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Chapter 189: Good News/White Tile
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FLUX Chapter 190: The Devil/Dome
Jack blinked his eyes slowly. His eyelids felt heavy. When he finally wiped enough haze from them to see, the pseudo-sunlight streaming through the window blinded him. He wiped at his eyes again and cast around the room. Fresh flowers sat on a table between two chairs. A silent monitor displayed his vitals. A tube ran into the crook of his arm. A chart across from him displayed information like nurses' and doctors' names, check-in times, course of action, and other hospital information.He searched his mind for memories but found them blurry and vague. His left arm felt stiff. When he looked down at it he saw a bullet wound healed over. A memory triggered, one of him jumping out for Henry while shots flew passed. He must have been hit. He squeezed his eyes shut to see if he remembered more. Another look down at his arm made him flinch. They must have healed him really fast because it looked very good. He wondered how that could be in only a couple of days.The door swung open. A woma
FLUX Chapter 191: The Park
Three weeks after waking from the coma, Jack sat in an office turned classroom as his trainer, what was his name? Roger, Reeger, Renger, spoke about the origination of the original Congress in Greek times and how it had been adopted by different civilizations throughout history.He could feel his lids getting heavy as the lecture continued. His fingers crawled to his arm and pinched hard. The small amount of pain gave him a little jolt of awareness, but not enough to sustain him.Henry walked through the door. The lecture came to a grinding halt. Jack smiled, secretly thanking the man for his timing, but still holding on to that underlying distrust."Out," Henry said and the teacher disappeared out the door in the blink of an eye. Henry spread his hands out on Jack's desk and leaned forward on them. "My man, the news is looking good! It's only been two weeks since your official return, but you are already top in the polls for thirty percent of neighborhoods. It's just a matter of ti
FLUX Chapter 192: Fundraiser
Jack straightened his bow tie in the mirror then smoothed back his newly cut and dyed hair. He still hated it, but it had become part of his new persona. He'd discussed changing it with Zeven but lost the battle. He turned around to the stylist behind him that finished primping him for his debut. After one more smoothed wrinkle, he strode out the door toward the double stairways down into the foyer. His fake name boomed through the room. All eyes turned his way. After a deep breath, he descended into the crowd with a gallant smile on his face. Henry's smiling green eyes met him at the bottom."Great job, you didn't even trip this time," Henry whispered at his side. "It's much harder than it looks when you get to thinking about it."Jack nodded. "I'm more worried about what to say.""Don't look worried about it. Just say positive things. Use the phrases that we coached you on. Once we get to the auction you can relax, but remember, all eyes will be on you tonight."Alexandra appeare
FLUX Chapter 193: Golf
"No James, here, let me show you how it's done." Henry lined up his golf ball on the tee and pulled back the club. It hit the ball with a thwack. The ball flew up and over the green rolling turf. It landed after a couple descending bounces."It's a little bit different watching you do it than actually swinging the club," Jack said."That may be true, but a lot of deals are done on the golf course. You need to be able to keep up with these guys. So, put your back into it and hit that ball."Jack set the next ball down on the tee."There now relax, bend down, then pull back and just think like you're tossing the ball out into the great unknown.""That just sounds so easy," Jack mumbled."Don't get terse. Just hit the thing."Jack swung back the club, lined up the shot, and then whacked it hard. Turf and the tee flew. The ball actually flew this time, but only about a meter and to the left.Henry tilted his head to the side. "Well, at least it's an improvement. I think you just ne
FLUX Chapter 194: Debate
Jack fought off the biggest feeling of deja vu he had ever had. He stood with grips, Politions, and consultants milling around him underneath the stage of the International Congress Combouya. This was his big debate, the final one before the election. He nervously twisted his ring about his finger as he fought a bout of nausea.Alexandra put a hand on his arm. "You don't look well."Henry squeezed his other shoulder with a hand. "Just remember your talking points and smile. It's almost your turn."They led him to the line of candidates taking the spiral staircase upward. They released him and at the same time both said, "Good luck.""We're counting on you to win this," Henry added.Jack smiled back at them through gritted teeth. He followed the candidate ahead of him one step at a time until it opened up on the stage. The circular stage was surrounded at its edge with podiums. He smiled and waved from his podium while the others sat their spouses in the first row of seating before
FLUX Chapter 195: Morning After/Appearance
Jack woke in his own king-sized bed with a nasty hangover. The pink-haired woman and redhead lay naked across the bed. He realized he was unclothed as well and quickly donned a bathrobe. The night was a blur in his mind. He was pretty sure they had slipped something in his drink. He'd remembered seeing Henry and Alexandra in some compromising positions. He wished he could burn those memories out of his mind.At one point, he remembered fending off Alexandra and had instead picked the lesser of the two evils. He ended up sleeping with these two girls instead. He wasn't proud, nor happy about it, but it was better than sleeping with a woman that looked like the woman he loved.He showered the sweat and other dried fluids off of him, wanting to scrape the stench of the previous night away. He slipped out of the bathroom. The two women still lay passed out on his bed. He went to the kitchen where his cook sat grilling up a meal. To his surprise, Alexandra and Henry sat at the table drink
FLUX Chapter 196: Election
The crowd was smaller than when Henry was elected and there was no big throne to cart Jack around when the final results were announced, but it was still exciting and loud. They sat at tables in his mansion with live coverage plastered all around the walls in the room behind the foyer and the outdoor pool area just on the other side.When the announcement finally hit, Jack couldn't help but be excited. The air buzzed with it. The roar of the crowd surged through him. Deep down he still felt lonely, but on the surface he drank in the praise and tried to fill the emptiness. Henry sat to his right and Zeven to the left. They were the first ones to pull him into a hug. Alexandra was next. She held him a little longer than he felt comfortable."Congratulations," she purred in his ear over the noise."Thank you," he pushed away from the hug and went to shake some hands with the campaign team. His team had been much smaller than that of Henry's, but many of them were the same people.Afte
FLUX Chapter 197: Date Night
Jack turned another page of the bill in front of him with a flick of his fingers. He blinked his eyes tight to try and relieve the strain from the screen, then rubbed at them when that failed. His cuff buzzed. He twisted it to read the message.It was a text from Dyna that read "Dinner tonight?"Jack frowned. He had been trying to do his best to stay away from her as Henry suggested, but it was hard coming up with excuses to dodge her invitations. He let the message sit while he continued reading through the bill.Most of the bills trying to get passed were vetoed just because they were so complex that most of the Representatives didn't feel comfortable passing them. For instance, this one would allow a human to purchase health care from a hybrid company, but it also allowed pods to use more power, let corporations lower wages, and let insurance companies increase minimum deductions. So, for one good thing that could be had, numerous bad things would get passed along with it. The Re
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