Chapter 1
Morning, June 12, 2057
The two men were thinking the same thing—that the other had gotten far better than he deserved.
And that they hated each other’s guts.
Yet, Thomas Gardner and Anthony Washington now stood face to face in Gardner’s apartment.
Gardner spoke first.
“Thank you for coming, Dr. Washington,” Gardner said, “Please have a seat.” There was no emotion in his voice.
Gardner sat on a sofa near the center of the room and gestured to Washington to take the armchair across from him. Washington moved a few steps closer to his host but didn’t sit. This was as close to the man as Washington wanted to get.
“No thank you, Mr. Gardner. I think I’ll stand if you don’t mind.”
“As you wish.”
Gardner glanced to his left. He and Washington were not alone in the room. A federal marshal stood next to the door of the apartment. She had met neither man before today but she could sense the contempt these two felt for each other, despite their calculated civility. Instinctively, she placed her hand on the butt of her pistol.
Gardner leaned back and rested his arm on the back of the sofa.
“I must admit, Dr. Washington, that I didn’t expect you to accept my invitation,” Gardner continued.
“I almost didn’t,” Washington replied. “I thought about it for some time before I decided to come here. In the end, I felt I had no choice. I felt that I had to meet the man who was responsible for so much misery.”
Gardner flashed a sardonic smile.
“Why did you ask to see me?” Washington asked.
“In part for the same reason, Dr. Washington. It could well be argued that you caused as much misery as you claim that I did. Perhaps even more. But that’s neither here nor there. In the end, as you say, I guess I just wanted to meet the nigger….sorry, Dr. Washington, I mean the Af-ri-can A-mer-i-can,” (Gardner enunciated each syllable, to emphasize his disdain for the expression), “who beat me. Get to know the enemy, as the saying goes. So here we are.”
Gardner smiled again. It made Washington’s flesh crawl but he said nothing. If his thoughts could kill, the other man would be dead. Once again, the two were thinking the same thing.
