America 1982-Chapter 476 - 88: Election Strategy
After completing all of today’s itinerary, an exhausted Martin sat in the back seat of the Ford F150, his legs feeling sore and weak. Even though he wanted to rest, he first put some eye drops into Jeff’s already swollen eyes. Then he picked up the Cepacol oral spray, which had anesthetic and throat soothing effects, and sprayed it into Jeff’s wide-open mouth. After he finished all this, he leaned back on the rear seat with a sigh of relief, not forgetting to encourage Jeff:
"Looks like being a politician can be hard work when it comes to making money—well, at least for a broke one like you. After all, those big shots only have to attend one or two fundraising parties a day, while you’ve hustled through six nursing homes today."
By now, Jeff was completely unable to respond to Martin’s praise. Throughout the day, he had been on the go, giving six high-intensity speeches. He had never spoken so much in one day before, and it left his throat burning with pain, his entire throat swelling up. Every time he tried to speak, it felt as if someone was rubbing his already sore vocal cords with a file. At this moment, he clamped his mouth shut, trying to let the spray medication quickly alleviate the pain.
Tired as he was, Jeff felt tremendously excited—the veterans had embraced him like a father, encouraging him, supporting him.
In the passenger seat, Tommy counted the bills, while Martin and Jeff rested in the back with their eyes closed. It wasn’t until Page drove up to Jeff’s house that Tommy turned to him and said,
"We’re here. Tonight, don’t play mouth games with your wife, no alcohol, no onions, no peppers, and get to bed early. Tomorrow, Martin will continue to take you to the nursing homes until we’ve covered all seventeen of the Miami veterans’ nursing homes. Also, Jeff, if you perform as well as you did today every single day, I promise you’ll get the ticket to Washington."
As he spoke, Tommy extended his hand to Jeff, who nodded with a smile, mouth still shut, and then gave Tommy a high five with great vigor, followed by a fist bump with Martin, before opening the car door and hopping out.
Outside his home at dusk, his wife Jessica and their four children were waiting for his return, along with friends Zack and Allen. Jeff opened his arms and lifted up the two little daughters who ran up to him, and then the whole group surrounded him and walked into the house, disappearing from Tommy’s view.
Once Jeff had left, Martin moved his neck, stiff from the brief doze, and excitedly rubbed his hands together, saying to Tommy, "We made big money today, right, boss? I saw how excited those veterans were."
Tommy handed over the backpack that held the cash and checks, along with the ledger he had just finished recording with donor names and amounts, to Martin: "Three hundred and seventeen people, a total of six thousand seven hundred and twenty-five dollars in small checks and cash."
"As for the eighty percent we’re supposed to take," Martin hesitated as he took the backpack, not expecting Tommy to hand over all the money. He then started to calculate seriously, trying to figure out how much they would be able to take from these donations.
"Tomorrow, take the time to go to Miami City Hall to officially register Jeff Raven’s political action committee, deposit all these donations into it, then withdraw three thousand dollars in the committee’s name. Use it to produce a large number of Jeff’s campaign billboards with his slogan ’Say No to Cubans’, and fill every Cuban area in District 18 with them," Tommy instructed, signaling Page to drive. Once Page started the car, he then addressed Martin, still caught up in the thoughts of dividing the money.
Martin was startled, thinking he had misheard, only to look up and see Tommy hadn’t corrected himself:
"Boss, you’ve always said that our goal isn’t to... make money, right? Now that we’ve got the cash, we’re spending it again? And making billboards to put in Cuban areas? You know that angry Cubans won’t let a billboard last through the night. That idea - it’s like putting up a billboard in Liberty City stating that the black boxing champion Ali is white. If they didn’t kill the installation crew on the spot, it would be because they were being polite."
Making a bunch of election billboards clearly antagonizing Cubans, and installing them in Cuban territories? Was this a plan to cook the books? Announce the production of ten thousand billboards but actually make only one thousand, send them to Cuban territories, and wait for them to be destroyed—the perfect cover for the actual number of billboards used?
As Martin gauged Tommy’s intentions, Tommy continued:
"Hire some people who know how to shoot to follow and film the installation of these billboards. Record the Cubans burning and destroying them, and then, broadcast these video clips as Jeff’s campaign ads, publish them in newspapers. The tagline will be just one sentence: ’Some say, 45% of this district is of Cuban descent, but that’s no excuse for lawlessness. Patriot Jeff reminds everyone, dare to say No to Cubans.’"
Martin’s jaw dropped. Billboards that opposed Cubans, destroyed by Cubans, and then their actions broadcast on TV? What had the Cubans done wrong? To be told to get out of America at their doorstep, were they not even allowed to tear down a billboard? White people are fucking evil.
Tommy lit a cigarette with the car lighter: 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
"Make sure the billboard installers are black, you understand? The kind with a nasty mouth. I need them to provoke the Cubans while installing the billboards, preferably causing a conflict right there and then."
