On the Way to the Senate

A short story by Jacob Ryckman

The senator was walking through the town square when he was struck. The protestor had intended the tomato to smash against his face, hoping that it would cause him great disgrace and humiliation, but miscalculated his throw, and so the vegetable merely splattered against the senator’s briefcase. The senator’s bodyguards were on the protestor in seconds. They grabbed him, hauled him over to the senator into the middle of the street, the poor man kicking and screaming against his captors. One of the guards held a gun to his head, and he went silent. Was he going to be executed, right here in the street?

The senator snapped his fingers. “Put the gun away. We will not resort to such violence in public.” He looked around and spotted a nearby cafe. “Come with me,” he said to the protestor. “We can talk in there.”

The cafe was small and crowded with people – the senator requested a table in the back, and the occupants of the table furthest from the door were summarily thrown out. They sat at the tiny round table, the senator setting his briefcase on the ground as his bodyguards flanked him.

“Why am I here?” the protestor asked.

“Why, you’re the one who threw that tomato,” the senator said. “I assume you wanted my attention.”

“Not really, sir. I just wanted to humiliate you.”

“Why would you want to humiliate me?”

“Because you stand against everything I believe in.”

The senator leaned back in his seat with a smile. “Oh? Such as?”

“Well, sir, my sister was murdered in her sleep the other month by police. And yet you said that justice was served, and the officers deserved no punishment.”

“But of course. She had committed crimes in the past, and the officers were doing their duty to prevent her from committing more crimes in the future.”

The protestor was aghast. “She only had two speeding tickets! How can you not care about one of your constituents being murdered?”

The senator shrugged. “She supported my opponent.”

The protestor’s face went red with fury, but he contained himself. He withdrew his phone. “I am going to record our conversation here. Everyone should know the monster you are.”

The senator shrugged again. “Everyone knows. It won’t stop me from getting reelected.”

“You are a hypocrite! You say you support one thing, but then your actions prove the very opposite. You oppose abortion on the basis of supporting life, but once a child is born you care not whether they have the medical care to survive, or whether their parents can take time off to take care of them, or whether they will be able to make a livable wage when they are old enough.”

The senator clasped his hands together. “It’s simple, really. You are concerned about morality and justice. I care only for money and power.”

“Why would you admit such a thing?”

“Because everyone knows it. You and your ilk like to talk about ‘liberty and justice for all’ and yet are not strong enough to seize the power necessary to maintain it. People like me have the advantage of coming from wealth; we can outspend you. We have the advantage of years of education; we can outsmart you.We have the advantage of holding office for generations; we can outrule you. Do you really think we would play fair, knowing that doing so would cause us to lose our power?”

“That will change. Everyone will see you saying this, and things will change.”

“I very much doubt that.” The senator took some cash out of his pocket and set it on the table. “Here, stay and have your coffee. I must be off.” He promptly stood up, dusted off his jacket, and left, bodyguards trailing in his wake.

The protestor sat pondering a moment, deeply perturbed. The senator had not even tried to hide his corruption. A moment or two after the senator had left the cafe, he looked down and saw something beneath the table. “Senator!” he cried out after him. “You left your brief-“

The resulting explosion shattered the cafe windows and left the entire space in desolate ruin. Media reported that the senator had been lucky to make it out unscathed. What villainy, for the protestor to be hiding a bomb on his person, trying to kill the senator and take innocent people with him. What fortune for the senator, that the protestor had been incompetent, and his timer to have malfunctioned! The senator expressed his deepest condolences for the families of the lost loved ones, and promised to put an end to such horrifying violence.

The senator’s opponent expressed deep regret in supporting the protestors, and conceded that he should have done more to try and prevent such aggression and depravity. In the end, the senator won his reelection in a landslide victory.