America 1982-Chapter 456 - 78: In the Name of God

"My dear friend, when you see this letter, you should also have received the small gift that your lovely child, the world’s kindest little angel, delivered on my behalf."

"You might be wondering if Jeff Raven has lost his senses in a drunken stupor, sending the wrong gift? Certainly, friends don’t maintain their bond with such gifts, and moreover, through their children. I shall confront him about this issue face-to-face tomorrow."

"In truth, I’ve done something that requires more courage than drunkenly sending the wrong gift—I’ve joined the special election in our district and have become one of the candidates."

"The reason for my candidacy is that I believe the beautiful 18th District needs greater racial diversity. The intent behind this gift is to encourage our white residents to use Trojan to demonstrate their openness to racial diversity, creating more living space in this district for Cuban and black folks."

"The greatness of America lies in love and inclusion. From your most faithful friend in this district, Jeff Raven."

In a cramped storage space provided by the Catholic Church in Miami’s 18th district for after-school children’s activities, Martin, the campaign manager, temporarily used this space as his office.

At this moment, Martin took the letter that Tommy had drafted in Jeff’s name to the parents of the children. After reading it thoroughly and pondering for a few minutes, he had a sudden realization and said to Tommy:

"Boss, I get it. You’re planning on making Jeff offend all the white people, to be seen as ostracized by the white community. By portraying himself as pitiable yet inclusive towards other races, he can gain the sympathy of Cubans and black people, especially since he is urging these whites to use Trojan more, to prevent unplanned pregnancies, thus allowing Cubans and ’Negroes’ to prosper further, right?"

"Copy this letter a hundred times," Tommy didn’t address Martin’s speculation but said sternly, "Write them all by hand and don’t ask anyone else to help you. They need to be done before Jeff concludes today’s gathering with the kids, and you must have them handed to their parents when the little ones go home."

After saying this, he also handed Martin several pens and a stack of stationery, "After you’re done copying, remember to burn the original that I wrote."

"Everyone must believe it was written by Jeff, right? I understand," said Martin, who initially wanted to refuse, but then he saw Tommy taking fifty dollars out of his wallet and handing it to him, "Fifty cents per letter, the more you work, the more you earn." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Martin asked in confusion, "But... there are only a bit over seventy kids. Who are the rest of the letters for?"

"There’s a children’s hospital run by the church next street over. Go to their inpatient department and hand them out to kids who are hospitalized because of illness," Tommy said nonchalantly, "And it’s not about making everyone think the letter was written by Jeff, but by you. When someone comes to confront you, you must admit you drafted the letter yourself."

After Tommy finished speaking, he left Martin, whose mind had utterly crashed at the thought of delivering the letters to sick children in the hospital, and turned to walk away:

"Furthermore, once you’ve finished writing, remember to put them in individual envelopes, and include a Trojan inside each one. I’m now off to see how Jeff performs in front of the kids."

Martin glanced at the thick pile of letter paper, resolved not to go to the children’s hospital to avoid being chased down by angry parents, picked up a pen to start writing, and then saw Mr. Page appearing in the doorway, his arms folded, staring at him blankly.

"Great, Mr. Page, you’re just standing there watching me like a goddamn prison guard?" Martin, getting frantic, scratched his head and then hunched over the makeshift table to start copying, "I won’t break out, relax."

Page looked at Martin’s actions, and said, "No, Tommy asked me to explain to you what you need to be aware of after the police take you to the station while you write the letters."

"What?" Martin looked up in confusion at Page’s words, "Why the hell would the police bother me just because I stole a total of seven US dollars’ worth of ten boxes of Trojan ten-packs from Costco?"

"You stole those?" Page was momentarily taken aback."

With righteous indignation, Martin told Page, "What do you think? The boss sure as hell didn’t give me the money to pay, but don’t worry, luckily, the supermarket never suspects that a black person would steal that stuff. They believe Negroes never use those things when they’re hopping into bed."

"This deviates a bit from the boss’s instructions, but it’s not a big problem. Now listen carefully," Page told Martin.

Martin felt Page was distracting him from earning money and was somewhat impatient, "Listen to what? To a retired white police officer who’s a racist and killed black people, teaching me how to flourish in a police station? I’m black; blacks have their own way of dealing with cops in a station. Please, I’m working; I’m not slacking off."

"Listen to what Tommy told me to convey to you. As a campaign manager in a police station, you should know how to raise your employer’s profile. And if you were to frame a potential rival, how to maximize the benefits," Page explained.

Martin frowned and showed a puzzled look, "Why wouldn’t the boss tell me himself?"

Page revealed the Taser at his waist, "Because this way of teaching is more illustrative."

Tommy walked into the church’s activity room, watching as Jeff stood on stage, holding a children’s edition of the Bible, loudly recounting the story of how Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden for their transgressions, with sixty to seventy children sitting around him, enjoying the snacks or sweets Jeff provided for free.