Political Thriller
Brothers: a novel of political intrigue and family turmoil.
Brothers is a fast paced political thriller. A modern-day story of
Cain and Abel that asks the question, ‘Am I my brother’s
keeper?’ The answer depends on which brother is asking the question
and the women they encounter.
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Speaker of the House or Representatives Gianni Simonelli is a
second-generation New York Italian American hell bent on not being
associated with the Mafia. The problem is his brother is a member of a New
York crime family.
On the Inauguration Day, the newly elected President steps to the podium to
address the nation and is shot and killed by the Secret Service agent
assigned to protect him . Reeling from the assassination Gianni is called
upon to help stabilize the administration.
Someone identified as the ‘Emperor’ leads a domestic terror
organization known as VIPER that has infiltrated America’s national
security agencies to gain control of its military power and wealth. With
evidence the Secret Service and FBI may be part of VIPER, Gianni turns to
CIA Director Jill Shelton to find out who’s behind the insurrection.
As events spiral out of control, Gianni is left with no alternative but to
seek help from his estranged brother Mario.
When the Mafia strikes VIPER in a brutal but effective way to help save the
democracy from being overthrown, Gianni and Shelton face the real
possibility collaborating with the Mafia could result in them becoming crime
family puppets.
Excerpt
It is a bitter cold, twenty-five-degree, white January day in Washington
D.C. Not just any snowy winter day. Today is January 20th, inauguration
day. At noon, my brother Governor Brandon Alan Gray will take the
oath of office to become President of the United States of America.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. He is Governor of Illinois, I’m
Governor of Florida. I also wanted to run for President, but the
Republican Party fell in love with my brother’s charismatic, happy talk
line of bullshit. He makes everyone smile, feel good, the perfect party
boy and party candidate. I’m a policy wonk. Apparently, voters want
their president to be funny, full of warm fuzzy slogans rather than
smart, issue oriented and realistic.
Brandon Alan Gray, BAG, as our family and friends call him,
won what turned out to be one of the most hotly contested races in
American presidential history. And the rub is, he won because of me.
He lost the popular vote to Vice President Gorden Agee, but thanks
to me, Florida Governor Michael Evan Gray, or as our family and
friends call me, MEG, and Florida’s fifty-seven thousand vote margin
of victory, I helped him win, he won 271 electoral college votes, one
more than necessary to be elected president. BAG would have you believe
he won on his own. Do I sound pissed, unappreciated, jealous?
Fuck yes.
Prior to his election, the press called us “pretty and smart.” Guess
who’s smart? Now with his election and my supposed election to
president eight years from now, we are referred to as the Gray Dynasty.
The Democrats like to say we are more shady than gray.
Democrats like to say we are more shady than gray.
I’m sure my folks are proud to have both of their sons be governors
of two of the nation’s largest states. But when BAG and I simultaneously
announced plans to both run for president, my father told me I should
wait. “This is BAG’s time.” He told me I should wait eight years so I
could build on what BAG accomplished. Then, to make matters worse,
he told me if we ran against each other in the primary, I’d lose. Thanks
Dad…I really appreciate the show of confidence. Now my brother is
not only my father’s favorite son, he’s also the party’s favorite son.
I’m making myself mad just thinking about all this shit again. So
yes, I’m pretty fucking jealous of my brother. My consolation prize is
that I’m here. Apparently, my payback for helping him win was the big
deal he made about how he wanted me to sit on the inaugural platform
with my parents.
So here I sit, along with 1600 other people. The difference between
me and the others is they’re all excited to watch the proceedings.
I’m just pretending. In addition to the incoming president and vice
president, I’m surrounded by nearly all the members of Congress, the
Supreme Court, Joint Chiefs, governors and former presidents and
vice presidents.
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