota space. Mac thought of calling Juan to thank him for the warning. Then he looked at his watch. He’d wait to talk with him in a few hours. But he felt bound to warn Kitiona.

He opened his ‘moodmeNOW’ phone app. He chose the ‘serious’ icon. He typed, ‘Someone just tried to run me off the road. BE CAREFUL.’ After sending this message, he felt compelled to call her and explained the ‘serious’ message.