Crossfire (Veil)

The halls of the Capital echoed with the sound of overpriced dress shoes tapping on marble, only slightly less audible then the conversations being had in preparation for today's vote. The last few hours before something went on the floor were always a bit of a hustle. Party and committee leaders tried desperately to secure and flip as many congress members as possible, using every dirty handed trick in the book. There was no such thing as clean politics in Washington, and by extension, clean politicians.

Senator Ziles Buchanan, one of the subjects of today's vote, was a man that had one of the worst reputations in the upper chamber. Controversy and rumor, and even outright fact about methods he had used made him quite unpopular. He was everything that was wrong with US government, if appearances were any indication of character. Bribery, sabotage, strong arming. The man did anything he had to to climb the political ladder, and today was no different.

You see, the old Senate Majority Leader had just retired, and the seat was open to any Democrat who could garner enough votes to take it. Ziles had been working on rounding up support, even going so far as to strike a deal with New York native turned Dictator Lucius Alba, not publicly, of course, but none the less it had worked. Ziles played the game well, and it seemed like he was narrowly leading, but politics were as cutthroat as they were unpredictable.

"Do you still want a career after your term ends, Senator? Since you got elected, your state has backlashed against you. I imagine that, if a few respected members were to campaign for your opponent in the midterms, you would lose your job, if it isn't already gone. I think you'd rather be on my side." Ziles said, having practically cornered one of his colleagues in the men's bathroom. The man looked scared, but not physically. You could see the ambition fading from his eyes. Any ideals he had that he wanted to push were overshadowed by the fear of losing his status. He simply shook Zile's hand, and uttered a single sentence

"You have my vote."

Ziles was what many would call a centrist. He never proposed anything radical, opting for the status quo on every opportunity. He was a career politician that knew what he needed to do to stay in office, and that was, presumably, all he cared about. If rumors be true, even over the lives of others.

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An hour before the vote hit the floor, most of the Senators went off to do their own thing. Ziles, however, was headed to the offices of the Freedom Caucus. If he wanted to really be confident in getting his new position, he would need to sway the two Senators that were members. This meant taking a car all the way through the busy streets of DC, to the other side of town, and then getting back in time to make his own vote. Unlike the president, Senators didn't have much security. The two secret service agents driving Zile's car were all the government provided. However, Ziles had taken the liberty of hiring his own bodyguards, technicians, and armor specialists to make sure his transports and public appearances were free of attack, physical or cyber. When you had such a reputation as he, threats of violence weren't uncommon.

If anyone wished to get to him, they would have to fight through about ten armed men and somehow get him out of an armored vehicle, in broad day light, in the middle of a DC street. Unless of course, they were somehow able to get Ziles to a more secluded area...