title: The Runnings
author: Ken, David Wong
description: The Runnings is about corruption at the highest level of government and of the lawyer who gets caught in middle of a power struggle between political titans.The opening scene: - “There was no warning, the man lunged with the long bladed ratchet. The razor sharp point hit the butt of the gun that Brandon carried stuck in his waist and concealed by his shirt.”Brandon Chong speculated that robbery was the motive for the attempt on his life, but the wily old Detective Sergeant Ebenezer Williams thinks otherwise. His enquiry suggests that there is a more sinister motive, but not even his wildest imagines could have prepared him for the ultimate truth. A 2nd attempt on the lawyer’s life leaves no doubt that someone has made a deliberate decision that he should die. Brandon has no idea who would want to kill him nor does he have any inkling as to why his death has become so important.On the advise of the police Brandon goes into hiding, in doing so he has cut off contact with Karla, his ‘latest’ girlfriend. However, he has invited Margo his secretary and former lover to the small apartment fondly called ‘the Butcher shop’. But Fate plays its cards in a predictably unpredictable way. Detective Ebenezer Williams is of the opinion that a key figure to the investigation is safest not in the police lock-up, but with Brandon. He delivers the tantalizing Charonette Baxter to Brandon’s doorstep on the very evening that Margo, is to visit.“Not allowing Brandon to speak, Willie continued, “Besides young man, when I was your age if someone brought me a girl looking like her to spend the night, I would owe him an eternal debt of gratitude”. Winking at Brandon, Willie turned and left. As he exited the elevator on the ground floor he held the door for a stunning lady with almond eyes. He shook his head and begged God to allow him to be 30 again.”The resulting ménage a trios is steamy, and Brandon relishes it.By declaring that he will contest for the Presidency of the governing political party, the powerful Minister Ebanks has made equally powerful enemies. The Prime Minister himself has indicated his opposition to the Minister and the hostilities between the two sides has escalated into murder. Timing is critical. The Prime Minister is under pressure to call the General Elections. His party is rapidly loosing the tactical advantage of being able to say when those elections are to be held. But he cannot name the date for the poll until the question of the party leadership has been settled. In a gambit to bring Ebanks under control, the Prime Minister and his confidants devise a risky plan to blackmail the rebellious Minister into submission. They know that Brandon had represented the late Nicholas Swaby in a matter concerning the politically sensitive Prospect Housing Development. Their plan is simple. If the Minister does not toe the line they will leak information to Brandon. They reasoned that the information would be sufficiently provoking that the lawyer would use it to implicate the Minister, enough as to destroy any chance that the Minister would have of winning a contest for Party Leadership. They reasoned further that they could ‘spin’ the attendant publicity in such a way as to manage any serious damage to the party’s chances at re-election.Unfortunately their plan backfires. They have badly misread their opponent’s ruthlessness. Minister Ebanks decides that he will send the Prime Minister a clear message, the dead body of Brandon Chong.Brandon’s training as a martial artist eventually takes over. He meditates on his situation and decides to go on the offensive. There is not enough evidence for the police to act. But Detective Williams has a special interest in the case and he goes out on an unofficial limb to help. The pieces begin slowly to fit together when Brandon confides in seasoned journalist Christian Dwyer, who provides a different prospective. Now motives are becoming clearer, and